Toby's journal

I found this phone app that is so cheeky - "SnapTell"

You take a photo of something, (either the front of the item, or the barcode) and then it looks up the item online.. somehow.. and then gives you some reviews of it.. and links to online shops' prices.. and prices of shops near you selling it and their price.

I presume their business model is that they get a kickback if you follow a link through to, say, amazon and buy the thing.

But it's such a cheeky way to haggle in stores, I mean, you could almost instantly say - hey, I can get this item for *click* *pause* this much just around the corner! Will you match it?

I wandered around to a few bicycle stores today, as well as a few pawnbrokers in Fitzroy in case my old bike had been sold to them (it hadn't).

I came up with a shortlist of bikes:
(Edit: Found a few places online that did them cheaper than the stores I visited)

Kona Dew $500 $449:
Well made entry level road bike.. Seems a bit highly priced for the specifications though, compared to others around without the Kona brand name.

Kona Dew Plus $650 $619:
Similar to the above bike, except with better rims/tyres, and disc brakes. Seems a bit pricey for the specs, compared to other bikes I've seen. (Was the only bike with disc brakes in this list.. but they're overrated)

Scott SUB 30 $749 $629:
Good road bike, seemed equivalent to the Kona Dew+, but thus seems overpriced. Maybe have been marginally lighter. *shrug*

Avanti Blade 1.0 $429
About the same as the Kona Dew+ in terms of rims, tyres, seat, weight, etc. but without disc brakes. Also significantly cheaper and comes in a nice shade of blue.

Shogun Mach1 $599 $499:
Flat-handlebar racer - very light, seemed to have very high specification gear on it; seems the best of the "high performance" bicycles for the price, but I'm not sure I want something that's this much of a racer.. I wouldn't see myself going on gravel tracks with those tyres! (But I suppose one could change them)

Shogun Metro xx $329:
Can't remember the exact model name. Was a rather cheap bike, and seemed heavier than others I've looked at, and the rims/tyres weren't great.. Aside from that, seemed acceptable, and it IS cheap. However the Avanti Blade seemed to have better specs for an extra $100.

Fuji (various)
I found a store that was entirely stocked by hundreds of Fuji bikes. They didn't strike me as being amazingly well built though, but eh, I don't know that much about bicycles. The models that interested me were around $500 or so, and thus seem unfavourably priced compared to other brands that seem to be better quality.

Other brands
Most other brands were either much cheaper ($200ish) or more expensive ($800-2000); the cheaper ones tended to weigh a lot more, and the expensive ones were nice, but over my budget.. I'm looking to spend $400-$700 really.

Second hand bikes
There doesn't seem to be a very large 2nd hand market here, except for the really high-end bikes. And sadly I don't want something /really/ basic, and I do want something that is the right size, and by the time you factor those in, there's next to none available. I'm keeping an eye on an ebay auction for an avanti blade, but it's already up to almost the cost of a new one, which makes it seem a bit pointless to bid for it.

Conclusion
So currently I'm leaving towards the Avanti Blade; it seemed to have a good level of parts for a reasonable price. I think the Shogun Mach1 represents the best price/performance ratio, but isn't really what I'm looking for. The Kona bikes seem overpriced, but several friends have recommended them to me, so I might do a little more research.

Sadly I don't know enough about bike components to be able to tell the differences in running gear between models; So I tend to judge based on weight of the bike, and how easily the tyres spin (ie. rolling mass), and whether they have gear shifters that click or twist or are friction-based. (I like the clicky up/down button sort).. and just generally on whether they look like they're well-built. I try to avoid ones with fork suspension; seems more like a heavy novelty rather than being that useful on the road.

Can anyone offer their suggestions?