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Piers hammond's avatar

Hi Mike -- i'm currently stuck between two options and i wonder if your experience will help me decide.

Im choosing between two bikes with almost mirrored components, campag chorus 11, mid level carbon deep sections, aluminium handle bars / stem, carbon seat posts. all of the similar tier.

The big difference is one frame is a caad7 and the other is a sl3 tarmac s works. So a 10 year age difference.

One is carbon, one is aluminium.

I know modern sensibilities might draw us to the carbon offering for comfort etc but there's something about that caad7 that is drawing me in.

On the other hand, something about a 20 year old frame makes me a bit nervous. However it does have slightly better wheels than the tarmac.

What do you think? They're both listed for the exact same price.

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Mike Platania's avatar

If I were you, I'd probably go for the SL3. Being able to get a decade newer bike for the same price is too good of a value, especially if the wheels/groupset are comparable.

One thing I'd be sure to do is have the SL3 frame checked out by a shop to make sure there are no imperfections in the carbon.

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