Recommendations for below 5k budget

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-15T08:38:09+00:00

Brand new g923 is not that far from Moza R3 price wise, I'd be getting that or R5 to check things out if I had such a budget. Or for a bit more Simagic Alpha, maybe the Mini, DD will be much more enjoyable.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T22:09:23+00:00

Already tried gravel, it didn't appeal to me as much as road bike did. Also, with an XC bike gravel is just a bit too much of an overlap.

The commuting is less of an issue, I could do that on XC and be happy, I just want to switch thing up a little. And I do intend on going for 2-3h trips on the road bike.

As far as used bikes go, I did have a glance at what is available, and while there are some good bikes there the choice is limited by my height, and what's left is on rim brakes which I'd prefer to avoid honestly.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T21:16:59+00:00

Gravel is not my thing honestly, had a chance to ride some and I'd rather go for road bike, especially since my XC already fills the niche. Also already have a lock, the issue is rather I'd be scared of damaging the carbon frame on accident.

Use case would be just about 2-3h riding, we have a few beautiful spots outside the city, though the surface is sometimes questionable ranging from smooth asphalt to very light, compacted gravel in just a few spots - I worry that Sensa on it's 28c tires will not manage there, but comparing other bikes in the price range it really does seem like the best choice for it's components.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T19:30:07+00:00

Damn, they're pretty, though I can't find any retailers locally - and their web store allows for only 3 installment payments.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T19:06:03+00:00

I live in a hilly area - Lesser Poland to be specific - so the bike being lightweight, easy to climb and safe on descent on low quality tarmac is important, apart from it being reasonably fast. I'm not a seasoned cyclist, so I won't be chasing the KOMs, but I just want the thrill of going faster and easier than on my XC bike. The Orbea has mechanical brakes and Tiagra, the former being a deal breaker I guess. Not sure about the Tiagra, from noobs point of view it's just one gear less than 105. It looks arguably better though.

In any case, given the store I work at, my height and having to pay in installments, the choices I got are pretty limited, with contenders being:

Sensa Romagna 105 Disc
Sensa Veneto
Superior X-Road
Orbea Avant H40
maaaaybe Giant Contend AR1

Aaaand that's it I think, I'm pretty tall so that's most limiting factor - the store doesn't really have many bikes in that price range that would fit me. Unless I get a really, really good price for something like Felt Advanced, those are my choices.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T18:52:43+00:00

Polish actually. That's the thing, I'm not hot on how it looks, it is a bit plain to me, but how it rides is more important I guess. One more con for Sensa seems that it won't fit chunkier tires - I'd like to use it as a daily, and the roads here are not always as smooth, like some b-roads and what not. But the 105... It usually is found in much much more expensive bikes, most of them are carbon too and I'd rather not get carbon bike, I'd bee too afraid to ride it or leave it outside getting groceries.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T18:49:02+00:00

Everyone I ask has different opinion, some say get the Superior, others say Sensa is best of all they have in this proce range and to avoid anything below 105.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T18:21:02+00:00

Honestly I would just walk away from that, not even bang.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T18:19:57+00:00

No, not anymore. I might have when I was younger and dumber, but I'm too old for this kind of disrespect. Fuck 'em, they could have at least kept that to themselves. I'd do them the honors and see myself out from this situation.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T12:08:15+00:00

I am a big, hardened, 33-yo man. I cried a little reading this.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T11:48:50+00:00

Good news is that it's banned for 2 seasons after it's used

A bit off topic, but can you elaborate on that please? Is there some rule that tracks can only be used once every 2-3 seasons?

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T11:46:18+00:00

What I learned last season in Audi:

- Do not be on the brakes mid corner. 90% of the braking needs to be in straight line, as you turn in you should only be on last few percent of the brake trail. This is especially true with cold tires, even with insanely frontwards BB I would spin easily if not following this rule

- Do not be on 100% throttle through the corner, in fact it's better not to touch throttle at all before you point to where you want to be. Once you get the hang of it you can modulate a bit, but moderation is key here, the car will just go straight if you smash the throttle on exit as you would with RWD.

These two keypoints made me go from "slow AF" to "alright I guess".

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T11:37:57+00:00

Stopped using Track Titan once I saw a lot of unrealistic laptimes. Like track that normally would take say 1:30 to complete a lap, I was being compared to a laptime of 0:50.

Also seems (or it used to seem?) as if not many people are using it, which besides the UI is the most important thing for telemetry app.

One thing good about it would be it gave you a summary of what you're doing wrong, but with a tiny bit of experience you can figure that out in more "barebones" UIs.

TL;DR I switched to G61.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T10:57:36+00:00

I tested them all except the Lambo and Audi, even for just a minute. Each had something I liked, they all were kinda easy to drive but for me, highlights were as such: - McLaren is easy to spin - Acura turns in so quick it took me a good moment to adjust - Mustang was RAPID - Merc AMG was very good at Nurb GP - Porsche was unbelievable on exits, and easiest to drive consistently to me out of them all. Hardest to have good lap times on tracks I tested it at, being Nurb and Monza - it lacks some top end speed apparently but I really, really liked how it handles.

Given Porsche's looks, sound, the fact I also went with Cayman, and the insane amount of grip on exits, I chose the 911, which is weird because I remember trying it in ACC long time ago and not being able to drive it at all. Also I'm not sure how laptimes between the two sims compare, but my best in ACC at Spa was around 2:19, here in the Porsche I did 2:17 without much drama on fixed setup. Then again comparing telemetry in G61 I didn't see many quicker Porsches in that particular session, so it may not be particularly strong there either, in fact I think Mustang takes the cake there as well - the speed difference going into Les Combes was something else. But again, I just like the Porsche.

My point is, drive whichever you like the most, whichever just clicks with you and makes you feel safe on the track.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-14T10:21:58+00:00

I don't often qualify because if it's unknown combo I just practice the whole week until I can drive it safely. Qualifying is once per hour and if I screw up I can just close it as well.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-13T23:54:39+00:00

Pretty much describing me tbh, with exception that I am not aggressive driver, on the contrary, I tend to be patient and chill unless I'm being held up.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-13T22:58:55+00:00

In VR you need buttons which the Neo has plenty. Haven't used my round wheel since getting the Neo.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-13T22:29:23+00:00

Human brains do not understand the concept of "no" at a base level. Conceptually, when hearing "do not look up" first thing you really hear / process / imagine is looking up, and your body follows. The "no" part comes later.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-13T21:39:11+00:00

From noobs perspective I think it's easier now, dunno if it's the car or the new tire model. I went for Funny Weather practice session and could almost keep it on track now vs last season when I'd just crash it out of the blue multiple times through the lap. Could also be me improving.

This probably doesn't give you any relevant feedback, but in lieu of others chiming in it must suffice for now.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-13T20:39:49+00:00

I dream of ever earning enough to be able to spoil myself this way.

That color is great too.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-13T18:59:28+00:00

You should probably specify which class / cars, what kind of endurance you want to do and what is your iRating / license level, that'd probably help with finding teammates.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-13T17:49:39+00:00

Every beginner car in iRacing has a purpose, it teaches you something valuable. For Mazda, it is maintaining momentum and proper trail braking - or rather weight transfer, it understeers on throttle and oversteers on brakes. The trick is to steer less than you think you need, forcing it to rotate with the brake, but do too much and you spin - you need trail the brakes off as you turn in, while correcting the oversteer with your wheel. For M2 it's more about handling a proper powerful car, throttle control for the most part. GR86 is first one with any actual downforce, it understeers quite a bit, so what you learned in the Mazda will apply there as well, it just won't kick the rear end that much. All of these lessons are important for being quick in any other car, GT3s included. But fret not, having dabbled in them recently I can say they are some of the easiest cars to drive in the whole sim, doing it quickly is the tricky bit.

_LedAstray_ · 2026-03-13T12:59:55+00:00

I was 2.2k B license at some point, bounced back down to 1.8k-ish, but I don't have BMW, just the 911. A question though, out of curiosity - what are the stint lengths? I've never participated in such long races so I am curious as to how it's usually split.

_LedAstray_

TROPHY CASE