Road Cycling - Looking for entry level road bike

I am looking for an entry level road bike and was looking to buy online, but have decided to go LBS. The nearest shops to me carry Trek and I found another shop about 30 miles away that carries Fuji. I am currently considering a Fuji Finest AL or a Trek 1000T. These bikes are around $600 and that is about the max for my current budget. Going to test ride Fuji next week, no Trek available in my size for test ride. Any recommendations to go Fuji over Trek or Trek over Fuji. I'm open to any other brands in that price range if you have any ideas.

I am 6'4" and 260lbs, so I need a large bike and am open to any suggestions.

Thanks

Bill

Apart from fit, the most important factor is strong wheels. What are the wheels like, 32 or 36 spokes?, Can the bike shops pre-stress and tune the cheap machine-built wheels for you ?

Bill me - I'm nearly identical to you in stature. I ride a Cannondale Road Warrior 700. I have a couple of recommendations. The Trek and the Fuji are both good bikes in this price range. I would also look at the Cannondale Road Warrior 400 and I would definitely look at the KHS Flite 500. The KHS is a ton of bike for the money. List is $639 (can be had for less). It's got a carbon fork and a Reynolds Cro Moly steel frame, just a super value. I don't know if you can ride the KHS, but it's definitely worth looking into.

Both bikes have 32 spoke rims, the Trek has Vuelta Typhoon rims and the Fuji has Alex DA-22 double wall rims. I will ask the LBS if they can pre-stress and tune them. Thanks, MichaelW.

I found a Trek 1000 2002 model on sale for $539.99. The LBS offers free 60-90 day tune-up, free lifetime brake and gear/shifter adjustments and lifetime $35 tune-ups(a $20 discount). The other two LBS I have talked to have the same bike for $599.99 and $630 and will not match the sale price. $630 is for a 2003, but as far as I know the only change is color. The only LBS that carries the Fuji is asking $625 for it.

I will also take a look at the KHS and the Cannondale. Thanks, Tourist.

Wow, were almost identical in height. This post will also be pretty helpful for me. I think I like the Fuji, but i'm also considering one of the entry level Specialized road bikes. Does anyone have comments on those?

I am 6'2", 235lbs. I looked at Fuji on-line but couldn't find one locally to ride. Tried the Trek 1000 (2003) and expected to like it, but the compact frame of the Specialized fit me much better. I ended up spending about $200 more than my budgeted $600 to get the Allez A1 27 Sport with carbon fork/Tiagra components...

...and after 3 weeks and almost 200 miles I love it. So far would recommend Specialized to anyone, but especially to those with longer torso versus legs due to the compact geometry frame...(for more info and debate on these frames see other forums on this site)...

Good luck...:)

Bill,

I'm 6'3", ~220lbs. I bought a trek 1000 ($530) a couple weeks ago. I was also looking at the Lemond Nevada City ($650). I liked the long cockpit on the Lemond. It was a 61cm frame. So I tried the trek 1000 with a 63cm frame and couldn't tell much of a difference so I went with the trek. The dimensions of the two frame are very similar.

Anyway, be aware that there are road and compact road frames with a wide assortment of variations. Ride as many bikes as you can, with different geometries, before you settle on one.

Also, I'd buy locally so you can be sure to get one that fits you.

Good luck,
Dave

The Specialized Seqouia is nice.

I believe LeMond and Trek measure measure their frames differently - Lemond center-to-center and Trek center-to-top?

Another brand that's pretty good bang-for-buck is Giant. Unfortunately, it's a little bit of a gamble since Giant only offers their bikes in 3 or 4 size ranges and not in 2cm incriments. They rely on adjustable stems to provide the proper fit which may or may not work out for you.

I'm 6' 3" aswell and looking for a new road bike. has anyone ridden a bianchi? i've seen one to buy on the net but can't find one locally to ride. what's the geometry on them like compared to the specialized (which i can ride from LSB) ?

Originally posted by late
The Specialized Seqouia is nice.

I'll second that.. I jsut picked my wife up a Specialized sequoia Sport bike.. a bit of a touring road bike.. build for comfort with the geometry of a road bike... she seems to really like it so far... I don;t liek it as much as my Lemond... but it is a good entry level bike for sure... we picked up a 2003 model on sale for $650 at the LBS

Good luck.. let us know what you get

Jeff