Road Cycling - Advice for a first time buyer

Hi,

I'm a dyed in the wool MTBr who's looking to get into road bikes. I've got a budget of up to £500 to spend, but I'd prefer to spend less if I can get away with it rather than get a great bike and then find I can't get on with it. I'm currently considering 4 options:

1) Trek 1000 drop bar £500
2) Trek 1000 flat bar £430

FRAMESET:
FRAME: Alpha Aluminum. Seamless drawn round tubing. Custom butted 1-1/8" head tube. Stiff, powerful elliptical chainstays. Cold forged replaceable derailleur hanger. Trek Pro geometry.
FORK:Carbon straight blade w/alloy steerer.

WHEELS:
WHEELS: Alex AT450 w/stainless steel eyelet rims; alloy hubs; 15G stainless, black spokes
TIRES: Bontrager Select, 700x25c

COMPONENTS:
SADDLE: TrekRace
SEATPOST: Bontreger
HANDLEBARS: Alloy road or Bontreger Cruiser
STEM: Alloy AHS, 10°
HEADSET: AHS 1-1/8" sealed

DRIVETRAIN:
SHIFTERS: Shimano Sora STI or Shimano 220
FRONT DERAILLEUR: Shimano Sora or Shimano 2203
REAR DERAILLEUR: Shimano Sora
CRANKSET: Suntour Superbe 53/39 or 52/42/30
CASSETTE: SunRace 12-24, 8spd or SRAM 5.0 11-28, 8spd

BRAKESET: Alloy dual pivot w/Shimano Sora STI levers.
PEDALS: Alloy/nylon road w/toe clips



3) Saracen Morzine £399 - again 16 speed sora sti

4) Coppi Gavia (2002) £300:

Frame:
7005 series alloy frame with 1" headtube
Fork: 1" A-head steel
Wheelset: KT hubs on Rigida Nova rims
Headset: Alloy 1" Ahead
Stem: Coppi alloy A-head
Handle Bar: Coppi Steel
Derailleurs: Shimano Sora 8 speed
Shifters: Shimano Sora 8 speed STI
Chainset: Ofmega Linear 52t/42t
Cassette: Shimano 8 speed 12t/25t
Calipers: Alloy dual pivot F & R
Seat Post: Coppi alloy micro adjust
Saddle: Selle Italia Expedia
Tyres: Vittoria Roma 700 x 23c
Bar Tape: ITM cork
Pedals: VP alloy with clips & Straps
Weight: 24.5lbs (approx)

I'd appreciate any advice you could give me. In addition is it worthwhile me getting a triple - or is likely that I'll quickly get accustomed to road bike ratios?

Thanks in advance

I'm not a long-time road rider, but I came to it last season from MTB too. So for what it's worth...

Both Trek and Coppi seem like a toss-up to me. Depends upon what fits you better.

I would go with a drop bar. Otherwise you might as well buy some slicks for your MTB and use it on the road. It's interesting getting used to the narrow width of the drop bar, but once you do--no worries.

Unless there are a lot of steep climbs around Cambridge I think the double is fine. IMO climbing on an MTB is a bit different from the road as there are more obstacles and it's nice to have really low gears to clear stuff. On a road bike, you don't have to worry as much about the combo of steep inclines and obstacles.

Just my 2p.

When you have a couple of comparable models, you can chose one which is the best fit. Measure up the length of the bikes, top-tube + stem to see if they are all the same length.
The brake-hood position on a road bike should be comparable to your MTBing position on a cross-country ride.
For riding around Cambridge, you definately dont need a triple, but drop bars are a real bonus when riding into those headwinds. Can any of these bikes take mudguards? They make winter riding on wet roads so much more comfortable

For the money you are talking about you can get a very nice used ride. Aluminum tends to be quite harsh in its riding qualities, unless you can afford one at the top end of the cost scale. The inexpensive alternative is steel. As steel is not the "in" material of construction at the moment, there are loads of excellent ones available on the used market (Bianchi, Colnago, Olmo, etc.). The ride quality of steel is second to none. The only materials that are "almost" as good are Ti and Ti/graphite mix. And you pay through the nose. The best aluminum does not compare to the average steel frame in comfort. And these good used steel frames are just as light as an inexpensive aluminum frameset. Also, you will generally get a better set of components and wheels on a good used bike.

As the gentlefolks above mentioned, fit is important. If you want to do it yourself, try www.wobblenaught.com or www.wrenchscience.com for a couple of extensive on-line fit routines. A much simpler one is on Lennard Zinn's website. You can access Zinn's website through www.velonews.com where Lennard is the Technical Column guru.

For the $800 you mentioned, you should be able to get a very nice used bike with either one of Campy's or Shimano's best kit (Record, Chorus or DuraAce, Ultegra). And with steel you will get a much nicer ride. Check out what is available on eBay. Loads of good used bikes out there. Enjoy!!