Road Cycling - Buying a New Bike

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excelsior
05-08-03, 03:47 AM
Hi, I am looking at new road bike (sure this has been posted before) and I need it to be affordable for sure. I love bianchi, but $$, yikes. Currently, I am riding a heavy 8 year old Trek and actually have raced with it, so anything would be a step up. I looked at the Fuji Ace, because of price but realize its not in the league. A few questions, one what is the advantage for 650 tires? (I am a female and 5'2") Secondly, What is a good choice, that is affordable for touring mostly? Thanks, Donna

ParamountScapin
05-08-03, 03:52 AM
A couple of the shorter women in our local club ride the WSD frames from Trek/Lemond. Both with 650 wheels. All report excellent results. Not sure of which Lemond they ride, but the Trek is the 2200/2300 series. All in the sub-$1500 price range, new.

But check out eBay. You can find some nice Bianchi's and Lemond's and others there for less than $1000. Probably the best source for used bikes.
moabrider47
05-08-03, 03:37 PM
You might want to try getting this moved to the road bike forum, where you will get many more opinions. Lots of members only scan by the forums dealing with the aspects of cycling that they are involved in. You can PM JoeGardner to get it moved, or any of the other moderators.

-Moab

Joe Gardner
05-08-03, 05:43 PM
Moved to correct forum... :)
MichaelW
05-09-03, 03:08 AM
There are pros and cons to 650c vs 700c.
The cons are increased rolling resistance and smaller choice of tyres, in racing width only, which are only available at proper bike shops.
The pros are better acceleration, lighter weight, and most importantly for you, they fit into a small sized frame without screwing up the steering geometry.
At 5'2" you really should not be riding 700c.
In the UK, small women riders who want a general purpose fast road bike would use a lightweight touring bike with 26" MTB sized wheels. They are roughly the same size as 650c, but with a different range of tyre width. MTB slicks start at 1" wide, which is where 650c stops.
For general touring, a 1" to 1.5" slick is ideal. Im not sure where in the US you would find such a bike, but check out sjscycles.com for Thorn bikes.

Personally I dont see the point of using mixed wheels. Putting a 700c wheel at the back, as some manufacturers (Jamis) do gives no discernable advantage, but you have to carry 2 types of spares.