Road Cycling - Im a newbie, need advice

Hey everyone!

I just ran across this site yesterday and to my surprise it is great and has already taught me a lot! My roommate has a really nice Cannondale Saeco and he has let me ride it lately. Being a mountain biker I didnt know what to expect but it was fun. Now I am catching the sickness.:D

I want to start out with a real beginners bike because I am a college student straped for cash. I buddy of my roommates on the cycling team here at school has a Specialized allez he wants to sell. I have taken a look at it and it seems alright. It is a 98 so its a bit older than what all of you ride around here. He is trying to get rid of it i think because he is only asking $175. It looks like it has been crashed a time or two and has slight cosmetic dings and scratches, but other that that it looks cool for a newbie like me to get started on.

What do you all think? I really want to get into this and if I later find out that its not my thing then I wont be out a couple g's. I just really want to ride Mt. Diablo near my house in the Bay Area. Thanks!

Here are some pics, it has been cleaned up after the pics were taken.

:beer:

halfxspaid

To start with, welcome to forums, and welcome to the
wonderful world of road bikes, once you're here you
can never really return from the dark side!

If the specialized has been crashed (and you can see
chipped paint behind the headtube, or the headtube
is bulging, or bulges on the downtube or toptube
(again behind the headtube), RUN don't walk away
from this bike. A bike that has been crashed and has
that much damage is gonna fail, and is not really safe
at all.
If the crashes are just scrapes, dings, etc. you should
be ok.
If the bike fits, and is in decent nick I'd say its a decent
deal.

Marty

as lotek says make sure it fits properly. thats probably more important than the quality of the bike if you want to enjoy your rides.

Would it be out of line to ask the seller if you can have a bike shop check it out? They will probably give you the straight dope if you let them know:

1) I'm new and could use some expert advice,
2) once I buy a bike I'll need a local shop to do some tuning work on it.

You will get good advice here but it is limited because we can't touch the bike (kick the tires, etc.).

That is a terrific idea.
That way, someone knowledgeable can tell you if the frame is roadworthy.
If they say it's ok; might as well have them tune it up.

more pix

;)

Assuming everything checks out okay and it fits, you could do a lot worse for $175. Keep in mind that you will probably need to fork over a little more for a tune-up (~$35) and some other things might need to be replaced like the brake pads (~$15 for both front and rear), the chain (~$20), possibly chainrings (~$10 each) and cassette (~$40) among other things. Although if you're really tight on funds, you can probably let the drivetrain go for a bit. Some of the things you'll want to be overly-concerned about (aside from the quality of the frame) are those hidden things like the hubs, bottom-bracket and headset. Also check the rims... if the rims are worn, it'll be dangerous to ride. The rims on that bike look pretty nice but if you need to replace them in a pinch, you can get new ones for around $25-$30 each plus spokes but you also will need to factour in the labour cost of building a wheel so that can add up. BTW, what level of componentry is on the bike?

x100 or something like that....100 something =)