Road Cycling - i'm looking into a road bike.. help

As the title states, I am looking into getting/building a road bike. Right now I have a Trek 6000 mountain bike, but i'd like to start doing a lot of road riding in my spare time. i may race some, and since i swim and run, i may do triathlons.. well, right now my dad has a few old trek roadie frames.. there's one that fits me, but by no means are they new. what i'm looking into doing is getting some new ultegra/105 components and building on this frame.. how will everything work? should i buy a new fork? let me know. thanks!

Putting 105 on a decent old frame is a sensible move.
Do make sure the frame takes 700c rims. Check the rear dropout width. The modern road standard is 130mm outside-to-outside.
Are you building the wheels yourself?

I dont think its cost effective to put carbon forks or Ultegra on the an old Trek steel frame. Just use what you have and ride. When you get a swanky new lightweight race bike, you can use the Trek for training.

yeah, your point about being cost effective is true. although if i bought all the parts, i could just transfer them from the trek to the new race frame when i bought that.. i'm looking at road frames on ebay. i may just get one right off.. how's the jamis comet frame?

The Comet has a really good reputation. I don't know anyone who owns a higher-end Jamis who doesn't love it -- but these guys have the steel bikes, so I don't know how that translates to an aluminum Jamis.

Truth is, though, that it will probably cost you more to buy a frame and build it up than it would to just buy an Ultegra-based bike...

yes, thats what my dad told me today about building a bike.. i'm going to look into either:

a) putting 105s on my old trek frame
b) buying a 105 or ultegra based bike (allez?)

Originally posted by guapo337
a) putting 105s on my old trek frame
b) buying a 105 or ultegra based bike (allez?)
Hie thee to a bike shop, young man, and try out a whole bunch of bikes. You should get a pretty good price around this time of year.

The Allez Comp is a very nice Ultegra bike [compact frame aside, but I'm a purist, I guess]. It has an excellent race rep and see a WHOLE lot of guys at the local crits riding them. It's light, responsive and has a nice spec. It'll also shake your fillings loose on a long ride. The downside of its responsiveness is that it's EXTREMELY stiff, even by aluminum standards.

I'd say go with steel or Ti, but that's me. On the other hand, my GF recently bought an aluminum GT that gives a surprisingly smooth ride.

That's why you have to try them out.

[BTW, the Allez Sport is also a nice bike, and a little easier on your dental work if you get the carbon fork. I find that it rides almost exactly like almost every other aluminum bike in the price range -- Trek, Giant, Fuji, etc. -- which leads me to believe that they're all manufactured of the same materials by the same offsjore contract manufacturer...]

thanks again. anyone heard of the kinesis frame called the tsunami? i've found a sweet deal on that with a carbon fork for 200. i'm looking into that.. then i'd find some 105s or something, and throw all that on.. wouldn't be a bad deal... or i could just buy a 105 set and throw it on the trek frame i have now.. (steel). how much do the allez setups go for?

If you're not sure about becoming a roadie or are sure it'll only be part-time then I'd recommend the most economical approach. That is probably the 105 on your Trek esp. if you're doing the assembly. Steel Treks have a nice ride and 105 is solid and functional.

Another approach would be used. The 500$ or so you spend on 105 will open a wide range of nice bikes if your willing to shop. That and check the close-out at the shops. This time of year cash talks.

yeah i'm really looking into buying used.. i've found some nice used deals, and i'm going to go the mys LBSs and test ride some used bikes..the big thing i need for the trek is some new wheels, and those will be hard to find.. can anyone tell me where i can buy some wheels that will FIT that bike?

Here's the problem...

Good wheels will cost $400-$500 AT LEAST, maybe a little less if you buy rims, hubs and spokes and have your LBS build them. Good tires will be another $75 for the pair. The 105 group will cost about $500. Pedals will put you back $150-$200. A decent saddle will be another $75. Add another $250 for all the other stuff you hadn't thought of, and your total is AT LEAST $1300. You can buy a lot of bike NEW for that price... even a really nice 105 or Daytona-equipped steel bike from a small manufacturer.

i've found perfectly fine mavics from performances for on average 150 for front 160 for back. i already have a pair of look pedals, and a nice saddle.. so it's basically just the wheels and components.. but i may just look into a used bike.. i'm not sure yet. no offense, but i think you over estimated the prices a tad.

Not when you almost double them, converting to Canadian $, and adding freight, taxes, duties etc.:p

haha. yeah true. but i'm in maine, so woohoo!

Originally posted by guapo337
i've found perfectly fine mavics from performances for on average 150 for front 160 for back... no offense, but i think you over estimated the prices a tad.
Let's see... the complete wheelset is $310, plus about $20 shipping, and then $25 for each wheel to have the spokes relaced and trued [I don't know ANYONE who has ever purchased a satisfactory set of wheels from Performance]. That's $380 and a lot of misery... and pretty close to $400.

Remember, I said "a good set of wheels." You can pay MUCH less that $400 for a wheelset... but you'll get what you pay for.

yes, thats true, i'll get what i pay for? but is there a NOTICEABLE difference? I found a pair of shimano ultegra/mavic wheels for 180. the wheelSET. if they need to be trued when i buy them, i'll bring them to my LBS. seems like a budget way to get in