Introductions - hi all

Hi all.
I hail from St. Louis. I recently became interested in cycling. I've been riding an old, slightly too small Schwinn varsity over the summer. I typically ride trails. I don't really plan on racing, but I do enjoy a nice fast paced ride. I'm probably going to buy a new bike in the next month or two. Are there any buying errors that I (inexperienced as I am) need to watch out for?

Hello eckelkjt, too bad the Varsity is too small, it's a heavy, but bombproof bike! I think the single most common error is to buy a bike that is too low end. If you enjoy riding, and have ridden often enough to think that you will continue to ride for years, then go ahead and buy the mid range bike--if your budget can handle it. I'm talking about the $1200-$1500 bike. That's good enough to get you decent components, without having to buy more than you really need.

What did you have in mind to buy?

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

Thanks for the warm welcome.

I was thinking about buying a road or cyclocross bike in the $1000 (+-$200). I'm probably leaning a little more cyclocross just because some trails may be unpaved. After reading a bit of the forum, I've seen a few people not especially like Shimano. Are they quality parts? Or are sundex, camdex, and suntour, etc better parts? Though I might not know exactly what I'm talking about either.

There is a raging controversy about Shimano versus Campagnolo wherever cyclists are found!

Your Varsity had Schwinn components, most of which if I'm not mistaken were Sun Tour in disguise.

Sun Tour had arguably the best components (at the higher end) during the 1980s, but never had the cachet of Campy.

I have Ultegra and 105 (Shimano) on one of my bikes, and like it. I have Campy Athena on one of my bikes, and like it also :) .

Shimano is probably more affordable, though.

East Hill