Road Cycling - Entry level road bike

I am looking to get an entry-level road bike and would appreciate some assistance in picking the right bike. I am looking to get something that is between $1200 - $1,800.

1, I looked at the Cannondale R600 and R800 models yesterday. I was wondering about the quality of these frames and how their weight compares to other frames. Are there any similar/better frames I should look at?

2, How significant are the trade-offs between Dura-Ace, Shimano Ultegra and Shimano 105? How should weight and shifting quality factor into my decision?

3, How about rims and tires? What do I need to consider? Any recommendations?

4, And lastly, how do I choose handlebar, saddle and additional parts?

Thanks a lot for suggestions.

I would suggest riding them all and see which is the most comfortable. its your a$$ on the bike for thousands of miles, if its not comfortable then its not worth it.

As for the groups its Dura Ace (very best), Ultegra (lower), 105 (mid range), Tiagra (on the budget) and sora (sora-i-ever-bought-this :)) but i really cant tell you the specifics of one ever the other.

As for weight, how much do you weight? think you can lose a pound? then the frame weight does not matter very much.

Tires, i would stick with the tires that come with the bike, i know the specialized bikes come with super tires!
T
he bars, saddle come with the bike, you might want to upgrade but at 1.5K they will be fairly good. AS for pedals and shoes, its all about fit, try on everything that you can, then decide.

thats my advice... please take it with a grain of salt... I'm only 3 months into biking :)
-Ross

You have to ride the bikes to really figure out the differences. Also, keep in mind what your goals are. Your choice of bike will be very different if you are riding for recreation, riding to do longer tours, or riding crits and time trials.

Ask questions at the bike shop. If it is a good shop, they won't lead you astray because they want happy customers who will come back and refer friends. If there is a problem with a particular component on a bike, they will tell you. For example, I was looking at a Fuji bike (can't recall the model, I decided against the bike) at a shop and the sales person suggested that if I liked the bike, I would probably want to upgrade the wheels because they haven't had good luck with those wheels when used by 250 lbers.

Most things will depend on how and where you ride and your own personal comfort. Spazegun2213 has had great luck with the Specialized Tires. After getting my 5th thorn flat (including 3 on one ill-fated ride), I've given up on them. (Others who I was biking with didn't have any thorns.) Now I know why you carry two inner tubes AND a patch kit.

With the saddle, again try the saddle on the bike. If it works for you, great. If it doesn't, there are a lot of threads with people talking about their saddle preference.

I'm giving the same disclaimer as above.

Good luck. There are lots of great bikes out there and a lot of great miles to ride.

I don't know where you reside so am not sure what that dollar numbers amount too however the type of bike for entry depends on what you want it for.
My current communter is a second hand 1993 Giant Perigee with Exage 300 gear (below Sora) on it. I paid $AUS300 and it's a beauty for what it does.

After three years I finally got a new beastie for training/racing - a Bianchi mirage/veloce - yummy.

Your Giants, Cannondales, Specialized etc. all run good stock standard stuff in terms of wheels and components. Talk to your LBS or go into a couple of different stores to understand more about what you actually want. 105 is pretty good racing level stuff if you are just starting off.

Can I also recommend a bike fit assessment like the wrench science web site which will help you to gain and understanding of the various numbers you need to get your head around.