Road Cycling - mountain biker looking to get a roadbike

hey folks i'm looking to get a road bike for the days i can't make it to the trails, i'm looking to spend no more than 1500 dollars any suggestions? should i buy used or new? also what brands you would suggest? this bike will be used on a paved track that is right behind my home i don't plan on racing or joining the postal service team:D i just want to get in alittle better shape cause i can only get out to the mountain 2 times a week and would like to ride at least 4. also what size would i fit (just an approximation) i'm 5'8"-5'9" 185 pounds i fit a 17inch mountain bike, of course i'll try one on for size in the shop. thanks :beer:

ps heres a shot of my mountain bike for those interested
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid68/p2483f35c2dfff6edf6a8d6caa4edb3d0/fbbe43b8.jpg

For $1500 you can get a nice road bike, check out Fuji, Specialized, Bianchi just to name a few. See what your LBS carries and test ride as many as you can.

I am just doing that too :D I have a 96 Specialized Stumpjumper and am currently building a '01 Specialized Allez Sport. You can see the pictures if you click on the link in my signature. I would recommend an allez. I'm not sure if you want to build it or just buy it... But with $1500 you can do alot. Just like a MTB (mountain bike).

-Dan the Man-

I guess I'm not the only mountain biker making a switch. I have a '03 Specialized MTB with upgrades and have found myself doing much more road riding lately. Just put on some Specialized Fat Boy road tires and really like what they did for me on the road. I'm looking at spending up to $2000 on a road bike, so I'll be doing lots of research and reading posts and replies in this forum before I spend the $. I'll also be sure to visit many of my LBS as well. When I get the road bike, I'll put the mtn tires back on the bike and hit the trails when I can, but for now, I want the speed! lol

Originally posted by bman
I guess I'm not the only mountain biker making a switch. I have a '03 Specialized MTB with upgrades and have found myself doing much more road riding lately. Just put on some Specialized Fat Boy road tires and really like what they did for me on the road. I'm looking at spending up to $2000 on a road bike, so I'll be doing lots of research and reading posts and replies in this forum before I spend the $. I'll also be sure to visit many of my LBS as well. When I get the road bike, I'll put the mtn tires back on the bike and hit the trails when I can, but for now, I want the speed! lol

Hey bman, if you wanna go with a road bike, and like your Specialized... go with an Allez. They're pretty, average price range, superior performance.

Check out my post here...
Building a 2001 Specialized Allez Sport (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32801)
it has a lot of helpful hits for researching different components and what all the component numbers mean. And by all means, leave a reply ;) :D

-Dan the Man-

I bought Giant TCR2 about 6 months ago. Great bike, great ride, great value, but not as "classy" as those italian bikes. Then again, being an underdog, it reminds me that it's not about the bike :)

Nice bike, I have an Intense Tracer. I did the same as you are doing and ended up buying a Scattante CFR carbon/Ultegra bike from www.supergo.com. I asume, with having an excellent mountain bike, that you can do your own maintenance. A road bike is actually easier. Make sure you are sized properly. I used www.wrenchscience.com plus the help of a very friendly LBS to size me. Supergo will not exchange parts for sizing on the Scattante, so that will cost a bit extra. The bike was $1500+delivery. The extra stem and saddle were another $100.

Have fun!!!

yeah i built mt santa cruz blur up and do all the maintenance, it was a blast building this bike up but it's not really cost effective. i could have bought this bike built for a few hundred dollars less then what i put into it. so for this road bike i'd like to buy one complete/ready to roll. how do you like your scattante CFR, i've seen those bikes on their catalogs they look really nice.

For $1500 you can get a really nice new road bike. Try a lot of different brands before you buy. With that budget you have a ton of choices. I just bought my first road bike two weeks ago and love it. I tested the Trek 2000, Cannondale R600, and a Felt bike (not sure the model). It really is a personnel choice and for me the Cannondale was the best fit. The Cannodale's have a really good frame and I ended up getting the next one up from the R600, a 2004 Cannondale R800 for $1250. After shoes and pedals is came out to about $1400.

For $1500 you should be able to easily get a bike with a 105 group set. This is the minimum you want.

I had good experience on eBay and got a Trek 2000 for about 1/4 of its original cost (granted, it was a '00 model). I just made sute the seller had solid feedback. He took it to a bike shop and had them pack and ship it for about $40. It came in great shape and I've been very happy. I had to rely on online reviews, but since it was a Trek, I figured it'd be a solid bike. I went to one of the online sites to get sized (it's wrenchscience.com one of them?) and then just waited for one within a few cm of what I needed...

The Bianchi XL Borom below was $1250 (but only had a few hours left). Just kind of depends whether you're willing to save 50% for site "unseen" (i.e. photos only) or want to actually sit on it and ride. Me? Since I didn't sell my mtb, had to save $$$ ;) Ijust bought from an individual selling one used (felt a bit better than those eBay "stores" that sell "in volume" at "Slashed price") and e-mailed him to death before bidding.

PS I saw quite a few sweet bikes for under $1000

PS The Bianchi is just one I checked online for this post. It's not *my* bike. I should have put "For example:" first :P

Another thought (sorry) but it sounds like the mtb is still your primary love. You might want to consider a used roadie around $500 and save the extra $1000 for something else. I only paid $300 for my Trek 2000 and it's worked out real well since I've been able to ease into the change without worrying that I wasted money. Just a thought, but you made it sound like the roadie was gonna be a secondary bike...

Cannondale R600 for the color. :D

Don't use my opinion as an expert opinion, I'm an expert mountain biker who knows only a bit about road bikes. Search for "scattante" on this site , on supergo.com and on www.roadbikereview.com.
That being said, I love my CFR.
By the way, I forgot on my previous post to add the cost of pedals.

I posted a similar question elsewhere. Click here (http://forums.consumerreview.com/crforum?viewall@1.X0mHaNLwC81.3047935@.efd46b9) for the responses that I got. Some people had found some really good deals out there.