Road Cycling - It's An Essay Length Question.. Sorry

Hey Everyone,
First off I have to say that this is one of the best forums I've seen, I belong to a few backpacking ones as well and I see a lot of really helpful, positive information being exchanged here with relatively little animosity/attitude. It's good to see! This is my first post, I'm a total road cycling newbie, I've been riding mountain for about 3 years(stumpjumper disc) and I want to switch to a road bike for fitness reasons. Anyways here is my question:
I'm wondering what my best option would be for a first road bike. I'm someone who rides a fair bit (around 4500km a year average), and I've done quite a lot of research on different brands and models. I was speaking to a few different bike shops trying out different rides when a guy suggested that I talk to a local who proffessionally fits road cyclists (charges 170.00 CDN but if you buy a bike through him fitting is free-his prices seem in line with others or fairly close, but he only has one kind of frame manufacturer that nobody else sells so it's difficult to compare). He can give you a stock bike of the frame builder he goes through, or they can build you a custom bike for 150.00 more. I'm just wondering if it's worth my money to have him fit me to see if I a stock bike is appropriate for me or if a fit system such as the ones listed on big name online dealers is adequate. I could also go into a shop where I live but I would at least like to double check the numbers they give me for fitting with what I'd get on an online fit system, because I don't have a lot of confidence in some of the employees ability to fit me properly. In a nutshell how important is fit going to be to my enjoyment of the bike?
Secondly, I'm trying to spend between 2000-2500 CDN on a road bike and I'm looking for the cheapest way to get the most bike I can. I realize that everyone is of the same opinion in that regard, but I was wondering if perhaps a smarter way to go would be to order parts individually and build the bike here(i have a few friends who are fairly experienced-i'm not confident that I could build it myself). I can always price compare and do the math to find out what's cheaper, but my question is in regards to whether or not this would be a mistake due to my ignorance in what's most important: i.e. componentry first, frame second, etc. Also,not being able to ride the bike beforehand may present some risk, as it may not be what I was expecting. Basically do you guys think it would be a good idea to order online individually if it were cheaper and I could customize to what I wanted exactly or is it a mistake for a first time buyer? Thanks in advance guys!

Hi,
I used to backpack, and mtn bike. I can't help but wonder if you've put the cart before the proverbial horse. What sort of riding do you intend to do? Do you want to do touring, taking your tent and gear? Do you want to race and grind Lance Armstrong into the tarmac? Or do you just want to hop on a hot bike and ride?

My riding would be mostly training, along with commuting if it was bike friendly -ie. good roads or bike paths. Sorry I forgot to mention what I was doing with it! You'd think I'd mention that after such a long post!

For a first bike, I'd have them fit you and have them recommend a proper size for you. From there, taking that information you can either buy a bike from them (don't forget to ask them to credit the amount they charged you for the fitting and use it towards the bike's worth), or you can build one yourself. One thing I've learned from road-bike shopping is that you NEED to get fitted properly, because if you don't, you might find yourself hurting after a 40 mile ride when you could have ridden 80 miles (sorry, US lengths here ;) ).

Canada has some great small frame-builders, do you know who is going to build the stock frame?
For commuting and general fitness use, a light-touring bike may be more useful than a competition racer. It would weight just the same, but be built with more tyre clearance and fittings for rack and fender.
Check out some of the styles of frame at
http://www.marinoni.qc.ca/html/eng_ciclo.asp

Hi,
there is a Candian bicycle maker called Mikado http://www.mikadobicycles.ca/2003/en/default.asp

they make good reasonably priced bikes. I like the radisson for the money. It has a more upright riding position that may make you less inclined to spend the $$ for custom. LL Beans sells it in the states. It's rugged, reliable, and versatile. It also costs less than most custom frames for the whole bike.

Well, fit is mighty important in bicycling. It is more important to have a good fit and a bike that is just a decent bike then have a great bike and a mediocre fit.

Fortunately, most people can be fit to production bikes with just a few adjustments and maybe swapping out the stem (the thing that holds onto the handlebars).

There is something called a "fit kit". It does not take a rocket scientist to use this and if one of your local shops have it, you can probably trust the results.

I have seen people who can "eyeball" a decent fit. You sit on a bike and they look at you and say "well you need a stem that is half an inch longer" and the result is very similar to a fit kit!

For road bikes, I am a big advocate of Shimano 105. I think it is the "sweet spot" as far as quality vs cost goes. Shimano 105 has all the important features and is still a cheaper then Dura Ace or Ultegra. In the USA, one can get a 105 equipped bike with a sort of decent generic frame for about $1000 US.

In my poking around and looking at prices, it seems to me that made up bikes give you a pretty good deal on components.

I agree that fit is the most important thing to look for. Test ride as many bikes as you possibly can, in your price range there seem to be limitless options for you! Also, don't forget to check out Campy equiped bikes, their Velcoe and Mirage groups are great and don't get as much attention as they should. For 2004 the Veloce group will be 10sp now making it easy to upgrade parts in the future to higher end components. I wish I could suggest a bike shop in your area but I just don't know any out there, sorry!

Originally posted by BeardedMonk
Also,not being able to ride the bike beforehand may present some risk, as it may not be what I was expecting. Basically do you guys think it would be a good idea to order online individually if it were cheaper and I could customize to what I wanted exactly or is it a mistake for a first time buyer?

First off, I would never buy a bike that I couldn't ride first to check it out. Granted, a test ride of a few blocks or a few miles doesn't tell you much about how it's going to feel after 75-100 miles, but it's better than buying on faith alone. As for whether it's a good idea to buy parts online and go with a custom frame, well, the first point still applies (can't ride before you buy) but in addition to that you're likely to find that piecing something together via mail-order isn't usually the cheaper alternative and it can be a problem if one or more of your components don't fit or work well together.

Why were you steered down the custom path to start with -- are you oddly proportioned (unusually long or shorts legs, arms or torso)? If not, you can probably get the fit you need on a production bike -- a lot can be done with different stems (tweaking the reach and/or the elevation of the bars) and fore/aft positioning of the saddle (tweaking the effective seat tube angle). I wouldn't go custom unless you know you have specific fit issues, and how would you know that if you haven't yet put a lot of miles on a road bike? 170.00 CDN ($123.28 USD) sounds way overpriced for a fit IMO -- yeah, you get it back if you buy from the guy but you go through the frame builder he prefers and will probably pay somewhat of a premium just for that.