Road Cycling - Costs of Starting Out

I was wondering all the cost of starting out. I am a mountain biking just for the thrill and being with other people. I would like to be competitive on road bike beause it more my style. What would be all the costs and what do I need to get. If you can tell me in Canadian dollar it would be great. As I live in Western Canada.

There is a VERY wide range, a low end road bike starts off around $500 and go up from there. It all depends what you want.

I want a bike to be competitive with. The things is I will go into the shp to and ask but I could use a rough estimate. That includes shoes, helmet I got. Tirest rims etc. I just need to know about how much money I need to save up to have a bike that I can use for competitions. I want a bike that will last me since I mostly finished growing.

When you say competitive, that can mean many things. Do you want to go on fast group rides, or ride in a particular sort of race, like Time trials?

I want to race. If it in a team or a time trial. I want to mostly race agaist other riders in a race. Races is where all that training pays off is what I feel.

The ideal thing would be to find a good bike used. If you're not living near a shop that sells a lot of road bikes that can be tough. A Canadian brand will give you more bang for your buck, I would think.
Do you know what races are held in your area, what type of event they are?

We have every kind of race if I am not mistaken. I know a good shop that will set me up on the trainier and get the perfect bike for me. What do you think would be total cost for all my gear. What should I buy what shouldn't I buy.

Well if you are talking about racing, the cheapest bike that is suitable would be one equipped with Shimano 105. Around here you can get a Giant equipped 105 bike for about $1000 US. Of course, then you need pedals and shoes too so that is another $200. And you need bottle cages, tools, a pack, things add up.

By the way, I would caution you about racing.

In some sports, entering races is pretty user friendly. We have a bunch of 5 K runs here locally with people entering them you walk the whole course. If you can sort of run, you end up pretty far along in the front and that feels great.

Our local cycling races are a whole other deal. Cycling races have limited fields. They are run at very high speeds 25-35 mph and that is at the lowest levels. The cyclists are experienced in road handling. And the races, even minor local races attract some of the best cyclists from the whole state. So in order to compete successfully, even at the lowest level, you have to be very fit, good at handling your bike, have a firm knowledge of race tactics and you need some physical talent. These are not casual things.

Shoot even the local club rides at the "A" level well beyond the fit neophyte cyclist. It takes most of them a couple of years of riding to get into that level and that is only if they are willing to commit to getting into very good shape. Racing is a good couple of notches above club rides even at the entry level.

I am not saying this to discourage you. I just want to caution you that bicycle racing is serious stuff and one needs to make a very serious committment to it to even participate competently.

All I can say is talk to alot of people and do some research online... I made a small mistake on getting .... maybe the wrong bike and I wanted to do the same as you.

just dont factor in the Bike factor in the other items as well..... for exapmle I just laid out 400$ on shoes and pedals!!! :eek:

for a raceable entry-level bike, you're looking at something with shimano 105 components. that means something like a specialized allez elite or a trek 2200 or a klein aura X, or whatever. these are all in the C$1800-C$2000 range.

so, you bill will look like this...

bike: $1900
pedals: $120
shoes: $150
shorts: $75
jersey: $75
gloves: $25
helmet: $75

i'm assuming that your bike shop will cut you some slack on purchases along with the bike [like pedals, shoes, etc.], most do. your total costr comes to...

$2420. i jave no idea how much provincial tax is in your area, but in the unlikely eent that you pay only gst, the after tax total comes to C$2613.60.

I don't pay provincial tax because I am in Alberta plus I understand competition and I am will to do all the work I need to get to that level. Training seven days a week maybe what I will have to do. I been reading alot of articles about training. Any one know any good ones about tactics?

train six days a week, not seven. training doesn't make you stronger, resting after training makes you stronger...

as for tactics, you should just ride with a hard-riding, hard-training group. join a club that races, and go on their training rides. if you're young, they might have a junior team. that's how you learn.

cycling is an oral culture.

Get on eBay and see what it costs. You can start out at about 1/2 what it will cost in your LBS if you find something you like on eBay. Same is true for shoes, jerseys, and all the other kit you will need. I am getting ready to buy my first non-eBay bike next week. Just because I want something I will never find on eBay. But if you are just starting out you can find some really great bikes on eBay. I have bought and sold a couple of dozen over the last ten years and have always been happy that I did. Especially when I go into my LBS and see what they charge. Good luck and have fun! The road is where its at.

In addition to the advice here I hope you're considering joining a club. You'll learn a lot from club rides and interaction with other riders. You'll also likely see good values on used equipment as the annual upgrader-types need to liquidate slightly used equipment.

As well it's common for one shop to sponsor a club giving you good discounts on stuff. Heck, if you're fast enough you may find yourself grabbed up by a sponsored local team.

I would rather buy from my bike shop. I have always been very happy with them plus they will services it for my free for the first year. Yes I have been looking into a club I think I may of found one but I will first go into the bike shop and ask around. How do you think I should Train 6 days of the week. What days easy sprits etc. Also why. I know Monday would be easy most likly. :D

Ebay for the clothes, pedals, even shoes if you know your size, etc. Most are half off what you would pay in your LBS some things even more. Helps when you are starting out. The bike yes buy from your LBS. That way you get a receipt so if something happens like a crack you are all warrantied.

How do you think I should Train 6 days of the week. What days easy sprits etc. Also why. I know Monday would be easy most likly. :D

Don't listen to any one training suggestion. You need to adapt to your own needs. A great place to start is to go to the bookstore and buy Chris Carmichael's The Ultimate Ride.

Amazon link for reference:

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0399150714/701-5165371-6241100

There are other training books too but that's the most popular right now, I think. It's not a bad book but it's not great either... I'd buy it through Amazon.ca since IMO, the book isn't worth full retail.

Pick up a few other books (like Greg LeMond's book, if it's still in print) and absorb that into what you get from the CC book.

Hopefully you can find a club with a coach as well.

Don't listen to people who tell you that you need a $2000 bike to race. You don't. I and others did very well on a $700 frame. Remember, Lance could destroy us all with a Wal-Mart huffy.

Don't go overboard on getting super-light stuff. Rather concentrate on losing weight.

Have fun.

Try using the Search function and some of the other Topic areas. For example, there is Topic section on Training & Nutrition.

Hi,
Koffee wrote this the other day, and it's great advice. You will need to learn what base training, and periodisation, and VO2 Max, etc, means. But it's a start.....

"Actually, the idea of base training comes from periodization training, which was largely developed in part by a (great) man, Tudor O. Bompa, PhD. He is regarded as the person who revamped the training regime of many athletes.

Prior to Bompa, the idea of training was all out power, with little or no recovery time. This antiquated idea is still maintained worldwide by many recreational athletes, and (to a lot of shock) some professional athletes, although in the professional world, periodization is becoming more and more popular as the less successful athletes see the more professional and successful athletes using periodization training principles to hone and develop themselves into winning more and more often. Bompa was an athlete himself, and developed what he considered a superior training program, and using that program, he kicked major butt. When he moved into training, he continued to train his professional clients, and as his clients began winning, people began observing Bompa's success and his formula for training and replicating it with their own athletes. Sometime in the 1960's, he began training with athletes from Eastern Europe, which led to dominance of Eastern European athletes. Bompa finally took mercy on the Western world and moved his training program to our hemisphere, and mercifully, we also began developing our athletes so that they could also rise to dominance in the sport. Today, Dr. Bompa continues to lecture and teach in Canada, and if you went to every coach with successful athletes and asked them how they trained them, they'll tell you it was a periodization program, and if they ask who was the person who most influenced them with periodization program, at least 95% of them would (IMHO) say Dr. Bompa. Here's some sites about Bompa- everyone ought to have at least one of their books in their libraries if they're training!
http://www.tudorbompa.com/main.htm

http://www.t-mag.com/articles/202bompa.html

http://www.exrx.net/Store/HK/Period...iningSport.html

If anyone knows Barb Lindquist (http://www.barblindquist.com/), she is the current number one triathlete in the world. She's held that title for the last two years, having just been named number one for 2003 after she won all 5 Accenture triathlons in 2003. When she won Mrs. T's in Chicago this year, she said that she doesn't train harder since she's getting older and a little slower with her times, she just trains smarter- she does a smart periodization program, and this works for her, and as a result, she's developed into one of the greatest athletes of all time (in my opinion, that is). I actually consider her a much better athlete than Lance Armstrong- she competes much more than Lance and wins more often.

Another person using periodization training is Lance- working with Chris Carmichael, he's developed himself into a highly successful athlete. All of us who read his first book remember when he talked about his all out training routine before meeting Carmichael. I doubt that he would be as successful today if he hadn't brought Carmichael onto his team and developed a superior periodization program. Notice how a lot of cyclists, both professional and recreational are now mimicking Lance's program for themselves and are seeing gains in strength, power, and endurance, and (hopefully) winning more races.

Another great athlete, Steve Prefontaine, utilized periodization, but only after he failed to medal at the Munich games in 1972. He failed to pace himself and conked in the final meters, ending with a 4th place finish. The Europeans were all over him at this point, having trained with periodization methodolgies, and at that point, Prefontaine got a new coach and a new training program. We don't know how far he could have gone, as he died before he could compete at the next Olympics, but his records in some events still hold today, over 20 years later. Prefontaine was always a superior athlete, but his all out training methods kept him from attaining an Olympic medal, and after modifying his training program, many believe he would have medalled at the next Olympics, and even at subsequent Olympics, when he would have been well into his 30s. Here's a good one about Prefontaine: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/6/6_1/240.shtml

Knocking the importance of base training is a mistake made by many who have little or no reverence, respect or understanding of it's principals. To understand it is to know how to train to the highest levels, and that includes knowing how long to base train. For the fittest athletes, this will not be very long in base training, but for the less conditioned athlete, or for the athlete who's overtrained, base is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of periodizaton. Still, even then, in order to determine the length of your training, you will need to be tested for lactic acid clearance and formation during training, max hr, VO2 max, and anaerobic threshold, and at the very least, determine what your anaerobic threshold is at the conclusion of your training season. From this, one can determine how long to stay in base before incorporating other branches of the periodization training into your training program.

Koffee
(ever-toting periodization fanatic)"

....Hi, me again, I like this book, and the logbook that goes with it. It does not cover periodisation, which is crucial. But it has a lot of great workouts.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1931382042/qid=1065993497/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-6161973-0642423?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

bear in mind that he was asking about canadian prices. $2000 canadian = $1500 us. a reasonably serious new race rig is going to cost $1200-$1500 us. sure, you can roll to the start line on a $600 bike, but it will be a disadvantange.

If you already have MTB kit, helmet, shoes, gloves, shorts, jersey, then you dopnt need to get another set for the road at the start. MTB pedals are fine on road bikes.

MTB pedals are fine on road bikes.
not if you're racing. it's virtually impossible to crank down the tension on mtb pedals so that you don't pull out in a sprint.

not if you're racing. it's virtually impossible to crank down the tension on mtb pedals so that you don't pull out in a sprint.

Is that why cx riders use Time Attac rather than SPDs. Ive seen some really aggressive sprinting in cx, and they seem to cope well enough using Time MTB pedals.
Still, if you are starting out on a budget and riding time trials rather than a do-or-die sprint, its a useful way to save $100+

i use atacs because spds quickly become gobbed with mud in a 'cross race -- so do atacs, but they shed much more easily. atacs do hold better than spds on most tension adjustmnets, though not as well as cranked-down look pedals.

you could, of course, go with atacs on your road bike -- a friend of mine races duathlons with them. but that would mean getting another pair for your mtb, or swapping pedals between and risk stripping crank threads, or getting a second pair of shoes with atac cleats. not a whole lot of economy in that...