Road Cycling - Decent Newbie Bike?

Saw this on Supergo's site:

http://www.supergo.com/profile.cfm?LPROD_ID=22269&hotdeal=true

Would this be a good beginner bike for the price?

http://www.supergo.com/product_images/medium/30-0610.jpg

Just starting out and hoping to begin to get back into shape. Mostly fitness and distance riding as opposed to racing, climbing, etc. 6'3" and 200 lbs with a 34" inseam.

Thx!

Sounds like a really cool bargain on that bike, though i aint sure about the pricing in the States. If you are beginner in biking with no experience in mountain biking, a roadie with triple crank is pretty useful, otherwise one with a double crank would suffice. I personally feel that if you're looking to get a workout on your new bike and don't emphasize much on speed, you might want to consider getting a CrMo frame. Not only it's cheaper than Al frames, it's much more comfortable riding on. Al frames are very stiff, and w/o front shocks installed, it might be a little too much for a beginner to handle imo.

The sizing for your frame would be around 22", center-to-center. A compact frame may be easier to handle. If possible, go to a local bike and ask for a recommendation, and test ride on a bike to see if you're comfortable with the sizing. My other recommendations include KHS 500, Cannondale Silk Road.

Well, the bike you showed has mainly Shimano 105 components. Shimano 105 is considered "entry level racing". That means that you have nearly all the performance possible out of a set of components. 105 wears well and lasts a long time and has fine performance.

I am not familiar with the frame and I could not tell if it was oversized, it probably is everyone has oversized tubes on AL frames these days to give the frame the necessary stiffness.

It is a very good buy. I know the shop near me, sells Giants equipped with Shimano 105 for about 40% more.

There is a very big advantage to going to a good local bike shop (LBS) and that is they will give you a bike that fits you properly. Even the world's best bike is no good if it does not fit. Bikes are like shoes that way. They have to fit.

Another thing an LBS will do for you is assemble the bike properly and after a few months, tighten up the stetched cables and so on.

A third advantage to using the LBS is that most let you take the bike out for a spin. So you can get a good idea of how the bike feels and handles.

And a fourth advantage to the LBS over mail order is that if something goes wrong, you go back and talk to a real person who now has to do something to fix it rather then trying to resolve the issue over e mails, phone, or snail mail.

Thanks! I have a Supergo nearby, so I'll head on over there this week to check it out in person. I read all the previous posts about Schwinn not being good after the buyout, but the price on this bike and with decent components is what got me looking. In the $5-600 arena is where I was hoping to get a bike.

I'll check out the KHS and Cannondale, too. No shortage of LBSs in Phoenix!