Southern California - Looking for an affordable entry level road bike

I'm looking to get back into cycling...does anyone know of a shop that might have an entry level road bike for around $500? I think this is the time of year when the closeouts start showing up.

I can travel to OC/IE/LA county.

check out a place called "A road bike 4 you"...

http://www.aroadbike4u.com/

Or Craigslist.com

a decent sub 700$ bike is hard to come by these days. You can definitely find some deals but make sure you are getting a bike that fits and is one that you want. Don't just get one because its cheap and you want to save 200$ here or there. I have found that if you get the bike you are psyched about you will be more likely to ride it. And don't forget to budget for shoes/pedals/shorts/helmet/and maybe a jersey/pump and emergency kit. All things that are worth it. Good luck.

I bought a 2007 Schwinn Le Tour GS at Performance Bike Shop earlier this year. Got about 1,400 miles on it so far and am happy with its performance so far. CF fork, aluminum frame, Sora brifters, Tiagra RD and sub-Sora FD (I swapped that with a Sora FD), 8 speed triple, decent wheels and tires and even a pretty nice saddle for $500. I plan to upgrade within the next year and use this one as a commuter but it is definately a decent road bike for the price.

One note about PBS, their prices change constantly so patience helps. It isn't unusual for the price of even a lower level bike to fluctuate $100 up or down in a week. And they have some really crazy deals from time to time. Bought my wife a $1,500 Fuji for $810 Memorial Day weekend. They honor their online prices in the store so if you see a better price online, print it and take it in. And they will ship to store for free so if there is an online sale (there was a 15% off including bikes recently) you can order online, have it shipped to the nearest store, they will assemble it and you still get lifetime adjustments. And pay the $25 for the club and you get 10% back in merchandise on all purchases.

I know PBS isn't a "real" LBS but I've had good luck with the mechanics at ours and they've treated us well (even upgraded my wife's FD from 105 to Ultegra at no charge when they couldn't get it adjusted to please her).

the purists on here will scoff at these off brands HOWEVER i've had great luck with them.

have owned two motobecane's over the past 5 years and still have (and ride) both.

here's one example for $569 - then you have your LBS put it together for about $30 or so.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/motobecane_record09.htm

good luck!

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/images/record_08_500.jpg

IMHO the "purists" on here can suck one...people gotta start somewhere. I for one know that I would never dump thousands of dollars on a bike that I'm not even sure I'm going to ride all the time. I would rather (and I did) pick up a hand me down bike or something cheap until I could settle in and see if that's even something I want to do, THEN spend the money on a good bike. I'll be the first to admit I looked HARD on bikesdirect before I made my purchase, they had a lot of stuff in there with quality components for very nice prices. Don't think for one second that you're buying a lesser value bike than all the high dollar stuff...if it fits you and it's what you want, then get what you can afford.

I'm looking to get back into cycling...does anyone know of a shop that might have an entry level road bike for around $500? I think this is the time of year when the closeouts start showing up.

I can travel to OC/IE/LA county.

The shop next to Performance in Fountain Valley had a big selection of Motobecane bikes when I was in there about a year ago. Have been in lately but maybe they still do. Give them a call, they looked like sweet bikes for the dough!

Discovery Bikes ( I believe is the name of the shop)

I would not want to send anyone to BD for the first bike... They should buy the first one at a shop where they will take the time to get you onto several bikes in their price range... Simple things like seat height and stem replacement are quickly handled and you should spend a couple hours having things adjusted to get it feeling just right.

Then decide on the right bike...

and then you learn about measurements and you can pick up a trophy bike later on...

I would not want to send anyone to BD for the first bike... They should buy the first one at a shop where they will take the time to get you onto several bikes in their price range... Simple things like seat height and stem replacement are quickly handled and you should spend a couple hours having things adjusted to get it feeling just right.

Then decide on the right bike...

and then you learn about measurements and you can pick up a trophy bike later on...

I've been thinking of doing something similar, but from what I can tell the LBS in my area don't have the greatest used selection.

My goal is to get a hand me down but one where the frame is decent enough (and, of course, fits me well) that even after I get a road/touring trophy rig, I could upgrade some of the components to make a worthy commuter out of it.

That said, with my LBS not providing a lot of that (Going cheap seems to be just that, not a lot of fixer types), I'm not exactly where to turn to. I've hit up CList and ebay as much as I can, but as you noted, the lack of sizing knowledge is hurting. I have a thread somewhere in Commuter addressing this, but thought this may be a good place to get a few not-so-local bike shops I could hit up.

With that all in mind, I may end up buying a bike rack before ever buying a bike, funny enough.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=5820&subcategory_ID=3040