Road Cycling - Road bike

Well, my dad has finally managed to get me interested in road riding.

First of all I know I should go to a bike shop and have a tech(??) help me find a bike. But I wanted to get a general idea of what I should be looking for.

The bike will be used for commuting fairly long distances(to me atleast) maybe 20-30 miles on weekdays and 40-50 miles a day on weekends.

Im 5' 3 1/2" so I need a fairly small bike. 46-48cm?? Im not sure.
Edit: My summer job just picked up so my budget jumped up to $700-800

a few bikes I have been looking at are:

http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/road/1000.jsp

http://www.giant-bicycle.com/us/030.000.000/030.000.006.asp?
dealerid=&dealercountry=&lYear=2004&bikesection=8834&range=143&model=10770

http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/cusa/model-4RR4T.html

http://www.fujibikes.com/road/bike.asp?category_short_name=road&myArray=87,88,89,90,91,92,93,102,94,95,96,103,97,104,106,99,98,100,105,101,107,108,109,112,110,111,1 13,114&myArrayID=9&yr=2004

http://www.jamisbikes.com/bikes/04_ventura.html

I wouldn't leave the Trek 1200, Specialized Allez Sport, or the Felt F80 off that list.

thanks, ill add those

http://www.supergo.com/profile.cfm?LPROD_ID=24738&lsubcat_id=7619&lcat_id=7605&referpage=

http://www.supergo.com/profile.cfm?LPROD_ID=24371&lsubcat_id=7618&lcat_id=7605&referpage=

http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/road/1200.jsp

http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=5965&JServSessionIdroot=9nxndn0il2.j27003


I also found a K2 bike on sale at supergo which is good because I can go and have the tech help with the fit.

http://www.supergo.com/profile.cfm?LPROD_ID=24156&lsubcat_id=7619&lcat_id=7605&referpage=

Now you have to go ride all of them and start crossing them off!!

Try to find a 2003 model. You will save a lot of money and get almost exactly the same bike as a 2004.

I got a 2003 Allez Sport from Supergo for $500 2 weeks ago. :D

You should go check them out this weekend... no tax on everything in the store except for specialized. :( Maybe you'll see something you like. :)

Well, the bikes you picked were all inexpensive road bikes.

I do not know the circumstances of your commute. But many commuters favor bikes with big tires. Why would they do that? Well, commuters ride in heavy traffic and often in low light and often on crummy roads. It is nice to be riding a bike in those circumstances that can go through a nasty pot hole without trashing the wheels. Also bigger tires tends to give you a much better ride on rough pavement. I also think the bigger tires tend to be more flat resistant.

You might consider getting an inexpensive touring bike. Or you could just ride one of the bikes you are considering with the biggest tires you can fit on it.

I've seen the K2's in supergo. Not a bad first bike for the money.

I rode the fuji newest...not bad also LeMond makes a bike in your price range it is called the RENO. It is black with white and red logo's. I would stay away from the other bikes with sora components. When comparing the two my lbs offered up the RENO as a slightly better bike. Since it is your first bike I would go test ride all the bikes you can in your price range and buy locally. Maybe after you are in it for awhile and know your likes and dislikes you could purchase a bike off the web. Find a bike with the best fit and you can't go wrong. Another reason for not buying from the web just yet..Good luck!

Go with the K2. My wife has a Mod 3 and it is a great frame. It rides like steel. It does have carbon stays which might help.

do not buy any bike from those companies....you will regret it...
Colnago
Bianchi
Pinarello
Lightspeed
De Rosa
Cinelli

do not buy any bike from those companies....you will regret it...
Colnago
Bianchi
Pinarello
Lightspeed
De Rosa
Cinelli

Ok, so now tell him why....

do not buy any bike from those companies....you will regret it...
Colnago
Bianchi
Pinarello
Lightspeed
De Rosa
Cinelli

What part of $700 - $800 budget did I miss?

What part of $700 - $800 budget did I miss?
exactly!

Did i miss something?

[QUOTE=forum*rider]Well, my dad has finally managed to get me interested in road riding.

First of all I know I should go to a bike shop and have a tech(??) help me find a bike. But I wanted to get a general idea of what I should be looking for.

The bike will be used for commuting fairly long distances(to me atleast) maybe 20-30 miles on weekdays and 40-50 miles a day on weekends.

Im 5' 3 1/2" so I need a fairly small bike. 46-48cm?? Im not sure.
Edit: My summer job just picked up so my budget jumped up to $700-800
[QUOTE]

Make your dad happy >> ask for his advice!

[QUOTE=forum*rider]Well, my dad has finally managed to get me interested in road riding.

First of all I know I should go to a bike shop and have a tech(??) help me find a bike. But I wanted to get a general idea of what I should be looking for.

The bike will be used for commuting fairly long distances(to me atleast) maybe 20-30 miles on weekdays and 40-50 miles a day on weekends.

Im 5' 3 1/2" so I need a fairly small bike. 46-48cm?? Im not sure.
Edit: My summer job just picked up so my budget jumped up to $700-800
[QUOTE]

Make your dad happy >> ask for his advice!

A very good idea!!!

do not buy any bike from those companies....you will regret it...
Colnago
Bianchi
Pinarello
Lightspeed
De Rosa
Cinelli

I noticed you wrote all of these beautiful bikes down and then I seemed to remember that you posted a new trek on "what bike do you have". I guess it is nice to say something romantic and then go with the norm yourself, huh.

I've become quite the fan of Fuji bikes. Especially for smaller riders; those Japanese know something about smaller bikes, ya' think?

You mentioned that you are only 5' 3.5" tall. I don't see that you mentioned male or female nor age. Are you going to grow any more? If not, and at that height, you might consider the smaller Fuji framesets that use 650c wheels.

I bought a Fuji Roubaix Pro Women's model in 44cm for my daughter...great bike. It fits her very well once I traded out the 90mm stem for a 60mm (she's only 4'8" tall). I was able to pick it up for $900; couldn't beat that for a full Shimano 105 triple-crank bike. My wife is 5'2" and rides a 48cm Cannondale--it's really too big for her. She fits on the 44cm Fuji OK but would be best on the 46cm--which I'd buy if she rode more.

There are a whole bunch of issues that come up with shorter riders. You might want to check out the following threads over in the Women's Cycling Forum; they deal with beginning shorter rider needs:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=42951
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=49228

A very good idea!!!

lol , I have already asked him. But he hasn't been riding for about 25 years so his knowledge is a bit out of date. I guess I should add that hes looking for a new bike too.

Eurastas: I am a male 15 years old so Im betting ill grow a bit more.

sorry, I messed up and posted twice!

Oh...yes you'll grow. Or at least most teenagers I know do. How tall are your parents? In fact, if you're 15, you might be headed into a big growth-spurt. Then again, maybe not. I was done at 13 (5'10" ever since then). You might want to consider this before you fork out the big bucks for a bike that might only fit you for a year or two. Does your dad have one you can ride for a while? While I was a teenager, I rode a bike that was 2 inches too small then one that was 2 inches too big while I saved up my money to buy something decent in the proper size.

Just some thoughts...

I have an old Nishiki International i can ride around for a bit. Its too big but it will probably work.

FYI, my dad is 5' 10 and my mom is 5' 8".

I noticed you wrote all of these beautiful bikes down and then I seemed to remember that you posted a new trek on "what bike do you have". I guess it is nice to say something romantic and then go with the norm yourself, huh.

OK I do have a Trek its posted in te pics section, I do plan on buying a Bianchi or something havent made up my mind yet. I just find so many people with the Trek, Fuji, Giant .... that I regret buying my 5200. I guess I like to be unique. So ask yourself are you the kind of person that gets upset when you see someonme riding your bike? If yes get something different.

I have an old Nishiki International i can ride around for a bit. Its too big but it will probably work.

FYI, my dad is 5' 10 and my mom is 5' 8".


Well, if that's the case, I'd just ride the Nishiki, were it me. Otherwise you'll end up spending money that you'll just have to spend later anyway on something that fits you later. If I remember right, that International is a better bike than I had until I was a senior in high school and forked out the $1000 for a used Campy NR-equiped Colnago. Get some decent clothes, helmet, and shoes and ride the heck out of that bike.

At fifteen you'll be lucky to get 2 years out of it fit wise. If have something that will do wait. Or, spend as little as you can. I'll bet you end up closer to or past Dad in height. Another thought... get Dad a killer set up and take it over when you grow into it. LOL!

Why not buy an American made bike, like the Cannondale? Keep buying those Taiwanese frames, and you keep convincing US companies to take more and more jobs overseas.

OK I do have a Trek its posted in te pics section, I do plan on buying a Bianchi or something havent made up my mind yet. I just find so many people with the Trek, Fuji, Giant .... that I regret buying my 5200. I guess I like to be unique. So ask yourself are you the kind of person that gets upset when you see someonme riding your bike? If yes get something different.

So your saying not to buy a "regular" bike because they are not "unique". What a crock! The guy probably wants a bike that will perform well not get a few people to say, "You have a unique bike". Try giving some useful info next time.

The rider makes the bike unique.

Eurastus: I already have the helmet, shoes(eggbeater pedals), clothes and camelback. All I need is a road bike ;) .

FYI I found another bike, a bit closer to home. My uncle has an old bianchi that he said I could borrow. It has full campy except for brake calipers and levers. Im not sure of exact specs, I would need to go and have another look at the bike.

OK I do have a Trek its posted in te pics section, I do plan on buying a Bianchi or something havent made up my mind yet. I just find so many people with the Trek, Fuji, Giant .... that I regret buying my 5200. I guess I like to be unique. So ask yourself are you the kind of person that gets upset when you see someonme riding your bike? If yes get something different.

I guess I do so I wouldn't even think about buying a trek. I just got an amazing old Eddy Merckx frame from a friend. It is a steel lugged frame, about 20 years old and the paint is in great shape. Old campagnolo drops so I did what anybody would do with such a beautiful old frame- gave it a new life with 2004 Campy chorus. It is sweet, I'll post some pics on the other thread.

So your saying not to buy a "regular" bike because they are not "unique". What a crock! The guy probably wants a bike that will perform well not get a few people to say, "You have a unique bike". Try giving some useful info next time.

The rider makes the bike unique.

Im saying buy a bike that you like...some people dont care about being unique....they sort of like to follow the trend....its like comparing a HOnda to a Ferarri. Me, Im a Ferrari kinda guy (small di*k syndrome..you know) The guy with the conservative yet hot (in a subtle way)bike...its so hot that when I drop you , you will fizzle. But thats just me.

I don't care, I just want a bike.

So ask yourself are you the kind of person that gets upset when you see someonme riding your bike? If yes get something different.

I care more about how a bike feels to me than if someone else is riding the same brand. If a bike works for me, I wouldn't care if everyone else in the world rode it. Do you really care that much about what others thing of you?

Just ride your bike, man. :rolleyes:

Its hard not to have a bike that nobody else has. It doesnt seem to bother all the 5200 riders,all 1 million of them.

http://www.getawaybikes.com/Detail.cfm?Categoryid=33&BrandID=9&ProductID=1151&CFID=3742446&CFTOKEN=93991429#

how about the Tommaso AS1? If anyone has this bike or has ridden one please tell me what you think of it.

Ride quality? Quality?

)bike...its so hot that when I drop you , you will fizzle. But thats just me.

I promise, you will be the one who gets dropped.

I promise, you will be the one who gets dropped.

Thats funny....Really funny.

http://www.getawaybikes.com/Detail.cfm?Categoryid=33&BrandID=9&ProductID=1151&CFID=3742446&CFTOKEN=93991429#

how about the Tommaso AS1? If anyone has this bike or has ridden one please tell me what you think of it.

Ride quality? Quality?


^^^^^^^^
bump?

For the price, it's a good deal. Might also check out the Douglas Motiv over at Colorado Cyclist. Or the selection at www.bikesdirect.com - fairly standard frames, decent parts and good prices.

Another thought might be to buy a good used bike off Ebay - something that will hold a lot of it's value for at least 2 or 3 years. Then you can resell it and start over.

55/Rad

Thats funny....Really funny.

My Dad can beat up your dad....

Sell the 5200 if you don't like it - why did you buy it in the first place? Only somebody who rides very little wouldn't have known how commonplace they are.

Here's another idea - sand it down and paint it. That'll make it unique. Use a real heavy grit. Yea, that's the ticket.

55/Rad

God i hate the i'll drop you bullsh$t. Gee,will you. And?

IT'S A SHAME

that someone can come online and ask for legitimate help and it turns into some sort of Testosterone guy/guy thing. Why don't the EL MACHO types go the the racing forum or maybe Joe can start a "TESTOSTERONE" forum for you. But stick to the subject of helping this fine young man enjoy our passion!!

He started it! ;)

He started it! ;)
Dang, man!

He started it! ;)

Spoken like a true 5 year old, cheez!

I just looked at the Tommaso website, and it says the A1 comes with Tiagra derailleurs and shifters???

I e-mailed getawaybikes to find out if the description on the website is true or not.

I've bought stuff from Getaway. Good service and good prices.

55/Rad

thanks, from the letters on their site they seem like a great place to buy from.

Here's another idea - sand it down and paint it. That'll make it unique. Use a real heavy grit. Yea, that's the ticket.

55/Rad

thats actually a good idea. I think I might even use a power grinder.

Spoken like a true 5 year old, cheez!

Really? Maybe thats why I was kidding. Try growing a sense of humor.