Road Cycling - Help a newbie out (long)...

Alright...please bear with me as i'm new to this and am shopping for a bike...probabally a road, but have a few questions...

First, I was an avid runner but foot and knee problems are forcing me to switch. I also suffer from acute scoliosis... will this be a problem for me? (I can run marathons...just worried that being hunched over a a road/race bike will incapacitate me.) never been much of a problem...I just slouch a tiny bit and sometimes extremely heavy lifting hurts me. Oh yeah...i'm about 5ft 10in and weigh habout 160 (currently 10 lbs overweight for me)... I think I'd like to do some local competitions somewhere down the road, and money is a factor...

1)so first, does anybody out there with slight back problems have any suggestions/comments. Would a hybrid be better??

2)As far as road bikes go, here is what I'm considering
Cannondale R1000/ anything with the optimo si frame
Trek 2100/2200
Giant Ocr 1

What are peoples opinions on these?Any others I should consider? Is this overkill for a new rider? Again, price is a big factor. I'm a broke college student so I can probably afford to invest in only one bike and its probably cheaper just to pay up front for the nice stuff instead of upgrading later.

3) What are the most important factors when considering a bike in order (frame, fork derailer, wheels/tires etc...) in order? How do I judge what "feels right" when I'm test riding? Any other things I should consider??

Thanks in advance and sorry this was so darn long!

1)so first, does anybody out there with slight back problems have any suggestions/comments. Would a hybrid be better??

2)As far as road bikes go, here is what I'm considering
Cannondale R1000/ anything with the optimo si frame
Trek 2100/2200
Giant Ocr 1

What are peoples opinions on these?Any others I should consider? Is this overkill for a new rider? Again, price is a big factor. I'm a broke college student so I can probably afford to invest in only one bike and its probably cheaper just to pay up front for the nice stuff instead of upgrading later.

Fit is everything. Have you had a chance to test ride the above two bikes? I think by doing a bunch of testrides, you will have answered the above two questions. Especially in your case, I would test out as many bikes as possible and then pick from the ones that were most comfortable. I don't think any of those bikes are overkill. They're midrange performance road bikes which is a really safe entry point if you know that you want to get into road biking otherwise they can be viewed as too substantial investment. To prevent such a thing from happening, you will want to try out different bikes of different genres. Try out a hybrid and maybe even a comfort bike just so you've given yourself a chance to see how they feel.



3) What are the most important factors when considering a bike in order (frame, fork derailer, wheels/tires etc...) in order? How do I judge what "feels right" when I'm test riding? Any other things I should consider??

Fit... fit... fit. And then when you've nailed that one down, concentrate on the fit. :) Seriously, get yourself to a few reputable bikeshops and have them size you up for some bikes. This will somewhat determine geometry. The next factour would be ride comfort and then performance. Assuming the fit is taken care of, the ride comfort will be largely governed by frame/fork geometry and material coupled with wheels. Some people prefer a stiffer harsher ride and others want a barcolounger feel. Others try to tune the ride feel by selecting a contrasting mixture of frame and wheels. For instance, some want a stiff set of wheels for hard sprinting but go with a more compliant frame to smooth things out over the long haul. Performance will be largely determined by wheels and drivetrain... assuming the frame is adequately fitted to you. Drivetrain suitability and usability will be governed by level of componentry. Road bikes with Shimano 105 level components tend to offer the best bang for the buck. There are of course other factours to consider including weight and of course looks but those should really be secondary to fit and feel. And of course the best way to determine that is to try and ride some bikes. It's like trying on shoes. And speaking of shoes, remember to leave room in your budget for accessories such as helmet, gloves, shoes, apparel, pump, mini-toolkit, bottles and cages, etc... While they're not all necessary they are recommended and nice to have. And usually bikeshops will cut you a 20% discount if you buy them at the same time as you buy the bike.



Thanks in advance and sorry this was so darn long!

No need to apologise for writing long posts. Obviously you've not read many of mine. :)

First, I was an avid runner but foot and knee problems are forcing me to switch. I also suffer from acute scoliosis... will this be a problem for me? (I can run marathons...just worried that being hunched over a a road/race bike will incapacitate me.)

another option might be to rent a bike for a while and see if your back bothers you. i would hate to see you drop a lot of money only to find out your back won't allow you to ride comfortably. i don't have any experince with scoliosis and my feeling is that it shouldn't be a problem (your not really supporting weight on the bike), but you might want to check into that.

Barrow a road bike from someone and ride it for 30 minutes and see if you could stand the position for some time. Then like the other postings stated ride all sorts of bike's to find out what feels right for you.
If you go the road route then you might consider the height position of the bar, because a lot of road bikes handle bar tends to sit low and you might not like that due to your back. But you could change out the stem to one that will place you higher, and that will depend on your choice of how high it should be if it is to be comfortable on your behalf.

I know people who have back problems who are able to ride road bikes with no problem. However, back problems would seem to me to be awful singular. I had a slight back injury once and most of the time I was just fine and then if I moved just so ....... POW!!! With that experience, I would suggest you do a few rentals or borrow a bike and try a few rides.

Of course, if you are pretty well off, you can just take the plunge. A couple of grand is not that big a thing to drop for many people if it means they can stay in shape.

If you do get a bike, as suggested above, be sure to get a good fit.

Now, another way to go if you have really bad back problems is the recumbant. I have friends with pretty bad back problems that make upright bikes a bit problematic but recumbants are fine.

If you surf the recumbent forums a bit you will find many people that ride them because of back problems, some recumbents are pretty fast if thats your thing, but if you wish to compete down the track you will probally have to stick with road bikes.
From personal experience fit is critical for knee problems especially seat height, start of keeping the gears low and spin until your legs adapt then start loading up as feels comfortable.
Good Luck

thanks for all the info guys. just borrowed a friends bike and took it out for 40 minutes and felt fine. Going to try out the cannondale and trek later this week (maybe today). What exactly should I be looking for in fit other than comfort?

thanks for all the info guys. just borrowed a friends bike and took it out for 40 minutes and felt fine. Going to try out the cannondale and trek later this week (maybe today). What exactly should I be looking for in fit other than comfort?

Top-tube length is probably the most important measurement assuming standover is within reason. You can only do so much with stem length to get the proper reach before making the bike handle oddly. Whatever, you do, don't try to compensate for reach with saddle fore/aft adjustment. That should be reserved for proper leg positioning. The other thing you might want to pay attention to is seat-tube and headtube angles. Too steep and you will be placed in too upright and forward a position that while good for time trials and triathlons might not be very comfortable or lend itself to decent handling on longer rides. Listen to your body too. If the ride is too harsh then you will want to pick a bike with a more compliant frame or wheelset. If things feel noodlely then head for the opposite direction. If the bike is too whippy then look for one with a longer wheelbase (longer chainstay, more fork rake) but if the bike feels like you could polish off War and Peace while attempting to turn a corner then look for one with a shorter wheelbase. Try and test ride bikes of distinctly different geometries. For instance, if you try out a racebike then also try out a touring bike. Some bikes are deceptive looking. For instance, the new Specialized Roubaix may at first scream "race-bike" given its all-carbon construction and aggressive looks but if you pay close attention, you'll notice things like the increased headtube height which is designed to bring the handlebars closer to the saddle position thus betraying its more all-day riding and more "century-bike" nature. Good luck on your search and keep us posted on what you find. Of course, in the end, you are obligated to post a picture of your new ride. :)

1)so first, does anybody out there with slight back problems have any suggestions/comments

I don't have back problems, but I have heard that beam bikes really help folks with back trouble. I ride a Softride and certainly experience a lot less jolting and jarring at the saddle. Softrides are currently not legal for UCI racing but are legal for all USCF and USAC events.

I have some back problems (slight scoliosis, etc.) but I don't have much back pain and riding doesn't cause any further pain. Plus, I have an aluminum frame (stiff) triathlon bike, so I'm over my aero bars quite a bit. If cycling was going to cause me to have back pain, my bike would do it. Hopefully, you'll have similar results. Getting a more forgiving road bike should help. Good luck.