Road Cycling - Good First Bike??

Hi, I'm very new to road biking, and I was wondering what a good first bike would be. I was thinking of mountain biking, then realized that there was nowhere to mountain bike near where I live, but there are great roads. I also run long distances (up to 70 miles a week). My budget is around $500, but I could go higher if I needed to. BTW I've biked before, just not seriously (with a cheapo bike just with friends).

Hi, I'm very new to road biking, and I was wondering what a good first bike would be. I was thinking of mountain biking, then realized that there was nowhere to mountain bike near where I live, but there are great roads. I also run long distances (up to 70 miles a week). My budget is around $500, but I could go higher if I needed to. BTW I've biked before, just not seriously (with a cheapo bike just with friends).

i bought a specialized allez triple (new) at the beginning of the summer. i have ridden specialized mountain bikes for six or seven years and they have always been very reliable. The only downside about the bike is that the components(sora) aren't great. The only noticable thing about them is sort of sloppy shifting on the front chainring, but the back is fine. other than that, the bike has been wonderful and kept me extremely happy. for a little less, you should also look at entry level giant bikes. you could also get a little more bang for your buck by looking for a used bike, too. you could look at somewhere like ebay or at your local bike shop, but make sure to go by your lbs first and figure out what size frame you need. Also, it may be worthwhile to try and stick with brands (especially components- ex. shimano or campy) that your local bike shop carries. hope i could help, good luck

What really is the difference between "good" components and bad components? I'm sort of a noob to this, wondering how one bike can be 2-4 grand while another is a couple hundred. Is it that much better to be worth the price?

What really is the difference between "good" components and bad components? I'm sort of a noob to this, wondering how one bike can be 2-4 grand while another is a couple hundred. Is it that much better to be worth the price?

Just like anything else, there's a price/performance curve. For a while you get a pretty linear increase in performance with increases in price but you reach a point where you are only getting minor improvements in performance at radically increased prices. Higher end components run more smoothly, weigh less and, to a point, last longer. (Absolute top of the line components might sacrifice some durability for weight savings.) Better frames tend to weigh less and make fewer sacrifices in ride quality.

There seems to be a real sweet spot in the $1200-$1500 range. You get most of the performance of higher end bikes without paying the premiums they command. That being said, there are values to be had at much less and if you are putting in enough miles and/or competing seriously, spending several thousand dollars might make sense as well.

You can do well at the $600 price point, but if you start to put in a lot of miles, it's not unlikely you'll want something better later. You might wish you had just spent more in the first place. OTOH, it doesn't feel as bad having a $600 garage ornament as it does a $1200 one if you don't end up riding.

I recently got into cycling with my 12 year old son and bought two entry level bikes, a Fuji Finest AL and an Iron Horse Triumph. Both bikes are similarly equipted with Sora components and they work just fine. Since starting out cycling we have both gotten totally bitten by the cycling bug and ride around 100+ miles a week and will begin racing soon. At this time I kinda wished that I had gotten bikes with better components but I wasn't willing to pay a lot of money for a hobby I wasn't sure that either one of us was going to continue doing. I have no complaints about the bikes or the components except to say that upgrading from Sora is a pain since it only has 8 speeds which means I have to replace shifters, derailers, and cassettes just to switch to the next group of components. Upgrading wouldn't be such a problem with the Tiagra or above components since they are all interchangable, meaning I could get away with just replacing one piece at a time rather than everything at once. This ends up being a little pricey and since we are getting into racing the gears need to be changed but oh well, I'm happy just to be out riding.

:)

Hi, I'm very new to road biking, and I was wondering what a good first bike would be. I was thinking of mountain biking, then realized that there was nowhere to mountain bike near where I live, but there are great roads. I also run long distances (up to 70 miles a week). My budget is around $500, but I could go higher if I needed to. BTW I've biked before, just not seriously (with a cheapo bike just with friends).

With your athletic background I'd recommend a road bike that has at least a 9-speed rear cassette. That way, if you decide to upgrade, you can replace the parts one-at-a time as they wear out. Try to find a shop that will take as much time fitting you for your bike as you take for fitting your running shoes. If you get the fit right, none of that other stuff really matters.

If you run 70 miles a week, you're not likely to be satisfied with anything but a real road bike. It'll help you to keep up your aerobic conditioning without beating up your hips, knees and ankles.