Road Cycling - Looking for an entry-level road bike...

Hi, i've been riding around town on a "youth" mountain bike for a while now. One day my tires were out so I had to use my mom's old Gitane Sport Deluxe road bike from the seventies. I didn't think i'd like it, but I fell in love. Now that I love the road bike style I'm ready to buy a new one of my own. I'm looking for a entry-level road bike $600 or under. So far I've seen the Giant OCR3, Trek 1000, and the Fuji Ace. Are there any others that surpass these? If so, which ones? How much of an improvement will they be over my mom's bike? I really don't know much about bikes, or road bikes for that matter, so I'm not sure which one to get. The only thing I'm worried about right now are gears. I don't think that the gears go low enough on my mom's bike beacuse I have more trouble going up hills (but I do love holding inbetween the handlebars) I know road bikes are meant for speed, and usings lower gears isn't speedy. My mom's only has 10 gears. Some of these ones I'm looking at only have 8 (the Fuji has 24)and I'm wondering will it be easier to go up hills than on my mom's bike? As easy as my mountain bike?

Thanks a lot if you can help!

Also try the Raleigh Sport.

If you like mail order bikes direct have bikes including shipping for Starting from $325

looky here (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=69273&highlight=700)

I like the trek... almost bought one...

Otherwise look around, lots of bikes in your money frame...

24 speed is plenty.

Don't spend too much money -or- boost your budget to over $1000. I'm partial to steel bikes. Fuji sells steel as does Jamis. My recommendation is buy the cheapest steel bike you can find. One of two things will happen, you'll decide you don't really like roadbiking or you'll love it so much that you'll start saving as much as possible and want to spend upwards of $2000 on your next bike.

Find the thread "bikes under $700".

And remember this... the most important aspect of a bike is if it fits you. Are you comfortable on it. Try to test ride the bikes for at least an hour each.

There's a buttload to learn and it's tons of fun.

with only a $600 budget the best thing you can do is get a used bike out of the paper or craigslist or eBay or something.

go test ride some bikes at your Local Bike Shop (LBS) and find out for sure what size you are. take note of whether the size (in centimeters) is center to center or center to top because some companies measure each way.

then shop used and look for the following three things:
1) a bike that's not an aluminum frame - look for either steel or alum with carbon in the front and rear. steel is way more comfortable for longer rides - if you're young like teens or early twenties it probably won't hurt you as much to get a cheap alum frame but still...

2) a bike that has integrated shift levers (you'll learn what these are during your test rides). try to get Shimano 105, or Tiagra; or Campangnolo Veloce. avoid Shimano Sora.

3) if you live someplace hilly look for three chainrings in the front crank area. if you don't have problems with the hills on your old beater bike then just a double chainring will do.

this bike is for a short girl (5'2 or so), but it's exactly the kind of bike and price you're looking for:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=7298&item=7106500440&rd=1

when you find something come back here and link us to it and we'll vote it up or down.

good luck and happy hunting - remember to go find out your size at an LBS first. the only bikes you can afford to buy new are way way worse than the one i linked though so you'll find that your money will go farther if you educate yourself and shop used. we can help to make sure you don't make a mistake. if you shop on eBay make sure the seller has a lot of positive feedbacks and no negative feedback.

My Giant small frame fit so well if it could cook I would marry it. Never a moments trouble in the last year and 2000 miles.

Hi, i've been riding around town on a "youth" mountain bike for a while now. One day my tires were out so I had to use my mom's old Gitane Sport Deluxe road bike from the seventies. I didn't think i'd like it, but I fell in love. Now that I love the road bike style I'm ready to buy a new one of my own. I'm looking for a entry-level road bike $600 or under. So far I've seen the Giant OCR3, Trek 1000, and the Fuji Ace. Are there any others that surpass these? If so, which ones? How much of an improvement will they be over my mom's bike? I really don't know much about bikes, or road bikes for that matter, so I'm not sure which one to get. The only thing I'm worried about right now are gears. I don't think that the gears go low enough on my mom's bike beacuse I have more trouble going up hills (but I do love holding inbetween the handlebars) I know road bikes are meant for speed, and usings lower gears isn't speedy. My mom's only has 10 gears. Some of these ones I'm looking at only have 8 (the Fuji has 24)and I'm wondering will it be easier to go up hills than on my mom's bike? As easy as my mountain bike?

Thanks a lot if you can help!

New entry level road bikes like the ones you mention usually have triple cranks, so they will have gears that are lower than your mother's Gitane, but not quite as low as a typical mountain bike. Most (but not all) people find that standard road triple gearing is low enough to get up most hills without too much trouble. Don't get confused about 8 speed vs. 24 speed in bike specs. One refers to the number of gears in the rear cassette (8) and the other refers to the total number of gear combinations with the rear cassette and the triple chainrings (8x3=24). Pretty much all of the entry level road bikes use Shimano Sora 8 speed components so they will all have 24 speeds if they have a triple.

As for how much of an improvement a new bike would be, besides lower gears you will have easier, smoother shifting and assuming you buy from a good bike shop, a proper fit, which is probably the most imperant thing of all. The new bike will also probably be a good deal lighter, as 70's Gitanes often had heavy components and steel rims unless they were higher end models.

Hi, I just got my Giant OCR3 couple of days ago. Scored a killer deal as they were clearing out the 2004s so I got it for $400, the light blue color leaves a lot to be desired but for $400 that couldn't be beat. This is my first road bike and I love it, I can see why people are complaining about the sora shifters but it works good enough for me. Some of the roads in hawaii really suck and you can definitely feel it, but riding on a road bike has been an awesome experience so far. I checked four or so shops before I found this deal so I would definitely take a look at all the bike shops.

Hi, i've been riding around town on a "youth" mountain bike for a while now. One day my tires were out so I had to use my mom's old Gitane Sport Deluxe road bike from the seventies. I didn't think i'd like it, but I fell in love. Now that I love the road bike style I'm ready to buy a new one of my own. I'm looking for a entry-level road bike $600 or under. So far I've seen the Giant OCR3, Trek 1000, and the Fuji Ace. Are there any others that surpass these? If so, which ones? How much of an improvement will they be over my mom's bike? I really don't know much about bikes, or road bikes for that matter, so I'm not sure which one to get. The only thing I'm worried about right now are gears. I don't think that the gears go low enough on my mom's bike beacuse I have more trouble going up hills (but I do love holding inbetween the handlebars) I know road bikes are meant for speed, and usings lower gears isn't speedy. My mom's only has 10 gears. Some of these ones I'm looking at only have 8 (the Fuji has 24)and I'm wondering will it be easier to go up hills than on my mom's bike? As easy as my mountain bike?

Thanks a lot if you can help!

http://www.roadbikereview.com

Hey, thanks for all the help! I didn't know you could get road bikes for under $500 new until I found out about the fujis that get pretty good reviews. I didn't WANT to spend $600 so finding an 04 Fuji League at my local bike shop's website was awesome. I went there today and found that they were done with the 04's and had just got the 05's in which cost $50 more, but still an awesome deal. The 05's they had were too small for me, so they're buidling one that'll fit me which I can try out tomorrow. I tried the smaller ones and liked them even though they were too small. The Gitane must have been REALLY small. The people at the shop were really nice about fitting and all my questions. Hopefully I'll pick up the '05 model tomorrow. What do you guys think?

I bought a new "entry level" bike this past August after riding my 25+ year old road bike for a couple months. Picked up a LeMond Big Sky S for $599. It was the end of the year, the bike shop was waiting on the 2005's and were trying to make room. Absolutely love it. The only problem I had with it was the seat hurt my soft butt. So I opted for a different seat after a couple weeks. Wouldn't go back for anything.

Hi, I just got a Fuji Ace. It really has worked out well for me. I looked at all 3 of those bikes and got the Fuji. Im probably going to save my money and get a much nicer one later, but for now the Fuji is working fine

Longmont huh? Tried any of the nearby mountain road rides yet? Hopefull you have a 25T if yo have a double - although thats barely adequate for most people on a lot of these climbs lol. Where'd you get your bike? WRC? Wheat Ridge is a pretty cool shop, owned and run by Ron Kiefel, 7 time TdF competitor.

Raleigh sport and the other -sport model both seem to be pretty decent. I'd go for the upgrade model though, since the sport only has a hi-tensile steel frame.

If you wnat rock bottom cheap, Fuji League. I found one new for $350, but they are very very basic...downtube shifters and such...I'd go for something with at least STI personally.

The most important factor in bike safety and comfort is getting a bike that fits you well. For "real" people, not the few people who race, or the people who pretend they race, a good fit means that after the saddle is at its proper height, you can adjust the stem to be as high as the saddle, and can reach the handlebars and brakes while leaning forward at a comfortable, not painful, angle.

If you think your mom's bike might be a good fit for you, take it to a good bike shop and ask them to check out whether it fits you. Then, have them make a list of what needs to be done to get it into safe riding condition (adjust the brakes, true the wheels, etc.)

Having 21 speeds, 24 speeds, 30 speeds is marketing hype. I can hardly wait for the first 33 speed bike. Unless you are racing, or riding through steep hills and mountains, you may find yourself using relatively few speeds. Most of the people I ride with don't use more than three to six speeds during a ride. The "trick" is to have the bike shop put cogs on your rear wheel that match your physical condition, your riding style, and the terrain you ride on. The issue is having the "right" speeds.

Many of the bikes from the 70's were marketed at young guys who wanted to pretend to be racers. The rear cogs were much smaller than what "real" people ought to use. Changing to larger cogs makes these bikes a pleasure to ride, even for once a week riders. Ten speeds are more than enough if they are exactly the right ten speeds for how you ride.

A new road bike that really impressed me was the 2005 Trek 1000. A local shop was selling these for around $500 recently. I was amazed that a bike of that quality was priced so low. A similar bike would have cost twice as much about ten years ago.