Road Cycling - Road Bike recommendation

Hi, I am looking to get into biking a few times a week. I don't expect to compete, but will ride a lot and want a quality bike. I would appreciate your recommendations for a brand and model of bike, and anything I should know about components. Thanks for your help!

Welcome to the forums.............

That's a pretty wide open question. Do you want to spend $200 or $2000? Do you like having the best equipment money can buy or is X-mart acceptable? There's a whole lotta nice bikes out there...And you'll get a whole lot of reccomendations. With a little more info that is ;)

I plan on riding a few times a week in the mountains in the San Francisco area. My friends that are serious riders recommended Bianchi. I'm 35, six feet tall, 170 lbs. Would like to spend under $1500.

I have a list of things to consider.

1) Remember when you buy a bike, you have other things to get too - water bottles, water bottle cage, shoes, shorts, jersey, helmet, tire irons, hand pump, floor pump, bike rack, allen wrenches, lube... and maybe some more stuff but you get the idea. Be sure that fits in your budget.

2) So you are riding in the mountains? I would tend to go with a bike that has three chain rings so I would have nice low gears for climbing long hills. Of course, that depends on how macho you are. Some people take it as a badge of pride to ride only with 2 chain rings so the decision has personal ramifications.

3) Be sure to get a bike that fits you. A good local bike shop (LBS) will do this for you.

4) Bike manufacturers generally make only the frame. Nearly all the bikes made have shimano components. At the $1500 price range, you are talking shimano 105 or tiagra components. I have ridden 105 and I think 105 gives a lot of performance for the buck. I am not that familiar with tiagra but it is probably OK. Top of the line is Dura Ace then Ultegra then 105 then tiagra and I think they have 2 or 3 lines below that.

5) Test ride your prospective bike and try to ride it over a variety of surfaces. Go with what you like. I like stiff bikes so I ride Cannondales. Other people like more compliant rides and go with other frames. You are the person who has to ride the dern thing so go with what you like.

6) I have never ridden a Bianchi but I know some people who seem to have good sense who like them very much.

Bianchi's a good choice, but before you just go out and ride a bike, take a few on a test ride. My Bianchi Veloce just arrived at the LBS yesterday (I'm going to go pick it up today), and I would have *never* bought it had I not ridden something other than the Trek 2200 I was drooling over.

There are a few bikes that don't have Shimano components; the Veloce I ordered is all Campagnolo, but it really doesn't make that much of a difference, unless you're as anal-retentive as I am.

If you're looking at being frugal, check out the bikes made by Giant and Performance; not only are they less expensive, but they are in many ways equal to more expensive road bikes. Trek, for example, uses Giant frames on most of their <$1200 bikes. Performance Bike makes some decent rides, uses all Shimano components, and will save you a few hundred dollars over a "name brand."

How much riding experience do you have?

Any questions?

Check out these bikes http://www.feltusa.com/F65.html this bike shown is right around $1,000 w/ full 105 and the next level up has 105/Ultegra mix for under $1500.00

We just started carrying this brand and they are well made, ride great and look fabulous. The component spec is simple, it's all Shimano and about all the same level. (i.e. no tiagra / Ultegra mixes). For the price of the components and wheels, you get a complete bike!

L8R

Masi bikes have some good deals too. But Felt has some of the best deals I've seen ever. They beat Giant in the bang for the buck road bike department.

Originally posted by a2psyklnut
Check out these bikes http://www.feltusa.com/F65.html this bike shown is right around $1,000 w/ full 105 and the next level up has 105/Ultegra mix for under $1500.00
L8R

That's a perty nice lookin' bike...Of course I'm on kind of a yellow fetish lately though :D

ahh klein quantum race... i have the frame to that bike, but the older model, i think a 98 or 99 i bought off ebay before i knew anything about bikes, i was going to build on it.. but its just too small a frame. i guess this post was pointless. oh well

I like Wildhare's bike. That ought to do the hills around SF easily.

Heres some bikes I would recommend for you.

1."Primal Heat-Stroke" with ultegra (ultegra is very good) components and velomax wheels (the wheel set alone is like $500), a light aluminum frame with carbon fiber fork, and 3T head set. I purchased this bike for only $1171.65 (tax included) at a local bike store near my house. It may be more expensive online. Most road bikes with these components, wheel set, frame+fork can easily exceed over $2000, which is why this bike is such a great deal. It rides really smooth and fast and is very responsive. And also the bike is limited edition and a collectible! Check out www.bikesdirect.com

2."Motobecane Le Champion" with ultegra components and a fairly good wheel set, frame, fork, and head set. The bike is lite and fast, and is only $1095.00 at most bike shops. This bike is also a really great deal. Check out www.motobecane.com

3."Motobecane Record". Get this bike if your looking for something under $700. Good sora components, and a light package.

p.s. prices on web sites are usually higher than in bike shops.

Originally posted by ljbike
I like Wildhare's bike. That ought to do the hills around SF easily.

I don't even break a sweat in my local mountains :)

Supergo has a house brand known as Scattante. I tried the Zonal when I was looking for a road bike. It's pretty stiff but I wouldn't say overly so and nicely equipped. They also have a chromoly one now which looks pretty decent as well...

www.supergo.com

The bottom line though is getting out there and test riding as many as you can. A Shimano 105 groupo would be a minimum for me (which I have and they work just fine) and I'm not sure which Campy set is comparable (Daytona?)...You should be able to get a really good bike for 1k...

Originally posted by fubar5
Any questions?

Fubar, I think a Klein is a bit above his price range, but *damn* that is nice...

Originally posted by Matadon


but *damn* that is nice...


My thoughts exactly.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1814747845 :D (It looks sooo much better in real life!)

btw, that IS my new bike, i have replaced the bar tape with black tape, changed out the saddle, stem, and recived new rolf vector pro's rather then the wheelset pictured in the auction.

But there's no yellow on it Joe! You wont match the new jersey! Yellow yellow yellow! You've got to have some yellow! :D

That is an excellent example of what 1k can buy.............Congrats Joe! Very nice bike.

Biker pals,
I'm very impressed with your information and help! Thank you so much! I have very little riding experience, but normally when I decide to start doing a sport I get a bit infatuatated and have found that I wish I would have bought a little better equiptment so I would enjoy the sport more. For example: snowboarding and water skiing. I found the right equiptment made the experience much more enjoyable. I will take your advices, check out these models, ride a bunch of them and try to find a good fit. Thanks again for all your help, I'm very pleased to learn so much so fast!!

Mick

I recently bought a Trek 2200 triple for just over $1500. It comes with an Ultegra/105 component mix, mainly Ultegra. It is a great bike for the money, and I am loving it. If you like aluminum, there are several Treks and Cannondales in your price range.

I can't wait till I can buy a new road bike. I have yet to buy a brand new bike. I will get one one day!!!

I will give another vote for the felts. Iwill be picking up mine tomorrow I cant wait. Its the f65, the yellow one full 105 and mavic wheels.

Originally posted by Sterling
I will give another vote for the felts. Iwill be picking up mine tomorrow I cant wait. Its the f65, the yellow one full 105 and mavic wheels.

Excellent choice. The yellow ones are the fastest! Gotta go with yellow :D

Seriously though, they are nice looking bikes. Congrats.....

fubar, tell me why you like the Klein so much.....

I have the yellow F65 (full 105 and the Xero wheelset). It goes .5 mph faster than my black Cannondale, and I'm absolutely positive it is the yellow that gives it the turbo effect.

:)