Road Cycling - I am looking for a beginners bicycle???

I was looking to buy a new road bicycle.
The two bikes I was looking at were the Trek 1000 and the Scott Expert.

I was wondering if anybody could recommend one over the other.

Cheers

The Trek is a fairly decent 'basic' road bike.
I've never heard of the Scott, and I'd doubt it is worth considering.
Of course, with a road bike, fit is extremely important.

Scott USA is pretty well-known name in the Euro market. Some of their top-end bikes have gotten some rather good reviews, and they used to be the bike sponsor for the Phonak team in Switzerland.

The Expert has a nice frame, but it's pretty down-spec. It's almost all Sora and sub-Sora, very much like the Giant OCR3. If you like the Scott, I'd say look at the Elite, or rather the Comp model. You should never buy a bike "just for now." Buy something that you can ride for a few years... and I'm sure you'd grow out of the Expert within a year.

i'm new to the whole cycling thing and i just got a fuji ace not too long ago.. i like it... its all sora though, but in all honesty i'm too ignorant to know that sora isn't good. I mean i hear people say its not good, but it works fine to me... and people say fits important but i dont know what a good fit should feel like... so i measured my inseem and just calculated the size i should get... and went with that.. i tried to make sure it felt ok before i left, but it really just felt weird to me, haven't ever really done any real road biking before. I dont have any pain really when i ride though, accept maybe minor kneck pain from glancing up alot so i guess i guessed alright. I duno if your totaly new its all kind of overwelming. I've learned alot though and got a whole whole lot more to learn, someday i'll have a clue... hopefullly

The best beginners bike is one that you are comfortable on. Try to ride each one for 20 miles or so and see how you feel afterwards, the one you feel best on is the one to go with. Sora or above in my opinion is pretty much meaningless. If it works for your purposes then that is sufficent. Sure a bike outfitted with Sora may be more expensive or impractical to upgrade in the future. But by the same token I have gotten thousands of enjoyable miles out of "crap" components. I now have a bike with Dura Ace components and expensive wheels and frame. And I can say it is a big difference over the other stuff. But my point is Ride and buy what you can afford now. Don't pay attention to the snobs.

Beginners Bicycle?? it that a code word for cheap low budget bike??
I believe (and this is just my opinion). the best way to start looking for a new bike is to look at what your friends are riding
and to think about what type of riding you will be doing
how much you plan on riding
how much you can spend on a bike.
then start looking at magazines, websites, and the local bike shops.
look at everything and try everything even the very high price stuff.. this way you will know why sonra is near the bottom and dura ace is near the top of the line... also think about used bikes
but you should do the reshearch this way you will get a bike that fits well and makes you happy ... and thats what iits all about.

"Beginners Bicycle?? it that a code word for cheap low budget bike??"

thats how i take it :D i dunno harder for me to think of going out and spening a ton of money on a new bike in a hobby i've never done before... who knows, i might get bored of it after a while... besides chances are we wont know much better from a cheaper bike from an expensive one... for the time being ignorance is bliss. To me anyways, I figure if i keep with it untill i can afford a nice one i'll keep this one as a comuter or a back up. But then again why buy twice when you can just buy right the first time for a little more.. i spose both sides make sense, ok i'm going to stop rambling now as if i knew what i was talking about to begin with, stupid new guy AA :p

I know how you feel I've been there
must of the riders I know have two bikes...
the first one they brought and the one the ride now.
you may feel like this is the bike for me then you get in better shape and the bike is to heavy to this or to that..
there is almost know getting around it.. that why i say do some research.. go to bike shops, go to as many as you can..
your budget will decide a lot for you.
you may have to spend around 1200-1500.00 for bike.
in that price range there is a lot to chose from..
you can look at used bikes.... but I would take someone with me that knows a lot about bike repair...
please keep in mind that buying a bike is only part of the bill
the other part is the tools you will need. helmit jersey shorts,
spare inner tube and the more you ride the more things you will need... this is a hobby..
the must important thing is fit.. make sure the bike fits and you are comfortable..

If your not racing sora may be fine, I don't think you can shift from the drops with sora, not sure though.... it will be heavier than more expensive components, I'm not sure about durability. If your onboard for the long hall I would go for 105's minimum because you'll probably want better stuff after a few months . test ride is the most important thing. some shops may have leftover bikes from previous years, i found a great deal on univegas last year with decent Campy parts for about 500 dollars but the frame was a tad too big for me. REI may have a good deal too on their house brand "Novara":)

Caius you will get a better quallity ride if you buy a steel bike like a Lemond, Univega's if you can find one. the cheap aluminum bikes are a bone jarring ride in my opinion. I test rode a Specialized Allez and my false teeth fell out from the road vibration:D then my rear tire hit the teeth and I almost endo'd:p

check out bianchi too

Do yourself a favor and ride as many different bikes as possible. Even if they are not in your price range. Each bike has a different fit/ feel/ personality. The mistake I made while I was shopping for my first road bike was to take the "opinions " of more experienced riders to heart. Dont rule out a bike, manufacturer/ gruppo, or frame material based on someone elses opinion. I cant stress enough though, and every one will agree a low end bike that fits is worth a lot more than a higher end bike that is uncomfortable.

If you can, find a dealer of FELT Bicycles. I keep posting how nice these bike are! No, I don't work for FELT. We just started to carry them in our shop and I'm very impressed with them.

Decent bike for $589.00. It's a great bike for a beginner w/o breaking the bank.http://www.feltusa.com/F85.html

L8R

I urge you to spend more money than you think that you should. After you ride for a month or two you will be glad you did. The Trek 1000 rides like a sled down a hill without snow. It is slow because of the heavy wheels. The frame will beat you to death and the upright riding position you will be in on it will catch terrible wind. Good luck.

I would say ride some different price level bikes to see if you can feel the difference. Trek 1000 is a basic, nice road bike. But take it up a few notches at the LBS and ride the 2200, 2300, 5200, 5500. Just some examples. You will feel a difference in weight, handling, and shifting. More light, more nimble, more smooth. You're paying for all of that. If you "get hooked", you'll want all of that eventually, trust me!

The more you ride, if you really "get into it", the more you'll yearn for those features. If you're really committed to road riding, or plan to be, spend the most you can NOW so you won't be spending more bucks within the next year. Go with a minimum of Shimano 105 throughout. It'll be enjoyable to you and you'll keep it for a while longer. Good luck! :thumbup: