scott757

Looks like we'll be getting my wife her first bike in the next few months. She's borderline Athena. We'll have about $500 to spend on the bike and then we'll probably have to replace the saddle and get her a helmet and some gloves. So maybe $600 altogether. What's my best bet? We'll be looking for a comfortable road bike that she can do 10-25 miles on on the weekends. She'll probably mainly be riding on the weekends with me. We live in a relatively flat area and will be riding only on roads.

oddjob2

New

Trek FX
Publicbikes.com

Is used under consideration?

McBTC

Want a good new road bike? The price hasn't gone up since the 60s except that because of inflation, instead of the $100 - 200 you'd have paid back then, now they're about $1K - 2K. That said, depending on when you buy, you can luck into the size and type of bike you want that may be worth --e.g., $1,399, that may be selling for just half that amount because the new models have come out.

MRT2

Look for a Jamis Quest on sale. Pretty entry level, but has a nice, Cro Moly (steel) frame and decent components for the money.

scott757

Used is a possibility.

dr_lha

If you have a local Jamis dealer, you might be able to get them to give you one of these for under $500. They're great bikes.

JAMIS BICYCLES

Black wallnut 

Sure look for Raleigh or Diamondback. Plenty of budget bikes available. With light use an entry level bike should last for years.

dr_lha

Probably a better question is what sort of bike you want to buy? Plenty of companies sell decent sub-$500 bikes, but if you're after, say, a decent drop-bar road bike sub-$500 that becomes a tougher one.

Fangowolf

Might be in the running Diamondback Clarity 1 - Women's - 2015 Closeout - REI.com

bassjones

At that budget, look used. Should be able to get a quality used bike in that price range. 4 or 5 year old, aluminum frame, 105 level components in good condition is well within reach at $500. Some riders will buy a new bike every year or two, a lot will buy maybe every 4-5 years. Some people hang on to them forever.

squirtdad

Using performance as a pretty common chain here is a sample what you get for $500

499 terry womans city bike 8 speed Terry Burlington Women's City Bike - 2013

499 breezer city bike 3 speed Breezer Downtown 3 ST City Bike - 2016

499 diamond back road in 650b wheels (for shorter person) Diamondback Podium 650C Road Bike - 2015

499 diamond back womens flat bar road bike (I don't like flat bars ) Diamondback Clarity 2 Women's Flat Bar Road Bike - 2016

519 diamond back road bike Diamondback Podium 700C Road Bike - 2015

549 se road bike SE Bikes Royale 16 Road Bike - 2015

Understand budget, but also look long term..... the more you spend up front (to a certain level) will get you better functionality, maintaineablity and ease of service. you read a lot in this forum aboutg people buying a bike and then outgrowing it and looking for a new bike...which is more expensive than buying more/better suited up front

dagray

for a $500.00 budget I would only look new if it were a closeout item that was last years or the prior year's model. but you can get a heck of a bike used for $500.00.

Check your local bike store for used offerings and be sure to have the bike fit to your wife.

Dave

lenny866

I bought this Nashbar AL1 Road Bike for my wife when she got back into riding, three years ago. She had a bike with down-tube shifters and no climbing gear. It was a triple at the time. She loves the bike and rides 50 - 80 miles per week. I offered to upgrade it to a carbon bike and she declined.

Jarrett2

Am I the first person to say BikesDirect.com?

dr_lha

ssssssshhhhhh!!!!!

travbikeman

There are plenty of road bikes within this price range:

Examples:

Fuji Boulevard 1.3L Women's Flat Bar Road Bike - 2015

Fuji Finest 2.3 Women's Road Bike -- 2015

Nishiki Women's Manitoba Hybrid Bike | DICK'S Sporting Goods

Diamondback Women's Clarity STI-8 Hybrid Bike | DICK'S Sporting Goods

Alight 2 (2016) | Giant Bicycles | United States

There are alot more out there. You just have to look with your Wife to find what she wants.

ColaJacket

Unisex Road bikes from Performance Bikes

Fuji Sportif 2.5 - 2015 - $479 Has tourney components (2x7). Alloy fork (Similarly equipped to the Fuji Finest 2.3 above.)

Fuji Sportif 2.3 - 2015 - $579 Claris/Sora Components (2x8). Carbon fork

Fuji Sportif 3.0 LE - 2015 - $599 Claris/Sora Components (2x8). Carbon fork

All of the Sportifs have the same frame, which is the same frame that I have on my Sportif w/ Tiagra. Of course, it doesn't look like any 2015 Sportifs have Tiagra. They go straight from Sora to 105. Maybe they were thinking that Shimano would have the new Tiagra for the 2015 models, but it looks like the 4700 Tiagra will only be available on 2016 models.

If she is okay with flat bar bikes there are even more choices for women's road bikes from Performance.

GH

PrinzII

You can get a Trek FX 7.2 WSD (brand new) under $500. My wife is looking at one and the LBS is charging $449.

MikeRides

The only bike that sucks is one that isn't ridden.

You should be able to find a solid bike for $500 at any bike shop, last year models or a trade-in (used but with a guarantee - unlike Craigslist crap).

JohnJ80

For that price, you should be able to do really, really well with a used bike. Used bikes don't hold their value particularly well.

J.

gjhsu

The Fuji Traverse was a great intro bike for $500. Heavy, but it's well built and can get you places

For a road style, the Absolute is a flat-bar road bike. Similar build, just without the suspension fork.