darktardis

Hey, I've been riding mountian bikes for over a year now and loving it. I want ot get into road cycling since it has a lot more opportunities when I can't hit the trails, I also want to do charity rides. Unfortunately I am still paying off a mountain of debt including from my mountain bike, so cost is a huge problem for me at the moment. I am looking to get a entry level road bike that will be decently comfortable and work for charity rides and possibly races until I cant afford something better. And by that I mean I can only afford at most, maybe 300. I've seen ads for bike direct with bikes around 250 but not sure how good these bikes are. any help would be appreciated.

obed7

online ordering can be a good deal...IF you know what you are doing...IF you understand geometries and sizing...IF you are good with your wrenching....if not... don't do it. Same goes for craigslist and used bikes...IMO, of course.

BlazingPedals

That's just plain good advice. Where my opinion comes into play is the marketing strategy of BD, and also the advisability of buying used. I've generally found that if someone has to ask about it, they don't have the mechanical ability to support that course of action, and it's a bad idea for them.

richietables 

Craigslist-- or eBay seller if it's close enough that you can go check it out. Lots of bargains to be found that way. So many folks get into the sport with the best intentions and for whatever reason just don't get on their bikes. Happy hunting...

darktardis

I found an 86 schwinn super sport for 150. The seller posted it at a 21 in frame but I road cycles usually come in cm, did they come in inches back then. I'm going to contact him to take a look at it, but I can't seem to find to much info about this bike other then about whether it was made in US or Japan.

CliffordK

21" should be 53 or 54cm, a good average size of frame, unless you are quite tall or short.

The Supersport appears to be one of the better Japanese imports for Schwinn. $150 would be ok if it isn't in too bad of shape.

Stravacyclist79

Goodwill, yard sale, ebay, craigslist?

darktardis

craigslist, but I'm 6' 1" so this will be too small for me.

goenrdoug

If we know your location, we can make some specific Craigslist suggestions. Where, in general, are you located?

ColaJacket

In addition to location, it would also help to know inseam.

GH

Phil_gretz

OP,
In your own words, you are beneath a mountain of debt. Sounds like you should continue to maintain and use your mountain bike for a couple of years, even for charity rides. I'd recommend that you use discretionary money to buy down the debt. Start with retiring the smaller credit balances first (even if it's $30 per month extra payment), then apply that amount to successively larger debts.

You can get a road bike later, when interest isn't eating away at you. Good luck.

dtrain

^ Good advice. I missed the debt part. Student loans would be one thing...but debt remaining from the MTB purchase is a bad sign.

Is the MTB a hardtail (or have a lock-out)? If so, what about 1.25"-1.5" 'slick' tires?

darktardis

I believe my inseamn is about 31", at least thats what it is for my pants. Im in new castle, de. Without any extra purchases my debt will be paid off in about 3 years. Dont have to pay rent luckily so am putting a lot of extra on bills, which include student loans. Its a hardtail. With lockout for the front. Hadn't really hought about getting slick tires for it. This is my main source of excercise and stress release for me, thats why hoping to find somethig decent for cheap.

goenrdoug

fairly restrictive price range, but this one looks to be in decent shape:
58 cm road bike (21 speed)

darktardis

That doesn't look too bad, thanks ill check it out.

RoadGuy

Bicycle inseam is different from pant inseam (pant inseam will be shorter).

With a pair of shoes on, take a hardback book and slide it up between your legs to your crotch.

Use a take measure to measure from the floor to the top edge of the book, and that should be your bicycle inseam.

Sounds like you have short legs (proportionally) to a long trunk (I'm 5'10" and in the same boat as you). If that's true, a bike with a sloping top tube will be easier to get you fitted properly. On a bike with a conventional/horizontal top tube, you're going to need a larger frame to accommodate your torso/trunk length, which will result in a minimal or negative standover height.

Standover height of a 54cm/21" bike is about 31", a 56cm/22" is about 32", a 58cm bike is about 33", and a 60cm bike is about 34".

With a 31" pant inseam, you might have a 33" bicycle inseam accounting measured book height and wearing shoes. This would indicate that a 58cm bike might be a good place to start looking, but you might feel more comfortable on a 56cm bike. If the frame size/reach is a little short you can adjust by changing the handlebar stem, and the handlebar.

When looking at Craigslist ads, don't automatically eliminate any bike that are described with a frame size that is too big or too small. Sellers often get the frame size wrong. With time you will develop the ability to judge frame size by looking at the head tube junction, and the height of the top tube over the rear wheel. If a bike looks interesting to you, go see it, and take a friend who is more experienced in sizing and riding bikes than you are.

Try to find a bike that give you at least 1"-2" of seatpost showing (2"-3" is better, but I'm betting that this will be a challenge for you), with at least 1" of clearance, that you feel comfortable riding in the drops. Perceived fit will change as your fitness improves.

With any luck you should be able to find plenty of quality bikes you can buy within your $300 (10-20 years old). I bought four Trek road bikes last year (1000, 1100, 1200, 1400, needing some work), and didn't pay more than $100 for any of them. Also traded for a Trek 2300 Composite bike (no wheels), and the guy I traded with actually gave me some money.

darktardis

well, I found on. Got a '88 schwinn premis. It's in great condition. Everything on it looks in good shape at least. Just needs a good bath.

ColaJacket

Congrats! Pics or it didn't happen.

GH

rpenmanparker 

Sorry, but I'm pretty sure most sources specify barefoot (or with socks) measurement for the bicycle inseam. Examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=Eyjrtp9C72A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=0FQ4GWK1anU

darktardis

Here it is