PaulRivers

While I also found the other posters reply rather snarky, the problem is that it's like you're asking "what's the best new and reliable car I can buy for $10,000?". It doesn't matter how much you want it - they just don't make something that's new, reliable, and costs that kind of money.

Your options that I can think of are:
- Buy something used
- But something online like mentioned while upping your price a little bit
- Up your price a lot
- Up your price a little and buy something cheaper that's a straight bar bike like this rather than a road bike ($520), or if you have do a fatter tire it's more around $400:
Specialized Bicycle Components
- See if you can find a bike rental or rent-to-buy where if you buy they apply your rental fee to the cost of the bike
- Find a friends bike you can borrow to try it out

You can see previous opinions on the topic by google searching for this:
best cheap road bike site:bikeforums.net

But they don't make "good" bikes for $300 new. A decent flat bar bike with fat tires is around $400, a decent new road bike with curly bars is more around $800. If you want to save money to try it out I'd definitely go with the flat bar as they are much cheaper.

But bikes from Walmart and such just suck. In addition to the people putting them together having no idea what they're doing, they're made as cheaply as possible. I saw someone's handlebars break off their bike at the stem in the last year on a walmart bike - I mean solid metal just broke off while they where riding. They were lucky they were turning at very slow speed and didn't have a serious accident.

There just isn't anything "good" in your price range. If you want to risk it, it will probably be difficult to find good advice on this forum as it's usually geared to bikes above walmart quality.

Doctor Morbius

Shop smart. Shop S-Mart. Bikes are on isle 5.

12strings

700c Schwinn Phocus 1500 Men's Road Bike, Silver - Walmart.com

This...then get iit tuned up at a bike shop...yoyo have a reliable flat bar road bike with shimano trigger shifters....I've ridden a denalli...this is better.

halfspeed

I'm not sure those qualify as road bikes.

02Giant 

B b b but, it's a Denali...

Motolegs

Am sorely tempted to post a pic of my Mirage. It's steel, old school, a lively quick commuter. Just the ticket for dropeing the hamer around someone backing out of the driveway without really looking.

For $50 bucks more, OP could get the Motobecane S. Another bike I crazily bought. Aluminum, lighter, racier geometry. STI seven speed shifters. Got a thousand miles on that one, only had to change out a rear tire that had lost the tread pattern. A really great long distance cruiser.

kbarch

So? I thought you wanted to start with a piece of crap.
Seriously, though: do you know others who ride? Have you tried asking around? Maybe a friend or acquaintance has something you'd like, which they'd be happy to unload. I didn't have any doubts when I got my first bike, so I dove right in, but if I was going to try a new hobby, I'd definitely look for a friend or acquaintance to hook me up with some used equipment. It would certainly be a lot easier for such a person to give pertinent advice!

Smithson1

At least the Denali has sweet green pedals!

BigBlockUSP

Well, I just picked up the Denali. It's my first "road bike" ever and I already like it a lot. It's a little rough around the edges, and apparent that it's not high quality, but it's better than the $100 mountain bike that I have for sure. Unfortunately I just sold my truck and only had a Honda Civic to bring the bike home in. After a few curse words and some creativity I managed to stuff it into the back seat and get it home. Unfortunately when I got it back out at home the handlebars were cocked to the side. I held the wheel and jerked it back to center. Is that safe or do I need to tighten something more?

I already decided on the Denali but I'd like to keep this thread alive. Now that I know I like cycling, what is the best brand new bang for buck road bike? I would like to keep the price down as much as possible, but say for under a grand.

PepeM

So it took one day for you to be convinced? You could have just test ridden some bikes for you to be convinced and save the $300.

BigBlockUSP

It was actually only $200, and that's why I got a bike with a return policy. I'll keep riding it for a few weeks, and in the mean time do some more research and decide on my first real bike. Any suggestions?

MaxxTraxx

I'm going to be honest, I'd search Craigslist again for a bike under $1,000. I bought a Specialized Sectaur last summer with a Claris year, and while it was a great bike, I hated the shifting unit. However, I would think you'd be able to find a better groupset for around the same price.

LesterOfPuppets

As long as the bars don't move while you're riding, it's good to go.

BigBlockUSP

It was fine for the first 2 mile ride, but by the time I got back from the second 3 mile ride it became really wobbly. I torqued the hell out of that screw, and also the clamp screws. It seems to be good now. I got up to at least 25mph, which is the fastest that I've ever been on a bike. Luckily I only weigh 130lbs, so even though this is a heavy road bike I'm haulin.

GuitarBob

If by screw, you mean this bolt:



You don't want to 'torque the hell out it' you want it just tight enough to pull the headset together.

LesterOfPuppets

Actually, the Denali has a quill stem, so tightening the bolt in that location would be what's needed to keep the stem from turning in the steerer.

GuitarBob

@LesterOfPuppets thanks for the correction. A quill stem, huh.

OP, let this be a lesson to you; never listen to anything I write

PepeM

25mph as measured by?

IcySmooth52

As many have already said, get a craigslist bike.

The GMC Denali is unsafe due to unprofessional assembly, even if it's already in one piece on the WalMart floor! I've seen so many of the GMC Denalis improperly put together. Both also have such poor quality control and tolerances in manufacturing, they are unsafe due to the possibility for failure while riding.

The only warranty with those models is the lawyers that the corporations have. (Warranty from your lawsuit if their product fails while you're riding down a steep hill)

PepeM

With a $1000 you can get a decent new bike if that is what you prefer.

BigBlockUSP

My guessometer. I know how fast 25 looks, and I was doing 25. I will be buying a speedometer soon though just to be sure.

BigBlockUSP

I know it's basically the Kia of bikes, but unsafe? I find it hard to believe that they're that bad if they've been around for this many years. I saw some $1000+ bikes that are made in Taiwan. I wouldn't feel much better riding that honestly. Where's the good stuff? What brands are from Japan or Germany...?

greenlight149

you are going about this the wrong way, a lot of very very expensive bikes come out of taiwan.

IcySmooth52

Lol, it's not where it's made. It's who's making it! (And the bikes in your poll are made by big-box companies that don't care btw.) But start a new thread if you want to go there.

For a brand-new drop bar road bike, I'd say $700 is the starting point of pricing. Not $1000. And GMC / Vilano have not been around long compared to other options. (GMC Denali bike is NOT a GM product.)

emeldrum

OP, Are you serious? I'm starting to wonder if you are a real person, because most of your comments are enormously misinformed. Frankly, if you have an unlimited budget and don't want to listen to the experienced, intelligent responses of the members of this form, GO BUY WHATEVER YOU WANT.

But if you would like to learn something about road bikes, first go back and read what the previous responses. There was a lot of good advice given. In my honest opinion, IF you value your health and safety, riding this Walmart bike at any speeds over 15mph is not a good idea. The Denali is not a road bike. It might look vaguely like one, but it is designed to make a profit off someone who thinks they want a road bike, but has no knowledge about what a road bike is. As has been pointed out previously, even if the bike was manufactured to exacting specifications (which it is not), it was put together by a Walmart employee who is very likely not a trained bike mechanic, and frankly, does not likely give a damn about your safety. Paying $300 (or in your case, $200) for a 'road bike' at Walmart and expecting something that is going to show you what an actual road bike is like would be similar to spending $10 on a Casio solar calculator, to see if you wanted to buy an iPhone. It just doesn't make any sense.

Taiwan, by the way, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of mid to high end bike frames, especially high-volume. Giant Bicycles, arguably the world's largest bicycle manufacturer, is based there, and many US brands, including Felt, Trek and Specialized, manufacture there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Bicycles

Where was my bicycle made?

If you are even still reading and comprehending at this point, and still want advice, if your unlimited bike budget is $1000, and you refuse to buy used (which I would highly recommend -- you could get a great bike in that price range that you would enjoy a lot more than a new $1000 bike), I would suggest the following:

Giant Defy 3
Felt z95
Specialized Allez E5 Sport

All three of these bikes retail new for just under $1000. Find one on sale and you should be able to get closer to $900. Of course, a helmet and gloves will set you back at least another $75-$100, and I wouldn't recommend skimping on either. If you want advice on those, you can ask that question here also, and I'm sure you will get lots of great ideas.

But I'm still not convinced that you actually want help. It seems more like you want either attention or affirmation that you are making the right decision. Based on what you've said thus far, you can put me in the camp that thinks you are wasting your time and money because you've totally ignored the experienced, intelligent cyclists who have taken the time to help you. But you know better than all of us.

So please, if you learn anything from this little excursion onto Bike Forums, stay safe. Or don't. Just do the rest of us the courtesy to stay out of our way on the road if that's the case...