dasist

Just got my Scott Speedster S20 after having it on layaway for 3 months at a LBS.
I am so happy with my choice.

I took it for it's first 25 mile hop tonight...
Nothing bad to say about it....
It's a nice middle of the road budget minded bike.
105 Group.

I often read posts about us newbies asking for advice about which bike to buy or which color we should choose etc. I did none of that. I just bought something I liked and was very happy with it.

Biking is about riding and more riding, not about how much more you can spend.
I watched a guy on a Trek 1200 blow the doors off a guy with a beautiful Cannondale.
The guy with the Cannondale say's "wait till I get my new rims" I'll beat him...
I begged to differ as the guy on the Trek was 1/4 mile ahead.

There are always plenty of us out there on a budget bikes quietly riding everynight and getting faster and better with no complaints about our budget bikes. My point.. have fun with this sport....
Learn to build the engine before the bike.


These are the people I admire and respect the most.

Jerry

Mcurrier1241

+1000

blonduathlongrl

Great post jerry!
enjoy your bike and your many rides to come!

Pharmr

well said and congrats on the new ride!!!

scuzzo

+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 and freaking 1
well done sport!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ride on man

Ktmartin

Wow, that pretty much puts it in a nutshell.

Yeah, but without the guy on the Cannondale, there would be no need for bikeforums.

Sasquatchula

+∞

Blaireau

I'll second that

utmdbiker

Hey, I'm a runner, but I really want to get into biking, and possibly triathalons at some point.

What is the best way to go about finding a bike for someone who is definitely a beginner, yet wants to be competitive in the near future?

What types/brands of bikes should I be looking for and how much should I be expecting to spend for a bike that will last and allow me to be competitive?

any advice or redirection to old threads is appreciated

the beef

Hehe, so true.

Great post by the OP, though.

Mike_Like_Bike

Me too! I replaced the WH-R550s that came on mine though with Mavic Aksiums. Sometimes the roads around here are kinda shi**y chip and seal jobs and I know the 550s would probably be toast by now. Other than that the S20 is a great bike! Congratulations!

Nice post by the way...

Mike

Surferbruce

aluminum bikes rock. nice choice, it'll take you as far as you wanna go...

Sasquatchula

What? Nuh-uh! You can't do that!

ridethecliche

I third it!

+∞! (you know what that means right, I win!)

Hopefully this will be my experience as well :-)

NameGoesHere

Man I have a Speedster S1 and I don't consider it a "budget" bike... aside from the sense that I had a budget and stuck with it... Speedsters are great bikes!

LowCel 

Glad you are happy with your bike. I wish everyone got as lucky as you when they bought their first bike. I know I didn't. I would have loved to have known about this site so I could have asked some questions and not bought a bike that I ended up hating.

atomship47

that's awesome! happy riding.

i, otoh, am the type of shopper who relentlessly pursues bang for my buck. i don't mind spending $ if its worth it and i hate saving $ at the expense of unacceptable quality/performance. therefore, as a noob, i came here and other bb's to ask many questions of experienced riders. there are simply aspects of riding i didn't have knowledge of....i'd only be guessing if i relied on my own intuition (which, of course, everyone should rely on this to a certain extent). i also read bike / component reviews. i spoke with people at lbs's. heck, i even asked a few people on bike paths what they thought of their rides.

no one person's opinion made my decision for me. you take the information and opinions for what they are...opinions. i stored all that information collectively along with what i knew, what i thought i knew...and what i thought i wanted...then made the most informed decision i could.

i'd spent $175 on an xmart bike. it was an ok bike until i started riding seriously. i replaced it with a leftover db comfort bike that was onsale for $200....about as much $ as i was willing to sink into a bike at the time. i wore it out after 2k miles. i spent $400 on my next bike after much research. $400 was a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a bike (for me). as i learned that riding is a zen thing for me..as well as a matter of life or death (i say that with only a hint of melodrama), i knew that i was going to have to spend a lot more to get a reliable bike that will perfrom to my expections. considering my last bike cost $400 and i did tons of research, you bet your a#$ that i posted here and other places to gather as many opinions as possilbe before spending over $2k.







in summary...you have a success story. i have a success story. same results....different methods. congrats to both of us!