RonB94GT

I'm probably going to get slammed for this suggestion. But since you are going budget I would look at bikes direct. A lot of choices for under $500.

Save up to 60% off Road Bikes, Free Ship 48, Schwinn, GT, Kestrel, Fuji, Motobecane and more Road bikes. Authorized dealer for Schwinn, GT, Kestrel, Fuji, Motobecane, Mercier, Gravity, Dawes road bikes. Shimano Carbon Road Bikes, Titanium Road Bikes,

Bikeracer123

I would look on your local classifieds and ebay for used bikes. you will mostly find many bikes used for $500 that will cost much more brand new.

TampaMom

A few months ago I purchased my second carbon bike, a Specialized Ruby, five years old, beautiful condition, for 25% of the original price. Scout local bike shops, Craigslist, and other sources of used bikes and you may be able to trade up for less. :-)

tobydeemer

Man, what a difference some parts makes.
Went from this:


to:

Jseis 

My twins: Corner scalpel Colnago Dream Lux and my endurance/touring Giant Defy 1.

Da Reef

I'm a long time lurker who has drooled over some of the bikes here and gained a lot of knowledge reading reviews on various builds and components. Finally purchased my dream bike to keep my high mileage beater company. All the components work together far better than I ever imagined.

Specs: S-Works Tarmac Torch, full SRAM Red E-Tap 53/39 11-28, Zipp SL Sprint steam & SL70 Aero bar, Zipp 404 NSW, Selle Italia Kit Carbonio Flow, Look Keo 2 Ti, Specalized 700x26 tires. Weight: 7.15kg

Bikeracer123

Does that say 7.45 or 7.15 kg, and is that with or without cages and computer. Nice bike.

goenrdoug

Is that one of those color-changing olympics bikes? did you get it used off of one of the teams after the olympic events or something?

Da Reef

Nice bike. Really like the color combo.

Da Reef

Thanks! Bad pic, it says 7.15. Weight is fully built with cages and pedals, but w/o computer and sensors.


It is the same frame. My local dealer received a few frames and I had them build one for me as spec'ed above. Sure it's a gimic, but so much fun to watch!

motmcd

Santa Cruz Stig CC; SRAM CX1 derailleur, shifters, crankset, SRAM Force brakes, Avid Centerline 160mm discs, DT Swiss 350 hubs, m 50/50 ENVE carbon rims, and mix of other parts. I sold my Trek Madone 5.2 and made the move to a cyclocross bike to cover both road and gravel mixups. Love it!!

hemtaro

Hey guys, I've taken comments into consideration and have been scavenging craigslist for used road bikes rather then going cheap. I'm not to knowledgeable in parts and such but I've done a bit trying to understand some. i found one on craigslist I like and is a bit more than I can afford but if it's a great bike I might go for it! Could you guys let me know if this is a great deal or should i try to bargain for a lower price?

link: https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/5711340681.html

motmcd

Price is high, hemtaro. I'd keep looking.

Tiglath

Got this last week:

SRAM Force 1x crank/chain/derailleur/casette/left brake lever
SRAM Red brakes and right shifter

16.5 lbs.

Best things:

Ride: almost as good as my Cinelli Supercorsa, even though this has 25 tires and the Cinelli 23.

Fit: custom frame makes more of a difference than I thought, it fits like a glove and feels more effortless than any other bike I have.

x1 groupset: very nice, I liked it in my Santa Cruz mountie, but this has a bigger range with a 48T ring, the
simplicity and the weight savings are very pleasing.

Buying experience: Firefly offers smooth sailing throughout, great designers, interesting process, and outstanding result.

This baby will survive me. My other bikes are languishing in the garage. I got this one just right.

The 3T Ergonova LTD bar is the most comfortable I've tried. I may upgrade my other bikes with it.
Mechanics don't like the internal routing much, but it's a good idea. The wide bar top will make a difference
in long rides.

Symtex

This is my Bad ass machine

SCK

I'm an occasional lurker in this forum, I usually frequent the SSFG forum. Anyway this is my recently purchased heavy hoopty C-Dale Synapse Disc:

giantcfr1

2004 Orbea Mitis 2

Laurido92

Added some new wheels

bikegigolo

I don't even own a cell phone and I get grief all the time about that.

Bikeracer123

Go Fuji, looks great!

Laurido92

Thanks! Go Team Fuji!!!

Supralative

Nice
Tell me what you think about those wheels
Im about 95% close to pulling the trigger on some carbon with aluminum brake surface ones here pretty soon

uMP2k

Unrecognizable! Curious as to what you used for the custom decals?

Laurido92

They are not bad for what they are, cheap chinese carbon wheels. They roll extremely well and are fairly light. I really like them. Only time will tell how they hold up. You will notice the difference in the braking as it takes a little more pressure/effort to stop.

tobydeemer

Thanks!

The decals are actually just from a sticker pack from a band I like. It they matched the color scheme so I threw them on. I've lost my admiration for Specialized as a company over the years, so I wanted to do something, and this fit. The bike itself is great, and still rides very well so I had no real reason to get a new one.