LMaster

I know this has been done a million times, but some advice would certainly be welcome.

Got out on a road bike for the first time yesterday on a rental and absolutely loved it. Definitely more my style of riding and felt like absolute cheating when compared to riding some heavy mountain bike with big tires. Not to mention that is much more my kind of riding, I like the smoother rhythm stuff rather than the more jarring, bumpy, inconsistent trails/sand/etc.

All of which means I intend to get a road bike. It should be mentioned that while I have no where near the bike handling I'd want, I can definitely see myself riding, and faster aggressive riding is definitely up my alley.

So, I'm looking at some sort of entry level road bike, price range probably $500 to topping out at just over a grand. Anything beyond 1.2k would be REALLY pushing it. What I'm interested from hearing from you guys would be three things:

1)Any good recommendations, given what I've said about price range and riding preferences
2)How to go about shopping for a bike (what to ask about, how to make sure I get a good fit, what do I need to look for test riding in the lot/MUP, etc.)
3)More out of curiosity than being overly concerned but what sort of likely weight are you looking at for an entry level bike in this price range, given the likely components and frame. Obviously YMMV, but are we talking 17-18lbs, 18-20lbs, 20lbs+, etc.

Thanks as always, I've only been here a week or two but you guys have been awesome so far!!

Leinster

...who do we appreciate?

I got my Cannondale CAAD10 5 for $1100 just under a year ago when the stores were offloading 2013 stock as the 2014s were coming in. With bottle cages and pedals it weighs in around 17lbs.

I'd say you should be able to get similar deals this year on Specialized Allez, Giant Defy etc. Probably with 105 or Tiagra components (some might have SRAM Apex).

gregjones

1.2K=......
17-18: Lucky find, most likely used.
18-20: Less luck, more searching.
20+: Probably.

But, don't worry about it. Weight comes off with upgrades and becomes less important as the engine develops more power.

Elvo

I was able to build a 14 lb bike for about $1300

gregjones

Color me wrong.

Willbird

I have been looking myself, as others have alluded to the 2014 bikes with an Advertised Retail Price in the 1300's are around 1100 right now due to 2015's just around the corner, often with a mostly 105 groupo. With the 2015 105 going to 11 speed they might have to reduce the 10 speed 105 bikes even more to move them :-).

Bill

Shuffleman

There are a couple of ways to go but lets get this part over with first; Almost all major brand bikes in this range are good bikes. Trek, Specialized, Giant, GT, Felt, Fuji, Focus, and many many others. I personally would recomend buying at the bottom end of your budget because you do not about your biking style or preferences yet. Ride the bike for a few years and upgrade if you like it. It really stinks when you spend too much on a bike and realize that you do not really enjoy riding.
Figure out your size and then you have some choices. You can go to your LBS and check out some bikes. You can also look on line at places like jensonusa.com. You can get more bike for the money online but you will not get a fitting with the purchase. There are pros and cons to both of those. I bought my first road bike from a LBS because I took all the advice that I got from these forums. I liked the bike but they did a lousy fit job on me. I knew it when I was making the purchase but I knew that the size was correct and that I could correct it later, which I did. In the end, I wish that I had simply purchased the bike online and saved the money. Either way, you will hear positives from both sides. In the $500-$1000 range a LBS is not going to spend 4 hours on your fitting anyway. If you bought the bike on line you could take it to a LBS and get a fitting for $75.
Whatever you do, enjoy the sport and ride as much as you like. What one person likes versus another is very subjective. For an entry level bike you will get pretty much the same thing from all the companies accross the board. They are all pretty good so don't feel like Cannondale is far better than Felt or Trek or vice versa. They are all quality and have similar components on them.

freedomrider1

What bike did you test ride? You seemed to like that one alot.

rms13

17 lbs? Is that stock? All the reviews I've read have it close to 19lbs without pedals and accessories. My CAAD 9 with a lighter groupset and 1500g wheels is still around 18.5 lbs

Leinster

I might have to recheck that and you're probably right that it's closer to 19. I have it as 17 on my Strava profile, but I set that months ago and it may have been related to an optimism on my part about upgrading the wheels and groupset at some point in the future.

LMaster

Update stuff: Went to the shop today, and they let me test ride a couple bikes. Took both a CAAD 10 and Giant Defy 1 (2015 model I believe, pretty sure it had 11 speed 105).

The differences were subtle, especially with someone inexperienced like me, but it seemed to me that the Defy was more comfortable to sit on and a little less jarrying (not sure if saddle/25" tires play a role here), but it didn't seem quite as snappy accelerating, nor did it seem to climb quite as easily.

Pretty much the opposite for the CAAD 10, ride was a little more jarring/felt more of the road...but it didn't seem like enough to be a problem, then again I could see something like that changing as the ride goes from 30 min test run to 5+ hour effort. The CAAD definitely accelerated a little quicker, and seemed slightly easier on the hills...though the 11-25 cassette is a definite issue for a guy that likes to climb in the first places, likes to spin, and has several steep climbs nearby (10-15% climbs of several miles).

Neither bike seemed quite the equal of the Z4 I rode last week, riding a road bike for the first time, when it came to acceleration or climbing, but the Z4 at 2K is definitely out of my price range. Again though, that could also be in head as when I road the Z4 I had only EVER ridding my 37lb MTB beater.

I'm guessing that by and large there won't be all that much difference between bikes at this price level, but if anyone has any other recommendations of bikes that would be worth a ride I'm open to suggestions (800-1.5k range). As a secondary question, if I was interested in the CAAD can I get the LBS to put a different cassette on there, and if so how much will that cost me?

Sullalto

My 1k Jamis Quest Comp is listed as 23 lbs, no idea if that's accurate.

LMaster

Update #2 - After quite a bit of reading, testing, and thinking about exactly what sort of riding I want to do I decided to go with the CAAD 10 105, especially since I was able to get one new for just under $1,200. From everything I've read it's about as good of an alloy frame as you are going to get, and is a bike you can race on just fine. Tested the ride a few times and didn't seem to have any problems with the ride being too harsh. Sure, I can feel some rough spots in the road but gave me no problems on rides in the 1-3 hr range.

First real ride on the bike today: Bike Ride Profile | Gold Camp + Centennial Trail + Sinton Train - Aerobic near Colorado Springs | Times and Records | Strava

And of course an obligatory picture of the machine at the top of one of the local climbs!

TheRef

Good looking bike.

Just wondering, did you ever have a chance to weight your bike? I'd be curious to know. What size did you get?

LMaster

54cm frame.

We didn't actually weigh it at the shop this time, but I did weigh another 2014 CAAD 10 105 with a 56cm frame and platform pedals (no clip-less pedals for me...yet) and it was 19.6 lbs. From what I've heard with componetry upgrades, wheels, and maybe a few other changes you can work the CAAD down to low 16s or maybe a smidge lighter.

calyco

Nice deal, I really like that color scheme. I was deciding between that CAAD and this Jamis (54CM practically same weight too). Ended up with the Jamis because I wanted a white and I see too many CAADs around here, love it and already have about 800 miles on it. A rocket compared to my hybrid, enjoy your new toy!

JAMIS BICYCLES

SundayNiagara

I was in my LBS when the owner was just finishing building a Jamis Icon Elite. I helped him hang it up for display and was astonished when I lifted i because it barely weighed 16 lbs. I was impressed.

mvnsnd

Congratulations. Ride the hell out of it!

LMaster

Damn straight I will!

Just hope I don't ride the hell out of it by crashing it XD

goenrdoug

Nice bike, nice deal, and nice ride! I was just watching Jens zoom around the Garden of the Gods on the Pro Tour a few days ago. Added that ride to my mental bucket list. Looks like it's right in your back yard! You've got a great bike to tackle it! Enjoy!

p.s. time to update your board profile to reflect your correct bike!

LMaster

Indeed it is right there, and in fact I was also watching that stage. Was hoping he could stay away, but that's hard to do especially on a breezy day not to mention he ended up solo for a long while.

roccobike

The CAAD 10 is a good choice. Best of luck with it. Good idea to spend a little more and get the 105, you won't regret it.

loimpact

Wait.......whoaaaa??? This is still the 41, isn't it??

Obligatory ---------

LMaster

Haha I didn't even know this was possible. Once I get used to the bike just a touch more I might go about doing this in increments.

loimpact

Obviously (or at least I hope so) tongue in cheek. Do NOT do that!! I know some here just love that but not only would I not do it, I wouldn't even "entertain" the idea unless a professional fitter said I was just north of something "Goldilocks" about my riding position.

And I'd probably still NEVARRRRRR cut my steerer tube even if they recommended I drop to the bottom of it!