Originally Posted by
joejack951
Can you even buy those in the US? What is the cost with shipping? And do you really recommend a newbie buy a bike online from an overseas vendor with zero local support?
To each their own. Minimizing the initial purchase while still getting a competent bike, to me, is what newbie's should be doing. And a Claris bike (which can be had for $500 shipped by mail order) is ideal for that. I put my first 5000 or so road miles on an 8 speed Sora bike which lacked quite a bit compared to today's Claris. It was perfect for me and made a great foul weather bike when I did decide I liked cycling enough to invest in a better bike.
I started on a hand-me-down with bar end shifters and as many gears and I have fingers on one end. What we ride and what we (or our friends) can afford is 1 thing, what the market dictate in terms of pricing stratification is another. The way Shimano has always positioned its products by way of feature differentiation (brifter nubs, cable routing, gears, etc) is tiered DA/Ult vs 105 vs Tiagra/Sora .... and likewise XTR/XT vs Deore vs Alivio/Acera on MTB. high, mid, entry
Anyway, my reference comes in whats local to me, in which case its not overseas. Your 500$ mail order (bikes direct?) is overseas, likewise unavailable here, and....doesnt list weight
