I've been waiting (and dreaming out loud) about getting into road biking for a bit now. Last Christmas, my wife thought she could squelch my apparently "annoying" dreaming by getting me a prescription to Bicycling magazine. Well that really didn't help either of us, and now she's agreed to let me dip into savings and go buy one.

My questions is, is it better to buy all of the accessories from the LBS when I get the bike or would it be better/ easier on the budget to buy the essential ones (like shoes) from the LBS but then get everything else like spare tubes, new helmet, bibs, ect. somewhere else (online) hoping for sales and cheaper prices?


thanks for any input