Buying first "real" road bikes..........
 

My wife and I have been riding mtn.bikes, but with winter coming in, and the trails being wet lately, we've decided to spring for some road bikes. Thinking of a Lemond Reno for me (seems to fit well and the components are decent enough) and a Trek 1500 WSD for her (this particular one has 105 brakes and a better crankset than it's spec'd with-came from the factory that way!). We are both over 50 and have only ridden neighborhood roads on our mtn.bikes, but thinking of getting into some real road riding. Anyone have an opinion on the Lemond and Trek mentioned above-want decent bikes, but don't want to break the bank!

Those are both quite good bicycles in their price catagory. And they're REAL road bikes with minimal crap on them.

The maker for bicycles is not as important as automobiles. The automobile company makes most of the stuff that goes into a car or a large fraction of it. The bike company makes the frame and then goes to Shimano for the components and mavic for the wheels and so on. Two shimano 105 equipped bikes will be very similar. A bike with a more generic frame will cost less then one with more cutting edge technology. But when you get up to Shimano 105, you are getting up into pretty decent quality bikes. The competition in the industry is such that the local bike shops (LBS) will not carry a bike that is not good. So you can pretty safely go with personal preference on things like ride feel and color.

Good bikes. The most important thing is to make sure you get the right size and set it up just right for you. What is "just right" will change as you ride more. The better it fits, the more you'll ride. Enjoy!

You seem to know this already, but DON'T GET A BETTER/LIGHTER BIKE THAN YOUR WIFE!!;) You're also aware of the WSD issue. If the bike doesn't fit, doesn't work "right", or doesn't look as cute as yours, chances are you will, sooner or later, loose your riding partner. Those bikes sound fine. We've got a couple of Trek mtn bikes, and I've got a Trek road bike. Have fun, and be careful.

I'd say the other way round. Let her get the pretty one but make certain that your one works. Nothing worse than being whooped by your own wife.

I just bought a new LeMond Reno about a month ago after riding solely on a mountain bike for about 10 years. I just can't give this bike enough praise. I just love it! I bought it in a LBS that specializes in bikefitting and they did a fantastic job. Just rode my age (almost) a metric century in nearly gale force winds with very little effort except for a slightly sore butt!

The best road bike for you is one which fits you well and which suits your needs. Top tube length and seat tube length will have a big impact on your comfort; fork rake and frame angles will affect the ride quality and handling. Unless you are hard-core enough to be sure you want narrow tires all the time, consider a frame with enough clearance to accommodate at least 700Cx28s, if not 700Cx32s. Eyelets for mudguards and/or racks may also come in handy, even if they lend a minor "dork" factor.

I prefer practical older road bikes because so many of today's are full-race machines, with very tight clearances and geometries.

I'll second the advice about the fit being important. I've gotten the bug and bought/built a few bikes since I started, but they are all good! There are two approaches: spend as much as you can to get the best because you'll want to upgrade when/if you get hooked. My approach: you have to start somewhere and get experience before you know what features/components would be on your "dream bike". Honestly, both strategies have something to be said for them.

I don't have the experience of some of the folks here, but from what I know, for the brands that you're talking about, road bikes are commoditized -- they're mostly competitive, well designed, and are not going to fall apart (and if they do, you can usually fix them). The only "lemon" that you might get is a bike that doesn't fit you well or is not set up well and discourages you from riding it.

Have fun.

I love my LeMond (though it is a Buenos Aries) and my wife's Trek 1500WSD has keep her interested in riding. You have made two reasonable choices.