greetings, and a question
 

Greetings from Decatur, GA. I am new to Bike Forums, and would like advice on purchasing a good road bike for both in-town recreational riding and longer trips. Should I get a touring bike? The person at my local bike store suggested started with a Surly frame and then building it up with components. Any advice?
Thanks,
Lynne

There are sooo many choices. If you are going to want racks for carrying lots of stuff, then you want a touring type frame. If you are climbing hills, you probably want low gears, meaning a triple crank. For general riding, almost anything will do. See the under $700 thread in the road forum. I would suggest you try riding different bikes at different shops and see what fits/feels/looks good to you.

:eek: Another Decaturite. :eek:
Actually there are lots of Decatur and Atl folks here. :beer:
Be sure to check out this thread in the Southeast subforum.

Hi Lynne. Surly? I'm guessing you went to Outback Bikes.
For recreational riding I'd recommend a decent road bike. For longer trips (I'm guessing you mean multi-day) a touring bike may be your best bet.
Which will you be doing more of?

There are several GOOD bike shops in the Decatur/East Atl area.
Intown Bicycles in Virginia-Highland.
Outback Bikes in L5P.
Bicycle South in Decatur.
Atlanta Pro Bikes, on Highland, one block south of Ponce.
Tucker Bicycles in Tucker.
If you don't mind venturing farther out there's Atlanta Cycling on Piedmont near Cheshire Bridge and CycleWorks. They have 4 shops in the area.

If you haven't narrowed your search to a specific brand, look around at several bike shops and ask lots of questions. I know many of the shop owners/managers and they are all extremely helpful.

Fell free to ask the folks in the above mentioned "Decatur" thread or anyone on BF for suggestions.