Going from Hybrid to Road
 

Hello,

I've been riding a hybrid occassionally for about 6 years and recently moved out of San Francisco to the burbs and have long roads, bike lanes without parked cars in them, a former-triathlete friend one block away with a Cannondale road bike and desire to get back into shape. I'm looking to invest in a bike, shoes and clips. Thinking about spending $1,000ish on the bike and a few hundred on accessories. Would appreciate any advice.

Thanks,

Mike

Hello Mike, the best advice is to wander over to the Road Cycling forum and very carefully look at the stickies posted in that forum.

After mulling over all that advice, and perhaps getting out and checking out a few bikes in person, you would start asking more specific questions.

$1000 + will get you a more than decent bike.

Where are you located? There's a lot of BF members in the Bay Area. Having said that, you might want to look at the bikes on Craigslist--you may find that you could enjoy a used steel road bike for a lot less money. Check out the sticky near the top of the Classic & Vintage forum for more tips and hints! If you see something you like, the Bay Area members are extremely helpful :D .

Oh, and you might want to check out the Northern California regional forum and say HI!


Welcome to BF!

East Hill

Road Bikes
 

Hi Mike,
I'm not an expert but I can give you a few tips that I've learned over the years. First, I would recommend going to a bike shop when they're not busy and get fit for a frame. Most places will do this for you for free. Even if they charge you a small fee it's worth it.

Also, don't buy any bike that has the button shifters on the inside of the hoods. Get something with the shifter levers behind the brake levers. The button shifters are troublesome once you start spending time with your hands of the drops. You just can't reach those buttons with your thumbs.

Then you need to figure out if you want a double or triple chain ring on the crank. A lot of hard core riders want the double - the small chainring is typically called the granny gear - but the triple really can help you get up those hills. I have a triple and as I ride more I use it less and less, but when I need it I'm glad it's there. I once rode around Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. I don't think I was on flat ground for more than a mile at any one time. That was a day I was glad I had the granny gear.

I have a Cannondale R400 that I bought several years ago. It was at the time Cannondale's entry level road bike. The rear cassette is only an 8-speed. But I upgraded the shifters to the levers I mentioned earlier and put a better handlebar on it, one with a slight rise on the drops for my palms. I also have Time ATAC mtn bike pedals on it, mostly because of a bad knee (these pedals allow your foot to pivot in the pedal a little more than some others). Also, I like the mountain bike shoe because the cleat is recessed in the sole so you can walk around without banging your cleats on the ground.

This set up suits me fine for the kind of riding I do. The nice thing about all of these bikes is you can always upgrade components once you have a good frame. I think Cannondale makes some of the best. And they are made here, or used to be anyway, if you care about that kind of thing. Get out there and have fun. 40 MPH is a hoot on a 23 cm tire.
Bstrgrds,
Doug

+1

Get fitted once you find the bike you want.

I work in a bike shop and Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually slow. Visit several shops and test ride and do research on the brands you're interested in. Don't focus on just the brands you know. There are lots of *other* very good brands out there.
As East Hill suggested, read through the stickies in the Road forum, and any other threads that catch your attention in the Road and General forums.

Hello all,

Thanks for the quick and detailed responses. I had written a long response to this, but realized this is probably not the right forum, so I am going to go and post in Road Cycling. Please head over there and continue the dialouge; it is apprciated.

Oh, I am in San Carlos and ride on Canada Road and in the Woodside area.

Mike