UNC Charlotte
 

Hi everyone, I'm Darren from Charlotte, NC. Right now, I ride a piece of junk MTB, and am about to take the plunge and buy a $600-700 starter road bike. I can't believe people spend that much on a bike, but I need one to get in shape and save on gas. I've rode since I was 6 or so years old.

I also want to organize rides up around UNCC, but I'll post that in a separate forum.

Hello Darren, yes people spend that much and more! But on the other hand, if you don't have to spend $100 every week on gas, it does not take long to get back your investment, and your health improves as well :) .

What are you looking at to buy?

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

I know, but it seems like an awful lot of dough. Think back to when you were starting out, I bet you thought like I do now. :)

I'm looking to buy as much bike as 600 dollars can buy...any tips?

Charlotte Craigslist is your friend. Depending on the size you need, there are four or five bikes priced under $500 that would fit your needs. A couple of them are $150 (the Peugeot Iseran, the World Sport 'Racing bike').

They aren't new, and they aren't high upper end, but the two I pointed out are both very decent starter road bikes, and if you decide to upgrade later, they will probably still be worth almost what you paid for them.

My first upgraded road bike was a Specialized Dolce Elite--$1200. The other bikes I have are all vintage steel :) --mostly from Craigslist or eBay, and under $150.

East Hill

I'll definitely have to check that out. I looked at Craigslist last night and sent a guy an email and he called me back today, but I hadn't seen those bikes. I'm just not sure if I know what to look for when buying a used bike. Right now I'm bidding on a Trek 1500 on ebay that's had some upgrades. So, we'll see what I end up with after this weekend is over :)

Mostly, cracks in frames for aluminium or carbon. Frame damage for steel (look at the top tube just behind the head tube to see if there's any sign of crash damage. It looks like wrinkles in the paint. Also, bent forks on any type of frame.)

Most older road bikes from the 80s or 90s will have relatively easy to fix things. You can always ask in the Classic & Vintage forum, too. We are a bunch of cheapskates, so we would tell you that $150 is too much, but it's not really...check out the sticky in C & V called 'ebay and/or craigslist finds part II' to see what people find every day!

East Hill

Hey, dtmooreh! I'm already talkin' with ya on SE forum! Welcome! :)

Hi again! Anytime you want to hook up for a ride, I live just a couple of minutes away from UNCC. Just shoot me a pm. :)