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Can anyone help me which bike should I pick for my first road bike?

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Can anyone help me which bike should I pick for my first road bike?

Old 07-06-15, 06:41 PM
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Can anyone help me which bike should I pick for my first road bike?

Hello everyone,

I'm new in this, I love cycling class and I decided to take it outdoors but I'm a bit lost with what to buy.

Here I have seen 2 different road bikes,

Save Up to 60% Off Road Bikes - Dawes Sheila PRO Women Specific Carbon Fork Road Bike

Save up to 60% off Road Bikes - Mercier Elle Women Specific road bikes


I'm 5'2'' , should I get a 46 or 50?
Budget: both fit
Type of rides: flat road and rolling hills in california

I appreciate all the answers as possible, I really don't understand much about this, and the advantages or disadvantages from them.

THANKS.

Anita Musi
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Old 07-06-15, 07:02 PM
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Since you're new to it, it's really important that you test ride many different road bikes at your local bike shops.

If you end up with the wrong size, or even the right size but not right for you geometry, then it could ruin your enjoyment of cycling outside.

Ordering one on the internet isn't recommended if you're inexperienced.

If you're trying to save money, performance bike or rei have decent deals on house brands and liberal return policy.
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Old 07-06-15, 07:03 PM
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Originally Posted by f4rrest
Since you're new to it, it's really important that you test ride many different road bikes at your local bike shops.

If you end up with the wrong size, or even the right size but not right for you geometry, then it could ruin your enjoyment of cycling outside.

Ordering one on the internet isn't recommended if you're inexperienced.

If you're trying to save money, performance bike or rei have decent deals on house brands and liberal return policy.
+1

Fuji Finest 2.3 Women's Road Bike -- 2015
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Old 07-06-15, 09:23 PM
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Originally Posted by rms13
If you go into a Performance or a Sports Chalet/Authority they will have quite a few Fuji bikes that are around the $500 mark.

However, please look over the equipment very carefully. I saw a Fuji 2.3 road bike today in Sports Chalet that had a Shimano Tourney RD on a $600 bike. I'm pretty sure the techs at shop messed something up.
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Old 07-06-15, 09:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Inpd
If you go into a Performance or a Sports Chalet/Authority they will have quite a few Fuji bikes that are around the $500 mark.

However, please look over the equipment very carefully. I saw a Fuji 2.3 road bike today in Sports Chalet that had a Shimano Tourney RD on a $600 bike. I'm pretty sure the techs at shop messed something up.
Performance is a different level of shop than the big box stores
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Old 07-06-15, 10:03 PM
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Originally Posted by anainesmusi

Save Up to 60% Off Road Bikes - Dawes Sheila PRO Women Specific Carbon Fork Road Bike

Save up to 60% off Road Bikes - Mercier Elle Women Specific road bikes


I'm 5'2'' , should I get a 46 or 50?
Budget: both fit
Type of rides: flat road and rolling hills in california
The Dawes is a slightly higher quality bike with the 1 1/8" head tube and CF fork.
Whereas the Mercier has a 1" head tube and chromoly fork.

I'm assuming that is an 8s cassette which is ok.
The 11-23 cassette is fairly aggressive, but that is offset a bit with the triple crank. It depends a bit on how strong you are with hill climbs.

According to the web page:

most riders 4'10" to 5'2" - choose the 42 (XSmall) = standover 28"
most riders 5'3" to 5'5" - choose the 46 (Small) = standover 30"
You're kind of on the border with that. The sloping top tubes are a bit harder to judge. I'd probably choose the 46, but you might even consider the 42.

That is one reason why it doesn't hurt to browse around, although it is somewhat rude to take up a bunch of shop time then order online. But, who knows, you might fall in love with a bike at your local shop. And sales occur frequently.
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Old 07-07-15, 01:38 AM
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Originally Posted by anainesmusi
Hello everyone,

I'm new in this, I love cycling class and I decided to take it outdoors but I'm a bit lost with what to buy.

Here I have seen 2 different road bikes,

Save Up to 60% Off Road Bikes - Dawes Sheila PRO Women Specific Carbon Fork Road Bike

Save up to 60% off Road Bikes - Mercier Elle Women Specific road bikes


I'm 5'2'' , should I get a 46 or 50?
Budget: both fit
Type of rides: flat road and rolling hills in california

I appreciate all the answers as possible, I really don't understand much about this, and the advantages or disadvantages from them.

THANKS.

Anita Musi
46
Get better one.
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Old 07-07-15, 09:23 AM
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Get the best bike you can afford, and take it to a bike shop to get it assembled/safety checked.
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Old 07-07-15, 12:40 PM
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Originally Posted by f4rrest
Since you're new to it, it's really important that you test ride many different road bikes at your local bike shops.

If you end up with the wrong size, or even the right size but not right for you geometry, then it could ruin your enjoyment of cycling outside.

Ordering one on the internet isn't recommended if you're inexperienced.

If you're trying to save money, performance bike or rei have decent deals on house brands and liberal return policy.
Agree with this.

Also, your inseam will have as much of an effect on bike size as you height. If you go to an LBS, they should be able to help fit you.

And while Fuji is a pretty major brand, and can be found outside of Performance Bike stores, it is pratically a house brand for them. Performance will have good prices on the Fuji's. And they have a 90 day price match guarantee, which can be a very good thing around this time of year. As the new models are starting to come out, which means that the 2015 models will be going on sale pretty soon, if they aren't already on sale. And there might be a 2014 in your size that will really be clearanced.

GH
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Old 07-07-15, 12:48 PM
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It's always up to you, your budget, and how you feel on the bike. However, I gotta make one recommendation. Stay far, far away from Shimano 2200/2300 shifters. They don't even make them anymore, and for good reason. The frustrations of not being able to upshift the rear or downshift the front when you're in the drops is painful. I ignored advice on that for my first road bike and ended up with the 2300. Huge regrets. This is, of course, my personal feelings on it, but I'm sure many will agree.
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Old 07-07-15, 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by anainesmusi
Hello everyone,

I'm new in this, I love cycling class and I decided to take it outdoors but I'm a bit lost with what to buy.

Here I have seen 2 different road bikes,

Save Up to 60% Off Road Bikes - Dawes Sheila PRO Women Specific Carbon Fork Road Bike

Save up to 60% off Road Bikes - Mercier Elle Women Specific road bikes


I'm 5'2'' , should I get a 46 or 50?
Budget: both fit
Type of rides: flat road and rolling hills in california

I appreciate all the answers as possible, I really don't understand much about this, and the advantages or disadvantages from them.

THANKS.

Anita Musi
I agree with the group that says go to the closest Performance Bike. The Bike linked above looks like a good deal for your price range. Performance will let you ride the bike to see how it feels to you.
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Old 07-07-15, 01:58 PM
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Originally Posted by KonaRider125
Get the best bike you can afford, and take it to a bike shop to get it assembled/safety checked.
Don't take the BD bike to a shop to assemble it. It isn't rocket science... don't pay half the cost to get it put together. If you have troubles... find a friendly neighbor that you see buzzing past on a fancy bike to help.

If you want to pay $200 to get a $500 bike assembled.... why not just go to the shop and buy a $700 bike from your neighborhood bike shop.
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