irishmcmorgan

Thanks to those who want to give me some advice, I am looking at buying my first roadie and I have a couple of choices,............ I want to start getting into it and here are my choices and price ranges...

trek 1000-06' $629.99

Lemond Etape-06' $599.99

Scott 05' Speedster- $499.99

Giant OCR 3- $599.99

I am really leaning toward the Trek because I know that they have my size at the shop and i have no experience with the bikes..........I am guessing that all the components are almost the same. Shimano.. If you roadies could just give the newb some advice on picking out his first bike or if you guys want to show me some other bieks please do.. thanks again

recneps345

Most are going to say all good entry level bikes. Go with the one that feels best. If two feel same go with looks or price difference. Good luck.

af2nr

Yes they are all going to be equipped pretty much the same. The one that fits the best is the one you should get, if more than one fits you well get the one that "looks" best to you. I was in your boat in July between the Trek and LeMond, I really thought I would get the Trek until I rode the LeMond, plus they didn't have my size in the 1000 only the 1200.

R900

Go with the best ride, you really can't go wrong with those brands. I like Trek and since you can ride it that is a plus, but best to compare with other bikes even if you need to drive a way just to test ride some different bikes. They all feel different.

John

irishmcmorgan

thanks guys i am going to go test ride the trek today so.........thanks again

recneps345

Be sure to test ride all of them and more than once. One ride can be enough, but with this amount of money mine as well be certain.

baj32161

I rode all of these bikes and I ended up with a LeMond, but it wasn't the Etape, it was a Tourmalet (a few models up) but it had the same fit and feel of the Etape I rode. The fit just felt better. They are all fine entry level road bikes. As one other poster said, if you can't decide on feel and ride quality, buy the one that looks coolest, which IMHO is the '06 Trek 1000...I love that orange. I just liked the LeMond ride better.

I hope this helps,

Brian

And YES this is just another shameless excuse to post pics of my bike

martinricher

Hey,

I was in your situation just a few days ago (what a fun time by the way). I test rode the Lemond and the Trek but ended up falling in love with the Specialized Allez which was just a better fit and felt a bit more aggressive so you might want to keep that bike in mind too

jbonus

I like the racing green details.

webist

Tey aren't all compact geometry. Make sure you note the differences between compact and regular geometry. My first road bike was an OCR1. I enjoyed it.

baj32161

I tell ya, green is not one of my favourite colours, and that bike took a while to grow on me. But now, I love the way it looks. I was thinking about having the frame painted yellow but I didn't want to have folks around here think I am a Green Bay Packers fan Actually green and yellow were my college colours.

Brian

DocRay

You got a really nice bike for $600. Colors are great.

baj32161

Me?!?!? Thanks, I think. I wish I had only spent $600 for it, but I won't complain about spending $850.00.

simplyred

Excellent. Finally a new rider speaks the truth. Thankfully you haven't been... influenced to think Dura-Ace is that much better than 105. It's not... A 15 lb bike is not that much better than a 20 lb. If you don't know - just be ignorant and happy than "informed" and dissatisfied.

My opinion is to get the frame you enjoy looking at the most - because at the end of the day; parts will wear out faster than your frame by far. Not to mention the frame is usually the biggest part of the bike.
TREK; has one of the best warranties on the market & it would be difficult to find another company as enjoyable to deal with than Trek.

Good Luck!
-Peter

markwebb

The Tourmalet is many steps up and $500 more than the Etape - it has Shimano 105 and some Ultegra. There is a big difference between the Etape and Tourmalet.

Did you get the 2006 model - the 2005 Tourmalets were not silver and green (they were blue) and I don't think they were your bikes colors in 2004, either. What's the model year?

seely

You'll be very happy in the long run you got the Tourmalet if you stick with the sport... it will last you much longer and allow you to progress w/o upgrading... an 8spd Sora equipped bike like the Etape is unfortunately hardly worth upgrading, with 10spd being the new thing and all.

Jejunum

dont forget about my low end jamis either, the satellite

https://www.jamisbikes.com/bikes/05_satellite.html

you can probably get it for $<550

irishmcmorgan

I rode the Trek 1000, and I thnk i am going to get that one, an 06 52 frame, thanks for posting. now tell me some stuff to buy with it?

baj32161

[QUOTE=markwebb]The Tourmalet is many steps up and $500 more than the Etape - it has Shimano 105 and some Ultegra. There is a big difference between the Etape and Tourmalet.

Did you get the 2006 model - the 2005 Tourmalets were not silver and green (they were blue) and I don't think they were your bikes colors in 2004, either. What's the model year?[/QUOTE/]

I don't think you got the gist of my post. I realize there is quite a difference in the 2 LeMonds..but fit and feel are not among them. The Tourmalet is only 2 steps up in the ALU LeMond line (Etape, Reno, Tourmalet). But the difference in componentry is what you stated (as is the price), and what I am well aware of. I was just trying to impress upon the OP my feelings about the Etape vs the other 2 bikes he mentioned. Had it not been for the offer I got on the Tourmalet, I would have bought the Etape, and been quite happy with it.

As I stated, I liked the fit of the LeMond, but ultimately the choice is up to the OP. I have the '04 model and I am loving it...the '04 is silver and green.

ViperZ

Like others have stated, fit, feel, looks, price. You're in the zone.

Nice Lemond Baj32161. I like the silver/green and the set up makes the bike look very nice

baj32161

Thanks Viper...Green is not one of my favourite colours but that bike has since grown on me, and also has gotten alot of very positive comments from onlookers.

Cheers,

Brian.

FIVE ONE SIX

i say you add the Lemond Reno to that original list, and go with that, but that's just my opinion...

baj32161

LOL!! I grew up with 5spd....and doubles....so 8 spd would be more than what I was used to.

Hill Climber

I looked at the Trek, LeMond and Giant not that long ago when I bought mine... don't know about the Scott. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. I ended up with the Giant because:
1. (to me) the ride felt better than the Trek
2. I liked the looks of it better than the LeMond
3. and as important (to me) as anything, I liked the bike shop that sold the Giants the best - I felt like they were the most honest, I was treated the best there and will get the best service in the future.

baj32161

And I (for one) can't argue with that. I liked the Specialized Allez Sport I looked at, but the shop from which I purchased my LeMond just treated me like they really wanted my business...and still do. Yes it is very important that you feel good about the shop where you make your purchase as well....forgot to mention that.