ridethecliche

Helloooo!!!

I just bought a Raleigh Mojave 4.0 and I'd had some problems with it, the chain has repeatedly fallen off during normal riding and lodged between the body and one of the gears in the front. After taking it to the bike shop 5 times in two weeks of owning it, the owner said I could switch the bike for something else if I had wanted to.

I had originally been looking at the Fuji Finest road bikes (I forget what the exact number it was but it cost 550 bucks), and decided against them for some reason.
I'm just curious as to how durable road bikes are. I go to college in CT and want to have a bike I can ride around for my four years there and beyond, hopefully using it to commute if I have the chance. The area around there is very hilly and nice to road bikes, but there are a few trails around somewhere (I can probably borrow a bike) which is leading to some inner decision making conflicts.

I'm curious as to how durable road bikes are in non perfect road conditions.
Will it damage a road bike to ride it on slightly gravelly pavement and or the occasional gravel path? What about getting onto and of curbs? I mean I realize that this isn't a mountain bike, but I'm terribly used to mtb's at this point and they just feel just a tad bit sturdier. I'm a college student on a bit of a budget, so anything over the $600-ish price line will be wayyy too expensive (working in a lab at this level only pays so much eh?).

I think, from my limited knowledge of bikes, that a cyclocross would be a good buy for me but those are well over my price limit. Just looking for recommendations and possibly people's opinions of a few of the 'entry level' road bikes.

I'm about 6 ft tall and weigh in 140's, for the record.

Thanks a lot for all your help!

slvoid

https://cgi.ebay.com/Bianchi-Cyclocro...em180072501824

ridethecliche

I don't think the shop would let me get a complete refund on the bike and then just walk out, and I'm really hesitant about buying my first bike shop bike (the keeper atleast) from the net because I can't try it out. Thanks though :-)

belowzero

To answer your question;

Paris Roubaix;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris-Roubaix

Road bike are durable. I've got an ultra light carbon fibre roadbike and crashed at 55+km/h and not a scratch. I love riding the roadbike so much that I started commute/training on it and let the MTB rest a little as it was giving me sorer knees when cranking up mountains. Yeah I know they're called mountain bikes but for some reason I go up twice as fast on my roadie and experience hardly any pain. Eitherway the ride is smooth and pleasant and I would recommend getting good wheels at least as cheap ones can break spokes. Something like a pair of used Mavic Ksyriums off ebay might be better than a brand new cheap pair for the same money if you want durable strong wheels.

roadwarrior

It would really be easier to answer your questions if you would tell what bikes the shop sells. To recommend another entry-level bike that the shop does not carry does not make a lot of sense.

DnvrFox

I have had my Lemond Buenos Aires since 1999, and have ridden it regularly with a good number of miles. It does not break easily. It has been over gravel roads and bumps and the like. But, I do not abuse it. I wouldn't jump curbs with it. It is definitely not a mountain bike.

I would agree that a good set of wheels would be important, if the originals were not of decent quality.

All bikes will have normal wear and tear - the chain, cogsets and rings will eventually wear out, especially if not maintained.

grahny

+8.6 megatrillionmillion

ridethecliche

The LBS sells Trek,Fuji, Gary Fisher, Raleigh, Diamondback, Haro, SE Racing, Stolen Bike Co., MirraCo, Fit Bike Co., Electra.

That Bianchi looks really nice, but I'm not quite sure I'm ready to buy a bike from the net yet since I'm not terribly informed or knowledgeable about bikes at this point of time. I saw an ibex cyclocross online too and thought it was a pretty attractive offer but I don't think the bike shop would give me a complete refund on the bike. Unfortunately, I'm not 6'2 either and I think my mtb is a 20 inch, so I'm not sure the bianchi would fit me either. Thanks for the link though.

Yeah, I'm not planning to go curb jumping with a road bike at all, but I rode one on a gravel lot and it felt weird since I'm not used to it. I could feel each and every bump and it was a little frightening because I was scared that the bike would fall apart.

Edit: If I bought a regular road bike, is it possible to get slightly more 'grippy' tires like the ones they have on that cyclocross bikes without spending a fortune?
Where I live in PA and where I'm going to be for a good part of each of the next four years in CT are very hilly areas, so while a mountain bike works, it is a pain in the behind to ride up those hills carrying textbooks in a backpack. The area's also really nice for going out and riding around for miles, and I've never ridden on mtb trails before and I think there's a bit of added expense that goes with that (gps, etc) that I don't have and I haven't seen heard of anyone being interested in riding on trails, so theoretically a road bike is the more efficient way to go especially since I want to keep riding a bike after college and I don't know where I'm going to be then.

Thanks for all the help, hope my post is going to help you help me.

DnvrFox

How a road bike rides on gravel depends an awful lot on the tires you use.

IMHO, a 700x23 or a 700 x 19 or 20 will not work, and you will have a lot of trouble and a "squirrelly" feel.

I use 700x25's quite well, but some prefer a larger tire. Depends a lot on the type of gravel, etc.

Retro Grouch 

I wouldn't worry too much about durability on a college campus because it'll probably get stolen before it has a chance to break down or wear out.

Get yourself a semi-expendable POS campus bike. Don't take a good bike to school unless you have a very secure storage spot. Even if you do have secure storage, you'll still need the POS (and a decent locking system) for riding around campus.

ridethecliche

I have two locks at school, i only used one for my old pos bike that had the back wheel completely twist on me during riding, but with the two locks i can lock the back wheel to the body and lock the body and front wheel to a bike stand. This is between classes and such, during periods of not being used, the bike is indoors secured to a stairwell, with the back wheel secured to the body. I haven't heard of anyone getting their bike stolen, yet atleast. I can always buy a huge thick lock too, i think my locks might not be able to stand up to heavy duty bolt cutters but i'm not even sure anyone owns those haha. Thanks for the concern, I've definately thought about that.
Is it a terrible idea to ride a road bike in the rain/with wet road because of the tread on the tires, or is it just the 'be cautious' rule in play.
Thanks for all the help thus far!
(I'm really thinking about getting rid of the raleigh now, I went out for a little over an hour on the bike and the seat got loose again, this is the second time it's happened and I secured it pretty tightly last time...)

Edit: I bet a lot of people on this board has a downtube shifting road bike for their first roadie (and maybe even beyond that). I was told by the guy at the LBS that a large chunk of the production cost for newer road bikes goes into the drop bars which have the shifters on them along with the secondary set of brake levers that get put up there. I mean I'm going to be learning how to ride a pretty different bike in general, but I was wondering how people feel about the downtube shifters. I'm not looking into racing anytime soon (time/work constraints), so those super fast gear changes aren't a huge priority, but I can save around 200 bucks getting downtube shifters. Even with limited roadbike usage, I haven't ever used a bike with those, I just wanted to say what people had to say about those. I think the bikes he has with those are last year's fuji finests.

Edit number two: I just noticed that while some bikes don't have downtube shifters, they don't look like they have that little black lever near the brake on the drop bars. I'm just curious how shifting works on those.

Thanks a lot again :-)

DnvrFox

Edit number two: I just noticed that while some bikes don't have downtube shifters, they don't look like they have that little black lever near the brake on the drop bars. I'm just curious how shifting works on those.

Shimano Sora components have the little black lever. This is their "economy" model, although the one I have on one of my bikes works just fine.

The Shimano 105's and up have a 2nd little metal tab right near the brake lever which functions the same. The difference being you can shift the 105's ang higher while riding "in the drops" while you can't shift the Sora from the drops.

And someone else can tell you about Campy!

Downtube shifters worked for lots of folks quite well for many years. Some folks still prefer them. You have to take your hand off of the bar to shift, and to some this is a disadvantage. Personally, I love my brifters.

ridethecliche

Just for clarification a bike like this https://www.fujibikes.com/2007/bikes.asp?id=279&subcat= doesn't have the black bit (it's shimano 2200, which noone's said anything about so i guess they're old?) how do they shift, as opposed to https://www.fujibikes.com/2007/bikes.asp?id=276&subcat=1 which has the black thing near the brake pads. I think I'm going to go to the store again on monday and make the change up, I think that fuji's the only one they had for the price of 550, the other's were around a 100 dollars more and up. Still the bike with downtube shifters for 350ish sounds pretty attractive, especially since I'm not planning on racing anytime soon. I think it has shimano 2200 parts though, those haven't really been mentioned since the sora's the lowest level right, or are 2200's different since they go on the downtube.
Thanks!

JayC

When I was in Washington, DC last May for an inline skating event, I was walking down the street of the hotel I was staying at and saw what was left of a bike locked to a pole of some sort. All that was left was the frame and rear wheel. Everything else had been stripped. All the components, seat, seatpost, bars etc were gone.

People will steal anything that isnt nailed down and even then they'll try to pry the nails loose.

ridethecliche

Trust me, it's different at wesleyan. It's glorious not being in a city :-)
Regardless, threatening loss of bike talk isn't helpful while it might be accurate in a lot of places :-)

ridethecliche

Bumpity Bump!
Looking for a little more advice on the finest and/or drop tube shifters.
Thankee!

Edit: I mean Newest, sorry about that :-)

ridethecliche

Sorry for re-bumping, but I was wondering if anyone had any more info on the shimano 2200's.
Or is it just worth it to spend the extra dough and get a bike with brifters?

Thanks again, my decision making for things like this isn't all that great, so I'm trying to get as much info as possible before I go back to the store tomorrow and carry out the exchange and getting a more worthy bike :-)

canthidefromme

You really should base your decision on how you plan to use your bike. If you want a bike to actually bike, get brifters and atleast somewhat-ok components (105 is regarded as the best performance/value shimano group, but it will cost you more than your budget). If you don't want to buy used, you can just save for a little longer and get a better equiped bike and one that ideally causes less frustration.

If you don't want to spend money and just have a campus bike just get what's cheap and you won't mind getting stolen/leaving in the rain/abusing. I ride to class on my mtb and don't care how much power I lose running knobbies and a fork. And although its one of the nicer mtbs on campus, I'm not too worried about it getting stolen (and if it does I have an excuse to buy a new cross bike...). I also store my bikes in my apartment or on the balcony overnight. If you can't store it inside overnight, go cheap because 1) it is more likely to get stolen and 2) rain is terrible for a bike

Shimano 2200 is pretty low-end stuff (Sora is 3300, and with Shimano, higher numbers are better). But I'm sure there are some people who get great use out of it.

Road bikes are sturdy. Cheaper road wheels, not so much.

BigBlueToe

Road bikes are plenty durable for what they're intended for: road riding (which often includes ruts, potholes, rough pavement, etc.) I have several favorite routes which are a mixture of paved and dirt roads. My road bike does fine.

The skinny, high pressure tires offer less rolling resistance, which makes them easier to pedal, but that translates to less cushioning. A high pressure road tire will feel much harder, and the ride rougher, than a fat, lower pressure mountain tire. I'd say get used to it, because the easier pedalling is well worth it.

Riding over sharp bumps, potholes, pavement edges, etc. is not good. The hardness of the tire will translate to more jarring on the bike, which could lead to something breaking - if not immediately, then it's life will be shortened. Try to avoid these things if possible, or slow down to lessen the impact on the bike. And always lift your butt out of the saddle, at least a couple of inches, when you're about to hit something. Your legs act as shock absorbers and the weight of your body won't resist the jolt so much. Those little tires would have plenty of impact absorption if the only thing riding on them was the 25 lb. bike (instead of the 25 lb. bike PLUS the 200 lb. rider.)

My first 10 speed, bought when I was a young, foolish college student, had steel rims. Several times I rode over something hard enough that it pushed all the way through the tire and bent the rim. (In those days, a "high pressure" tire had 80 lbs of air. Wow! "Normal" pressure was around 60 lbs. Those were 27 x 1 1/4" tires, of course.) Modern alloy rims are much tougher. (I have no experience with any other materials.)

ridethecliche

Thanks!
The router at home was acting up so i wasn't able to get on here earlier, but I'm planning on going down to the shop later today and get the new bike.
I've ridden a bike around the area around my home and school and the roads are pretty nice with potholes that are avoidable if you're not staring into the sky while riding.
Since I do ride around when the roads are a little slick, and since it does snow in CT (not riding during, but after cleanup is an option), I had just wanted to know how durable the bikes were in those conditions- cold and light rain/slick roads. I'll take your advice to heart BBT, and remember to use my body to provide some additional shock absorbing capabilities to the bike and end up buying a roadie later today in order.
I'm quite excited about my purchase :-)

I'll probably end up going for the best bike within my budget, I'm not the best at maintenance (i'll probably look up on here for where to find good info books/dvds/sites, later) and I've had a bad experience with the bike I have right now and I'd rather not be a cheapie for something that I plan to use for the next few years.

Can'thide, I have a stairwell inside my dorm building (protected by keycards) where I lock my bike using two wire style locks so I'm not scared of it getting stolen in there, but during classes and work, I'll be sure to use two locks to secure it to bike stands to protect it.

Thanks for all the help!