Omelet

hey. i want to check out road racing. i think it could something i could get into. the problem is that i cannot afford a bike, and i dont want to even think about buying anything (even something dirt cheap) until i know that im hooked. right now all ive got is a bmx. what can i do on a bmx that can help me determine if road racing is the sport for me?

patentcad

Have a friend repeatedly beat you with your BMX, and you will at least get some semblance of the pain that awaits you in bicycle racing should you ever develop a baseline of common sense.

Omelet

thank you for your thoughtful response, it was a great help. does anyone have any real answers?

patentcad

When do we get the real question?

Omelet

ask your mother

patentcad

Leave my mother out of this and use your shift key.

Omelet

i will if you give me some better advice

Hobartlemagne 

See if you can find a bike shop that will rent you a bike.
You can try a road race on it with minimal financial commitment.

Campag4life

I don't know how you get into roadbiking without a bike. Most will generally buy an inexpensive bike first. This isn't a bad idea because fit is king and best to make your mistake on fit on an inexpensive bike. If you want a taste, pick up a 10 year old roadbike at a garage sale and try it. I prefer roadbiking to off roading due to the smooth speed and you may like it as well.
Good Luck.

LowCel 

I wouldn't plan on it being a good experience though. Your first road race on your first time on a road bike which would also be your first time riding in a group. I hate to say it but you will probably be dropped, crash, or crash someone else within the first mile. The financial commitment will be a lot more once you have to replace / repair the bike that you rented.

You shouldn't even consider doing a road race until you get a bike, get some miles in, and get used to riding in a group. Until then you would just be a danger to yourself and everyone else.

biker128pedal

Check with your friends and see if anybody has a bike you can barrow. I bet some have one just sitting in their garage unused. Also try your local bike shops (LBS) and see if any rent road bikes. You may have to have your parent do the renting.

Then ride and ride and ride.

Campag4life

Hopefully he gets a lot of miles in before any racing endeavors. He would get dropped like a bad habit anyway so likely no threat. Good advice though.

Sprocket_Jockey

Do you race your BMX bike?

I came into road cycling via BMX. The transition was pretty smooth. The learning curve is pretty steep for someone who already has bike handling skills.

Keep your eye open for garage sales, pawn shops, craig'slist, etc.

I was lucky. My first road bike was a hand me down from my uncle.

Omelet

Thanks for all the responses. Yeah, I don't want to race (just yet anyway) I just want to get to know the sport through some time of beginning training - alone and with a club. What if i had a mountain bike - could I start off with that, or is it too heavy?

urbanknight

I would recommend just buying a good used bike and riding for a while. That way you can sell the bike for close to what you paid if you don't like it in a year or so. Read up on bike fit and components (run searches here on the forums and elsewhere).

big john

Of course, a mountain bike is a disadvantage against a road bike, but you could certainly ride one on the road and have fun and get stronger. If you were an exceptional rider, you could probably even keep up with some roadies. There was a mountain bike racer who came with us on our shorter road rides and he dropped some of the roadies, but he had a light hardtail with slicks, and he was as strong as an ox.

Bike Lover

I don't get it. If you want a mountain bike, go mountain bike racing. If you want to road race, you will need a road bike. Of course, this isn't necessarily true, if you want to be competitive, it is.

I do a lot of training on the road although I race mountain bikes, with the specific type of bike for each. I may try a road race this year, but not sure yet. I'd like to loose a little weight first. Different horses for different courses, as the trite expression goes.

stevesurf

You may want to try a spinning class - there are a good deal of them that are free. If you find the conditioning a good fit for you, that will be one useful component in training for road.

patentcad

Fair enough. Go to your local bike shop and ask them this question. Tough to start training or learning about road cycling without some kind of normal road bike beyond your BMX. Be forwarned, the road racing scene is full of elitist Aholes like me. Just trying to get you ready. Consider this thread your first negative experience in cycling. If you can withstand several hundred more, you may have a future in it.

It's worth it kid. Trust me.

baj32161

rufvelo

You can't theorize here. You will need to try both types of racing with inexpensive equipment to get a sense of what you prefer. After all the bike isn't so much of a factor, especially at the lowest levels. If you truly enjoy road racing, it will become apparent with a $300 used road bike, save some cash for spares.