hey, i have been mountain biking on a gt for about a year and have been loving it. i am really starting to get into the whole cycling world, and am itching to get a road bike. i have been looking around, at treks, schwinns, lemonds, etc. i will just be entering into road biking, so i don't need a race bike, but i want my bike to look good as i begin to ride, possibly train. does anyone have any good suggestions for me? i need something quality, although not necessarily race-ready. i also hold wheels to be very important. i want a really good looking wheelset. help me out if you have any ideas.

i forgot to say that i want to spend from 1000 to 1500 dollars, total. for instance, if i could find a quality frame with low end components for 700 bucks, i would love to buy a set of shimano ultegra wheels.

hey xavier, do you have any ideas?

eetz,

First why the big deal to buy Ultegra wheels. They are basicly same as 105. Pull them apart and you will see.

As far as complete bikes for $1500.00?

I normally cusntom spec all bikes. If you go this route you are looking roughly at the following costs. These will again fluctuate between stores

105 gruppo w/ wheels - $700.00
Kit - $200

This gives you $600.00 for a frame to keep it at $1500.00. Not imposible and this way you get all quality goods.

You can also buy complete bikes out of the box but usually end up with lower quality parts and many times you cannot choose sizes on many items. If you go this route be sure you get all 105 parts and quality stem, bars and seat.

I recommend the following

Giant TCR1 or TCR2

Bianchi and Marin also have great bikes but many will use Campagnolo gruppo.

Let me know on anything else. Take care.

P.S. Feel free to e-mail me at - xavier@bullteksports.com

I would strongly consider the Tommaso AS2 that is sold online by getawaybikes.com on ebay - or through their own website. At less than $1000 it can't be beat for value - very nice Easton aluminum frame - great looking weld quality; Ultegra running gear, carbon fiber seat post, front fork, stem AND bars. I know it's scary to buy something like a bike online - I was so hesitant that I DROVE to their location in Pompano Beach, FL to see if they were for real - they are! They offer "Pro Build" for the bikes they ship - which means they completely assemble, tune, true and road-test the bike - I met the man who does this work and he has 35 years experience in the business.

If you look around you can get a Specialized Allez Comp '04 for under $1500, full Ultegra w/ Mavic Ksyriums, Pave carbon post, carbon3 fork. About a 18.5lbs bike in a 56cm.

Does this guy sell the bikes on eBay or what? He sure promotes them a lot.

Trek has some nice models for under 1500, really around 1100, I like bontrager wheels, the race x lites are real nice but at 700 they are probably out of the budget...