Advice for first Road Bike
 

Hello all,

I am an avid MTB'r and am in the market for my first road bike. I plan on touring around the US and I will be riding across America in 2014. I have $2400 cash in hand for a new bike. I am still undecided on whether I will use Panniers or a trailer as of yet but I would like the option for either. I have been to two different LBS and each one has recommended the Jamis Aurora Elite. What are your thoughts? I currently ride about a hundred miles a week; all trail riding. Any advice you can provide would be grateful.

Jamis Aurora Elite is decent and so are the Surly LHT'r. Trek 520, Novara Rondonee, Rock Mountain Sherpa, Cannondale T2... for starters. This really should be in the touring forum since it sounds like that is what you are planning. All of them work as nice commuters as well.

The Surly Long Haul Trucker sounds like the perfect candidate. It sounds like you want more of a touring style bike rather than a relaxed geometry road bike.

LHT is a great touring bike because of how versatile it is. It's got enough bottle cages for three bottles. You can mount both front and rear racks/panniers and fenders. It's even got a spare spoke holder in the chainstay.

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/long_haul_trucker_complete/

A friend of mine has a LHT. She took it across the US last summer on an unassisted ride.

I plan on riding in group rides every weekend and I also want to use this on my multi-day rides. What is the main difference between a road bike and a touring bike? I thought they were essentially the same; just stronger frame. I also plan on riding some of the charity rides every now and then. I have been on long trips on my MTB but that stuff is for the birds. I need a road bike so I can keep up with others during my group rides.

I will also be crossing America unassisted.

I'd personally choose the normal Aurora over the Elite if you decided to go Jamis. No real need for disc brakes in my experience. Better gearing on the standard Aurora as well if I remember correctly. I had a 2008 Aurora until a car decided to take it out. Got me across the states with a smile in 08.

Thanks for the heads up. I guess your right. I will move this to the touring section. What is the main difference between road cycling and touring? Just wondering since I have been a MTBr for years and this is my first chance at joining a new club so to speak.

It's going to be a compromise. Either a great touring bike or a great group ride bike or a little of neither. My old Aurora has been on quite a few group rides. I did run it with a different set of wheels and 23mm tires for those rides though. I could keep up but that had more to do with the engine than the bike.

Touring bikes have a much more relaxed riding position. Longer stays and slacker head tube angles. Wider tires and most have Canti brakes. It really is a different animal than most will line up with for a Saturday hammerfest.

Wouldn't disc brakes really come in handy though if the OP is touring and is riding in the rain?

I consider them overkill. I live in the Northwest and have never had a need for the added complexity. Toured and commuted thousands of miles in the rain. Canti's work quite well.

Looks like I will be in the market for two bikes instead of one. I am thinking I should get a good road bike first and then a year out from my ride maybe pick up a good touring bike.

Any suggestions on a good road bike for a newb.

Now you are talking sense :) So many good road bikes.. start with a budget first. You could spend much less than $2400 and have a bike that will not hold you back. Something like a Cannondale Caad9, Specialized Allez and many others make for great weekend warrior machines that don't break the bank.

Man that Cannondale Caad9 in Jet Black is awesome looking. I like that it is Made in the USA. Anything else I should look into while out researching. I am planning on hitting up some LBS this weekend for some test rides.

I am really glad I posted on here first. I saw the Jamis Aurora Elite in the store; it was a 2009 model with cantilever brakes, and it just did not look like what I had pictured in my mind. None of the guys from the group rides have anything that looked like it so I was a bit confused.

Depends on your budget. If you're just doing group rides, charity rides, and like to do long distances you should try to get a relaxed geometry bike. An example would be the Specialized Roubaix. It's got a more laid back geometry/longer wheelbase making the bike comfortable for longer rides, while still being as fast as most road bikes.

Touring bikes and road bikes are very different. Touring bikes use cati-lever brakes to allow for bigger tires. They also come with eyelet holes and braze ons to accommodate racks and fenders. Also the geometry a different, it's more relaxed with a longer wheel base. Touring bars are also less aggressive then road bike bars. They also have much different gearing. Road bikes are aimed to be fast, while touring bikes are aimed at having really low gears.

If you want to get a mix of the two, you may want to consider a cylcocross bike. You can still be "road bike fast" on a cyclocross bike. Some cross bikes have the necessary holes to hold racks and fenders.

That 2009 Jamis would make for a nice touring bike. It's just a better idea to have both a touring and roadie. I couldn't imagine riding my touring bike every weekend on group rides. Just not as much fun.

My two favorites for group rides and racing if you go that route would be the two I mentioned. Throw in Cervelo's S1 or whatever they call the aluminum version now as well. All of those will NOT hold you back. You can only blame the engine.

For $2500 you could easily get into a nice alu road bike and a good tourer like the Jamis Aurora. Be sure to check out the CAAD9 extensively before you pull the trigger because it has aggressive geometry that you may not want since you are looking for something for group rides. The CAAD9 spouters like to plaster it on every thread without even reading what people are looking for.

Thanks for the heads up. I thought about trying to buy both at once but the touring bike can go on the back-burner cause I got four years till I really need it. I will probably wait a year or two on that one. I hope to test ride a few models over the weekend and then I plan on researching the ones I like. To keep me from purchasing one on site I plan on bringing the wife and kids with me and I plan on leaving the bike hitch home so I would have no way to get it home:)

That's a good idea, but try get a good test ride in instead of just a few laps around the parking lot. If you have shoes and pedals, I'm pretty sure most LBS will install them on and let you take a test ride. When checking out a new road bike, fit is the most important aspect. Find the bike that is most comfortable for you.