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I purchase a Specialized Sirrus a month ago my first bike from a LBS and founded out quickly that Bike can not hang with the road bikes in my riding club. I am going to sale the sirrus and purchase a new Road Bike. Need subjections on Entry level for under $800.00. I have looked at the following.

Specialized Allez $740.00

Trek 1.1 $649.00

Raleigh Sport $625.00

Any more would be welcome. Not planning on purchasing another bike for some years after Road Bike purchase.

Cough up a bit more and get a CAAD 9...

Also, I don't think you will see much of a difference in speed between what you have and an $800 bike. Seriously.

Why won't they let you 'hang' with them on your Sirrus?

It's not the bike...just ask Lance.

The components on your bike aren't the best, but they aren't keeping you from going fast. If you really want to burn some money, do a drop bar conversion, but it isn't necessary. Just ride.

Eddie, since you asked, I think the Specialized Allez is the best buy from that group. I briefly owned an Allez Sport and was really impressed with the ride. I'm assuming you are referring to an Allez model with Sora level brifters, not the model with downtube shifters.

"purchased bike a month ago" &. "can't hang with local club"

Can't... quite... put my finger on it. Yes, a bike upgrade is in order.

:innocent:

Boy you guys are funny!!! My speeds are 14 to 16 MPH LOL... and 25 MPH down hills but those Road Bikes are killing me and I am in the C group of the club LOL..

"Hang" is Southern United States term meaning I was fast enough LOL...

ride on your own and build up your fitness, the bike is not the problem

"Hang" is Southern United States term meaning I wasn"t fast enough LOL...

So it me not the bike? Because I have done three 25 mile rides with the beginners group and it hard keeping up with those bike.

Did you mean your first bike, or the first from a Bike Shop? How long have you been riding? What do you do for training? How old are you?

1. first Bike from Bike Shop not Department store

2 Riding for two months

3. Ride 12 to 15 miles three time a week, Spin class two time a week .

4. I am 46 years old.

It is probably your tires. Don't Sirrus come stock with 28's? I would buy a pair of slick 25's before dropping money on a bleh road bike. Keep saving until you can get yourself a better road bike and work on your fitness.

Thanks. You guys have being very helpful.

Bigger tires have more resistance which kills your speed. Start out with some cheap ones like 25c Continental Ultra Race and see how it goes. I use some Vredestein Fiammante in 25c on my cyclocross bike for the pavement and they are great. They are kinda heavy but have superb grip and are $20 bucks a pop.

That helps a lot. The advice about thiner tires is good. A good drop bar road bike will make a small difference. But the main thing is just time in the saddle. The spin class is good, but you need to do some big hills too. That will help your top speed a lot. Start asking the riders that you can't hang with about training and how long they have been riding. Unless you are really hammering 12 to 15 miles is a short ride. Ride really hard then take a rest day. When you train hard enough to really get stronger it takes two days for your muscles to repair themselves 100%. Ask the faster guys about training smarter not just riding more. You will probably discover most of them have been riding for years. Two months is a very short time. Have FUN! :)

Thank you

Eddie, keep on riding... that will help the most! You will be slowed down a little sitting more upright with the flat bar bike, but in or at the back of the paceline it shouldn't be too bad as you'll still get the drafting effect of the riders in front of you. The more miles you put on your wheels, the more you'll end up being able to keep up! Keep on trucking and enjoy it!

Thanks!!!

Experiment with your cadence some. You might be mashing too hard, or spinning your power away. Maybe move some spacers around to get a more aero position, which will probably increase your power output some. I would try to work with what you have before dropping the dough. Unless money isn't tight, in which case, buy a new bike that will motivate you and give you placebo power.