urbanknight

Mine was a late 80's Fuji Ace (bought used in 1992). My father had just gotten into road biking and thought I would enjoy doing it with him, so he shopped for a used road bike in my size and that's what we ended up with. I was hooked from that point on.

(mine was much smaller)

chadwick

A co-worker was selling his '04 Trek 2100 after riding it a season and I bought it on a whim. It turned out to be a fantastic bike and pulled me fully into road biking. I put about 8K miles on it before upgrading to a carbon bike, but it was more than adequate.

nachomc

My first was a Specialized Allez. I bought it because I liked the bike and it was on the low end (my price range as a starting out cyclist). I didn't ride it much, didn't like it that great. I bought a Tarmac two years and a lot of fitness later (from a lot of mountain biking) and I absolutely love that bike. I'm buying another Allez, but the steel frame model this time around. It rides noice.

hansel

love mine.

mine was a trek 420 that i got for Christmas used from a local shop W/ dt's. Still have the frame, but i Frankensteined the components.

JamieElenbaas

My first road bike was a 1969 Schwinn Super Sport that my dad stopped riding in 1970 . I started riding it seriously at the age of 14 in 1974 when the family moved for a four year stint in Belgium. Yes Belgium in the mid seventies - I actually got to see Eddy Merckx ride through a neighboring town during a race. Anyway, there, one cannot get a driver's license until age 18 so I put many, many miles on the Schwinn (girlfriend lived two towns over ...) I rode that bike well into the 1980's but kids and responsibilities came into play and I sold it.

I've had mountain bikes and a cruiser since then, but never had the joy I had on the Schwinn. This summer my wife persuaded me that I deserved that feeling again, so I test rode a lot of bikes and in the end got a BMC SL01 with Campy Athena groupo. Ah the joy! I simply cannot believe how much fun I am having. This is more bike than I had originally intended to get, but long story made short I got it and am so happy.

OP - Don't sell yourself short. Get the bike that you really want and will love, otherwise you risk the expensive, "I'll make do and upgrade" or dreaded "Maybe biking isn't for after all" syndromes.

Sylv

2007 Novara Strada, rode better than anything else in my budget at the time. Put a lot of miles in those 3 years on it. It's my 2nd bike now, used mainly by friends. I take it out for casual rides with my wife because I don't want to be judged riding my Tarmac at 10MPH.

OldPilot

I bought a Specialized Sirrus used at a LBS for $200. I liked the sport and rode the bike off and on for 12 years. (see below)


Then I got more serious about the sport and went looking for a new bike. I found a carbon fiber Giant OCR C3 for $750. It has full Shimano 105 group and is faster and lighter than my ability to ride. I love this bike, it is so smooth, quick/accurate shifts and so light compared to my steel Sirrus. (see below)



I lucked out in both purchases and wouldn't change a thing. The only thing I need is more time to ride and have a good time.

haggerd

2009 Novara Divano. I got it on sale for a great price for the components (at the time). It's now my 'round town/commuter/rain bike.

BarracksSi

First "real" road bike?

Cannondale CAAD8. Got it because my LBS carried Cannondale. I thought that it looked good and that it was fast, aggressive, and fun to ride. I had other bikes for other duties, so a race bike was a nice complement to my stable.

Terex

Same here - kinda. I bought a Gitane and she bought a Peugeot. Then we got married, sold those bikes and bought a Gitane Tandem. Dumped the tandem and bought a matching pair of Motobecane Grand Jubilees in about '74. She hasn't dumped me. Yet.

For this OP - this end of my cycling career started with an '03 Trek 2300, which would be a 2.3 today. Sorta. Kinda.

jimmuller 

1972. Peugeot UO-8. Some might say it wasn't a "real" road bike compared to other offerings at the time, but it was affordable and reasonably lightweight. Compared to everything else I'd ever ridden it was a chariot. I rode it a lot. Eventually I upgraded the wheels, crank, and pedals. I still ride it occasionally. It still works. The bike doesn't matter so much. The rider matters.

jsmonet

this. and i love it. when I decide to replace it... or just add a bike, it'll probably be a tarmac. it feels right

Cowboy905

was watching friends cycling, reading up on it, my uncle is a fanatic so i decided i wanted to see if i liked it. I bought a used 2008 Trek 1.2 off craigslist for a reasonable price back in June or July. I'm absolutely obsessed with it.

i'm hoping next season i can buy one of my uncles 6 or 7 Pinarello's off of him when i have a little more money...but i doubt it.

Either way, next season i'm upgrading from the 1.2....which is a great bike.

jfmckenna

Geesh it's been a while. But I'd say the first real nice bike I ever had after years of riding beater Raleigh's and Shogun's and the like as a kid was a beautiful red Panasonic track bike. This was 1987. I loved that bike and really wished I still had her today.

PedallingATX

2006 Fuji Roubaix

Moved to Austin and decided to get into road cycling after seeing so many people here on bikes. Went into a LBS (Austin Tri-Cyclist) and they hooked me up w/ last year's model for very cheap. Since then, I have owned 7 road/track bikes. Right now, I own 3 including a Fuji Team Carbon Fiber, an NJS track bike, and a steel Specialized road bike commuter.

cyclezen

bought in early Spring of 1968 - CCM Formula 1

not my 'first' bike, but my first 10 spd 'racer'
bought it for off-season training for ski racin...
did some ridin and some of the early morning training races in Central Park and all the old racers said I should step up to a real racin machine... (They all rode Frejus, Leganos, Atalas, Peugeot, Gitane, and such, along with some local iron like Paris Sport, Orero...

actually found a pic of the CCM Formula1 online

same paint and parts, cept mine didn;t have the suicide brakes...
bought a used PX10 from one of the Central Park oldguyz that summer... and it's been off to the races ever since...

buttdart

just bought a BMC SL01. i have a fixed gear as well just for goofing off but it wasn't fast enough for me.

my 'real' bike is a MTB and i just wanted a road bike to help build endurance. plus i can ride it year round at night in the winter.

lpolliard

Early 80's Univega Viva Sport. Loved that bike until it got stolen.

datlas 

Ancient history, but my first real bike was a Shogun 400. I bought it in 1984 for about $350, which was a lot back then. It had a double-butted CrMo frame which was pretty hot back in the day.

I was an idiot back then and got a frame that was way too big for me, the LBS told me I should buy the largest size I could straddle....and with my long legs I ended up with a 27 inch frame (that's about 68.5 cm!!). I rode it for a couple of years, even did a few Cat IV crits on it.

It's long gone now.

BarracksSi

You usually don't hear about someone getting a road bike so they can ride it "at night in the winter"...

c0urt

Don't know if you guys count it as real. First real one was a BikesDirect Vent Noir. Started out on a WalMart road bike. Then the shifters broke on my training rides across Florida. I got it, because there were no bike shops in the part of Orlando where I was living.

A few months later Rode the bike from Orlando, Fl to Birmingham, AL. Don't remember why I got rid of it. owned it for at least 2 years. I think I have pretty much ridden 105 since then.

tubapro

MY first real road bike was a 1986ish model Trek 400. (This is back when real cyclist still wore leather helmets!) I saved up all summer for it. I really wanted one of those Dave Scott Centurions but couldn't afford one. I bought the Trek because my LBS finally refused to work on my former bike for "saftey" reasons. It had been run over by a car before I found it and the frame kept cracking. My dad finally had re-welded both tubes to the fork tube after they kept cracking. He's not such as good welder! It was a really old French bicycle. That bike shop knew my voice on the phone when I called!

pdedes

'89 (or '90) specialized allez epic. carbon fibre tubes in alu. lugs. 7speed ultegra group. a fantastic bike. had it for 2.5 seasons and 50 000 km.

clubman 

1970 Orbea OCI with Zeus Alpha components, half step steel cottered crank and a 13 to 19 freewheel. It was faster than all the boys on their UO-8s and Merciers.

Edit...why I bought it? My mom was in a new relationship with my soon to be stepdad but still lived apart. My $99 Raleigh-made Eaton's Glider with Huret drive train was stolen. Crafty parents made two claims since they each paid polices and allowed me to upgrade at the insurance recommended retailer. (Dornellas in Toronto and still thriving) It was there I saw my first Campy record group, bought the Orbea and used cash in pocket to buy a pair of Weinman 601 calipers just because they looked cool, new in the box. The bug bit immediate and hard.

StephenT 

I had a number of bikes in my early years but the Centurion Ironman Dave Scott Expert was my first real road bike. Purchased in 1986-88? Orthopedic surgeon suggested I start riding again after my first knee arthroscopy. Rode the snot out of it and sold it in 1999. Example pic attched