Well, that's basically my question... Where on Earth do I start with this sport...

I have always owned a mountain bike, and I want to get a road bike. I am a 20 yr old college kid, so I am on somewhat of a budget, and I live in Ohio. I would consider myself in decent shape, I am a water polo player, and I want to get into cycling casually, at least at first, and see how things progress from there...

My main question is, do I start off with buying a fully made bike, individual parts and put them together, or should I start off with a bike off E-bay or Craigslist? (Craigslist hasn't lent me to many good bikes tho) I want to start off fairly simple, and work my way up... Since it's summer, I would like to start as soon as possible. I would appreciate as much help as I can get! Thanks!

step 1: get bike, used(CL or Ebay) or build but that will be more expensive or new entry level (trek 1.1 etc)
step 2: Ride said bike and keep riding it
step 3: repeat step 2

1) Find local Trek dealer
2) Go to local Trek dealer
3) Get fitted for a road bike
4) Purchase said Trek road bike
5) Take it home and ride the dog snot out of it
6) Repeat step 5 as often as possible

step 4: contract upradeitis and you are now a slave to the bike

I'd been off the bike for 12+ years. Getting back into the sport was a lot like starting from scratch, and I found myself in the same position. There's just so much stuff out there, and it's all new and different from "back in the day". So, basically, I just started reading reviews, posts on this site and others, and decided on a few bikes to choose from. I ended up going with a Giant Defy Advanced 3 (fit my price range, excellent frame, decent components for the price), fully built. I didn't want to put the time and energy into building out a frame when I'm still quite green at this; my fear was pouring tons of money into components and then find out later when I learned more that I either did it wrong or "should have done (whatever)".

The advantage to buying a complete bike when you first get into it is that you can always upgrade it later, but you have something to ride now. And riding is what it's all about, right?

It's up to you if you want to buy new or used, but be careful what you buy wasn't in a crash or otherwise abused. If the bike is carbon fiber, be especially careful to check for any kind of damage, including scratches (carbon fibers can "fray" if there's a chunk taken out of the clear coat).

Hope this helps.

Ok 2 things...
1. Great to see some soccer fans! I am a Barca fan personaly, so our Arsenal fan might not be too fond of me right now...
2. Is "Trek" a bike brand? haha (remember, I'm a complete noob)

Also, what are some good beginner brands I could look into? Obviously Trek is highly recommended...

No, it is a way of life for some.

Go to your local bike shop. Pick a bike you like. Get fitted. HTFU and ride! All else will follow.

:edited due to reading fail:

Skipped the poor college kid on a budget part...craigslist it is. But you need to have somewhat of an idea of the size you will need. Go to competitive cyclist and use their fit calculator to have a ballpark figure of your size.

Most important first step is to set a budget.

Keep accessories in mind:
$50+ helmet
$70+ shoes
$50+ pedals (if you buy a new bike)
$40+ shorts
$30+ jersey
$60+ computer
$12+ seat bag
$30+ pump
extra tube, tire levers, tri-flow, grease, patch kit, multitool, socks, waterbottle cages, CO2 chuck and cartridges, etc. etc.

And if you are a REI member, take a class on bike maintenance. Its free.

Yeahhh i forgot to mention all of that stuff.....

Ugh barca, Robin Van Persie being sent off was total garbage(you know what game Im talking about), got past your back four with balls into the box multiple times after the sending off. total BS

Trek is ok..rather boring. personal opinion

I do not advise to buy a new bike from scratch ... this might just be a crazy dream and you might after all not like to bike as much as you thought you would.

Get a cheap second hand old crappy steel bike first.
This will help you HTFU faster and will give you an excuse to totally suck at first

Then ... work your way up from there and you'll see how it goes.

Maybe you don't like cycling at all and become a soccer player or something silly like that.
Maybe you actually like mountainbikes better.
Maybe you end up like me on a TT-bike.
Maybe you win the TdF in 2015.

Upgrade as needed.
A computer doesn't have to cost $60 btw... you can get one that works fine for $20 or less.

Get a bike....legally. Any bike will do.
Get safe (buy a helmet)
Go ride.

When you find something hurts or could be better then figure out the best way to remedy that.

Repeat.

Ok, in attempts to respond to all of the last posts here goes...

1. I am 6' 3" (6' 8" wingspan) and I used https://bicycling.about.com/od/howtor...ike_sizing.htm this calculator to compute my inseam and and frame size...

2. I'll worry about the rest of the "budget" outside of the bike and helmet once I actually get riding....

3. I'm sorry for your loss... Arsenal will be lucky to compete if they lose Nasri and Fabregas without picking up anyone. Barca will rule European football for a few more years if you ask me, they could strengthen their defense tho... Real is making a lot of moves in the offseason already. Mourinho is insane.

4. What does HTFU stand for? (noob) I honestly think I'm going to start off with an old, second hand bike... I've been looking on E-Bay. Right now I'm looking at this one https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...T#ht_500wt_961 and this one https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_3797wt_946. Not sure if someone from these forums owns these bikes coincidentally or what but I'm going to keep watching those auctions closely the next few days. Thanks for all the help so far everyone! Let me know your opinions on anything. I really appreciate it. My final question is what would be some brands/bikes to keep an eye out for when it comes to looking for used bikes....

Stands for Harden The F*** Up... though i always used it as hurry the f*** up. Bike Forums learned me good

Buy that Bianchi! That this is awesome!

See that advice??! That is the kind of baloney you don't need when you are just starting out! It is dangerous and totally one sided. Bianchis suck

Unless you somehow decide cycling's not for you:
You will inevitably find a bike you think is really awesome, ride it around for a couple weeks thinking you're the bees knees and within, oh, 2 months tops realize that your bike isn't that cool and start dreaming of a new build. We're all constantly upgrading because we bought something and then we find out there's something cooler and better.

My point is that whatever bike you buy is a starting point to let you dip your toes in to the sport/culture. You will upgrade it and change it and almost assuredly move on to a newer frame if you stick to this sport, so don't cough up too much money or put too much thought into your "perfect bike" until you've got some mileage in your legs.

Oh, and for the record, my first road bike was a vintage Bianchi and I loved that thing to pieces until my boyfriend backed his car over it.

We replaced it with a newer Trek and that bike's carried me over the finish line first twice in the last month. Brands are very preferential.

It's really this easy. Find a safe place to ride, and go ride.
Push yourself a little harder each time. Find someone to ride with. Ask questions.
If you're in Water Polo, you're in already good shape aerobically, but you'll discover new depths of burning pain in your legs and your arse. You can get a new saddle to take care of the latter, but it just takes miles and miles to take care of the former.

I'd recommend a good book for you to read, but the title escapes me.

1. Go to a local bike dealer
2. Buy a Raleigh Revenio 3.0 bike (about $1,000)
3. Ride it whenver you want (:

The revenio is a great bike, I just got it about a week ago and it's incredible, it's nothing to classy or all out racing bike, but it's looks like one, and performs incredible, I would recomend it over any bike if you are looking for a relaxing, or pretty hard ride, and it's the bike I would get when starting out, just like I did !

Here's what it looks like :
https://www.raleighusa.com/wp-content...e-Black_LG.jpg

there is also a 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 if you wish all at different prices, the 2.0 and 1.0 are cheap, the 4.0 is more $ than the 3.0

I got mine with marinoni frame and fork. (:
look them up on google and you can check out all the details anD compare. Pm me or reply back if you have any questions

Viva ac milan <3

If you are a college student, I wouldn't go buying a very expensive bike as a starter bike unless you are going to keep it at home or locked in your dorm room and ride the mountain bike around campus. New and expensive road bikes get stolen quite often in college campuses. I would tend to go with the opinion of those that suggest getting a used, inexpensive one first. Not only to see if you like the sport and will continue with it, but if it is stolen, you aren't out $1,000.00 plus. Buying a new road bike is great if 1) you can afford it and 2) you can secure it. When I went to college, I don't remember having the feeling that my things were secure on campus, and I commuted from home.

The other thing I would suggest is not to purchase any bike on price alone. If the bike doesn't fit you properly, you have just thrown your money away. It's hard to find a bike that fits you on the internet unless you have a ball park figure on what size bike you need. If you do find one on the internet that fits, is within your price range and you buy it, the fine tuning will come when you start riding.

First of all, It's not a sport unless you're competing. Starting to compete at the start is not a good idea.

@rkelley23 you're right, I'm not really sorry haha and I've never heard that saying before...



@garciawork The Bianchi was my number one choice but as of last night the auctioneer took it off E-Bay... So I will start looking again.



@tagaproject6 what bike would you recommend I start out with?



@coyoteeatsgrls Great advice and I completely understand that. It's naturalto want something bigger and better. Good to hear a positive about Bianchis. That's 2 for, 1 against...



@eventservices I definitely plan on doing this as soon as possible. I am looking to improve my legs for water polo as well, so a deep burn will be a good thing for sure. If you can think of the book let me know.



@RevenioMariano I don't want to start off that expensive haha. I'm looking for an older, used bike. Again, just to test the waters before I decide to dive in... I'll definitely check out the 1.0 and 2.0 tho. As of Milan... Keep Ibra. haha



@john_v I don't plan on buying an extremely expensive bike. I can secure it, but I can't afford it. I actually live off campus in my own rented home, and I keep my bike in our garage that you need a key to so it's pretty safe. I am not too overly concerned on the "perfect" fit right now, I know a ballpark size I want and I can adjust to just about any size around there. And obviously fine tuing would come once I start riding so I can get the bike just as I want ti.



@spock I'm definitely not competing at the start. Sport was synonomous with hobby in that post...



Thanks for the advice so far everyone! I'll keep my eye out on E-Bay and CL and continue to post/read on here!

Hey everyone. Been keeping my eye out on E-Bay and I've found 2 "favorable" bikes... Let me know your opinions...

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Should I keep my eye on these or steer clear? As I said before, the previous Bianchi that I was watching was suddenly taken down. So this one is a close 2nd. Let me know what you think...

Since you are just jumping in to test the waters, I would definitely recommend avoiding eBay, initially. Go to a Local Bike Shop (known as LBS from here on) and ride a bike. You will likely not find anything local for your budget, but spending your entire budget on a bike that may not fit or be what you expected will fill you with regret. Ride it first.