The Defy 3 is an absolutely fine entry level bike and is a very comfortable ride whos geometry will better please new riders.

Sorry but if you get a new entry lvl bike you wont even need repairs for many years. The cable adjustments dont even need tools and cleaning needs minimal tools.

If you want to ride then ride. Dont spend hours buying a beater and fixing it. A recent gen derailleur is cakewalk to adjust. A old overused one is often impossible.

I thought id save a ton by learning basic bike repair but honestly my recent gen bikes are so problem free in 5 yrs of riding that i dont think its necessary to own more than the basicest tools. I actually regret the hours i wasted learning to remove parts wtc since i fo it sp onfrequently that it is a waste of my time .

If I were you, I would never regret any part of an education where specific skills were acquired. That's especially so, when that education is directly linked to a specific activity in which I'm currently involved, and most likely will be, for my entire life. Who knows when you basic mechanical skills will be called upon for your own personal needs?

Depending upon how future cards may fall, learning bike mechanics, just may have been one the smartest things you've ever done in life...

Who knows, maybe the OP will possess similar bicycle mechanics skills in the future, that you now have...

Where did I even come close to stating that steel is the ONLY way to go?

If someone can't recognize the significance of chromoly steel and the role that it has played in both the development and advancement of the world's societies, then that's a pretty sad state of affairs. Chromoly steel just happened to have been the primary material that almost all bikes were made of at one time in the history of cycling. Of course, it was for good reason, too! It still remains the favored bicycle material of many cyclists, today.

However, today we have primarily two other options, found in most local bicycle shops. Carbon is great for road bikes and racing, but so is aluminum and chromoly steel! Both aluminum and carbon are now used for MTN bikes, but so is steel! So there's nothing wrong with carbon or aluminum. It's just that aluminum is more likely to fail due to stress than steel. That's just a fact of science. However, today's aluminum bicycle frames have been overbuilt and engineered to the point of lasting much longer than in the past. That said, aluminum cannot escape its natural tendencies, characteristics, and properties. When it comes to steel, aluminum has a shorter fatigue life and a smaller yield capacity. Just because I think that steel is better, doesn't mean that I dislike aluminum. Aluminum has its place in the cycling world, just as much as carbon has its place! :thumb:

We are both entitled to our opinions. I insist on mine and you certainly insist on yours.

Agreed! :thumb:

I hear you on learning but it was seriously not worth it.

I adjust my bikes once per year and have no intention of doing it much more than that. If my bike needs more maintenance than that a part needs to be replaced. All that time spent on bb headset and driverrain adjustment i will never do agdin as thr lbs does is so much faster and better given how rarely i do it.

If bikes needed a lot more care sure id master it. (am quite good at tire changes and cleaning since i do it regularly) but telling a newb that wants to ride to delve into bike repair is way overkill imo. Basic adjustments yes but you dont even need tool for most of those.

Please people, Trek 1.X is not a good deal unless on sale! The Allez frames under $1500 may be A1 and not E5, but the frame design is the same as E5 and twice as nice as the Trek 100 Series aluminum. Look at the tube shapes (much more going on with Specialized), and the A1 frame is has far more butting than the 100 Series! (Only the main tubes are butted with Trek 100 Series, not all of them). You could notice far more just looking at both in person instead of just online. These factors don't only help weight, but effect ride quality as well.

I must agree on the CAAD bikes though. Far better than either in quality of design and value in price. Even the 'basic' CAAD 8 is great. Wouldn't a frame raced on a professional level awhile ago be good enough for you?

Thanks for all your advice people. I think I am going to finally do it tomorrow. It's funny, I still don't know which one I am going to end up with. It may depend on which color and which price finally speaks to me. I realize a $500 2011 1.1 is not going to set many hearts a flutter here but I am drawn to spending the least and enjoying it the most. The 2012 model looks sweet too. Maybe I will just flip a coin

Life is too short to ride a bike painted in a color you don't like... So make sure you like the paint! :)

Once you start riding your new bike, I think you will find that the particular bike makes less difference than where or who you ride with when it comes to road riding. Good luck and enjoy it!

Always, and I mean always, buy the best bike that fits you and feels comfortable that fits your budget. What I mean by this.......if you have to save just a few weeks more to get the more expensive bike that felt great when you rode it....do that! it costs a lot more to upgrade after the purchase of your new bike. My suggestion, though I havent read many privious ones on the thread, is to get THE BEST FRAME you can out of the bikes you choose. You can change components, but frames aren't cheap. simple and plain. Comfort and fit doesnt have a price tag, so make sure you feel good on the bike when you ride it.

You would be wrong about that. It makes my heart flutter to know that someone is super excited to be bringing home a new bike and will get lots of enjoyment riding it. Riding is fun and good for you no matter what bike you ride.

I recently helped a friend shop for a new bike. His budget was “under $1000” and of course we spent like $1100! Anyway, I think I would check the different LBS in your area and see what brand each shop offers in your price range. What you will find is that some brands offer a little more bike for the money than others. Also most important is to take them for test rides. Nothing beats seat time when deciding which bike to buy.

Also, you are already talking upgrades. The cost to move up a model or two now is MUCH cheaper than what it will cost to upgrade later. I can’t stress that enough. The flip side of that is a lot of people rush out and buy a really nice bike only to find that cycling isn’t their thing and then the bike either sits in the garage or heads to Craigslist. My advice is to test ride several bikes and then spend what you feel comfortable spending and ride the heck out of the bike. When you’re ready to upgrade, sell your starter bike and then buy enough bike to keep you happy for a while. By then you’ll know what you want, what you need, what is important, etc.

I bought a 2010 Trek 1.2 around 2 years ago. I had a very limited budget and my LBS made me a great offer. Since then, I have put thousands of trouble free miles on it. Insofar as I have the original tubes and tires. I look around at the group rides and see a lot more expensive bikes. Those guys are riding the same roads I am and I don't see them riding "better" than me. Maybe one day I'll upgrade to a nicer bike but I don't see it happening any time soon. My point is that you can by an "entry level" bike and get years of enjoyment out of it.

These prices are deeply optimistic. I don't say that idly - I've purchased a few 80's cro-moly steel road bikes in my day. And let's not forget the biggest cost of all: time.

I spent my college days working on and riding my old bicycles, but also bought a new one for the first time about halfway through, and another at the end. The experience of learning the skills to keep my own bicycles in repair was nice and all, and still comes in handy, but at the end of day what I want to do is ride. And new bikes and new components simply don't need to be fixed or adjusted as often. I don't see being forced to do repair work constantly as a positive, and even gaining some skills for life doesn't offset the fact that fixing a bike takes time that would be better spent riding it. There will still be plenty of opportunities to learn how to work on bicycles, and working on modern parts will have a much gentler learning curve than balky old stuff. The skills will also transfer better to future bikes.

These days, I don't have so much time to work on my bikes, and I am in fact just as happy to let my trusty shop mechanic handle most things. Sure, I know how to do it (I've wrenched bikes to earn a paycheck), but he's better at it and I have better things to do with my time. Money isn't everything. The time saved by letting a pro do most of the wrenching on my bike is well worth the expense.

And that said, the new bikes are better than what you can get used on Craigslist for $150. Full stop, period, end of discussion. I've been down this road. If the OP is interested in riding, the best bet is to buy a good bike and go ride it.

Order a bike from Bikes Direct. Anything from the Motobecane Grand Record to the Windsor Knight are great for new riders, MUCH nicer than an Allez or Trek 1 series, albeit without the nice paint and fancy brand name.

One day when I have money, I'd love to have a Trek, Specialized, or Giant. Until then, my bikes don't have brand names on them, nor fancy paint, but they do have good components and seem to perform just fine. Where else can you find an aluminum bike with Shimano Ultegra under $1000? BD is great.

you can find good deals used....If you look hard.....I bought a carbon framed Trek that had been ridden to the end of the driveway and back,then picked up some Dura Ace carbon tubeless with new Atoms w/ 1,000 miles on wheels for less than half price. On the other hand,if you are not careful it can be a nightmare.

AS much as you can afford

Or this bike if you can afford it and it fits you. Ridley sizing run larger. This extra small frame has a 52.5 top tube. I'm pretty sure I can make this bike fit me and I'm 5'9. It's only $979 with full sram apex.

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...RODUCT.ID=8380