flag8r

Greetings everyone, I'll keep this short. I found the "perfect" bike last week, sadly my significant other isn't ok with the $1400 price tag. I am looking for an entry level road bike for ~$500. Suggestions? I am open to retail, ordering online, or otherwise. Thanks in advance for the help!

*This will be my first road bike, I don't currently race, and it would be strictly for exercise and leisure.

ChrisCar

Craigslist, man.
Make sure it is the right size.

10 Wheels

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...ODUCT.ID=32174

flag8r

I've considered Craigslist, but have no idea what I'd be buying as far as quality is concerned.

seymour1910

Check out the bike 10wheels linked to, good first bike and not a lot of money really. It will be hard to beat that price for a New Tiagra bike anywhere. As for not knowing what you are buying.....this is a good place to ask those questions.

canyoneagle

+1 that is a really good deal IMO. Hard to beat that. $500 is an awkward price point in the new bikes, see if you can stretch it to $700-800. Otherwise, Craigslist is a good way to get a great value (with support here). While on the Competitive Cyclist site, go through their fitting worksheet to get an idea of what size bike will work for you.
Another thing is to check your local shops for 2012 closeouts, and get some face to face assistance with fitting in the process. Fit is very important.

Here's a Shimano 105 equipped bike for under $700 - looks like a Bikesdirect partner site: https://bikeshopwarehouse.com/cgi-bin...ails&ProdID=96

miyata man

At that price anything new is going to be something called unserviceable. That means things will break and or perform poorly. I think you will find that the folks in the C&V section of BF will be able to sort you out. Even if none of them are local, or even rarer not have a bike for sale, I have no doubt you will find some very good advice. If you ask nicely one of the mods might even move this thread there for you if that is a direction you are interested in going.

flag8r

What are your thoughts on the below bike on CL?
https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/bik/3458415551.html

rebel1916

2 things. 1) Don't let the C&V types kidnap you. 2) Show your SO who is boss!. JK, but that Ridley looks great.

rebel1916

If you are between 5'8" and 5'10" probably great.

flag8r

Yeah, I'm 5'10, and was fitted for a 54" CAAD this past week.

flag8r

C&V? SO? Ridley?

seymour1910

C&V=classic & vintage, SO= significant other, Ridley= the bike that was provided in the link above....did you not even bother clicking the link. It's a nice bike and just above your price range. If you don't want that then I advise you just go for a used bike off your local CL. Many people have scored nice rides off CL. Go check out the under $700 bike thread you will see.

10 Wheels

No Warranty with a used bike...frames do crack.

flag8r

Got it, yeah I saw the bike and forgot the Ridley name.

datlas 

So what's the problem???

Grow a pair and get it. Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

seymour1910

True, and my vote is for the Ridley, but it is your money OP. If the C'dale is a bike you like go test ride it, give it a REALLY good visual inspection and offer less than the asking price for the above reason. Get him as low as you can because you don't get warranty or shop support. My first bike was a C'dale off CL and I love it. You can still build a relationship with a shop without buying the bike from them.

Oh yeah, and this^^^^

Brandonub

Unless you're really, really strapped for cash, there's such big gains to be had going from $500 to $1400 that I'd really strongly recommend opting for the higher priced bike. CAADs are fantastic, you're going to have some regrets if you get something low end instead. The significant other will get over it; almost everyone spends $1400 on something a lot dumber than a nice bike.

longbeachgary

I like the CAAD8 A LOT. It's a great basic aluminum bike that will last you for years. That price may be a bit high though. List for a 2013 is a grand so it probably retailed for $800.

seymour1910

Great point, this is why I said offer less. It would be great if you could get that Caad8 for $500 but I would not pay a penny more than $600

Cougrrcj

I'd have to say it all depends on how serious you want to get into the hobby. Are you sure you want to get into road cycling, or just fitness riding.

I dabbled with a newer barely-ridden aluminum Trek I got at a yard sale for $80. The person I bought the Trek from thought she'd like a road bike, spent nearly $600 in the early '90s for it and rode it all of 50-75 miles before parking it in the garage... I bought it, replaced the dry-rotted tires and gave it a whirl... But it just didn't feel right.

Me? I'm still riding my 24-pound CrMo Fuji 'road bike' from the '70s. And I plan to keep riding that old bike. After riding it for over 45k miles, it just feels like an old friend. I'm not the fastest thing on two wheels, but at least I'm still out there. Plodding along at my 16-17mph pace...

CenturionIM

OP, this bike looks like an incredible deal:
https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/bik/3469461388.html

it's steel frame and will last a long time if you take care of it. the weight should be around 20-21lb, which is not that much heavier than an entry level aluminum bikes. 105 component is a very nice spec at 600$.

another: https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/bik/3468299755.html

Great utility bike if you dont care about drops:
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/...ty/8910/48611/

Edit: I started out toward the beginning of this year. I thought to myself, $500 should fetch me a decent bike and ended up with a sora/tiagra bike from Bikesdirect. It worked fine, but I am selling it now and upgrading. During my bike shopping I constantly kick myself for not have gone up to at least 800. IMO, there is a lot of sweet spots in terms of bang for the buck in the 800-2000 range, like the ridley suggested above. You want to buy a bike you will enjoy and keep FOR A WHILE.

You can also go cheap with a nice well maintained C&V bike from CL for < 200 and save the rest for you "real" bike later.

Gjc985

Spend more then 500, you will regret it if you dont. I was cheap buying my first bike and was upgrading within a year