Hello everyone,

I'm looking for an all purpose road bike. Good for touring, riding around town, day trips etc. Nothing too serious, it's my first bike. Any good suggestions?

What price range are you talking about? Do you do any off road riding? If so, what is the roughest terrain you'll go on? How old are you? Are you likely to grow more?

If I was starting over and had to have only one bike, then I would go for a cyclocross bike.

Are you sure about the touring part? (Probably, because this is a touring board.) That's the key. If you really want to tour, get a touring bike and it will be fine on the rest of your rides. If you're not going to do loaded touring, consider an entry-level road bike - something in the $600-700 range perhaps?

Thanks for the replys

What price range are you talking about? Do you do any off road riding? If so, what is the roughest terrain you'll go on? How old are you? Are you likely to grow more?

600-700 is probably the price range I'm looking for, new or used doesn't matter to me.
I don't want to do any off road riding.
I'm 20.
Not going to grow more.

Are you sure about the touring part? (Probably, because this is a touring board.) That's the key. If you really want to tour, get a touring bike and it will be fine on the rest of your rides. If you're not going to do loaded touring, consider an entry-level road bike - something in the $600-700 range perhaps?

Yes I am sure about the loaded touring - the main reason I want a bike. What's the difference between a touring bike and a regular bike? If I ever wanted to do a road bike race, a touring bike would not do, right? Or does it just depend on how serious you are taking the race? (ie. just want to finnish it)

But touring is my main interest right now so If I ever wanted to try some long distance races I could just get another bike.

As a place to start, check out this page at www.biketouringtips.com which has 20 links to touring bike information.

Ray

Well, you are probably talking about a used bike. There are a few ways to go. If you get a trailer you can put it on just about any bike you are comfortable with as long as you have a good rear wheel (32 or more spokes). If you are planning to get panniers then you'll need to look for a good used touring bike.

Read the other threads here to see the bikes people are talking about. The usual suspects are the Surly Long Haul Trucker, Trek 520, Jamis Aurora, Cannondale T1000/T2000/T800/T2/T1, and a bunch more. If you see a touring bike for sale just come back here and ask people about that model before you buy or bid on it. You'll generally get good advice about anything you'll find.

Nut as I said, if you go the trailer route then just get a bike you are comfortable riding long distances. Just don't get anything too exotic or with wacky components. Steel frames and Mid-range Shimano components seem to be the best choices. Mountain bike gearing will be better than road bike gearing for the most part but you can lower the gear ratio on almost any bike.

Put the word out with some local cyclists and groups and friendly shops (if you have), that you're looking for a good quality used bike for a reasonable price.

You can end up with some real gems, that still have an aura of quality and craftsmanship about them.

The Classic & Vintage forum here on bikeforums.net can give more clues about this appoach, and about other ways of finding these bikes.

Newer less expensive bikes just don't have the same sense of quality.

***
Then use the extra money to buy some quality accessories.

Okay I'm going to head out at lunch tommorow and check out this bike store close to my work. I think they are really into the whole finding you a good used bike thing.

And I'm also looking online for some of the bikes duckfat mentioned. Is it essential to try the bike before buying?

I highly recommended you try the bike before buying, but that isn't always possible. The one bike I have purchased without seeing was a little small for me. It still fit me though, and I probably could have made a few more adjustments than I did to get an even better fit. Now that I own a number of bikes, I have a much better idea of what will and what won't fit me.

A good bike shop will help you get the right size and a proper fit on any bike.

Bikes direct has their entry level Cyclocross bike for 499 right now. If you're not experienced at wrenching, a shop would brobably charge you $100 to build it. Performance had the Fuji touring bike marked down to 700 or so the last time I was there. You could check to see if there is one near you.

It's better, but not essential. It is essential (in a sense at least) to have a good idea of whether a bike of a certain size will fit you.

If you ride a few bikes, and find that a certain size seems right, that isn't a bad guide for a first bike.

It helps if you understand the critical measurements or dimensions, and know the numbers (or ranges) that are best for you, and if you know a bit about geometry.

If you can, take a good long test ride -- or better yet several or more. Or maybe borrow some friends' bikes, or go ride with a club or group. There are a lot of helpful people in these groups. From them and from your own experiences while riding, you can learn a lot about what to look for and what is involved, and what works for you. And maybe do some research on the subject of fit -- it's very important for quality of ride.

There are some websites that deal with the subject of fit, and do it fairly well. It's an important topic, and it really helps to learn more about it. It may seem complex at first, but it isn't once you get into it a bit, and get past the initial learning curve.

Thanks for the replys guys. I will do more reading on the subject of fit, especially since I dont know much about it. I don't really understand the difference between a touring bike and a road bike still... like I know a touring bike should be stronger, but doesn't that suggest a regular road bike would break on a long trip?

I went to a bike store yesterday and he suggested a Fiori Napoli that they had there. Forgot to look at the price. Gonna go to another store today or tommorow.

Should I buy this pannier? Looks like a lot of space and not expensive. Also water resistant.

https://cgi.ebay.com/TRIPLE-BICYCLE-P...QQcmdZViewItem

If you are serious about the loaded touring part then go for a Surly Long Haul Trucker Complete. $900 delivered from JensonUSA. Hands down the best "off the shelf" tour bike in that price range.

https://jensonusa.com/store/product/B...cker+Bike.aspx

Touring bike vs Road bike

-more robust frame, steel generally although some use aluminum
-frame geometry to accommodate wider tires
-geared lower for loaded climbing
-braze-ons for racks, fenders and other goodies
-beefier wheelset, 36 spokes common
-longer wheelbase for stability/clearance
-longer chainstays for pannier clearance
-typically canti brakes for tire/fender clearance
...

not to be a dick, but why don't you read the sticky specifically catered towards this question. i'm in the same position that you are and got a lot of good information out of it. after reading it i think i'm going to just build up an old mountain bike.

This is the touring board and all touring bikes are up to a certain level of quality, so you're not going to get any recommendations under $700 here.

Lots of good things are said about the Novara Randonee as being a nice bike for the money. Some say it's a little on the sporty side for a touring bike, but if this is your everything-bike, sounds spot-on.

You can finagle %20 off from REI until the end of March which brings this from the middle of pack price-wise to the bottom of the pack.