Beginner road bike under $1000. Does it matter?

[dsmith41]

I'm looking to get into cycling for about a $1000. I will need a helmet and probably some gloves, shorts, ect., so I'm thinking $800ish for the bike itself.

I've shopped around my local dealers and I am looking at the Trek 1.1, Specialized Allez Compact, Orbea Aqua T23, and the Scott Speedster.

I am assuming all four are great bikes and I should probably just write them down and draw one out of a hat to choose my bike but I was wondering if anyone at BITOG might be a cycling aficionado who would give me any advice.

Are there any good cycling forums out there? I haven't been able to find any.

 

[JHZR2]

Try them all at a shop that knows how to and is willing to at least do a cursory fit to your body for the test ride.

There are variations in the geometries of each that will make some better than others. For example, I had a Trek that I really liked, but after about 40 miles, it would start giving me knee pain. Swapping to a canondale with the same frame size but different geometry made it a non-issue.

 

[antonmnster]

I went used with my road bike. I paid $1600 for a 2004 Trek 5500 back in about 2008. The last owner upgraded to Dura Ace and FSA carbon crank, seat post, and bars. A few weeks later I saw a very similar ride list for around $3400.

The lesson is you can get a lot more bike if you troll Craigslist and the like.

 

[Spazdog]

Canondale riders are fiercely loyal. I've ridden them and was just kind of....meh

But their riders feel very strongly for their bikes. More so than any other make so there must be something there.

Years ago, I got a Bianchi at a pawnshop for $100. Cleaned it up, replaced a few components but the Shimano derailleur and original brakes were still good so most of the working bits stayed. It was that terrible Bianchi pale sea green color, had a mild steel frame, and it was a bit heavier than my riding friends' road bikes but it was fast and fairly comfortable.

They didn't like me when I would keep up with them all day on my Fisher mountain bike. They were a lot more agreeable when I was running ahead of them on my out of date Bianchi. At the bar after a ride (carbo loading...beer is full of carbs

) I went from "that guy on the [expletive] MTB" to a more affectionate nickname, "Freight Train"

If you are just beginning, a well sorted bike a few years out of date can do very nicely for quite a bit less than $1000. If you decide to stick with it, you can save up for a better bike. If you don't, you only have a couple hundred bucks occupying the hooks in the garage ceiling.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
It was that terrible Bianchi pale sea green color


It is called "Celeste", and some actually love it for the; history, mystique, and folklure it invokes, and for the legends who have ridden that color to the epitome of world cycling fame.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted By: dsmith41
I'm looking to get into cycling for about a $1000. I will need a helmet and probably some gloves, shorts, ect., so I'm thinking $800ish for the bike itself.

I've shopped around my local dealers and I am looking at the Trek 1.1, Specialized Allez Compact, Orbea Aqua T23, and the Scott Speedster.

I am assuming all four are great bikes and I should probably just write them down and draw one out of a hat to choose my bike but I was wondering if anyone at BITOG might be a cycling aficionado who would give me any advice.

Are there any good cycling forums out there? I haven't been able to find any.


www.roadbikereview.com

Go ride them all. Each one is going to have a slightly different feel to them, in reference to the frame and fork.

If you want something more relaxed, there is the Spec Secteur, Giant Synapse, etc.

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I have a 2010 Specialized Secteur Elite ($1400 with tax).... though it's in the shop for a tune up along with getting new parts installed...(making myself a Shimano version of the SRAM Apex 11-32T)

 

[gizzsdad]

Agree with riding them all, hopefully properly sized and for several miles at a minimum.

Another great forum:

http://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php