Road Bikes

[Fairweather]

I'm looking at getting a decent road bike for workouts and the occasional 100 mile'er. I'm not a racer. Just tired of taking the road slicks on and off of my mountain bike all the time.

 

Looking at a bike with at least 105 or Ultegra in the $800 to $1500 range. This pretty much eliminates Carbon frames. I know that Chrome-molly is a softer ride, but is aluminum's weight savings worth the road rash? Even with a carbon fork?

 

I've looked at a Fuji Marselles, a Jamis Comet, a Trek 2200, a Bianci (steel) with the Campignolo, etc.

I know there are some cross-trainers here...

 

any thoughts or specific recommendations??

[lummox]

check out Giant bikes. there supposed to be introducing an alloy frame with carbon fork bike with ultegra or better components midseason (like now) for around $1300. i been told its a great deal.

[chelle]

I ride a Bianchi and love it. Components are way old Shimano since it's 10 years old now, so I can't comment on the current stuff. If you can afford a hand built machine go for it.

[sobo]

I ride a 10+ year old Trek 1500 with aluminum frame and Shimano 600/605 components. I know it's a tank by today's standards, but the shifting still works fine 10 years on. You could probably pick one up used really cheap at a resale bike shop just about anywhere. I paid $400 for mine over 10 years ago. If it's gonna be just for training and "the occasional" century, it'll do ya just fine. My $0.02

 

CRITICAL EDIT: Make sure that you get the "split seat" if you're gonna spend any significant amount of time on the road. You won't regret it (an neither will your progeny ).

Edited July 26, 2003 by sobo

[trustyredalien]

$1500 should get you a good rig. Do your research online or in mags. Really consider how much you're going to use it before you invest.

 

- Don't go with cheap components. You want your shit to work. Go w/at least Ultegra.

 

- If you want to save weight w/o a carbon or titanium frame, get a sweet set of light rims (saves on rotational weight).

 

- Aluminum's fine, just kinda stiff and doesn't absorb road vibration well. You might notice this if you're riding 200m/week, but otherwise it's good stuff. Steel is sweet. I have 2 steel frames and they're like butta. It's b.s. about them being heavier. It's all about how the tubing is made.

- Campy's sweet if you can get it. I think their lower end stuff (still high quality) can be found in your price range.

 

If you're into the Ebay thing you can get good deals there. My dad got a brand new (used twice) titanium Serotta w/Campy Record and Chorus for about $2k. Suckers!

[Figger_Eight]

I built my Cannondale two years ago with an Ultegra grouppo after having ridden steel bikes for awhile (both road and mountain). Depending on how much you weigh (I'm about 180), you'll notice the difference in the frame stiffness when sprinting or climbing out of the saddle - it is much more responsive. A drawback is that you'll feel ever bump in the road. WRT compononents don't settle for anything less than 105. Ultegra is great, but you don't need Dura-Ace unless you make your living riding your bike. Also, don't sacrifice frame and fork quality for the parts upgrade. Components are cheap and easier to replace down the road - especially with previous model years. That stuff is easy to find on the internet.

 

Consider building it from scratch. It could save you a few bucks and you'll never need to have someone else repair it - you'll pretty much know and learn everything to keep it on the road.

[willstrickland]

lummox said:

check out Giant bikes. there supposed to be introducing an alloy frame with carbon fork bike with ultegra or better components midseason (like now) for around $1300. i been told its a great deal.

 

I'll second that. I've been riding a 2001 Giant OCR 1 for a couple of years...retailed for about $1100, Shimano 105, great deal for the money. It is a compact (sloping top tube) frame design and it's aluminum w/ carbon aero fork.

 

Personally, I like this bike alot. I don't weigh much and after a couple of hours you start to notice the aluminum road buzz, but my typical rides are around 1-2 hours and the carbon fork defintely helps. For the money I don't think you can beat what Giant is putting out there.

 

Drawbacks: The frame only comes in 3 or 4 sizes and uses an adjustable stem and long seatpost to tweak the fit. Some people complain that the stem is flexy...I've not noticed this, however I'm not a heavy dude.

 

Another option: Check out used bikes, particularly through the triathlon channels...I've seen plenty of 3 year old carbon bikes (Cervelo, Kestrel, Quinta Roo) that probably retailed for $3k going for $1k. Those tri folks seem to have more money than sense.

 

Yet another option: Check out bikes by Iron Horse (steel) and Raleigh (aluminum) for great bang for the buck. You can probably get into an Iron Horse Reynolds 853 steel frame bike in your price range and man those 853 tubesets ride smoooothhhh.