road bike purchase advice

[clearance_clarance]

Hello all! I know this is mainly a mountain bike website but I know a lot of mountain bikers are also road cyclists and I hope to join that population of mountain bikers/road cyclists. I was just wondering if anyone had some input into what road bikes are the good ones and what stores are the best in helping out a wannabe road cyclist and have a good selection. I don't want to spend a crazy amount on a road bike but I don't want too basic of a bike. I would start as a recreational rider and maybe if I like it try to be a competitive biker. Thanks!!:eyeroll:

[nigel]

i first need to know how much you plan on spending. Road bikes start at around $550 to start, you may be able to find something cheaper this time of year though. Two good road bike specific shops are Flanders, Grand Performance. other than those I'd suggest hitting up Boehms and Freewheel as well. For brands, well depends on what your looking for, they differ at different price levels which really is a huge factor in road bikes.

D

[Standard]

The most important part of a road bike is the fit. Make sure the shop you buy it from does at least a basic fitting for you. I'd recommend looking at Cannondales, they have some great stuff coming out for '05.

[GearDaddy]

For more "entry level" stuff I wouldn't go to Flanders or GP. They're more well known as serious racing shops, where you'll find mostly high-end stuff. Sure they know bikes and it is fun to oogle the super-pricey custom frames and all, but for more selection in what you're looking for I'd go elsewhere. Go to Penn Cycle to see Trek, LeMond, Orbea and Felt bikes. Go to Eriks to see Specialized and Cannondale bikes. Go to Bikemasters to see Giants. Freewheel is a good place. Also Tonka Cycle is a good place to find Bianchi bikes (probably at a better price than Flanders or GP). That's what I'm familiar with on the Southwest metro.

Another thing I'd suggest is to go window shopping at www.roadbikereview.com. It's a great place to go to check out a wide variety of used bikes. There's a lot of bikes out there that you will not see in any local shops. Sure, there's a lot of sticker shock, but there are definitely diamonds in the rough too. I purchased my Colnago off of roadbikereview.com and have been extremely happy with it.

[el gueche]

dont forget 1 on 1 - you might find a good used road bike - bianchi as well - over

[pmschwei]

id suggest riding as many bikes as possible-to get a feel for different frame materials and different geomotries-if you are sticking to the low end of price components are going to be pretty similar-used is a good option as road bikes typically take less abuse than mtbs-what size bike would you be looking for-

[halls]

This can be a good time of year to purchase. Bike stores have 2005 models and some left over 2004. Some will be on sale,if not ask. Make sure to inquire what is 2004 and so forth. More expensive bikes have more bargaining room, but still cost way more than you might need. Fit is crucial and all of the stores mentioned should help you decide your frame size. Check for other fit issues too,like stem size, handle bar width,crank arm length.It all adds up later if you have to swap those parts.
An aluminum frame is a good way to go. Trek , Cannondale and Specialized have very good bikes in the 500 to 1000 range.

[soupboy]

...I got a great deal and a professional fitting from the folks at Erik's in SLP (seek out Chris, the store mgr).

You can spend $500 to infinity on a road bike. Great price/peformance values can be had around $1000-1500, especially this time of year as NOS is cleared out for 2005.

Sean

The most important part of a road bike is the fit. Make sure the shop you buy it from does at least a basic fitting for you. I'd recommend looking at Cannondales, they have some great stuff coming out for '05.

[clearance_clarance]

Thanks for all the great advice! I guess I was hoping to spend at most around $1500 (unless I really found a bike I just couldn't live without). So far I've visited Penn Cycle and Erik's and looked at Cannondales (R600/R900/R1000),Specialized (Allez), Treks (1500/2100) and Lemonds. One thing I'm getting conflicting info on is a double or triple chainring?? Do I really need a triple for riding around MN or since I'm new to road biking should I go for a triple just in case?
Thanks!

[Magic]

Triple chain rings are for touring bikes. If your going to put paneers on and travel long distances with food, clothing, tent and what not then go for the triple. But if your just doing road miles for a change of pace, go with two chain rings.

[funky-funky-chicken]

I would suggest that you do what you have been doing so far... Test ride as many bikes as you can. A bike is a personal decision that must feel right to you. It takes the knowledge and experience of someone good to make recommendations based on your feedback. I would suggest unless you know EXACTLY what you want, find a shop that you can trust.

We are fortunate enough to have a variety of very tallented individuals working at a number of different shops scattered across the Twin Cities. I would recommend finding a shop where you feel comfortable building a relationship. Support your local bike shop.

All that said, I have been working on a part-time basis at County Cycles in Roseville for the last 12 years. There is a good group of people working there, very talented and passionate about all things bike related. I would recommend at least checking them out.

Double vs. Triple: You'll get a number of different opinions based on how and where people ride. I tend to spin and ride low gearing; I might be inclined to get a triple if it were my only road bike. There are some good hills up and down the Saint Croix river valley that can really test "Spring legs." Others like to push big gears... (I had a customer try to convince me that he needed 58T chainring one time.) I have a triple on a touring bike, everything else is a double. There is not really a significant penalty having the third ring up front and you'd likely not want to try to add one later.

One bike I would recommend trying would be the 2004 Bianchi Vigorelli. I think County still has a good size selection. Reynolds 631 frame, carbon fork, Mavic wheels, and those old 9speed Ultegra components. Might leave you change from your 1500 dollar bill for other goodies too.

[gopherhockey]

I just went through this myself - went with the double chainring and am glad I did.. I don't really get out of the big one anyway, let alone needing 3.

Be sure you get a good seat on your bike and don't forget to stand once in a while! :sick:
;)

[Crash]

I don't really get out of the big one anyway, let alone needing 3.

John - sounds like we need to go ride some hills this spring ;)
Hiway 13 and Ramsey hill come to mind!

[GearDaddy]

As far as double vs. triple, it depends on your strength as a rider and how aggressively you want to ride. A real good tool to figure your gearing is Sheldon Brown's handy gear calculator, which can be found at http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/.

A pretty typical double setup is 53-39 front and a 12-23 back. It is considered good form to keep about 90-100 rpm cadence. So, the gear calculater shows that your smallest gear at 100 rpm cadence with this setup is about 13 mph and the biggest gear would be about 34 mph. Now for solo riding, where 18-20 mph average is fast paced, that gearing is arguably high. There are plenty of hills that you will encounter that are tough to go faster than 8-10 mph up, which is still OK with this gearing. But the upper end is pretty much not used much, as it isn't that often that you will be going faster than 25 mph and still pedaling. On the other hand if you're going to do fast group rides or race, then gearing like this is a real good fit for a strong rider. I find that I spend a lot of time right around the 20 mph mark, so I'm in my 53/21, 53/19, 39/17, and 39/16 gears. But there are definitely hills where I need that all of the 39/23. I almost never use my 53/12 or 53/13.

Now if you don't fit this pattern of an aggressive rider and you want to take it easier, perhaps stay seated when climbing most hills, then a triple might be for you. It will give a very wide range of gearing. However, triples are more of a hassle because you'll end up moving around on your front chainring more. So, it mike work better to simply get bigger gearing in the back instead, such as a 13-26 cassette. Keep in mind though that road derailleurs have limitations of the largest cassette ring being a 27T or 28T.

Sorry for the long windedness. Play around with the gear calculator to find what you like.

[SickBoy]

I ride a 12-25 cassette with a double almost exclusively. Agreed that I don't use the top end much - I've only slipped into the 53/12 in crit sprints and on fast training ride sprints.

Remember too that most people short of Lance Armstrong aren't comfortable sitting and spinning 100 RPM up a hill. for most people their cadence drops somewhere into the 70's, so a 12-25 cassette fits just fine for everything around here. Particularly mountain bikers, since we tend to mash a lot more than people who started riding on the road.