consumer reports brotha bika (rob)

I'm thinking of getting a road bike. So far I've only really gotten into mountain biking, but I'm considering a road bike and training for a 150 mile (75 mile * 2 days) ride next year. I can't say I'm super crazy about road riding when comparing it to the trail, but I do like the endurance appeal of it and it's also far less weather dependent than trail riding.

So......what are good bikes to be on the lookout for? I haven't set a budget yet, but obviously the cheaper the better. I'm willing to consider new and used bikes. I'd probably set a hard cap at $2500 for now since I'm not sure I'll really dig the road.

I know you may not be able to give me excessive advice on the used market, but any tips on recent models to be wary of or to try to find would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

b

[ShagginJet]

I doubt most people here know much about bicycling. But I've had a little experience. When I lived in Hawaii I use to do some triathalons(SP). I used a mountain bike two times and a road bike another. so for sure get a road bike, as far as what to get, it's more preference then anything else.

Go into a bike shop, check some frames out, some wheels, gears, etc... For 2500 you should be able to get a pretty nice bike. Just shop around, sometimes you can build one for less then a pre-built one.

[pdiggitydogg]

(^mt biker does...thats who hes asking)

road biking is great for endurance build up... it quite useful this way if you want to gain more endurance for mountain biking... i dont know much bout road bikes.. only bout mountain bikes... but $2500US will get you somethin that you wont be disapointed with

The best bang for your buck in road bikes are the trek carbon series. The trek 5200 (seen below) is the one I picked up last year, it was going for 3500CAD which is ~2100USD (i got it as a bonus though).

Now you might be saying "dude its trek, i want a euro bike" and I would tell you, sure b you can get a euro bike but it wont be 18lbs for that money. This bike rides like a pure breed and hey, lance rides on the same frame (carbon goes from 120 to 110 for lances bike - lance rides on a 5900).

FRAME OCLV® 120 Carbon is unusually light, strong, and fast. Pro Race Geometry improves handling. The same stock frame ridden by the USPS team in the Tour de France.

FORK Bontrager Race Lite. OCLV 110 Carbon is light, responsive, and silences road vibration.

WHEELS Bontrager Race Lite combines sleek aerodynamics and lateral rigidity for fast, durable performance.

COMPONENTS Shimano Ultegra crank and 9-speed shifting. Double or triple chainring.

The great thing about this bike is it has the best warrenty on the market and comes decked out to do just about anything. You want to do crits on it, go for it. Thinking about some centries, hey this bike will do it. One thing I would recommend you do and thats get a fiting. Up here they run about $80-200CAD and what happens is (at least at my shop) you spend an hour on a "fit bike" working through different sizes, angles, etc etc. The goal is to figure out what set up you need on the bike without buying two different bikes because the first one was wrong.

Now if you are a serous mt.biker then you might be able to get away with out a fitting but I would still go for it. I have the benifit of a pro shop behind me and I've swapped many parts as I've gone from an -upright riding style- to a lower roadie style. B something else to remember is you most likely wont be able to test ride alot of these bikes because of the cost of teh bike and the fact a road bike is custom fit to its rider, so a stock bike never fits right.

Now you dont have to get a trek, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better bike for 2100USD (might even be able to pick up last years for 1999). If you have any questions about my recommendation talk to poleman, I told him what to get and I'm under the impression he still loves it.

Something to consider, you'll need to buy the following:
new helmet
new shoes
pedals (they do NOT come with the bike)
shorts
jersey

Now www.labicicletta.com cannot sell you a trek bike via the web so you will have to look into a local shop. Check the prices listed on that site so you have an idea of the pricing. These prices are some of the best in North American (fyi), so if the sales guy sales will throw in a helmet for $XXX and labicicletta sells if for less say no thanks and call us and we'll hook you up for a smashing good price.

Glad to see your getting into road riding, you'll love the speed. TRUST ME mountain biking will never be the same!

Thanks for the good info. Just a few more ?'s though.

What's a euro bike?

Any good reviews on road pedals. Speedplay has some pedals that look pretty nice but I'm not sure they're good stuff or not, and I see a lot of guys running around with the Time systems though.

When you say I need a new helmet, you recommending a road-specific helmet? What's the difference? More aero and lighter?

I already wear the pants on the trail and I definitely wouldn't be hitting a 100 mile trip with anything short of a tight jersey.....nothin like riding into the wind all day.

Thanks again. I'll keep ya posted on what I decide.

b

Originally posted by spoogenet
I'm considering a road bike and training for a 150 mile (75 mile * 2 days) ride next year.

This wouldn't happen to be the MS150 would it? My daddy does that every year w/my stepmonster.

For the bike I'm talking about companies like look & colnago who have been making bikes before americans even decided to get into the market. They have a different approach to how they go about making their frames and what qualities are important.


Helmet wise, yes something road specific. And there is a slight difference but if money is an issue stick with the one you've got now.

And otherwise it sounds you are on teh right path...

Originally posted by GirlRacer
This wouldn't happen to be the MS150 would it? My daddy does that every year w/my stepmonster.

I'm thinking of doing the SA->CC one. I'm not so sure I'd want to ride the Houston/Austin....Houston sucks. And a beach party at CC sounds like it could be fun.

Which one do they ride?

I've never ridden anywhere near that far, so it'll take a good bit of training before I decide if I'll even do it. Of course the soonest I'd do one would be next year.

Rob, once again thanks for the info.

b

They do the one in Oklahoma, & yea, the start riding months in advance

Are we talking about a race thats only 150miles long?

I didn't touch on pedals in my last post, B stay away from speed play they are shit. If you want the best pedal on the market get the new time pedals, or if you want to save some money for got a look pp series pedal

Not a race as far as I'm aware, just the MS150 which is a set of ~ 150 mile rides to raise money for MS charity. They can get to be much longer than 150 miles, though.

Thanks for the pedal info.

b