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Purchasing a road bike -- info / advice
The Green Eyed Monster
i blame hip hopRegistered User regular
i blame hip hopRegistered User regular
So I'm looking into purchasing a road bike but that's all I really know about it. I was hoping some people who knew more about bikes could help give me some info to help me make a good decision.
(1) How much should I expect to pay for a mid-quality road bike? One to ride daily for my commute and such. What is a low-end price? What is a high-end price?
(2) What are the main factors that determine price difference? Frame? Rims? Gears? Brakes? etc. and which of these factors should I be most concerned about?
(3) Should I mess with craigslist.org? Should I buy new? Should I buy used? What do you think is the best place to go shopping for this?
I've never really ridden or messed around with road bikes, so I could use any info you can supply. Thanks in advance!
(1) How much should I expect to pay for a mid-quality road bike? One to ride daily for my commute and such. What is a low-end price? What is a high-end price?
(2) What are the main factors that determine price difference? Frame? Rims? Gears? Brakes? etc. and which of these factors should I be most concerned about?
(3) Should I mess with craigslist.org? Should I buy new? Should I buy used? What do you think is the best place to go shopping for this?
I've never really ridden or messed around with road bikes, so I could use any info you can supply. Thanks in advance!
The Green Eyed Monster on
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I went to the local Performance Bike (www.performancebike.com) shop to look around a take a few of their bikes for a test ride. The advice given to me from friends before going in was to ride as many a I could so I could get a feel for what I liked and what I didn't. I didn't think this would do me much good considering I hadn't ridden a bicycle in about 10 years.
So I went in there and explained that I was looking for a triathlon bicycle, I didn't need anything top of the line, but I'd like something that would hold its own and last me for a few seasons. They asked me what my price range was and I think I replied that I didn't want to go too much over $1,000. The tri-bikes ranged anywhere from about $600 to $4000+. They showed me a couple bikes in the 1200 range (I didn't see too many that were closer to 1000 to be honest) and I took 3 of them out for a brief ride around the lot.
Amazingly enough, I could start to get a feel for which shifters and other components I liked better. I ended up going with their house brand (cheaper frame, so more money went towards gears, shifters, etc meaning I won't have to worry about upgrading as much). It ran me $1350, but I signed up for their club card so 10% of that came back to me in store credit and covered most of the other things I needed to buy (helmet, clip pedals, shoes).
So based on that, I'd point you towards ~$1000 for a mid quality road bike, although I'm sure it's possible to get one for less.
You'll save money going with the store brand / house assembled cycles because you won't be paying extra for the brand name and then more funds can go towards getting quality components.
Craigslist could work in your favor. A buddy was looking to get into the triathlons with us, so he was checking listings for a cheap road bike. He found one from guy cyclist who had about half a dozen bikes and was able to put together another high quality bike for the spare parts. He only wanted I think $600 for it too, but the bike was pink. It's a hell of a deal as long as you're cool with the color. So you might find a deal like that with a little luck.
Hope this helped out.
Firstly, before you buy anything, for the love of god try it so you can make sure it fits right. Although frames may state they're the same size, the geometry of them may be different enough to make one seem larger or just the wrong shape for you. Even if you don't intend to buy from that shop you try it in, just give one a go!
If you're gonna be commuting on it - how far are you going to be cycling? Do you want something that's a bit tougher, rather than a bit lighter... I know that's what I went for. I'm quite hard on bikes. Steel alloy bladed forks will take a little of the buzz out of the road better than aluminium alloys, as will slightly wider tyres (I've swapped the 25mm ones on mine for 28mm ones). Cheap-ass carbon seems to be getting around a bit for forks too (like on my commuter)... It's alright really.
Like Tal said, a shop-brand frame will give them more leeway to get better components - then if you dislike the frame, you can change it later.
On the other hand - when you're commuting things will wear out. Chains and cassettes are usually the first to go (should be changed at the same time really, if you didn't know) and you can upgrade them at the time. The cheaper derailliers they use tend to be less servicable, so they'd be swapped etc etc... So you might be bettter off getting a bike with a good frame that's suitable to upgrade and not-so-great components that you can use, get better and wear out as you go.
I'm not sure about brakes on road bikes I'm afraid, to me the brakes they use, no matter the expense and supposed difference, are just different levels of crap. The pad compound makes more difference I think... But I'm used to being spoilt by nice hydraulic disc brakes on my mountain bike.
Another thing - if you're commuting through traffic, a flat bar might be better than drop bars. Like a specialized sirrus or this - though I'm not sure if you can get them over the pond there. I've found it's worth the extra effort on the uphill to be able to see over cars and through the windows of the very small people driving the very large 4x4s.
This is personal preference, but I think clipped pedals are evil, evil things. Either go flats (like I have there, but I came to the road biking lark from mountain bikes) or get cleated pedals - like shimano's SPDs. They take a little getting used to, twisting your foot to release from the pedal, but means you won't get snagged on a silly belt-of-death arrangement. You'd need to budget in for cleated shoes for them though.
From what I've seen, about $1000 will get you a decent bike.
Have fun!
1. As other people have said, $1000 should get you a pretty great bike. For a commuter, a low-end price is probably ~$400, high-end would be 2K I guess. Any more then that and you are paying for components more suited to competition then commuting.
2. Components (drive train and brakes) are the biggest factor on price and are the biggest factor in how a bike rides I think.
3. Classifieds are a good source for cheap and decent bikes, but you have to know your stuff so you don't get ripped off. New might be a safer bet.
A few other things:
Pre-packaged bikes (frame and components bundled together) are the most cost effective solution, but a custom bike where you hand pick each component can get you a nicer ride, albeit at a higher cost.
You'll want a steel frame for commuting. They are tougher and have a much more comfortable ride then aluminum.
If your roads are bad, you'll want wide road tires.
One good brand to look at is Bianchi. Well respected bike manufacturer from Italy. The Strada and the Volpe are two models you should look at.
Kona and Giant are also quite good.
Surly is another brand you should check out. A smaller company, they mostly produce top quality steel frames at a reasonable cost. They do, however sell one complete bike built up around their Cross-Check frameset. The Cross-Check is their all-purpose road frame, built for cyclocross, it's also great for commuting. I have a Cross-Check that I got custom built for a commuter bike and it's amazing. Smooth ride even with loads of gear and it's pretty freaking fast too. Mine is basically an upgraded version of their 'complete bike' so I'm sure their standard build is still really nice. Honestly, I can't say enough these guys, they are good bike people.
That reminds me, make sure that the bike you get has braze-ons for fenders and racks. The Cross-Check as braze-ons for front and rear fenders and a rear rack. The Bianchi's I listed only have braze-ons for front/rear fenders OR a rear rack. So that is something you should keep in mind. If you are commuting on this thing every day, you want fenders, trust me. They'll keep you dry(er) and protect the frame too. Plus they class up the bike
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
If a commute is most important, I'd advise either buying used or buying low-tier road frames. Riding the streets day in and out is tough on the bike, and spending a lot of money on a commuter is a bit of a waste, in my opinion. Flat tires are all too common even with my older centurion road bike with the toughest tires it can fit.
If you plan to exercise and/or train on it, though, I think $1000 is a good bet. Keep in mind that you wouldn't want to lock up a bike that expensive at the bike rack at university, so you may need a safer place like an office to keep it while you're at work/school.