Looking for my first "serious" road bike--need advice and opinions
 

Hi,

I'm looking to buy my first serious road bike in the 1k range, preferably no more than $1000. I'll be using this bike primarily for leisure rides and bike trips. I was looking at the specialized allez a5 sport as one of my options but I'm still looking around. On another note will there be substantial difference between 9 speed and 11 speed? I wouldn't mind more speeds but it is significantly more expensive--I would only be taking this bike on leisure trips, probably some mountain road climbs, but nothing competitive.

In short my criteria is:

1k range, $1000-1200 max

Used or new

Suitable for long bike rides

Comfortable feel, (I don't intend on participating in any competitions any time soon so there is no need for an aggressive geometry)

Shimano 105 components


Thanks!
Bleumeon

If you are not racing, probably a 9 speed or even an 8 speed bike should do the ride you want w/o any problem, the issue with 8 and 9 speed is that since 11 came up like 5 years ago find 8 and 9 speed parts is getting harder.

If you are in DC metro area, there is a swap meet in MD like in 2 weeks, I would go there to check it out, you might be lucky to get a nice bike for not a lot of money.

Check your local CL aswell, there is so much to pick from that is hard to tell you something w/o asking this :

Do you want steel or aluminum??
DO you want new or used?
Do you consider carbon as an option?

Check out the Giant Defy series. Relaxed endurance geometry. Several models under $1,000.

9sp vs 11sp? IMO, for leisure riding it's probably not worth the extra money to get the 11sp. Perhaps put the difference in other accessories you might need?

I do most of my winter and distance riding on an 8sp 2014 Defy 5, which has 4,500 miles on it so far with zero problems. My 11sp bike is only a summer bike, and I do not miss it when I am not riding it. That said, when the former's 8sp components wear out, they'll get upgraded to at least a 105 11sp.

Keith

If you are mechanically inclined and have basic skills and tools for minimal assembly and bike maintenance (adjusting brakes and derailleurs, checking wheels for true and installing, etc.) then look at the Motobecane Gran Premio Comp, Pro or Elite from Bikes Direct, $799 - $895 delivered to your door. They come 90% assembled but you have to install the handlebars, front wheel and pedals and make all the initial adjustments. The wheels are mediocre and I wasn't fond of the stock seat. I've got a few years older model of the Gran Premio and it's a fine bike I plan to ride for a long time. I do mainly mid and long distance recreational rides, non-competitive group rides, and charity events of 20 to 100+ miles (about 3,000 miles annually). The Gran Premio is reliable and comfortable. It'll never be a racer but it's no slug either. It's got 105 brifters, derailleurs, and cassette with an FSA crankset and Tektro brakes both of which are good quality.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._xiii_2100.jpg

Save Up To 60% Off Pro Level Steel Road Bikes | Commuting | Commuter Bikes | Motobecane Gran Premio PRO
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...ite-blk-21.jpg

If you're specifying Shimano 105, and buying new, your question about 9-speed or 11-speed is redundant. The new 105 group is 11-speed. And you'll probably struggle to get a new 105-equipped bike within your $1000 dollar budget.

Nashbar Carbon 105 Road Bike

Nashbar 105 Road Bike

That's a tight budget for new bike with 105. But if you're willilg to buy used, then that opens the field up a bit. I'd look at Cannondale Synapse, Giant Defy (like [MENTION=382873]trainsktg[/MENTION] mentioned above), Lemond Malliot Jaune or Buenos Aires (but might have to settle for older components), Specialized Roubaix, and others with endurance geometry. You really should try to ride a few of them to see if that category is for you in general.

Edit: Saw this Diamondback Century 1 bike new for under $1100: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...oryId=13127605 Am curious as to how these ride. And its in red so it has to be fast. :)

Try too find 250$ more and get the allez elite. That bike has the new Tiagra 10 speed and better color too!
Specialized Bicycle Components

The Nashbar Carbon 105 is a good bike with a good, solid frame. My only problem with it is the cheap seat but other than that its a great bike.

I would look at this Giant.
Defy 2 Disc (2016) | Giant Bicycles | United States

Or buy a leftover CAAD10, now that the CAAD12 is out a lot of stores just blowing out the 10. Got mine for 610 dollars off msrp.

When I bought my first bike I went for a Jamis Ventura sport, for $650 new. I didn't know anything about bikes back then and the guy at the store told me that's what he had for the money I could pay. I went in asking for a good bike for $300-350 (Hey, I said I didn't know anything about bikes!).

Long story short, I loved the bike and when the time came to upgrade I bought Jamis again, so I really recommend it. Their entry level line for endurance are between $750-1100 and you can also buy a steel bike for not a lot of money. The main advantage of steel is that it the ride won't be as stiff as carbon or aluminum, which for your leisure trips should be convenient.


Whatever bike you end up buying may I suggest you buy NOS? It will save you a ton of money than buying the latest available. Also buying online will be cheaper. Lots of bike shops sell their leftover from previous years on ebay; these are new bikes with full warranty, the only downside is you can try it beforehand and you still need to spend some cash to have it assembled. Also, you need to see if there's an authorized dealer in your area as to now void your warranty.

Good luck, I'm willing to bet you'll get hooked and will be upgrading your bike within a year.

If I can get a good deal used I would go that option. New of course limits my options given my price range. I would consider carbon an option with no preference between steel or aluminum.

The motobecane bikes look pretty interesting and have solid reviews overall. I can adjust the rear and front derailleurs myself and don't mind doing the tweaking on my own.

And you can teach yourself just about anything you need to know with the videos on Parktool.com.

The bikesdirect bikes get you better components for the buck, but their bikes won't keep as high of resale as a major-brand bike. You can't test ride, and you have to tune it up yourself. They're good values, but not without compromises.

Based on my experience: Nice-but-dull.

Sorry to go off-topic but apparently you're not allowed to send private messages without a 50+ post count. But, where is this DC swap meet?

The swap meet is in westminster MD... google "stop and save westminster md" that should bring their website :)

I say just get a CAAD12, and borrow some money to get it. Buy once and be done with it. I know if I could go back in time and just listen to people who say a CAAD feels like carbon and fast like one. Would have saved a bucket on bikes that I flipped.

What you say is probably true, but I just can't see myself buying $1500+ bikes unless I somehow find myself a lot of leisure money. I don't need the best components--as long as the ride is relatively smooth, clean shifting, and reliable that's all that matters to me.

I have a few other hobbies and interests, but most of my time and money gets consumed by college. Perhaps in several years I would be more inclined to buy a $2-3k bike but for now I just want something decent to have fun with.

OP, if you get the carbon 105 nashbar, be sure to wait for the 20-25% discount they semi-regularly offer.

You could get it for as low as $900 + tax + shipping, which would bring you right under the $1K price point.

That would be a pretty amazing value for a 105/5800 carbon bike.

When you say dull do you mean lacking a "liveliness" or "snappiness" like some other frames have? Good to know your eval, though. If it was me, I'd pick more standard road or racing geometry bikes. But the OP seemed to want a more endurance (or relaxed) geometry one.

I'll keep that in mind. Right now I'm leaning towards the motobecane. I already know how to tune front and rear derailleurs myself and I'm pretty sure I can teach myself what I don't know. I won't be buying the bike anytime soon yet, probably by mid summer as I need to save some money. So I'll try to get a good gauge of what will work for me and what to buy by then.

As in, it would do the job, and you'll maybe even enjoy riding it, but it won't excite you. A general feeling of "meh"-ness. Something you feel when your primary reason for choosing a bike brand is that they hit a certain spec level within a certain cost, rather than there being anything particularly special about the bike. This is how I feel about my own DB, which was certainly a bargain for the spec level, and is indeed a bicycle that works. ;)

I'm still a bit unfamiliar with different geometries but what is the primary difference between a racing geometry vs an endurance geometry? I don't mind a slightly aggressive geometry as long as its comfortable for casual and long distance rides.

A bike with "racing" geometry will generally have a longer top tube and a shorter head tube, so the bars will be lower and farther away from the seat, than on a bike with "endurance" geometry with a shorter top- and longer head tube.

You can mess about with stem length and angle and spacers a bit to get to where you want to be but it is better to know up front: do you like to/are you flexible enough to ride very long distances bent all the way over, or would you enjoy the ride more sitting up a little higher most of the time?

I rode a Cannondale SuperSix for several multi-hour rides this summer, and while it felt amazing for the first 90 minutes or so, after that I found it to be increasingly painful for my back, neck and shoulders, to the point that for the last hour I kept having to sit up and ride the bar tops to try to get some relief before leaning down again.

If you have the leg strength to keep the weight mostly on the pedals and the flexibility to ride hunched over for a long time, then a "racing" geometry bike can be comfortable for many hours.

Right now I get some lower back discomfort after 2.5-3 hours on a more upright bike---just old and out of shape--but nothing like the serious pain I found with the Cannondale. On the other hand, another person who rode the same Cannondale, and yet another who rode an almost identical one, bit found the bikes to be absolutely fine for rides of whatever lengths (the one guy did mention neck pain, from holding his head up for several hours while his body was laid out.)

If you are young or fit and plan to ride a lot, you can develop the capacity to ride laid out without discomfort. I did that years ago---it took time, but i slowly lengthened/lowered by bars until I was fit and able to ride in a "race" position for a long time comfortably. Question is, how much will you be riding and how long do you want to spend being uncomfortable getting your body to adjust to the bike, or would you rather buy a bike adjusted to your body and lower /stretch it via stem length/angle as you go on?