Originally Posted by
noodle soup
You say that like it's a bad thing.
Haha
Originally Posted by
Germanrazor
Hmmmmmm, be careful poking the cat. Many old ex-pro cyclist do and some look like they could not ride a bike to the end of the drive to check their mailbox without dying. But in fact they can ride you under the asphalt.
I once rode with a 75 year old retired cyclist like that who was just a semi-pro racer. He went by me up a 14% grade like I was on a flat in my nirvana at a time in life when I was a pretty darn good advanced amateur. I felt like a piss-ant in stature when I got to the top of the climb and he was waiting because he was worried!
Looks are deceptive in cycling.
I guess you are right. I just don't want to lose my abs haha.
Originally Posted by
Plainsman
There are two sales models, dealer and direct to consumer. In the US, most of what you get are through a dealer (and by most I'm talking about the major brands most are familiar with in road cycling). Canyon is now available in the US direct to consumer, has great bank for the buck IMO, but I don't think you can find a road bike under $1500 (but you get a nice bike for $1500). That said, a lot depends on your location and what size you need. Have you already shared that info with us? I may have missed it. As others have said though, new bikes are becoming slim pickings right now. Looking at Sept-Nov for some to be re-stocked. Local shops where I live still have bikes in stock, but it is hit or miss as to whether they will have the size, color, and spec you want. We have really good manufacturer representation close by, and can drive to look at Scott, Trek, Giant, Specialized, BMC, Pinarello, Cannondale, Co-op, etc within no more than 20 minutes. If you know your size, you can call around to dealers to see what they have on hand.
Never thought of buying bikes like it was buying a car. That stinks. I wish you could just buy the stuff online and have the bike shipped directly to you for you to assemble. I know you can do that with some brands. But popular brands just give you a list of dealers and say to call those if you want this bike. I will go to REI tomorrow to see what's up! My budget since I'm not hardcore and just want it for about 6-8 months of the year for maybe 2x a week at most just for fitness (not trying to travel 100s of miles) is around $1000. It was less until I saw less gets you almost nothing but Wal-Mart bikes or cheap used bikes. I think I can get the bike I want from REI and use the dividend to get a cheap helmet and some decent pedals.