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Beginner: Bike Purchasing Advice Needed

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Beginner: Bike Purchasing Advice Needed

Old 05-14-20, 07:56 AM
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mlavery0
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Beginner: Bike Purchasing Advice Needed

Hey everyone, I am brand new to this whole world of biking. I'm a runner who is looking to cross-train and enjoy biking. My main goal is to get a budget setup that I can do primarily do Zwift workouts to cross-train and take to the roads when I want to. I've purchased a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine Fluid Trainer for $90 (not Smart, but planning on buying the Kinetic InRide 3 Sensor when they get back on the market). Now the next big piece is the bike.

I've been searching marketplace for suitable road bikes and came across this BP Stealth Carbon Fiber. The size is right. Price listed is $280. From my limited research it seems like a reasonable price with good reviews. Would this be a good purchase for my needs? Are there any upgrades/changes I'd need to make for my goals? Thanks for any feedback!
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Old 05-14-20, 08:11 AM
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GlennR
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Are you missing a zero?
https://www.roadbikereview.com/produ...alth-ocrr.html

I would avoid a triathlon bike unless you an on racing triathlons.
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Old 05-14-20, 08:55 AM
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Anything new around the $280 is going to be entry level and possibly not be very robust for outdoor mileage.

2nd hand, you will likely get something serviceable that will
a) allow you to see if you 'get the bug'
b) hopefully not need much money spent on it
c) will also hold its value, if you decide to give up or upgrade within a year or so

Ultimately you will be getting a road bike that's fine for fitness and will likely last for years with a bit of care and maintenance, but will be a fair bit off a performance bike.
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Old 05-14-20, 09:00 AM
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Metallifan33
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Originally Posted by mlavery0
Hey everyone, I am brand new to this whole world of biking. I'm a runner who is looking to cross-train and enjoy biking. My main goal is to get a budget setup that I can do primarily do Zwift workouts to cross-train and take to the roads when I want to. I've purchased a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine Fluid Trainer for $90 (not Smart, but planning on buying the Kinetic InRide 3 Sensor when they get back on the market). Now the next big piece is the bike.

I've been searching marketplace for suitable road bikes and came across this BP Stealth Carbon Fiber. The size is right. Price listed is $280. From my limited research it seems like a reasonable price with good reviews. Would this be a good purchase for my needs? Are there any upgrades/changes I'd need to make for my goals? Thanks for any feedback!
I was a runner and kept getting hurt so got into biking (pretty much the most common story).
I researched and decided on an endurance bike. Unless you are planning on doing triathlons, I'd stay away from tri-bikes or TT bikes. Even if you plan on racing, I'd go with an endurance bike to build... endurance Once you're up to snuff (getting used to the saddle etc.) and you have a bit of extra cash, you can specialize. In my case I'll always have the endurance bike.
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Old 05-14-20, 09:02 AM
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Ugh. Is your intention to ride triathlons? Then, maybe. This could work on a trainer because your sessions won't be that long. It will be unpleasant on the road, though. Why not a traditional aluminum road bike with mid-level components? That's where most people start. And up your budget to $900 to open more possibilities. Get a fitting from someone experienced. That person will be able to help you (1) select the correct frame size and (2)dial things (stem length, saddle position relative to pedals, saddle type) in on your trainer, so that you're not starting with something that is a ridiculously poor fit.
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Old 05-14-20, 09:39 AM
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Originally Posted by GlennR
Are you missing a zero?
https://www.roadbikereview.com/produ...alth-ocrr.html

I would avoid a triathlon bike unless you an on racing triathlons.
Every place I have looked shows this bike being sold for more like $1280, or much more, frame only. If you can find one for $280 …. Buy it and sell it. Don’t ride it, it might be rally broken.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/bpStealth-C...-/172135209884
Buy it new: US $3,650.00 frame and fork
https://www.roadbikereview.com/produ...alth-ocrr.html
MSRP: $1500 Frame/Fork/Headset Only

And a tri-bike is about the hardest thing to ride in anything but a straight line on anything but a wind-less day. (“The wide frame makes handling tricky in high crosswinds" …. “Not really a weakness, but one should be aware of how high crosswinds can affect handling; due to the larger than average surface area of this frame.”)

Not clear what your budget is here … but Do Not buy used unless you either know a whole lot about bikes or can bring a buddy who does.

(“This is an extremely fast bike, but the thing that impresses me the most is the frame`s durability. At the risk of a dubious impression, the frame has stood up to three wrecks due to high speed close pack riding. I have had the frame inspected thoroughly, and no faults or cracks have shown. One of the wrecks occurred at more than 25 mph, and I couldn`t ride for over a month.”)

Yeah …. And after the fourth high-speed wreck, rather than have the frame inspected, he decided to sell it, perhaps.

Not every seller is going to tell you all that stuff ….. and you have no idea what “had the frame inspected thoroughly” means. He had a buddy tap it with a quarter listening for clunks? He had it sonogrammed? He had some guy look at it closely?

Best to buy new unless you really know bikes—IMO.

@Metallifan33 has the best idea—get an ordinary endurance-geometry road bike for training. You can ride it in competitions (at least at the beginner level) you can do all your training, you can throw it on the trainer, and you can take it out for relaxed weekend spins …. And you can keep it as a back-up when you buy a much better bike a couple seasons down the road, if you find you really like cycling.

And if you decided to focus on triathlons, you can slap on a set of clip-on aero bars for the first few …. And when you get a dedicated Tri-bike (if you do) you will appreciate having the regular bike for training.
@Phil_gretz also offers very sound advice about fitting, etc. Riding the wrong sized bike will either hurt so much you won’t want to, or will push you to ride through the pain and leave you needing knee surgery.

Best bet is almost always to go to a few bike shops and take some test rides, see what is available at what price point. You can get a decent idea of what size frame you might want that way too … and once you know what you want and in what size, you can ask if they have any used or leftover models—nothing wrong with saving cash.

Especially since you will need to buy accessories.
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