roadcurious

I am sure this question has been asked before but I did some searches and couldn't find it. I am new to cycling and am looking to buy my first starter road bike.

Is there any general wisdom on whether to buy an older bike with higher end components or a newer bike with lower end. I'd like to spend between around $500-$600. Some of the options I've seen are:

2005-2011 higher end components - 105, Ultegra, Dura-Ace
2012-2016 lower-end components - 105, Sora, Claris

Thanks!
Jason

jwh20

I'd go with the older 105 or better group set vs. a newer Sora or Claris. While the feature sets do trickle down, I don't think Sora or Claris are as well built as the higher-end groupsets.

Ogsarg

If you are comfortable inspecting a used bike and plan to do most/all work yourself, I'd go used. If not, go new. You have the possibility of getting a better bike used, but you also have a risk of getting screwed. With a new bike, from a reputable shop, you can count on getting something that will serve you well until you lust for something better.

CliffordK

I buy most stuff used. I judge the bike by what it has, and do upgrade some things.

Newer 105, Ultegra, and Dura Ace is "11 speed", Tiagra is 10 speed, and it goes down from there.

Older 105/Ultegra/Dura Ace is 10 speed. Also wheels frequently don't support the newer 11s cassettes should you choose to upgrade.

Do you need that extra sprocket? Heck if I know... I suppose it depends on the application.

I have had very good luck so far with an 8x3 setup on my Tricross, and the shifters seem to be precise.

On the other hand, I've never been that excited by the 9-speed Ultegra & Dura Ace shifters, although the derailleurs are good. I haven't tried the 10s.

Don't forget the frame.

Anyway, there is no clear answer. Buy the bike that you like, is comfortable, and fits well. Personally, I'd probably tend towards the higher end builds from the early 2000's.

I'm not beyond using old stuff from the 60's, 70's 80's, 90's, but it really is a different class from that built after 2000.

Spoonrobot 

I'd cut it off at Sora. New Tiagra and Sora is going to be better than old 105/Ultegra and will most likely have a longer life than old Dura-Ace. IME new low end groupsets are going to work better for longer than older, used high end groups.

caloso

I bought a 10-spd Tiagra mini-group for my son's bike and I've been extremely impressed. It's as good or better than Ultegra from a few years prior. And Ultegra 6800 11-speed is better than DA from a few years prior. Trickle down is a real thing.

SCRcat6

.

This. Your decision should be based entirely on your ability/willingness to learn about and work on the bicycle yourself.

noglider 

Component choice matters MUCH less than most people think. The value is mostly in the frame. I'd rather have a good frame with cheap components than a cheap frame with fancy components. Most cheap components work fine and last long enough. If something breaks, you can replace it, and while you're at it, you can replace it with a higher quality component. The one exception I might make to this is the hubs, since they are always rolling. If my rim failed, I would rebuild using the old hub, so I like to invest in high quality hubs when possible.

carlos danger

to be honest the only place where high end components make sense is the: shifters/brake levers for the superior feel. the cheap calipers/hubs/derrailleur/cassette/chain/chainrings will do the exact same job but will be heavier. biggest ripoff is the RD imo. as close to no benefit at all with going high end here as possible (imho).

cranks though.. here you want the high end ones, for the bling!

Lazyass

Even the new Claris R2000 is nice, and realistically good enough for the average person. I personally wouldn't go lower than Tiagra or maybe Sora, because if you buy it on a complete bike the rest of the bike will probably suck at that level.

wphamilton

I'm running Claris on my road bike, and I see no reason to be unhappy with it other than wanting more gears. Brakes are Sora, chain ring and cassette are whatever I find cheap at the time. So personally, I'd prefer new stuff over higher end used. It's a minority opinion.

roadcurious

Actually it seems like posters are split 50-50 but that probably means I'm fine either way so I should find a good deal for a good bike. When you say "wanting more gears" do you mean - more gears at the low and high end or do you mean smaller steps between gears?

I do want to buy used whether it's late model or older because I'm not 100% sure I'm going to stick with road biking so I don't want to spend too much.

wphamilton

Smaller steps, you get the same range either way. Generally speaking.

CliffordK

Anything can be replaced including the frame. I haven't done it, but I've threatened to build up a frame, then if I didn't like it, tear it down and use the parts elsewhere. I've certainly moved things like wheels around a bit.

I think you're pretty much there. Hubs can take a beating, and are a royal pain to replace. So, that is one place to add a little extra. And older (10 to 20 years old) hubs can be fine if in good shape. With the exception being the support for 11 speed. It is pretty much a continuum from poor to good, but 105/Ultegra level parts are good. I do try to avoid the pressed steel hubs.

Actually, incompatible parts or discontinued parts are an issue that one will run into. So, say one gets a bike with 9s or 10s, and wants to upgrade it to 11s, then a bunch of stuff will have to be upgraded at the same time. Nor could one simply take an old 10s rear derailleur and replace it with an 11s rear derailleur (with the exception of 10s Tiagra being compatible with new 11s parts).

And, if one has 20 year old Ultegra, then it must be either replaced with used/NOS, or downgraded to something different.

Everything indicates that when 12s hits mainstream, the parts compatibility will be a mess.

CliffordK

More or less... with the move from 5x2 to 11x2, there was both some filling in, as well as expanding the overall range.

10x2 and 11x2 road bikes probably will have similar cassette ranges, but with MTBs, they are often adding a smaller or larger sprocket rather than simply filling in.

noglider 

Upgrading from 9s or 10s to 11s is virtually pointless, so citing the difficulty in doing so is similarly pointless.

MRT2

I think the premise of your question is flawed. It sounds like you are looking for a used bike, but if you are considering spending $600, you are almost in range of a brand new bike, or a new bike on sale from a bike shop. And then you get a warranty, and after sales support for a year or two.

If you are looking for a deal on a used bike, a lot depends on condition, and on your desire or ability to do your own repairs. And the market you are in. When a deal comes up, you need to be ready to make a decision pretty much immediately. FWIW, I don't see all that many used bikes in your price range. I usually see bikes that are cheaper, or more expensive than what you are looking at. It seems to me at least here, you either find bikes that someone paid thousands for, and even taking big depreciation, still are asking more than $500 or $600. Or , folks are clearing out the garage and need to get rid of bikes that have been sitting a long time, and may need some work.

For example, a few years ago, a local bike shop was selling off its fleet of rental bikes. Along with a bunch of hybrids and cruisers was several road bikes. These are bikes that were about 3 to 5 years old, but were, frankly, entry level road bikes. So since it was a bike shop, they put the rentals on sale for about $250 with a 3 month shop warranty. Something like that would be well worth considering for someone looking to get into road biking. A few years ago when I was looking for a bike for my son, the same shop had a bike for sale that was a really old frame, and early 80s Gitane steel frame and fork, with a mix of very old (late 90s era) Ultegra and 105 components, and high end, but older wheels. The shop had put a little work into the bike, having replaced the chain and freehub, and installing on an current or recent Claris rear derailleur, which is fine since the old ultegra shifters are only 8 speed any way. They wanted $300 for the bike, since the frame was a higher end frame. I talked them down, and managed to work out a deal where I paid the shop $200 for the bike, but I also traded in an old kid's bike I no longer had a use for. In the end it was a win win. 2 years on and the bike is pretty solid. I think it might be my son's favorite bike he has ever owned.

roadcurious

Interesting, I set that price range because the majority of the entry level bikes from the main brands (Specialized, Canondale, Trek) were listed at 450-650. That ranged anywhere from a 2010 Allez Double Sport to a 2007 Allez Pro to a <year unknown> Allez E5 SLX. I agree there are a lot of late model bikes that people price much higher $900-$1200 or higher still for full carbon but if I'm going that route, I'd definitely rather go new.

I have not been able to find ANY LBS bikes in my area that sells a good road bike from one of those brands for less than $1000 new. So either I am making a compromise on age, components or both.

Ideally I'd love to find a lower priced bike that serves as a good introduction to road biking, with the desire to upgrade to the next level bike new in 1-2 years. However, it seems like $500 is the floor for something decent. Any lower than that and I'd be spending the rest in tune up / repairs.

Yes this would be awesome! If anyone has a line on something like this in the Los Angeles area, let me know!!

wphamilton

New bikes with Claris will be 8-speed - I think with literally no disadvantage in capacity compared to older 105. In fact, don't the Claris GS derailleurs have greater wrap capacity, theoretically allowing larger range?

MTB, we get into particulars where it may vary.

1500SLR

2006 Ultegra 10 speed is Ultegra 6600 they are still building bikes off the Ultegra 6600 spec. Ultegra 6600 shifters and derailleurs are now Tiagra 4700. Things move on but not that much. You have to also realise that those 10 year old components were built to the higher standard of manufacturing of Ultegra vs Tiagra in my example so the quality of the component as a general rule will be higher, they will be better built and last longer. It's not a hard and fast thing but you really can't go wrong with groupsets from high end bikes built in the last 10 to 12 years. It comes down to how well those components were maintained.

What does it all say though? If you're on a mechanical bike and don't care about things such as shadow tech then its really pointless going above Tiagra level these days to be honest. Everything from Tiagra level up once you have the derailleurs and shifters properly sorted out is just weight saving and icing on the cake. You might want it. But where Tiagra 4700 is Ultegra 6600 you do not need it. No one does... Beyond that point if you want to see a real difference in your shifting ability then you need a DI2 bike. It really is as simple as that.

Now once you're on the DI2 platform the shifting is more reliable (going up hill, deliberately cross chaining, in the wrong gear, mashing the pedals and I still can't get my DI2 bike to miss a shift). Firmware updates are constant, you get all the new technology by updates, even I get it with my 6770 bike. The platform is more even more equal, and then there are all the added things you can do with your computer and components such as shifters, or etc because of the latest integration of wireless inter-connectivity from the junction box and not from your computer as the central hub anymore.

But, Tiagra is the new 105, and DI2 is the new black and shadow tech, while it looks nice... There's some argument it doesn't shift as good, and is more so useful if you want to run wider cassettes than 11-32 which for the average fit and healthy person under the age of 50 is actually all kinds of pointless unless you live in hills where gradients may extend past 15% regularly for long periods of time and you need the difference between high and low gears because there is also flats involved. This accounts for 1% of the population.

MRT2

Giant Contend 3 is about the lowest priced new bike out there, at least at retail. It retails for a little over $600. https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/contend-3

Trek Domane AL 2 retails for around $800.

That is about the floor for new bikes, though Performance sells decent road bikes on sale for a little less than that.

Better bikes are of course available. If you want 9 speed, you are looking at $900 to $1,000 retail. 10 speed will run you $1,200 to $1,500. 11 speed 105 will run you from $1,500 to $2,000. Lots of variables here,

As I have said before, my personal rule of thumb on buying used is, if the bike in question is less than half the cost of a comparable new bike, and is in ready to ride condition, then it is probably worth the risk.

roadcurious

Part of this is diplomatic, if I buy a new bike and don't end up doing much road biking, I would get so much grief from my DW. If I buy used, then it was a frugal decision.

MRT2

If you are really concerned about frugality, then $500 to $600 is too much to spend. If cycling is for sure your thing, then $500 to $600 is not enough. Maybe consider spending less and just getting yourself a $100 or $200 beater. Doesn't even have to be a road bike. Could be a old hybrid. They made millions of those from the early 90s to present day that are not old enough to be vintage classics, but are old enough that they just aren't worth that much. They are not sexy, but you can find them for cheap. Ride it for 3 or 4 months. If riding is your thing, sell it and get your money back, then buy something really nice. If cycling isn't your thing, not much of a loss economically.

himespau 

I totally get where you're coming from.

roadcurious

Ah see, I already have a Hybrid and a Beach Cruiser. I use the cruiser to tote around my 2 year old and the hybrid to do family rides with my older kids. This would be a third bike that I would use for solo rides. Do I really need a 3rd bike? No, of course I don't. I do very much enjoy cycling, the open question is whether I would enjoy it more with a true road bike than I do with the Hybrid - drop handlebars, bigger gear ratio, more aggressive position, faster.

I don't know the answer to that without actually trying one for a few months so would that justify more than $500-$600 or less in your view?