First Road Bike
06-26-20, 12:06 AM
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First Road Bike
I’m looking into buying my first road bike. I’ve been a long time Hybrid rider, my current being a Giant Escape 3 that I’ve put probably its full value in upgrades. I was using that bike for my work commute which is 6 miles round trip. On the weekends however, I’ve stared pulling 20-30 mile rides, and I’m not sure it’s the best bike for the job. I feel great for the first 15-16 miles, but everything after feels arduous.
That being said, I went to my local bike shop and took a look at road bikes.
They have a Specialized Tarmac SL5 Comp Disc, with Roval CL50’s and Continental GP5000’s for $3,999. Is this a good starter? It’s right about the top of my budget and want to make sure I’m getting a good value. Open to other bike suggestion. I know there is a SL6 but it pushes me up quite a bit in price.
Note, I mostly ride solo or with one other person. I don’t intend to race. 25-30 miles are max planned distance. I’m hitting roughly 60-75 miles a week.
That being said, I went to my local bike shop and took a look at road bikes.
They have a Specialized Tarmac SL5 Comp Disc, with Roval CL50’s and Continental GP5000’s for $3,999. Is this a good starter? It’s right about the top of my budget and want to make sure I’m getting a good value. Open to other bike suggestion. I know there is a SL6 but it pushes me up quite a bit in price.
Note, I mostly ride solo or with one other person. I don’t intend to race. 25-30 miles are max planned distance. I’m hitting roughly 60-75 miles a week.
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06-26-20, 12:54 AM
#2
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Good evening! From the looks of that bike, what I found on the Specialized website, I would be happy to have that as my first roadie. If you are already riding 60-75 miles a week. It would be a good idea to be on something that is meant for road riding. It has the Ultegra hydraulic group set, with a 105 rear cassette. Really nice wheel set. I think you would be extremely happy with that bike. As long as it is your size, and if feels comfortable. I say go for it. Right now, it is almost impossible to find anything in stock, so if you found something, I say do it. I believe it is best to spend a little more in the beginning, because you will end up spending more later on to upgrade anyways. This way you are spending once, rather than twice.
06-26-20, 05:58 AM
#3
Senior Member
That's a great bike, but more high end than what would typically be called a starter bike! Anything with Ultegra components usually has version below it with Shimano 105 and will be $1K or more cheaper - and for the riding you described you probably won't be able to tell the difference. Another $500 - 600 below is a Tiagra equpped one that usually has a few other compromises.
I went from 20 years on a steel road bike to a carbon bike (Trek Domane) - there are a few things to be aware of. If you do any of your own maintenance, you'll need to have a torque wrench and a bike stand that doesn't involved clamping the carbon. The wheels at the high end carbon bikes are amazing light and fast - but usually 24 spokes and not anywhere near as sturdy as what you likely had on your bybrid.
That said, if it fits in your budget, have a blast!
I went from 20 years on a steel road bike to a carbon bike (Trek Domane) - there are a few things to be aware of. If you do any of your own maintenance, you'll need to have a torque wrench and a bike stand that doesn't involved clamping the carbon. The wheels at the high end carbon bikes are amazing light and fast - but usually 24 spokes and not anywhere near as sturdy as what you likely had on your bybrid.
That said, if it fits in your budget, have a blast!
06-26-20, 06:11 AM
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Sounds like a nice bike.. are you in the US? I can't seem to find a stock model on the Spesh website with your description/model #. Wondering if this might be a 1-2yr old model?
06-26-20, 06:22 AM
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As soon as I bought my hybrid Trek FX2 3-4 years ago I thought about also getting a road bike but I never did. A decent road bike new is so expensive and with my salary that money is better served going to bills. I thought about buying a cheap used Schwinn road bike steel, but never did. Between my Trek Hybrid and Schwinn Mnt bike I ride over the summer a lot of miles , sometimes 100 or more a week. I really dont think a cheap road bike will give me any better performance, if I really try I can do 14-15 miles in one hour on my hybrid. Like the other day I rode about 14 miles in one hour on the Cal-Sag trail in IL on my hybrid. I also figured I dont want embass myself by riding a roade bike and riding on the trails not at the same clip as speed demons on there. A lot of times I dont ride fast, but prefer just taking it easy enjoying the ride and loving nature and the trails. I also really prefer dressing in casual clothes and dont want suit up in all kinds of wind resistant clothing. I dont ride to race, I ride to take off fat in the summer and to enjoy nature. For these reasons I decided the road bike may not be the bike for me.
On the other hand if I was in a financially better situation and I could afford to buy a 4,000 road bike like the one you were looking at I would. Me im broke all the time and usually in debt 😁
On the other hand if I was in a financially better situation and I could afford to buy a 4,000 road bike like the one you were looking at I would. Me im broke all the time and usually in debt 😁
Last edited by littleArnold; 06-26-20 at 06:31 AM.
06-26-20, 10:17 AM
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Only guessing the specs from models approximately named that on 99spokes, but I wouldn't recommend that bike at that price point for a first road bike. You don't ride nearly enough to know what you really want, you haven't mentioned whether you've test ridden that or any other road bikes, and you haven't mentioned in enough detail the type of riding you do (terrain, elevation profile).
30 miles over anything except multiple categorized climbs wouldn't be the kind of riding that would leave most wishing they had anything nearly that expensive. Of course you may eventually work your way up to longer rides, but shooting your budget on that $4k Tarmac is not the most effective way to get there. You can shave $1.5k off the price for a new bike equipped with Shimano 105 and spend it on things that will actually make you be able to ride farther like a power meter to use for training your fitness up to handle the demands of longer rides, better cycling gear to be more aerodynamic, and a bike fitting to get your contact points set up for comfort and efficiency.
One last thing, which I find myself writing a lot recently on threads like these, is that lots of novice riders mention hitting a wall going into their 2nd and 3rd hour of riding and looking to a road bike to get them over, but I suspect nearly all of those situations could be remedied with better nutrition, hydration, and pacing strategies. Of course you will tend to travel farther on the same effort with a road bike, but the equipment is not the fundamental reason for that performance limit, it's the fitness and fueling of the engine powering the bike.
30 miles over anything except multiple categorized climbs wouldn't be the kind of riding that would leave most wishing they had anything nearly that expensive. Of course you may eventually work your way up to longer rides, but shooting your budget on that $4k Tarmac is not the most effective way to get there. You can shave $1.5k off the price for a new bike equipped with Shimano 105 and spend it on things that will actually make you be able to ride farther like a power meter to use for training your fitness up to handle the demands of longer rides, better cycling gear to be more aerodynamic, and a bike fitting to get your contact points set up for comfort and efficiency.
One last thing, which I find myself writing a lot recently on threads like these, is that lots of novice riders mention hitting a wall going into their 2nd and 3rd hour of riding and looking to a road bike to get them over, but I suspect nearly all of those situations could be remedied with better nutrition, hydration, and pacing strategies. Of course you will tend to travel farther on the same effort with a road bike, but the equipment is not the fundamental reason for that performance limit, it's the fitness and fueling of the engine powering the bike.
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06-26-20, 04:04 PM
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Only guessing the specs from models approximately named that on 99spokes, but I wouldn't recommend that bike at that price point for a first road bike. You don't ride nearly enough to know what you really want, you haven't mentioned whether you've test ridden that or any other road bikes, and you haven't mentioned in enough detail the type of riding you do (terrain, elevation profile).
30 miles over anything except multiple categorized climbs wouldn't be the kind of riding that would leave most wishing they had anything nearly that expensive. Of course you may eventually work your way up to longer rides, but shooting your budget on that $4k Tarmac is not the most effective way to get there. You can shave $1.5k off the price for a new bike equipped with Shimano 105 and spend it on things that will actually make you be able to ride farther like a power meter to use for training your fitness up to handle the demands of longer rides, better cycling gear to be more aerodynamic, and a bike fitting to get your contact points set up for comfort and efficiency.
One last thing, which I find myself writing a lot recently on threads like these, is that lots of novice riders mention hitting a wall going into their 2nd and 3rd hour of riding and looking to a road bike to get them over, but I suspect nearly all of those situations could be remedied with better nutrition, hydration, and pacing strategies. Of course you will tend to travel farther on the same effort with a road bike, but the equipment is not the fundamental reason for that performance limit, it's the fitness and fueling of the engine powering the bike.
30 miles over anything except multiple categorized climbs wouldn't be the kind of riding that would leave most wishing they had anything nearly that expensive. Of course you may eventually work your way up to longer rides, but shooting your budget on that $4k Tarmac is not the most effective way to get there. You can shave $1.5k off the price for a new bike equipped with Shimano 105 and spend it on things that will actually make you be able to ride farther like a power meter to use for training your fitness up to handle the demands of longer rides, better cycling gear to be more aerodynamic, and a bike fitting to get your contact points set up for comfort and efficiency.
One last thing, which I find myself writing a lot recently on threads like these, is that lots of novice riders mention hitting a wall going into their 2nd and 3rd hour of riding and looking to a road bike to get them over, but I suspect nearly all of those situations could be remedied with better nutrition, hydration, and pacing strategies. Of course you will tend to travel farther on the same effort with a road bike, but the equipment is not the fundamental reason for that performance limit, it's the fitness and fueling of the engine powering the bike.
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