arkitekt

I am new to the sport and looking to buy first road bike. I have narrowed it down to two bikes: (1) 2010 Specialized Allez Comp or (2) 2009 Cannondale Caad9-5. Both are about the same price. Can someone offer any suggestions or insights between those two? Thanks in advance.

Bearonabike

Neither.

Bank the cash, go on Craig's List and find a used but quality road bike as your first beater. Spend about $150. Ride, discover your likes and dislikes, make mental notes about things you really want in an expensive bike, things that are not so important but nice, and things you simply will not tolerate for your main ride machine. While you do this, replace the cash in your fund.

In 6 months, re-evaluate the purchase of the new bike. You won't need much advice by then, and if you find that road cycling is not for you, then you save lots-o-cash. If you like it then you have a nice bike and a beater for rainy days or getting groceries.

fmw

The kind of bike a beginner should buy is incredibly meaningless. In fact it takes a pro to notice the subtle differences between one frame and another. I've been riding for decades and these subtleties are pretty much lost on me as well. I got rid of the carbon bike and the titanium bike and I ride steel frames made over a decade ago. Happy as a clam. I like the advice above.

kayakdiver

The one you like the best. Both will make excellent first choices. Nothing wrong with going the LBS route for a first purchase. You will get the correct size the first time. You will get some hand holding. You will get to know local folks to ride with. Might also get a few tune ups included until you learn to do it yourself.

Both bikes will keep up with any group ride. It's up to you to be worthy of the bikes abilities.

Just get it... ride it.. and have fun!

BigBlueToe

I agree that someone new to cycling won't have enough experience to have a set of criteria in mind for a bike and the ability to differentiate between different models. I agree that if you get into the sport you'll likely want to upgrade to a new bike eventually. So buying a used $150 bike off Craigslist and riding that for awhile might make sense. However, it's so nice to have a good, lightweight, up-to-date bike that I would recommend it to anyone - even someone with little or no experience.

So....my advice would be to ride the two bikes in question, and maybe a few more in your price range, and buy the one you like the best. You don't have to have an advanced criteria set. It's okay to like it because you like it. Maybe it feels the best. Maybe it looks the coolest. As long as it makes you happy, great.

When you've gained some experience and know more, you may wish to upgrade. If so you should be able to recoup much of your money by selling on Ebay or Craigslist. Or you may be so happy that you ride the same bike for the next 10 years.

ewhitten

I tend to agree with this sentiment, but that's only because I did just that. My wife's car was totalled and I work from home, so a bike seemed like a good money saving option. I also wasn't entirely sure that I'd keep it up and didn't want to throw too much money into it (and neither did my wife). $300 on CL got me an older Trek 1000. Spending so little also made me less nervous about learning to do maintenance on it.

Now it's a bit over a year later and I'm ready to buy something new. My only dilemma now is to keep the Trek or re-sell it on CL to the next person.

sijray21

oddly enough i did the same thing with the exact bike. i tried it for a couple months, realized i liked it, and sold it back on CL for the same amount i bought it for. meanwhile i collected gear and read more (the training bible, here on BF, and on other sites). i was then ready to invest in the sport - i really liked it.

if you're already at the point where you're sure you want to invest in the sport then get a nicer bike. this will make you want to ride even more. test ride the ones you're selecting and simply choose the one that feels the best.

roccobike

Maybe were you live you can buy a decent bike for $150, but not around here. If you're lucky a $150 bike will have index shifters, most likely it will be friction shifting with a good chance of having 27" rims. For around $200 you can pretty much count on a bike with downtube, index shifters and 700C rims. If you want to experience brifters count on spending over $300 for Sora equipment. Yes there are exceptions, but they are just that, exceptions.
The last two brifter bikes I sold (both SORA equipped) went for $300 each and sold by word of mouth, never making it to a CL listing.