Cannondale010

Hello all, just looking for some advice. I use to have a Caad 10-6, I enjoyed the bike but ended up selling it due to not riding as much. Im now thinking about getting back inside cycling with a $1500ish budget. As a side note, a friend who is a beginner had an entry level bike, didn't really LOVE cycling, ended up riding a higher end bike (2K+) and mentioned it was a night and day difference and now LOVES riding, but believes he wouldn't have stuck with cycling if he didn't buy the higher end bike. With that said, am I better off upping my limit to something like 2K, instead of starting with another entry level bike?

(new or used doesn't really matter)

nathand

Even with the current kind of crazy pricing, for $1500 you should be able to get a bike you'll be happy with for years, new or used. I bought a used 2010 Scott Addict SL with a nice wheelset and SRAM Red groupset (10-speed) for $1500 a few months back. That bike that was top-of-the-line 10 years ago. Going from $1500 to $2000 will get you a similar frame with nicer wheels or a higher level of groupset, either of which you could upgrade later if you wanted.

M Rose

Cannondale010 Like you I have been looking for a decent road bike. Having never owned or ridden a “road” cycle before nor had I owned a decent MTB before I didn’t know what to expect. I figured a bare bones Trek Domane 2 with mechanical disk would be kind of a bummer to ride. I was pleasantly surprised by how agile it is, how easy it was to eat the pavement mile by mile. And was an utter joy to ride. But since this was my first dive into the road bike world, I’m waiting for the LBS to get a few lines in to try out as well before making my final decision.

I will say this… Right now the Domane AL 2 is priced at just shy of $1200 and the Domane AL 4 is $1,700 with better components and upgrade to hydraulic brakes. To me hydraulic brakes are the best invention brought to the cycling world. And then the bonus of Tiagra components just sweetens the deal. So overall, I think a $2,000 budget would get you a very very nice bike. And even with a $1500 budget you should be able to find a bike you enjoy riding.

Digger6255

I found a crazy good deal on Offer up a few weeks ago on a basically brand new CAAD13 105 Disc for $1200. Be patient and there are good deals out there

Cannondale010

As I don't know whats actually "good" what are a handful of brands and models I should keep an eye out for?

mstateglfr 

Anything from a bike shop, if buying new.
Any brands from a bike shop, if buying used. If you dont know of brands, much less models and varying options, perhaps buying new is best.

Cannondale010

I hear ya. I was just thinking I can get more bang for the buck on a used market.

so If I am going bike shop, any suggestions on what to look at? I had a Cannondale which was cool, I know Specialized, Giant....any brands to really pay attention to or avoid?

edit- a quick look the Specialized Allez has really good reviews. Thoughts?

10 Wheels

Look in your area Craigslist for used road bikes.
I got my First one for $15.00

Maelochs

If you are confident that you can tell a good deal from a good scam, used will "often" get you a lot more bang for the buck, but you have to be Really selective.

Problems with buying used is that the seller can get the size wrong, the specs wrong, and can understate the amount of abuse the bike has been through, which means you might take a trip to see a dozen bikes and not even see one which was what it was purported to be.

You might see ten more which fit and had pretty much the right parts, but obviously needed enough work that the price wasn't too good, and if they needed that much work, were probably worn out in a lot of ways ......

Then, when you finally find a bike halfway close to what you ant, you grab it .... and take it home and realize that maybe you should have waited.

You really need to look for a garage queen---a very low mileage bike with very little wear, that was ridden for a short time and parked by somebody who didn't like cycling as much s/he thought s/he would.

With cassettes costing $80 and chains costing $30 and replacement brifters being ridiculously expensive and/or ridiculously hard to find, you might be buying a decent frame which will cost more in parts than you paid for the bike.

headsets and bottom brackets and wheel bearings are cheap .... and generally quite durable. A bent derailleur .... maybe you can bend it back just right .... and worn brifter, you won't even know until it actually breaks in the middle of a ride.

If you are good with a wrench and are willing to buy a coupe cheap bikes for parts ..... or are really patient and willing to keep looking until you find something exceptional .... well, everything is a gamble. Do what seems best to you.

blacknbluebikes 

Agree w/ Maelochs above, I've gotten some great deals on used, but you need to be a well-informed buyer. If that's not you, then a solid relationship with your LBS (local bike shop) will pay dividends for years. You mentioned the Spesh Allez. I put my wife on one of those last year, an Allez Elite in her size (so there, covid backlog). Nice bike, Shimano 105 groupset, aluminum build. Highly recommended and looks within your budget. As a side note, this bike replaced an Allez Elite purchased many years ago (>10) that developed a crack on the headset weld. Specialized honored their "lifetime warranty" on the frame with zero hassle and the original purchase price was applied to the new bike. That warranty solution was easy because of the LBS and their solid relationship with Specialized.

Cannondale010

Thanks everyone. There does something like the Quick 4 fit into this?

Maelochs

Seems like it would be too heavy (not Too heavy--26 lbs) and undergeared for a lot of road rides. it is more a casual around-town cruiser by design, as far as I can tell. But I could be wrong.

https://www.cannondale.com/en/bikes/.../quick/quick-4

Cannondale010

Thanks!

kingston 

If I were in the market for a $1500 road bike, the CAAD Optimo 1 would be at the very top of my list.