Your favorite beginner road bike?

[lugee]

To you, what is the biggest difference -- smoother shifting, lower weight, etc.?

Shifter feel and smoother shifting, lower weight is just the cherry on top.

I also like the dual lever set up on higher end group sets like the 105 to dura ace and sram double tap set up over the 2200/sora/capy style shifters.

 

[vspa]

you know nowadays prebuilt brand bikes are pretty good, just start from Shimano 105 - or equivalent - upwards,

its like modern day PC's, its difficult to get a bad deal, standards are leveling upwards due to harsh competition and low chinese labor costs for example.

 

[BeginnerCycling]

Shifter feel and smoother shifting, lower weight is just the cherry on top.

I also like the dual lever set up on higher end group sets like the 105 to dura ace and sram double tap set up over the 2200/sora/capy style shifters.

Thanks for the reply. I could definitely see room for improvement in the Sora shifting system. Howver, given the usual price differences, I think Sora is still a decent choice for the budget-sensitive beginner -- beats most of the department store bikes!

 

[Steezlo]

I bought a used Felt F75 as my first road bike, it was a good choice.

 

[JSWin]

This is a good thread its always good to see what people say about different bikes. Out of that list I like the Cannondale and the Bianchi. Finding the used. Yeah you kind of have to just watch for as long as it takes until something comes up.

 

[oldbobcat]

That was almost six years ago, JS. Bikes have changed a lot since then.