A few beginner questions



Calipt

New Member
Jul 7, 2010
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Hello,

First of all, sorry for making a topic about this but i felt it was easier to ask my questions for me specificly so people can help and advise me better.

I'm a beginner cyclist, I'm planning to start riding on the road because I've always loved cycling but due to other sports and hobbies I never had the chance for it. Now I do...

I have a few questions I'd like to ask and hopefully people can advise me well so I can go to a shop with at least some knowledge :)

1) The bike
Although I'm a beginner, I'm very motivated and I have a pretty large budget. But 'large' might not be a good word because I was surprised when I saw the common prices for race bikes. Let's say I have a 'budget' 'budget, (700-800euros for a bike).
I was looking at shop websites over here and I found a few bikes that caught my eye but I have no real knowledge about equipment. These are the models I'm interested in:
CAAD 8 SORA Race Red 2010
CAAD 8 TIAGRA Magnesium White/Green 2010
DEFY 4 Silver/White/Black 2010
DEFY 3 Silver/White/Black 2010
Granville G-RACER 20 2010
Granville G-RACER 10 2010
TREK 1.2 COMPACT Gloss Black 2010
TREK 1.2 TRIPLE Gloss Black 2010
TREK 1.5 COMPACT Pearl White/Black/Silver 2010
TREK 1.5 TRIPLE Pearl White/Black/Silver 2010


I admit I favour the TREKS at the moment just because I love their looks. I know nothing about specs. Any help or guidance is always welcome, like size, mechanics etc. I'm 1.78, slim and around 70kg. I cant say I have long legs and I don't know how to measure it for bikes. my inner leg size is around 80cm.

2) Shoes
I was also quite surprised on shoe prices. But they are needed so... I'm wondering which brands are good to get at a budget price. Also, Is there a universal pedal shoe or are there different systems? If so, which one to get.

Also, for my intentions, I'm planning to go cycling for endurance training first, and only in the future I might make plans to do more things like join an amateur team or something. But I do am planning to cycle alot, dont know how many miles/km but quite a lot per week, specially with the weather these days. at least once every 2 days I want to ride at least 10-15 km, but i admit I have no feel on how it will be so... cant say exactly.

I'm sure more questions will pop up but for now these are the most important things I wanted to ask. Already a big thanks to people that are willing to reply with useful info for me.

Cheers !
 
Calipt, it sounds like you've come up with a pretty good list of bikes based on your budget.

I would say the next step is to go visit some bike shops that have those bikes in stock and do some test riding.

The bike shops will be able to determine the size you need, and then it's just a matter of finding the bike that feels the best to you, that has the best equipment group, looks the best :) , and has the best price.

And you'll also be deciding which bike shop you're going to give your business to based on their expertise and attitude.

Go ride some bikes and let us know which ones you like the best.

Have fun!
 
If you are serious about riding, go to your local bike shop and get fitted. If you purchase a bike on the internet and it does not fit, it will be difficult or impossible to return it. No amount of adjustment on the wrong size bike will make the ride comfortable for you so you really need to ensure that you are getting the proper size bike from the start. Also your LBS can answer your question concerning shoes.

The bikes that you have listed are all good for training. The Shimano Sora and Tiagra components are OK for weekend riders but you probably will want to get a bike that has at least Shimano 105 components or the equivalent in Campy or SRAM primarily for the durability. Sora and Tiagra components work well when they are new, but they tend to wear more quickly as there is a lot more plastic rather than metal used in their construction.
 
to be honest i havent really got a clue about any of the bikes you have put forward but i do know a fair bit about shoes. If you want just a budget pair of shoes which fit most cleat patterns then go for a DHB R1 road shoe they retail for about £50 ($80-85) and for pedals go for something like a shimano r540 clipless pedal which is also under £30 ($45-50. if you want to go one up then time do a pedal called the RXS first , I am going to get the ones 2 up from these to put on my road bike and if you research them you'll see why. the RXS first pedals cost between £50-60 ($75-85) if you really want a nice pair of shoes like the ones the pros wear , its worth a look at the range of shoes that SIDI produce or maybe SPECIALIZED . these shoes are not cheap but are guaranteed to hold your foot in the optimum pedalling position. But ideally you want to go to your LBS and try a few pairs on first , seeing which cleats you can get into your OPP ( ball of your foot above the spindle) and a word of advice , dont spend $300 on shoes when they will only work with $50 pedals , you want to balance it out ,
hope i helped
good luck
josh-
 
Woo hoo join the dark side! Road cycling is where it's at. I just bought my first road bike too, although I had normal pedals on there for 2 weeks and I'm sure that helped the transition.

You did come up with a great list, and as others have said, just go try the bikes! It's like Cinderella; one bike will just feel "right". Try them up and down hills, around corners, and sprinting. If it comes down to two bikes that feel the same, pick the bike with better components.

Many bikes don't come with pedals or a seat, so you'll have to find a seat that fits you and a style of pedal that works too. Like I said, it was helpful to use normal pedals until I was used to the bike, and now I have switched to clipless. The less expensive shoes often have mountings for both types of cleats (two or three screw) so as for shoes, you really need one that fits and feels good. More specialized shoes will make you choose between road and mountain cleats.

I asked a similar question for pedals, and Shimano SPDs with recessed cleats were highly suggested. I didn't like them, but many do, and there must be a reason why they're popular.

Oh, and I think you'll find that 10-15km 3 times a week will be too short on your new bike ;)
 

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