Advice for entry level road bike purchase

feldo said:

[FONT=Arial]Hi All

I am looking for some advice as I'm about to buy my first decent road bike. I have a budget of $1000 AUD which is a little bit flexible.
[/FONT][FONT=Arial]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial]Bike stores and websites ive made enquiries with say I'm looking at $1000 AUD to get an entry level road bike.

So I'm basically after some suggestions on what brand is best for my budget, and maybe where i should go to make the purchase ?

Thanks in advance, look forward to some info

Cheers
Ben😄[/FONT]

$1k is pretty much the absolute lower limit for a new roadie.

At this point you're looking at a chinese made aluminium frame, shimano sora or, (if you're lucky) tiagra and cheap no-name parts. None of this is necesarily bad but the quality of finish and operation won't be top notch.

You should also budget for the following at the bear minimum (if you don't already have them):
- a bottle cage or two (you can't ride far without water)
- a track pump for at least 120psi.
- at least one spare tube.
- a set of tyre levers.
- a miniature pump you can take with you on the road (along with the tube and levers).
- a multi-tool or a set of allen keys to make adjustments (hardware stores usually do these reasonably cheaply).

The known "brand" bikes at this level are all pretty much the same these days. So what you need to focus on is going to a reputable shop which looks after its customers. They should make sure you enjoy yourself so you come back to them for all the accessories you didn't get first time round.

hi and thanks for the reply

these are the bikes i reckon im looking at, really not sure which is best but they all seem similar to me

- trek 1.1

- EMC2 ETAPE r2.8

- giant defy 3

- felt f95

- merida 901-18

i know ill need all the little extras thatwill add up and most of all i need to get in with a decent bike store who will hopefully be helpful and do the right thing by me....

feldo said:

hi and thanks for the reply

these are the bikes i reckon im looking at, really not sure which is best but they all seem similar to me

- trek 1.1

- EMC2 ETAPE r2.8

- giant defy 3

- felt f95

- merida 901-18

i know ill need all the little extras thatwill add up and most of all i need to get in with a decent bike store who will hopefully be helpful and do the right thing by me....

I would also check out www.cellbikes.com.au
I had a swift from there a couple of years ago, and it was a pretty good bikie.
Best thing about them, you get the half decent shimano running gear, with the swift you get full tiagra running gear which is the next level up from the sora. The 2300 is below these 2 and thats what all the bikes you have suggested come with except for the merida.

When you are looking at entry level bikes, running gear is one of the main things you need to look for, you want something that will last you as you get better.
Most of the frames are pretty much the same, all aluminium (the cell swift aslo has carbon front fork).

So keep them in mind too.
If you are in Sydney, they have there office there & can fit you out & everything.
Otherwise, they deliver as well.

feldo said:

[FONT=Arial]
Cheers
Ben😄[/FONT]

Your first mistake was calling yourself Ben. You should of gone with 'Tiffany' or 'Jessica' or 'Cherry Ripe'.

There are lots of lonely biker dudes on the net just begging to give a hot chick advice on buying bikes. If you had of been a chick asking about buying a bike for her brother you would of had 27 extremely detailed responses by now.

Anyway buy a second hand bike. $1k you are wasting your time trying to buy new. You can pick up some seriously decent second hand bikes for 1.5k. Sniff around the road club scene. Lots of guys ofload their older training bikes that have done a lot of kays but often well maintained.

Buying new is a mugs game at $1k (unless you can build bikes yourself and piece one together from overseas).

I am pretty sure I am still racing in A grade on a second hand bike I purchased 4 years ago.

Hope this helps!

Kind Regards,

Sofia.

PS - I mention racing A grade because it makes me sound more awesome than I really am.

VadarStrikesBack said:

buy a second hand bike. $1k you are wasting your time trying to buy new. You can pick up some seriously decent second hand bikes for 1.5k. Sniff around the road club scene. Lots of guys ofload their older training bikes that have done a lot of kays but often well maintained.

Buying new is a mugs game at $1k (unless you can build bikes yourself and piece one together from overseas).

If buying used, though, you definitely need a knowledgeable freind to go with you. Ebay is a veritable vipers nest and even from club riders you can get a lot of dross. You don't want to buy someone else's problems.

Having worked as a mechanic I've seen plenty of people who thought they had a bargain until they found out that the bottom bracket, headset, chain, cassette, chainrings and even rims needed replacing before they could even get on the road. It wasn't a bargain at all after that.

If I was starting out all over again I'd still be shooting for a new bike but perhaps a level or two above what you've mentioned. Something with 105 sort of components is usually good value.