The biggest differences will be between different bike shops, not the bikes themselves. A good
shop will listen to how you want to ride, perhaps open up your mind to some other possibilities
as well, and try to come up with a solution that fits how *YOU* ride, rather than how the
particular salesperson thinks everyone should ride. And, as others have mentioned, proper fit is
a huge thing as well.
Don't get too hung up over minute details regarding components. Once you get to the $900 level or
so, you're dealing with stuff that works far better than the more-costly bikes from not all that
many years ago. Even at $550 you can get a machine that will give you a lot of fun on the road.
Whether it has Campagnolo or Shimano isn't all that relevant, except...
The right bike is ideally a combination of things, of which fit & the service of the dealer are
probably the most important, but one cannot leave out the other things that sometimes get people
excited about riding. Could be the color of the bike, something I used to think was pretty darned
silly, but y'know, if somebody wants to ride more because they like the flashy (or not) look of
their machine, who cares? If it gets them out cycling, fine. Ultimately, the right bike is the
one you can't stand to pass in the garage, because you want to ditch your responsibilities, jump
on it and go.
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReaction.com
"Geoff" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am changing from Mountain Bike to Road Bike. I thought the tech area would be a good place to
> ask, ...What bike am I looking for? I want to ride for performance. It will be my main source for
> exercise. I plan to work towards long distance rides. What am I looking for most other than fit?
> Could one of you tech.'s help me out please! What brand is considered best? What components,
> tires, wheel sets, I am lost!!!
