First Road Bike, help much appreciated

That's not much of a budget for a road bike. At that price point you are going to get something that is beat and will need lots of work. Take a look at the local shop, sometime bike are dropped off and never picked up, you may get lucky.

If you just want to try out road biking you can get a $250 bike at Walmart. The quality of the components won't be good and you'll probably have issues with the way it was put together.

Walmart.com: 700c Men's Schwinn Varsity Road Bike: Bikes, Scooters & Skates

If your wrench skills are good you can get a bike from bikesdirect. It comes partially assembled. It helps if you can adjust everything.

Road Bikes - 2010 Windsor Wellington1

You won't find any decent quality road bikes for that low of a budget. I have the same problem. Three years ago I wanted a road bike pretty badly and I didn't have much money to spend either. So I searched Ebay. And I spent some time looking too. First and foremost, read the info about the proper bike size. It incorporates your height and your inseam. I finally found a used bike for $350. But it was only half complete. I had to continue shopping for components that were missing, shifters, stem, saddle, pedals, shoes, helmet, glasses, front derailer, rear cassette, and a repair kit to put the whole thing together. After putting it together, I paid the guy at the bike shop $100 to fit the bike. When the damn project was complete, it cost me about $900 for the complete working bike and gear. Don't forget you need good quality shorts and a short sleeve jersey. Oh, and it took me about 6 months to do it all because I would buy the components one at a time as I saved up enough $$ and when I found a decent price for a decent component. In the end, I got a pretty good bike. It's a 2005 Scattante Easton Ultralite frame originally with Alex wheels.

Anyhow, I hope this is helpful to you. If you want a decent road bike, save up some money, use credit, ask family for help, whatever. But expect to pay a minimum of $700 for an entry level road bike unless you find a local who has a used one to sell.

Good luck though. Getting on a road bike for the first time is like getting in a corvette and tapping the accelerator. You'll be surprised by the sudden response when you pedal for the first time.. and I love riding. I actually miss it if I miss too many days.

i dont think i have the money for it right now. ill just stick to mountain biking for now until i save up, but thanks anyway guys

maillot jaune said:

I've ridden mountain bikes for a long time and am starting to get into road cycling. I am around 5' 2" and my price range must be under $250. I need a bike that will do well for me, and that is reliable and won't need replacement parts every time I ride. Thank you in advance.

Maybe you should consider doing what I did. I went to craigslist and bought a Schwinn World Sports Road Bike for $100. I then took it to my local bike shop and got a Tune-Up and new tires for about $70 - $80. So I have invested around $180 into this. I probably have put over 600 miles on this and done one tri with it so far this year.

While I would like to have a much better bike, it has done me well, especially for what I paid. In fact it was pretty funny on my first try, having about a $1400 bike on my left, and some $3000 - $5000 bikes on my right 😄

I do plan on replacing mine soon, my local bike shop has a 2009 Trek 1.5 marked down to $850 I may get next month if they still have it, and I have saved up enough money.