Hey, guys, tell me about buying a road bike, what do I need to know.

[MotownBikeBoy]

Ok, the crazy guy who spent 3 weeks in the hospital last year, has a potentialy life-threatening chronic condition, basically had a slow-motion nervous breakdown about it, is on a permanent drug regimen, has cardiovascular complications, takes enough prescription drugs every day to make the late River Phoenix look sober, and feels like **** some days, wants to buy a road bike, thinking in the fall I might get a deal on current models. If not fall, winter or very early next spring. Because, I WILL be doing a triathlon by this time next year,it is one of my ultimate goals. And, I'm making a lot of progress towards the goal, taking swimming lessons and actually, I really like it and am pretty good at it. And, when I feel good, progressing well on running, I can now do a 5k run, and can do bursts of about 1/3 to half mile around 6-6.25 mph. Both of which not only make me quite proud of myself, but amuse my dark sense of humor to no end. Half dead and working out like a demon 7 days a week. So, tell me what to look for, both in the purchase experience and in the features. I would be comfortable in the $2500 range, and am still enamored with my Specialized but one to any brand, really. Road bikes, still foreign to me, did try one at Performance on a whim, just to see how it felt, and I liked it. It felt fast. I like fast.

 

[alienator]

Look for a bike that fits well, rides well, handles well, tickles your aesthetic buttons, and has a workable price. Go to lots of LBSs and do lots of test rides. Don't confuse fit with seat comfort. A saddle can be changed. Instead bike fit is about your body position. To be able to suss out whether or not a fit is good on a bike, test rides need to be more than a tour around a parking lot or around a block. 30 minute test rides or longer are way better. Also note that fit can be tuned by changing the steering stem, handlebars, the number of spacers under the stem, saddle height, saddle fore/aft position, and so on. With that mind, you might not find a bike that fits "perfectly" but is really close. Really close is good if adjustments can be made to make it just right. Don't focus on what the bike is made of. How a bike rides is a function of many more things than frame material, and many of those things have a much bigger influence: tire pressure, frame geometry, bike fit, wheels..... Don't get hung up on any given brand. In a given price range, most bikes are of equal or near equal quality. There is no best bicycle company. The LBS. The LBS from which you purchase--if you do purchase from an LBS--can be a big decider in deciding which bike to get. If you get an attitude or **** service at an LBS, don't expect it to get better after purchase. An LBS that is friendly, is helpful, and that listens to what you say about your needs and desires is likely an LBS that will make you happy with their service. If an LBS won't let you test ride bikes, they don't deserve your money. Good LBS's will even make adjustments to bikes in order that said bikes fit you better for test rides. I'm sure others will chime in.

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

Thanks, Alienator, I appreciate the reply. I intend to have a good time with this, and really get something out of it. Me, doing a tri? How awesome would that be?

 

[Volnix]

This one:

or if you wanna get "marginally" fast... :big-smile: "Look super rigid"

 

[alienator]

Thanks, Alienator, I appreciate the reply. I intend to have a good time with this, and really get something out of it. Me, doing a tri? How awesome would that be?

The awesomeness comes from you digging what you do. FYI, another benefit to test riding a lot of bikes is, well, in doing so you get to ride a bunch of bikes!

 

[Sandy New]

Frame, handlebar,saddle,wheelset and groupset, they are important I think.
I have a carbon bike factory in China, how do you think this bike:

 

[Sandy New]

My skype is: data.liu
I hope make more friends with riding lovers.

 

[alienator]

Frame, handlebar,saddle,wheelset and groupset, they are important I think. I have a carbon bike factory in China, how do you think this bike:

Oh, you do, eh? Hmmm. I'll bet that has nothing to do with why you are here, right. Surely you're here just to share in the cycling good will and not to pimp your products. Frankly, I think the Cervelo S5 is an ugly bike, one of the ugliest ones out there, but that doesn't say anything about its performance. Do you make fake S5s and then lie to people and say that they're real Cervelos? Why are you posting what you are in this thread? It has nothing to do with the topic.

 

[Sandy New]

Hi, dear hypocrite.

thanks for your attention.
Yes, I hate copy, but I do not sell copy, I sell raw carbon frame only, these pictures are send by my SGP company.
So you must hate something which made in China, well, you know the specialized venge and other famous bike are made in Chinese factory? your iphone? your ipad? your adidas?
Who do you think you are?

 

[CAMPYBOB]

I, for one, welcome our new godless red Chinese overlords and ride a Chinese frame. I have a Chinese phone and the computer I typed this post on was made in China. My shoes, however, are made in Malaysia.

 

[Sandy New]

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB .

I, for one, welcome our new godless red Chinese overlords and ride a Chinese frame. I have a Chinese phone and the computer I typed this post on was made in China. My shoes, however, are made in Malaysia.

Yes, I am a godless man, and Chinese government is very red and do a little tyrannic, we are the sufferer.
But I thnk things will change in future, I do believe.

 

[Sandy New]

Originally Posted by Sandy New .

Yes, I am a godless man, and Chinese government is very red and do a little tyrannic, we are the sufferer.
But I thnk things will change in future, I do believe.

Most made in China are cheap and good quality, of course, some maybe not

 

[alienator]

Hi, dear hypocrite. thanks for your attention. Yes, I hate copy, but I do not sell copy, I sell raw carbon frame only, these pictures are send by my SGP company.  So you must hate something which made in China, well, you know the specialized venge and other famous bike are made in Chinese factory?  your iphone? your ipad? your adidas? Who do you think you are?

I just don't appreciate spammers such as yourself and people such as yourself who pass off the works of others, such as the Cervelo S5, as your own. Of course there's also you saying this:

So you claim to have Pinarello, BMC, Specialized Venge......you mean copies of those frames, right? Alas, I think everyone's a lot more interested to see the pictures of you in the dress next to the fake pretty bikes that you make.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Chinarello, CMC, Chinalized, Chinervelo and Chenge.

Our godless red Chinese overlords do not respect property rights, intellectual property rights, copyrights or trademarks.

Anyone that does business there knows this. Anyone that buys a product knows this. What comes out of a customer's mold after hours in Peiping stays in Peiping...until it gets sold on ePay and exported.

I, for one, welcome our new Chinarello bicycles to America.

 

[Volnix]

...and Corn Freaks...

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

Hey, my thread got Spamified.

I'll be sure to buy a counterfeit Chinese rip-off, just so I can put some American out of work. Because hey, that's how I roll.

Geesh.

Since I'm back to this thread, I just glanced through an old Performance ad from June when they had their triple points. I could have gotten an almost $4000 Fuji (might have been a Trek) for a net of about $1600 - well, $2400 out of pocket, $800 back in merchandise credits. I try to buy from a truly LBS for the most part, but that would have been a Hell of a deal. I may have to watch for that in the future when I'm ready to buy.

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by MotownBikeBoy .

Hey, my thread got Spamified.

I'll be sure to buy a counterfeit Chinese rip-off, just so I can put some American out of work. Because hey, that's how I roll.

Geesh.

Since I'm back to this thread, I just glanced through an old Performance ad from June when they had their triple points. I could have gotten an almost $4000 Fuji (might have been a Trek) for a net of about $1600 - well, $2400 out of pocket, $800 back in merchandise credits. I try to buy from a truly LBS for the most part, but that would have been a Hell of a deal. I may have to watch for that in the future when I'm ready to buy.

Oh these big shop deals are a trip...

I was working abroad about 3 years ago and I had a dream of buying a digital SLR camera and going to kitchy Saltzburg and shoot all the golden statues that I can and eat all the apfelstrudel available.

I was reading and reading and reading about cameras and finally got my mind on a pentax. Went to the local electro-mekka and there was the camera there sitting on the bench. I was checking back every few days and one day... I go there and they have 50% off on SLR cameras...

So I go to the sales and I ask for the camera... I was allready smelling the strudel and feeling tipsy from the purity control beer...

and ofcourse the camera had run out of stock. The only one available was the one at the display, for which I think I would not get an extra discount...

[SIZE= 13px]Saltzburg faded away... so did the beer and the strudel... and I was back taking pictures with the mobile phone... [/SIZE]

[SIZE= 13px]btw +1 for buying from a physical shop locally. You might pay a bit more but there is some value I think. Unless you know exactly what you are buying etc...[/SIZE][SIZE= 13px] [/SIZE]

 

[JTE83]

Those fake Chinese bike stuff are rampant in the Philippines. Fakes Cervelos and STI's there.

I was going to buy a good car dash cam but the market is saturated with low quality Chinese counterfeits that I don't know where to buy a good genuine one!