New to cycling. Looking to buy first bike.



roadkill86

New Member
Sep 30, 2014
1
0
0
I am new to cycling. Haven't ridden in years. I'm in the market to buy a bike. I'm going to be riding mainly 15 to 20 miles per day and want to work my way up to half centuries and centuries eventually. I'm going to be riding mainly hwy and some gravel roads. Should I opt for a hybrid or road bike? Looking mainly at Giant and Trek brands. Would like to stay under 1000.00 for my first bike but would like for it to last for awhile before I upgrade. Is it possible to get a bike for that price to meet my needs or not? Thanks for any input. If you have a different brand of bike you'd like to recommend, I am open to suggestions. Thanks for all your help.
 
You're definitely going to want a drop bar road bike if you plan on doing 50+ mile rides eventually. Buy what you need now or you'll end up buying a road bike in a few months. Trek and Giant are both good brands. Other manufacturers with good bikes in your price range include Cannondale, Felt, and Scott (and many more, but those are my preferences). Your budget is plenty to find you something that will last you for quite awhile if you want it to - especially at this time of year when you're likely to find a lot of past year models on sale.

Have you test ridden any bikes so far or do you have a specific model in mind you're looking at? If I were in your position, I'd go test ride these:

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/defy.3/18733/76110/#specifications

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/performance_race/1_series/1_2/#

http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2015/Bikes/road/endurance/z95.aspx

http://www.cannondale.com/nam_en/2015/bikes/road/elite-road/caad8/caad8-7-sora


Purely based on specs, they're all basically Shimano Sora groups, so I'd give the Giant the nod for being the only one to not skimp with an FSA junk crank. What really matters is which one rides the best to you. They're all fairly similar bikes that use very similar parts - that will be the case with most bikes in the price range. Again, your best bet is to start hitting up local shops and test riding. With the amount of discounting going on this time of year, you're likely to find plenty of bikes that weren't in your price range that now are.
 
Also, if you look at some brands like Fuji, GT, or Diamondback, you might snag one with a Tiagra group for around $1000, especially if you can find a "now old stock" leftover from a previous model year. The weakest link on any thousand dollar bike will be the wheels, though. Not much you can do about that. But it's also something you won't even care about for another year or two.

Seconding the drop bar suggestion, too. If 50-100 mile rides are on the horizon (and they will be, sooner than you realize) you're going to want drop bars. Hybrids are a compromise by nature. They're fine for bike paths, even for the occasional gravel or dirt ride, but they're not great for road rides longer than 1.5 to 2 hours.
 
Specialized made a frankenbike all-terrain road bike, which isn't exactly cyclocross (it has an endurance frame with some kind of vibration damping, the A1 frame from the Secteur).

It also has fittings for racks, mudguards etc.

It's fitted with disc brakes.


I am kinda interested in it to make a turbo winter-commuter but it's still a bit expensive to slam on light posts with D-Locks.

1000EUR (Probably 1000USD there) and it's fitted with Tiagra!


Specialized Diverge:


 
Originally Posted by Christi5
I think GMC Denali Road Bike not bad idea because as a general regulation, road and also auto racing are developed for speed and also longer spans on paved surface areas. Thinner tires, light in weight 29-inch (700c) wheels as well as go down bars that enable a more wind resistant position are the norm. Many roadway bikes, no matter of cost, provide lots of equipments for tackling both hilly and flat terrain.
thanks
thanks.png
As I said in your other post, that particular bike is a classic piece of junk. I was a little more diplomatic there. Here, I'll say it like is is: total junk from the frame down to the pedals.
 
Originally Posted by mpre53

As I said in your other post, that particular bike is a classic piece of junk. I was a little more diplomatic there. Here, I'll say it like is is: total junk from the frame down to the pedals.

It looks like that post is spam...