What bike do you suggest?

[Tyler Ives]

College student here. A young one. 17. Last month I sorta "fell in love with biking" for lack of better words. I want to get into the road scene. I'm doing 50 miles on a daily basis after classes and I'm thinking I want to trade in my crazy light Treck mountain bike. ​

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Do any have you guys know of a good starting road, semi-racing bike? Price range is looking like 250-600 dollars. ​

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There are some dang smart people on this forum. Thanks guys. ​

 

[Tommy66]

College student here. A young one. 17. Last month I sorta "fell in love with biking" for lack of better words. I want to get into the road scene. I'm doing 50 miles on a daily basis after classes and I'm thinking I want to trade in my crazy light Treck mountain bike. ​

Do any have you guys know of a good starting road, semi-racing bike? Price range is looking like 250-600 dollars. ​

There are some dang smart people on this forum. Thanks guys. ​

I'm somewhat of a noob here, but I just went through the first bike purchase agony, and settled on a Giant OCR3. The consensus I got while gathering info was that this model has a decent frame that is suitable for decking out with better components if desired, so it has a bit of room to grow. You'll find that the $600 bikes (pretty much the bare-bones entry level price at most shops, though Fuji and some others have some models that are cheaper, I never saw them in a shop) are all similarly equipped, so it comes down to seeing them in person and taking a ride. I am very happy with my OCR3. Very comfortable ride, and fitted to me very nicely with an adjustable stem. Also. the OCR series frame has the necessary modifications for outfitting with a rack or panniers if you need,for more practical around-campus use.

Also, the shop I bought from has a 30 day exchange policy, so I was completely comfortable walking out the door with my OCR3 knowing that. Look for a LBS that does something similar while shopping. You also have the good fortune of shopping at the end of a model year, so keep your eye out for a nice discount on an '05 model as the new ones start coming into the shops. Good luck!

 

[nugsfan]

Giant seems to get all the recommendations as far as entry level road bikes. If you like Trek your looking at $1500 at their starter level, depending on the shop the Giant entry level road bikes can start between 500-600. I havent tried one personnaly but those that have seem to think there a good value for the money.

 

[Tyler Ives]

I just bought a bike at a garage sell, I think I'll tune it up and save some money for a trek 1500. I like the giant entry bikes, but I'm not thrilled with them. I think I prefer waiting to get myself a 1500. Thanks for the awesome input guys, this forum rocks.

 

[nugsfan]

I just bought a bike at a garage sell, I think I'll tune it up and save some money for a trek 1500. I like the giant entry bikes, but I'm not thrilled with them. I think I prefer waiting to get myself a 1500. Thanks for the awesome input guys, this forum rocks.

I have tried out the Trek myself and thats what I want, gonna cost$$$ tho.

 

[Tyler Ives]

Totally. I love trek, I am riding a Trek 850 know. Absolutely love it. Sadly, Trek bikes are a bit over priced. The 1500 has a retail of $1,100.00 That's a pretty good hunk of cash for a 17 year old.

Fun stuff though, I love biking. Totally worth it. I'll have my Trek in a month or so.

 

[af2nr]

Giant seems to get all the recommendations as far as entry level road bikes. If you like Trek your looking at $1500 at their starter level, depending on the shop the Giant entry level road bikes can start between 500-600. I havent tried one personnaly but those that have seem to think there a good value for the money.

What Treks are you all looking at? The Trek that would compare with the OCR3 is the Trek 1000. Of course you could also look at the Trek 1200. The 1200 is a better bang for the buck, if you have that buck. I got a LeMond Etape for $599 and I love it. The 1500 in Treks line is up on the scale of entry level bikes!

 

[Tyler Ives]

I just bought a bike at a garage sell, I think I'll tune it up and save some money for a trek 1500. I like the giant entry bikes, but I'm not thrilled with them. I think I prefer waiting to get myself a 1500. Thanks for the awesome input guys, this forum rocks.

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The Trek 1500