[nikwho]

k, so i ride dirt bikes a ton and im having a blast tearing up trails on my new xc... Im not too nuts about the whole spandex thing, but to hell with it! i think that im pretty damn sexy and would look good in spandex! lolI think i wanna start riding on the road... theres a ton of folks riding around here and with the tour de' france coming up and all, i wanna get a road bike! lol call me wierd! I saw a purdy nice rocky mtn this morning at the shop that was like $1400 and was sweet! i really dont wanna spend that much on yet anonther bike... however, i wanna compete in the mountain man triathlon next year so i want something decent.... so, heres the question... what do i buy in the $600-$800 range... anyone wanna sell me a decent used bike??? just thought that i would through that out there...

 

[Serial Midget]

The lure of spandex cannot be overstated.

 

[Pau11y]

Just remember, spandex is a privilege, not a right:devil:

 

[pepe]

Find out what size and send me a PM. The shop always has some used bikes.

 

[h22ekhatch]

Yea I still wear my Oakley baggies on the road bike. Never stopped me from doing centuries and the like...

One word of caution though...my first road bike was a Trek that didn't quite fit, but was a really good deal. I ended up putting about 1000 miles on it before selling it.

My next/current bike is a Giant carbon that was properly fit for me...quite a difference.

You can get away with the bike not quite fitting right on a MTB (IMO), but on a roadie its a different story. Those little things that don't seem like a big deal for an hour become a huge deal at hour 6-7. I am not saying don't buy used, but you need to have a pretty good idea of what you want/need and exactly what kind of sizing you should be looking at.

 

[splat]

you should be able to find a very good used bike in that range

 

[rooftest]

Yea I still wear my Oakley baggies on the road bike. Never stopped me from doing centuries and the like...

Glad I'm not the only one.

 

[nikwho]

Well, im 6'1" and sitting right at about 200lbs... I would imagine that i would prolly be a large... but i imagine that if its that big of a deal on a road bike, i might have to take a test spin before the big purchase.. If you have something that you think might fit me well as a starter bike, shoot me a pm and we could talk about it... any input about the subject would be greatly apprieciated as i am a TOTAL noob when it comes to road bikes..... thanks for the input guys! this seems like a really good bunch on this site thus far!

 

[bjanga]

Sorry to derail but I am thinking about picking up a cheap road bike.

How does this look?
http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=5&itemid=289

I do not really care about weight or shift quality, the stem is cheesy but everything else looks solid. I DO NOT want any carbon on the bike either - this is the only bike I could find with a metal fork and frame. Plus it is probably ~$500, which makes me

I was planning on going with eggbeaters pedals (I do not anticipate racing . . .) Are quality pedals typically worth it for increased reliability during sprints?

 

[Pau11y]

Sorry to derail but I am thinking about picking up a cheap road bike.

How does this look?
http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=5&itemid=289

I do not really care about weight or shift quality, the stem is cheesy but everything else looks solid. I DO NOT want any carbon on the bike either - this is the only bike I could find with a metal fork and frame. Plus it is probably ~$500, which makes me

I was planning on going with eggbeaters pedals (I do not anticipate racing . . .) Are quality pedals typically worth it for increased reliability during sprints?

There's nothing wrong w/ Eggs. W/ a stiff sole'd shoe, they're just fine. I run a pair of SLs.

 

[LordOpie]

Sorry to derail but I am thinking about picking up a cheap road bike.

How does this look?
http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=5&itemid=289

I say go for it. Turn it into a commuter when you eventually want a new road bike.

Check out clearance bikes at your LBSs before you buy this one. Don't spend more than $500

 

[Wumpus]

Well, im 6'1" and sitting right at about 200lbs... I would imagine that i would prolly be a large...

Road bikes don't typically come in small, medium, large -- compact road frames are the exception. They are based on seat tube length usually in centimeters. You are probably around a 58 to 60cm, but it is based on your pubic bone height(PBH) which is your true inseam -- not to be confused with your pants inseam.

This thread had some sizing info --> http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156008

Some people find wrenchscience.com to be useful, others don't.

 

[nikwho]

thank you...

 

[bjanga]

Just got back from riding the raleigh at the LBS. Road bikes are frikkin' weird! I can totally see how those guys can hit 35+ in a sprint though.

 

[splat]

Just got back from riding the raleigh at the LBS. Road bikes are frikkin' weird! I can totally see how those guys can hit 35+ in a sprint though.

How do you mean weird ?

 

[bjanga]

I had trouble adjusting to the different hand positions when out of the saddle. Of course, the bar on my mountain bike is super wide.

 

[rooftest]

You get used to it. It was months (and about 1,200 miles) before I was able to ride in the drops comfortably. (Well, I'm still not all the way there yet.)