14 year old - want a road bike

Will, that bike is OK for a 14 year old rider. If you are anything like I was, you will only be able to use it for a couple of years before it is too small for you, but it is not extremely expensive and you should be able to sell it pretty easily when it comes time to get a larger bike. You can get a lot of good experience on it. As for not having much energy, force yourself to get out and ride or walk or swim. Pretty much just be more active and see if your energy level increases. If not, then it is time to see your doctor. There are a lot of reasons that your energy level is low. Depression is one of the biggest causes of low energy. There are also thyroid problems and certain illnesses that can cause low energy levels and testing is required to find the exact cause.

After 14 I may have added an inch or two but by the time I was 15 I was pretty much done by the height chart. The only thing that added on after that was width and a whole bunch of body hair! Everyone is different though and kdelong is right, if you grow a lot you should be able to sell it. Seems to get pretty good feedback considering the price.

Edit: and looking at a typical growth height chart I was in a pretty low percentile. Oh boy. Thank goodness the first growth spurt did the trick. [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif[/IMG]

I was fully grown and shaving at age 13. I rode an Schwinn Varsity 10 Speed and would love to have it back... [even though as a road bike is was pretty low-end]. Even a half-decent road bike could be a back-up or foul weather bike for decades.

Thanks, good replies 🙂 very helpful. So in your opinion for my price range and age is the claud butler criterium the best option, and is there any others worth considering? Will

These days, with as many similarities between bikes in the various price ranges, very often the best option is the one you enjoy looking at the most. My first bike, which I got around your age, wouldn't hold a candle to the Claud Butler you are pondering but I still somehow managed to get 2nd place in a major bike race in my area (and without a junior license I was racing in the entry level men's category!)

Here is an online review (but take these things with a grain of salt): http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-claud-butler-criterium-09-34867

It suggests this is a fine handling bike for the price range. If you are getting the 2012 model you won't have the stem mounted shifters which they harp on a bit. And don't worry about the lack of a triple chainring they seem to take issue with as well... it's a road bike!, and triples are for mountain bikes and old men anyway [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif[/IMG]. They say it's no lightweight but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that holds true for most bikes in the price range. That's also probably a sentiment coming from reviewers who get to ride very expensive carbon fiber lightweights a majority of the time.

Good luck with whatever you decide on. I'm not that familiar with new bikes in that price range so couldn't say for sure it's the "best". You mentioned you saw it on some websites, try and get a test ride if you can to make sure you like it. I didn't really test ride my first bike, and test rides help the most once someone has experience with a few different bikes, but it never hurts to make sure when you are spending a lot of money, especially to make sure it doesn't feel too big or too small.

Thanks, that seems like it's not too bad a bike for that price range, but I think i'll try to have a test ride on one, just to check I like the 'feel' and hopefully get one soon [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/IMG]