$400 new bike

You can take a look at ibex bikes http://www.ibexbikes.com/Bikes/2003/bikes_03Classic3300.html
of course it's a sora drivetrain so durability of some of the parts may suffer, I don't know too much about compatibility issues if you try to upgrade parts.

I think it was the Tomasso Capri. It seems like this could be a good starter bike.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by SamMan23
I think it was the Tomasso Capri. It seems like this could be a good starter bike.

A friend of mine bought a Tomasso Capri online - around $400 including shiping. He liked it ok for the first month or so, but then he did a week-long Rocky Mountain tour, and scared himself to death on the first long descent. At over 40 mph, it shook violently, and he had to brake all the way. He's also complained about his Sora components always needing adjustments. I tried it out for a short spin, and it seemed very nice, but I didn't reach any shaky speeds. I did get my hands pretty dirty riding on a century ride with him - his was the only bike needing attention.

I guess you get what you pay for.

Dave

Go with Fuji from a local dealer if at all possible. Their bottom end road bike is the League and you can get it AND and good helment for 400 bucks. It's about 25 pounds (kinda heavy), has a steel frame and older Shamano components.

Plus you'll get dealer support

This is not a racing bike, but it's really a good value.

ps-- I'm not a Fuji salesperson!! I just like the way they are currently supporting low end starter road bikes-- unlike Trek or Cannondale

I've ridden another shaky bike when speeds got fast. I hated it. I liked going fast, but I was so scared. I now have a nice lemond. I guess it's better to get a bike that doesn't have to be bought twice.
I should look into the fujis.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by SamMan23
I've ridden another shaky bike when speeds got fast. I hated it. I liked going fast, but I was so scared. I now have a nice lemond. I guess it's better to get a bike that doesn't have to be bought twice.
I should look into the fujis.

Yikes, I've never experienced that... sounds very scary.

I'll second at least looking into Fuji. I was shopping for a lower-end ride for my girlfriend a while back, and kept going back to my local Fuji dealer. Of course, nothing is going to change that a Sora drivetrain stinks, and it's going to be tough to get anything new with better than Sora at this price level.

It's worth noting that at the $400 range you start to approach the break point between bikes that are well-constructed, albeit with lower-end componentry, and bikes that are difficult to consider anything other than toys because of cheap materials and poor assembly. For that reason, you've got to pay special attention to legitimate cycling companies like Fuji that produce lots of entry-level choices; they seem to be solid frames, and as tacomee pointed out, you'll get shop support.

I thought I'd chime in. I recently purchased a Tommaso AS1 for under $500 shipped. The name belies the heritage at this price range (which should be no surprise). There is NOTHING Italian about this bike and I was well aware of that going in (and very willing to accept it). The AS1 is a compact aluminum frame coupled to a carbon fork both built by a fairly large manufacturer of frames (and a supplier to several other bike companies) called Kinesis. The bike is outfitted with a Tiagra drivetrain (with upgraded rear deraill. to a 105). It has a truvative crank, fairly generic wheels, weighs under 22 pounds with pedals and feels pretty darn good when under me. I have yet to decend at speeds where I might experience shake, but frankly think that problems of that nature are due to poor assembly or adjustment. The bike has an aheadset, so I don't expect that shaking will be a problem.

There are very good deals to be had, you simply must dig deep. I purchased this bike after it failed to sell on Ebay (the seller's starting price and buy it now price were too high). After the auction closed, I contacted the seller and negociated for the bike.

Dig deep.

-Mark

I paid US$460.00 for a Felt F85 Bike (2003 model) recently, it has a 7005 series Aluminum Frame (same one as they use in their more spendy models), Tiagra rear, sora front...sella italia saddle...absolutely awesome for the price..and an awesome Bike (to me anyway, I'm just a newbie who's cycling for fitness, fun and stress relief)....but I can now do 30 miles in 2 hours and still walk upright the next day...don't laugh..

The F85 has been replaced by the F90 for '04.....

Take a look at FeltRacing.com

I bought the Bike on sale at supergo

Just an idea...hope it helps....😉