Beginner Bike

what is a ton of money - $500 or $2000?
give us an idea of your exact price range of which $500 is definitely the
lowest I'd go for a beginner road bike and maybe we can shoot some ideas
your way.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Aside from when I was in high school and younger I haven't really
ridden a bike much over the last 10 years or so. I'm more of a runner,
but due to stress fractures, I'm interested in getting into bicycling.
Can someone suggest a good beginner road bike that isn't going to cost
me a ton of money?

"Jim S" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

what is a ton of money - $500 or $2000?
give us an idea of your exact price range of which $500 is definitely the
lowest I'd go for a beginner road bike and maybe we can shoot some ideas
your way.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Aside from when I was in high school and younger I haven't really
ridden a bike much over the last 10 years or so. I'm more of a runner,
but due to stress fractures, I'm interested in getting into bicycling.
Can someone suggest a good beginner road bike that isn't going to cost
me a ton of money?

Do you have any friends who ride, or a local club? For a beginning rider I
always think that it is a better value to purchase a decent used bike but
don't buy a bike that you can't ride before you purchase. The most
important feature is that the bike fits you and you feel comfortable on the
bike. Most clubs have an active used bike network.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Frank Drackman said:

"Jim S" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

what is a ton of money - $500 or $2000?
give us an idea of your exact price range of which $500 is definitely the
lowest I'd go for a beginner road bike and maybe we can shoot some ideas
your way.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Aside from when I was in high school and younger I haven't really
ridden a bike much over the last 10 years or so. I'm more of a runner,
but due to stress fractures, I'm interested in getting into bicycling.
Can someone suggest a good beginner road bike that isn't going to cost
me a ton of money?

Do you have any friends who ride, or a local club? For a beginning rider I
always think that it is a better value to purchase a decent used bike but
don't buy a bike that you can't ride before you purchase. The most
important feature is that the bike fits you and you feel comfortable on the
bike. Most clubs have an active used bike network.

What Frank said. There are advantages (not decisive ones, but advantages
nonetheless) to brifters, but for anyone who is interested in riding a
road bike, especially for fitness first, a used late-80s steel bike (six
speeds on the rear cassette, downtube shifters) will be a superb entry
into cycling for about $100-200. The only change I tend to make to such
bikes is to swap the single-pivot front brake for a dual-pivot one,
which costs about $20 if you get the new brake on sale from Nashbar.

If you must go new, every big bike maker has a Sora-equipped road bike
for about $500-600. Nothing fancy, probably about 21 pounds, and they
work great.

My feeling is that cyclocross bikes (starting somewhere around $1000)
are the best do-all bikes: they can be used for fitness riding,
commuting, light touring, and road racing. Some people even do marathon
mountain bike races on 'em.

As for specific makes, I don't even know if there's any difference
between the bikes from mainstream makers in this range. I'd be inclined
to try out a bunch, and pick the one sold by the bike shop you like
best. The shop is likely to make a bigger difference to your ownership
experience than any tiny differences from bike to bike.

You might want to cross-post this to rec.bicycles.misc and .tech, as
those two groups more commonly have this sort of discussion. In rbr we
mostly argue about how getting facial tattoos when you're drunk is
likely to affect your VO2 max.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

Hi Jim, thanks for the response. I was thinking between 500-700,
preferably on the lower range, but I'm a bit flexible.

Jim S said:

what is a ton of money - $500 or $2000?
give us an idea of your exact price range of which $500 is definitely the
lowest I'd go for a beginner road bike and maybe we can shoot some ideas
your way.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Aside from when I was in high school and younger I haven't really
ridden a bike much over the last 10 years or so. I'm more of a runner,
but due to stress fractures, I'm interested in getting into bicycling.
Can someone suggest a good beginner road bike that isn't going to cost
me a ton of money?

probingoplayer said:

Can someone suggest a good beginner road bike that isn't going to cost
me a ton of money?

A metric ton or an imperial one ?

Quoted message said:

Hi Jim, thanks for the response. I was thinking between 500-700,
preferably on the lower range, but I'm a bit flexible.

Around here Craigslist has many in the $500 price range which are just
fine for anybody - not just a beginner.

You'll need to locate (if possible) an expert of some sorts to help you
fit the bike to you. Such a person would also be able to advise you on
the quality of the bike and the wear it's seen.

If you have no one, then ask your LBS for advice and guidance on size.
When you find a properly sized bike, take it in to the LBS for eval and
then, if you buy, let them tune it up. I think you'll be quite satisfied
at the outcome.

I'm an ex runner who is now riding happily. It took some time, but I'm
even happier riding than I was running.

-paul

Second the craigslist idea but I've been looking for a half decent 56 cm
road bike for a month now with no success.

I happen to be a TREk fan if you're going mainstream and can find something
like a trek 1000 for a good price. Bicycling mag will have their buyers
guide out soon if you want a good guide for a b ike in the $500 price range.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Aside from when I was in high school and younger I haven't really
ridden a bike much over the last 10 years or so. I'm more of a runner,
but due to stress fractures, I'm interested in getting into bicycling.
Can someone suggest a good beginner road bike that isn't going to cost
me a ton of money?

Quoted message said:

Can someone suggest a good beginner road bike that isn't going to cost
me a ton of money?

Have you considered a Bianchi? We have it on good authority that they make
365 day bikes.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Aside from when I was in high school and younger I haven't really
ridden a bike much over the last 10 years or so. I'm more of a runner,
but due to stress fractures, I'm interested in getting into bicycling.
Can someone suggest a good beginner road bike that isn't going to cost
me a ton of money?

You are better off asking this in rec.bicycles.tech.

JF