Good starter bike?

I have a 2000 Diamondback Interval. It is more of a touring road bike. It has a Cro-moly (steel) frame with a triple crank. I still have it and like you, I was wanting something lighter and faster. I don't race and I ride alone. I shopped around and in August of 2004 I purchased a 2004 Giant TCR Aero 2. It has a carbon fiber fork, aluminium frame, carbon seatpost and it came with free clip-on aerobars & a free carbon fiber bottle cage. The cranks and derailleurs are Shimano 105 and the shifters are integrated with the brake levers (Flightdeck). I paid about $1100 for it. The bike is very light and with the stiff aluminium frame quite responsive and fast. I really like it and have no complaints. I am not partial to any particular brand. I just happened to like this bike compared to the others in my price range. Good luck with your new purchase.

I had a Giant OCR3 a few months ago. I couldn't fault it. I traded it in to get a hybrid so I could take my daughter for rides around the local parks and so on which you can't do on a road bike. I miss it sooooo much.🙁

Bill.

Perhaps the best way to get a starter bike is to find a good used one. A friend of mine who is a decent unsponsored Cat 2 racer but doesn't have much money bought a used Giant TCR Team frame for $52, used his old wheels, fork and groupo and just mooched the other parts from all of the rest of us. It's an extremely nice bike and he doesn't feel that the frame is any worse for the wear (it had been pretty aggressively raced before he bought it). Bikes just depreciate so fast, for SURE I would go used. I got the steel frame I have ridden for ten years for free; a friend had won it but it was too small for him and he thought it was too heavy to be of much use to anyone.

SachaV said:

I have a mid-80's road bike but i'm looking at buying a newer, aluminium bike. I would use it mostly for recreational use maybe with a wee bit of racing. I'm looking at the Trek 1000, Giant OCR 3 or Specialized Allez Sport but I don't know which one is the best deal or if they're is any other bike out there that compares with these. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks
Sacha

Those bikes are all speced out so similarly that the only real differences would be how well the frame fits you and the price.

Shortly the newer models will be coming out and you may be able to score an '05 model on clearance for a few bucks less.

Doctor Morbius said:

Shortly the newer models will be coming out and you may be able to score an '05 model on clearance for a few bucks less.

Good advice. In fact, our local Performance store still has some '04s they're trying to get rid of.

My only other advice would be to get as much bike as you think can afford. The models you listed are speced out with lower-end Shimano gear. If you start getting more serious about riding a lot, you might end up wishing you had better stuff. If you can swing it, go with Shimano 105 gear or better.

wineandkeyz said:

Good advice. In fact, our local Performance store still has some '04s they're trying to get rid of.

My only other advice would be to get as much bike as you think can afford. The models you listed are speced out with lower-end Shimano gear. If you start getting more serious about riding a lot, you might end up wishing you had better stuff. If you can swing it, go with Shimano 105 gear or better.

Good advice. For every "I'm thinking about getting a Trek 1000" thread there is always a "I want to upgrade my Trek 1000" thread. There's nothing wrong with the ride, but as wineand keys says if you are remotely interested in getting serious you may want to try to get to the 105 level with a closeout model year.