New Bicycle Advice

BP said:

Im really at odds here, I feel a road type bike is what I want, since
Im always on the road, just dont know where to go from here.

Why not just go into a local bike shop and solicit advice and actually
get to test ride various bikes. Then you will be able to judge what
seems best for you.

BP said:

Hi guys,

Great group you all have here. I have been bicycling for about 10 years
now. I mainly ride on rural country roads, and urban city streets. In
the beginning I really thought Id be doing off road mountain biking, so
I have always had mountain bikes for some odd reason. It dawned on me,
that since I never bike off road, maybe it is time to graduate to a
road type bicycle.

So now I come to the question of what type of road bike do I want. On
my mountain bikes I've always had brackets in the back for a rear rack.
I do not drive a car, so my next bike I would really like to be
outfitted so I could run small, simple errands, and fenders perhaps.
I've noticed alot of race road bikes dont have these brackets. Ive also
noticed some cyclocross bikes dont either. And Im not really going to
be racing after all. I saw something called a touring bike. Im
wondering if thats the best choice. Although I have heard that touring
bikes are pretty heavy. I have searched some bike company sites; Trek,
cannondale, specialized, for bicycle weights, yet i cant find any. How
heavy is a road bike vs a mountain bike vs a touring bike.

Im really at odds here, I feel a road type bike is what I want, since
Im always on the road, just dont know where to go from here.

My $0.02 ... stream-of-consciousness format!:

I have a Cannondale T2000 tourer, set up with a rear rack. While it
does weigh about 25lbs as sold ("XL" size, no rack)--compared to the
18lbs for my road bike (59cm frame), used as an all-around bike, it's
stable, comfortable, functional, and a very nice bike to ride ... even
loaded. If you're going to ride hills with equally-strong riders on
road bikes that are 10 pounds lighter, you'll get dropped going up and
may catch them somewhat coming down. On the flats, it won't make much
difference.

Touring bikes nearly all have triple chainrings (mine was 28/38/48)
and higher range rear cassettes, good for carrying loads and riding
hills. Do you need that? If not, you may not want it. YMMV.

My 'Dale has mounts for three bottle cages, ability to throw disc
brakes on the front and rear, and eyelets for f & r racks.

Much depends on your price range. Trek makes a 520 that people love.
C'dale also makes a T800. Bruce Gordon makes great bikes. I think
Fuji does, Rodriguez does, etc., etc.

It should ... in the end ... come down to the bike that fits you best,
first, then offers the appointments you like, second.

There are specific bike forums for touring bikes and their riders. I
think bikeforums.net has one. There may be others.

What's your price range??
--
Live simply so that others may simply live

BP said:

So now I come to the question of what type of road bike do I want. On
my mountain bikes I've always had brackets in the back for a rear rack.
I do not drive a car, so my next bike I would really like to be
outfitted so I could run small, simple errands, and fenders perhaps.
I've noticed alot of race road bikes dont have these brackets. Ive also
noticed some cyclocross bikes dont either. And Im not really going to
be racing after all. I saw something called a touring bike. Im
wondering if thats the best choice. Although I have heard that touring
bikes are pretty heavy. I have searched some bike company sites; Trek,
cannondale, specialized, for bicycle weights, yet i cant find any. How
heavy is a road bike vs a mountain bike vs a touring bike.

Hi BP,

Welcome!

You are probably right that a touring bike would work well for you.

Regarding your concerns about weight: don't worry about it. For example,
my bike (a Jamis Aurora, a touring bike) weighs 24 pounds, and it cost
around $750; if I had wanted to spend $3000, I could have had a bike that
weighed 16-18 pounds or so. Now, with the 24 pound bike, the
bike-rider-extra junk system weighs in the neighborhood of 230 lbs; if I
had bought the 16 lb bike, that same system would weigh 8 pounds less, or
222 lbs -- a savings of 3.5%, which is negligible. (Even if you are more
svelte than I, the savings is still pretty much negligible for
recreational riding.) Plus, the lighter bike would come with silly
gearing, no eyelets for rack/panniers, no room for reasonably sized tires,
etc., not to mention the upwards of $2k not in my pocket.

This question comes up a lot. You would probably be well-served by a
few Google Groups searches. Other very useful resources are
http://sheldonbrown.com/articles.html and http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/.

Good luck!

Reid

p.s. Just ignore "troll no. 69".

<Great group you all have here.

Thanks. Now go ask somebody who cares.

Thanks for the input guys. Y'all have given me some real food for
thought. I am leaning towards the touring option, it might be the most
make sense option. I have looked at the T-800 Cannondale, previously
but would love to see the T2000, for it better component group. I
havent gotten to see the Trek yet. I am a fan of Trek, and Cannondale,
I presently ride a Cannondale -F-600, and love it, so I know I would be
comfortable with a other Cannondale purchase. I feel I dont want to go
over $1,500.

On the weight issue, is the average touring cycle less than a mountain
bike, or does it not really matter due to different gearing, frame
geometry, and riding position. I do find it amazing that all the
bicycle magazines and bicycle ethusiasts talk about weight down to the
gram, yet when I look up specs very few mention raw weight of any kind.
Not that I have to over worry, I never had a problem with my older
cro-moly Trek hardtail. But it would be nice to know if my next bike
will be the heaviest bike on the road.

I suppose it will come down to what I can find localy as well, I have
seen Cannondale, Burley, Trek, and I believe Jamis touring bikes
localy. Litespeed is made very close to me, too bad they wernt more
afforadable lol.

Thanks for the insights guys

BP

Thanks for the input guys. Y'all have given me some real food for
thought. I am leaning towards the touring option, it might be the most
make sense option. I have looked at the T-800 Cannondale, previously
but would love to see the T2000, for it better component group. I
havent gotten to see the Trek yet. I am a fan of Trek, and Cannondale,
I presently ride a Cannondale -F-600, and love it, so I know I would be
comfortable with a other Cannondale purchase. I feel I dont want to go
over $1,500.

On the weight issue, is the average touring cycle less than a mountain
bike, or does it not really matter due to different gearing, frame
geometry, and riding position. I do find it amazing that all the
bicycle magazines and bicycle ethusiasts talk about weight down to the
gram, yet when I look up specs very few mention raw weight of any kind.
Not that I have to over worry, I never had a problem with my older
cro-moly Trek hardtail. But it would be nice to know if my next bike
will be the heaviest bike on the road.

I suppose it will come down to what I can find localy as well, I have
seen Cannondale, Burley, Trek, and I believe Jamis touring bikes
localy. Litespeed is made very close to me, too bad they wernt more
afforadable lol.

Thanks for the insights guys

BP

Thanks for the input guys. Y'all have given me some real food for
thought. I am leaning towards the touring option, it might be the most
make sense option. I have looked at the T-800 Cannondale, previously
but would love to see the T2000, for it better component group. I
havent gotten to see the Trek yet. I am a fan of Trek, and Cannondale,
I presently ride a Cannondale -F-600, and love it, so I know I would be
comfortable with a other Cannondale purchase. I feel I dont want to go
over $1,500.

On the weight issue, is the average touring cycle less than a mountain
bike, or does it not really matter due to different gearing, frame
geometry, and riding position. I do find it amazing that all the
bicycle magazines and bicycle ethusiasts talk about weight down to the
gram, yet when I look up specs very few mention raw weight of any kind.
Not that I have to over worry, I never had a problem with my older
cro-moly Trek hardtail. But it would be nice to know if my next bike
will be the heaviest bike on the road.

I suppose it will come down to what I can find localy as well, I have
seen Cannondale, Burley, Trek, and I believe Jamis touring bikes
localy. Litespeed is made very close to me, too bad they wernt more
afforadable lol.

Thanks for the insights guys

BP

Quoted message said:

I do find it amazing that all the
bicycle magazines and bicycle ethusiasts talk about weight down to the
gram, yet when I look up specs very few mention raw weight of any kind.

You might be curious as to how bicycle weights are measured. This is from an
old posting on rec.bicycles.tech.

<<

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Can anyone tell me the proper and "industry statndard" for weighing a
bicycle.
This will help settle a disscusion between my friends and I. If anyone
can
help shed any light on the subject it would be apreciated!!!

Jim

Glad to:

1) Get a pre-production frame of the smallest size you plan to
manufacture,
preferably unpainted and without any handlebar tape, bar-end plugs or
pedals.

2) Mount 12-spoke wheels, a trick titanium-railed feather-light
saddle and a full SRP ti bolt kit (you can change your mind and decide to
actually sell the bike with more conventional componenets after you've
weighed it.)

3) Put it on your chief engineer's wife's bathroom scale (gauranteed to
be calibrated on the "generous" side.)

4) List this weight in your catalog for every bike in your product line.

I have it on good authority that this is the way most bicycle
manufacturers
do it.

Quoted message said:

The problem is getting the bike to stand up on the scale; can't use a
kickstand...too heavy, so the pros tie a bunch of helium balloons to the
saddle and handlebars.

Carapace Completed Umber>>
(Carapace Completed Umber is a nom de plume of Sheldon Brown.)

Quoted message said:

I do find it amazing that all the
bicycle magazines and bicycle ethusiasts talk about weight down to the
gram, yet when I look up specs very few mention raw weight of any kind.

You might be curious as to how bicycle weights are measured. This is from an
old posting on rec.bicycles.tech.

<<

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Can anyone tell me the proper and "industry statndard" for weighing a
bicycle.
This will help settle a disscusion between my friends and I. If anyone
can
help shed any light on the subject it would be apreciated!!!

Jim

Glad to:

1) Get a pre-production frame of the smallest size you plan to
manufacture,
preferably unpainted and without any handlebar tape, bar-end plugs or
pedals.

2) Mount 12-spoke wheels, a trick titanium-railed feather-light
saddle and a full SRP ti bolt kit (you can change your mind and decide to
actually sell the bike with more conventional componenets after you've
weighed it.)

3) Put it on your chief engineer's wife's bathroom scale (gauranteed to
be calibrated on the "generous" side.)

4) List this weight in your catalog for every bike in your product line.

I have it on good authority that this is the way most bicycle
manufacturers
do it.

Quoted message said:

The problem is getting the bike to stand up on the scale; can't use a
kickstand...too heavy, so the pros tie a bunch of helium balloons to the
saddle and handlebars.

Carapace Completed Umber>>
(Carapace Completed Umber is a nom de plume of Sheldon Brown.)

I use my Trek 520 Touring bike for my commuter, grocery getter, beer hauler
all around mule. Everything you need for a self contained battle unit. It
aint fast or pretty but gets the job done. Great for training because after
riding this bike all winter when Spring hits I am in shape for my lighter
faster carbon Trekk 2200.

I've considered purchasing lighter hybrid for commuting and errands but
never wanted to spend the cash.

I use my Trek 520 Touring bike for my commuter, grocery getter, beer hauler
all around mule. Everything you need for a self contained battle unit. It
aint fast or pretty but gets the job done. Great for training because after
riding this bike all winter when Spring hits I am in shape for my lighter
faster carbon Trekk 2200.

I've considered purchasing lighter hybrid for commuting and errands but
never wanted to spend the cash.

In article <zeX9f.509917$_o.409081@attbi_s71>,

Pyrtwist said:

I use my Trek 520 Touring bike for my commuter, grocery getter, beer hauler
all around mule. Everything you need for a self contained battle unit. It
aint fast or pretty but gets the job done. Great for training because after
riding this bike all winter when Spring hits I am in shape for my lighter
faster carbon Trekk 2200.

I've considered purchasing lighter hybrid for commuting and errands but
never wanted to spend the cash.

A hybrid's lighter than a 520? My Trek 7500 weighs 28 lbs and that's
with a regular seat post instead of the suspension seat post it came
with. You may be better off with the 520.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, much apprecieted. I test drove a
few bikes today. I had never rode a road bike before this, I was always
a MTB man, and I have to admit I really like the 'road' feel/concept. I
test drove a Bianchi Velope '05, a Cannondale T800, and a Burley
Vagabond.

So I'm more confused then ever, but its all part of the voyage I would
suppose.

I noticed that the Velope is labeled as a cyclocross bicycle, that can
do touring. Now is that the same as a dedicated touring bike? Is it
only adequate for very light touring. I plan on commuting, doing
grocery/errand runs, and some extended touring. Im not sure if I will
do heavy touring. But Id sure hate to decide to do some heavy touring
and find out my bicycle choice wasnt quote heavy duty enough.

I did like the feel of the Cannondale, maybe because I am a fan of
cannondale, but it did feel more responsive in the braking, and
steering areas.

The Burley I know nothing about, but it did have a nice sturdy feel.
Anyone have any experience with the Burley Vagabond. I did like that
they are made in Oregon. Is Cannondale still made in the states? And
where is Bianchi made?

There also is the price factor. I can get the Velope for 850 plus a
other 30% off of that, the Cannondale would most likely have to be
ordered, for over 1,000, and the Burley runs around 1,400. The Velope
and 'Dale look to have the same components.

Thanks for all the help and insights.

BP