Newb scores killer bike and

Douge said:

doesn't know what he's doing! :eek: I have been riding a hybrid for the past couple of years and decided to step into a good road bike and make cycling my primary cardio/excercise activity.

Anyway, I lurked here and took everyone's advice to ride a bunch of bikes which I did, and came home today with a Specialized Tarmac Pro. Supergo is not going to be carrying specialized any longer and I got the bike for 2500, new 05' model.

I have to same I am simply stunned!😄 I did my short loop of 6.2 miles and felt like I just gotten home from a walk around the block. No comparison at all to my Giant Hybrid, none zero zip.... This bike makes riding fun!

The Specialized is smooth, fast and whisper quiet. I did not get any shoes so any suggestions on good quality shoes, and clips would be appreciated.

Very excited about doing a lot of riding. I live in AZ and the nice weather is just beginning.

You're likely to get 1000 opinions on shoes and pedals. So my advice would be to either search these forums for similar threads or go to a local bike store and try on a few. Chat to the sales guy, give them your budget. That will dictate what you're looking at. For shoes, you may want to stick to the larger brands like Carnac, Sidi, DMT, Shimano, Lake, Gaerne. Specialised have some nice shoes. For pedals, the bigger players are Shimano, Time, Look, Crank Brothers etc.

Walrus said:

You're likely to get 1000 opinions on shoes and pedals. So my advice would be to either search these forums for similar threads or go to a local bike store and try on a few. Chat to the sales guy, give them your budget. That will dictate what you're looking at. For shoes, you may want to stick to the larger brands like Carnac, Sidi, DMT, Shimano, Lake, Gaerne. Specialised have some nice shoes. For pedals, the bigger players are Shimano, Time, Look, Crank Brothers etc.

Congrats on the new ride. I agree, you'll get 1001 different opinions on shoe/pedal combos. Go to the LBS and try all the shoes in your price range and then pick the ones that fit you best. I spent $100 on my shoes (pretty cheap as shoes go) and I've been very happy with them. For pedals, I'd recommend something with a larger platform (not the crank bros) b/c it's easier to clip in.
Shoes/Pedals make a big difference over toeclips so that is something you should look into sooner rather than later.

Quoted post said:

Congrats on the new bike (and an excellent choice, I might add).