Hi, I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on a good road bike I could get for around $500. I would prefer to purchase something new and have no idea of the perception of the different bike brands in cycling. If people also could suggest a training guide I might want to look into purchasing. I've read about the Lance Armstrong/Chris Carmichael book but other than that have no idea what's out there and what might be good.
In that price range, they are not a lot of road bikes. I would suggest you wait for a deal at the end of the season or on a model from last year. As an example, at that price, only the Oryx 1500 seems to have an aluminium frame (in my canadian list, converted in american money). You would may be get better components with a steel frame, but it depends if you intend to upgrade the bike later, or not. In that case, I would suggest buying a good aluminium frame