please help! choosing new bike

The Hillbrick Pista is a track bike, not a road bike.

What size are you, height and weight?
Would you prefer a 9 or 8 speed rear cassete, double or triple chainring?

Location? Some forum members have info on local specials.

Some of these bikes have 8 speed MTB components, not so good. A triple is better for a first road bike.

I have had my Merida 880 for about 2 months. I'm not technical enough to give you alot of information. However i find it to be a really nice ride.

I thought id was a good buy for the price and a good entry level road bike.

I know this probably havent helped much, But i love my new bike and had to give it a rap.

Daz

gclark8 said:

The Hillbrick Pista is a track bike, not a road bike.

What size are you, height and weight?
Would you prefer a 9 or 8 speed rear cassete, double or triple chainring?

Location? Some forum members have info on local specials.

Some of these bikes have 8 speed MTB components, not so good. A triple is better for a first road bike.

im 165cm and 59kg. prob 9 speed with triple chaining. im from victoria. are gitanes any good?

Daz1980 said:

I have had my Merida 880 for about 2 months. I'm not technical enough to give you alot of information. However i find it to be a really nice ride.

I thought id was a good buy for the price and a good entry level road bike.

I know this probably havent helped much, But i love my new bike and had to give it a rap.

Daz

i agree the merida 880 looks like a good buy for the price, however for just $100 would i then be better of getting an avanti sprint?

Merida Road 880 and Avanti Spirit are 8 speed/double.

Have a look at the Felt F80 and Giant OCR 2, both 9 speed triples. 😎

http://www.feltbicycles.com/felt2006/specs/f80.html

http://www.giantbicycles.net/au/030.000.000/030.010.000.asp?year=2006&model=10012

For 9 speed you should be looking at Tiagra equipped bikes rather than those with Sora.

The Felt F80 Gclarke8 has put up would be a nice ride.

I have a Gitanes 2200 myself and if you are after something different to what everyone else is riding out there, the Gitanes is worth looking at. Make sure you go for a test ride first as they are not for everyone.

Going away from the bottom of the range bikes may also be beneficial to you as depending on the amount you ride, you will get far in excess of 2 years out of whatever you buy.

kittycattykitty said:

im 165cm and 59kg. prob 9 speed with triple chaining. im from victoria. are gitanes any good?

This is within the price range of the bike you listed, and the Tiagra is better than sora when it comes to the shifters with dual levers like the higher spec range rather than the side button for down shifts that are on sora. Can then shift either way while in the drops, rather than needing to be on the hoods to shift down.
Also a [font=ARIAL]Felt SR81 2005 $999.00[/font] [font=ARIAL] Was $ 1,499.00 that has 9 sp 105 set.[/font]
melbournebicycle.com.aumelbournebicycle.com.auOpen ↗
[font=ARIAL]Shogun Mach 2 2006[/font][font=ARIAL] A$ 859.00 [/font]
[font=ARIAL][font=Trebuchet MS]Frame-Shogun 6061 alloy speeder
Fork-Allloy A305 A-Head Steerer
Front Derailleur-Shimano Tiagra
Rear Derailleur-Shimano Tiagra
Crankset-Shimano Tiagra triple
Shifters/Brake Levers-Shimano
Tiagra triple
Cassette-Shimano HG-50
9 speed 12-23T
Bottom Bracket-Shimano ES30
Wheelset-Shimano R500
Tyres-Maxxis Detonator 700 x 28C
Brakes-Tektro alloy v-brakes
Stem-Tioga alloy adjustable
Seatpost-Tioga alloy suspension
Handlebar-Tioga alloy flat bar
Saddle-Tioga Comp[/font]

[/font]Seems to have the full size range if the web page is up to date post xmas.

I bought a Merida 880 last summer for amateur purposes - and I can recommend it to you! It's reliable, seems to be durable (I use it for tarcking, too...), light-weighted - and it's beautiful!
It's real road-machine (although that of "mid-class" or "lower-mid-class"😉, not a fake one!

Gabor (male...) from Hungary

kittycattykitty said:

[font=Times New Roman]I'm looking into buying my first road bike, i've been riding a hybrid for about 2 years. Can someone please give some feedback on the following brands and if anyone knows about the models, please give feedback on them too![/font]
[font=Times New Roman]I don't want to spend much money considering it's my first road bike and i realise that i will probably be replacing within a year or two. How durable are the cheaper road bikes?[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]Lear 7000- [/font][font=Times New Roman]$799[/font]
[font=Times New Roman][font=Times New Roman]Hillbrick Pista - [/font][font=Times New Roman]$900[/font][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][font=Times New Roman]Merida 880 - [font=Times New Roman]$799[/font][/font][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][font=Times New Roman][font=Times New Roman]Apollo Volare - [font=Times New Roman]$699 [/font][/font][/font][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][font=Times New Roman][font=Times New Roman][font=Times New Roman]Gitane Mach 1200 - $692[/font][/font][/font][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][font=Times New Roman][font=Times New Roman][font=Times New Roman]Gitane Mach 4000 - [font=Times New Roman]$860 [/font][/font][/font][/font][/font]

kittycattykitty said:

I'm looking into buying my first road bike, i've been riding a hybrid for about 2 years...

Rest of quote deleted.

I used to ride a Giant Farrago hybrid for about four years and started upgrading components to make it lighter, faster and ride better.

Towards the end of last year I decided on a road bike and took advantage of the end of year model run out sales and got a 2005 Giant TCR2 at a substantial discount and sold my old, but comprehensively upgraded hybrid and needed to pay just over $1000 for the new bike. I then needed new shoes (SPD-SL) and a new computer (with cadence).

At present the Giant TCR2 would be way out of your price range as retail is $1999 but I love riding this bike, it is so effortless and riding into a strong south westerly is no longer such a chore.

Just consider that if you get a cheap entry level road bike and really get into road riding you may quickly out grow it and want something better, although if you get a decent brand you can always sell your bike.

Being bias I suggest you look around for any 2005 run out models in the Giant OCR2 or OCR3 in a small frame.

James

Have you checked out Sarah Ulmer Brand bicycles specially designed for women?