Purchasing the right bike

In rec.bicycles.misc said:

I'm back into riding a bike and I ride about 20 miles a day in the Puget
Sound area. I'm in pretty good shape and I'm 5' 11" 185 lbs. I'm looking to
buy my first road bike and do not want to spend over $1400. Any advise?
Please inslude where to buy it at. Thanks in advance, Rick

What do want to use the bike for? Are you going to be commuting? Doing
Cyclocross? Grocery shopping? Touring? Pootling? Racing?

I have *lots* of advice, but you might want to be a bit more specific
about what you want to do. It would also help if you describe what your
current bike is and why it is not suitable (i.e., why do want a new
bike? )

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
.... TheysaidDoyouseethebiggreenglowinthedarkhouseuponthehill?andIsaidYesIsee
thebiggreenglowinthedarkhouseuponthehillTheresabigdarkforestbetweenmeandthe
biggreenglowinthedarkhouseuponthehillandalittleoldladyridingonaHoovervacuum
cleanersayingIllgetyoumyprettyandyourlittledogTototoo ...

I don't even *HAVE* a dog Toto...

Quoted message said:

I'm back into riding a bike and I ride about 20 miles a day in the Puget
Sound area. I'm in pretty good shape and I'm 5' 11" 185 lbs. I'm looking to
buy my first road bike and do not want to spend over $1400. Any advise?
Please inslude where to buy it at. Thanks in advance, Rick

Dumbass -
Bike racers don't care if you get the right bike.

But since you posted to other newsgroups I'll answer you from there:

Just about every bike company on the planet is wanting to sell you something at
that price point. Most important thing is that it fit you well and suit the
kind of riding you do. If you intend to race, that's something different from
just fast riding and day trips. Are you riding along the coast or up into the
mountains? All of it on pavement or do you wander onto dirt roads, or even
double track. Do you have the rest of the bike kit: shoes, shorts, pedals you
want to keep or a preference even?

Check your local bike shops. You'll find nice bikes, probably fitted with
Shimano 105 or Campy Veloce in that range. They'll all be perfectly good bikes,
but some will suit you better than others. See what excites you and what fits
and if you find a bike that does both get it.

Mail order you might find better deals but nobody to help you. That's okay if
you're independent minded and already know what you want.

The important thing about modern manufacturing and marketing is that you pretty
well get what you pay for regardless of brand. Some are slightly better deals
than others, but mostly you'll be looking for what best suits you in your price
range.

Ron

Quoted message said:

I'm back into riding a bike and I ride about 20 miles a day in the Puget
Sound area. I'm in pretty good shape and I'm 5' 11" 185 lbs. I'm looking to
buy my first road bike and do not want to spend over $1400. Any advise?
Please inslude where to buy it at. Thanks in advance, Rick

Advice? Yeah, you don't need no stinkin' $1400 bike to ride 20 miles
per day. Now if you get into cycling as a hobby, then it's a fair price
to pay for a quality ride. I've lived up there. You need a bike with
fenders, no ifs, ands, or butts. That's a good thing, as it narrows
down your selection. If I was building such a bike from scratch, I'd
grab either a Surly Pacer or Soma Smoothie frame and build up with a
hodge podge of stuff and 35mm Freddy Fenders. Off the rack, you should
be able to get something even cheaper. I really like the design of the
Specialized Sequoia for real world road bike use. Fenders fit fine and
they start at around $800, AFAIK. You'll also want a bike with either a
compact 34/52 front setup, or a full on triple. It's hilly in those
parts. Craigslist in that area is huge, and an awesome place to get a
deal. Heck, I just sold a virtually new bike for $300 under list on my
local. Buyer got a great deal, a 20 mile test ride, and I got enough
dough to get another bike..

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm back into riding a bike and I ride about 20 miles a day in the Puget
Sound area. I'm in pretty good shape and I'm 5' 11" 185 lbs. I'm looking
to
buy my first road bike and do not want to spend over $1400. Any advise?
Please inslude where to buy it at.

Rick, if you want more local advice (like, where to buy it), you could post
over here: http://www.cascade.org/Community/forum/index.cfm

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Quoted message said:

I'm back into riding a bike and I ride about 20 miles a day in the Puget
Sound area. I'm in pretty good shape and I'm 5' 11" 185 lbs. I'm looking to
buy my first road bike and do not want to spend over $1400. Any advise?
Please inslude where to buy it at. Thanks in advance, Rick

No bad bikes at bike shops, only bad bike shops...go to one that will
do some sort of sizing for you, not just stand over and ride up and
down the street. Be willing to swap stems and find your KOPS and get
fore and aft, seat height. LOTS of great road bikes for
$1000-$1400...Trek, Giant, Specialized....go for fit, not for
whizbang...have it geared for what you are going to use it for...most
of the time you are buying the bike shop, not the bike.

There are a lot of nice islands in Puget Sound, and all those ferries
are
an expensive nuisance, so I suggest you look here:
http://www.waterbicycle.com/index-original.html

-ilan

Quoted message said:

I'm back into riding a bike and I ride about 20 miles a day in the Puget
Sound area. I'm in pretty good shape and I'm 5' 11" 185 lbs. I'm looking to
buy my first road bike and do not want to spend over $1400. Any advise?
Please inslude where to buy it at. Thanks in advance, Rick