buying first road bike
Thread started by
beans at 04.13.10 - 11:08 am
been on a few midnight rides on a mountain bike. Now I wanna buy my first road bike but I'm clueless. Don't want to break the bank but like most frugal people, I want the most bang for my buck. Live in the pasadena area. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
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bit too general for me...what should I be looking for?
beans04.13.10 - 11:09 am
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make sure the height is right for you. no rust. good brakes. drop bars are my forte for road bike, i even have them on my fixed. check the thread of the tires. RIDE IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT!! <3
eairheart8304.13.10 - 11:12 am
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any model recommendations? appreciate the help.
beans04.13.10 - 11:12 am
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You should probably have someone help you determine the frame size that is right for you before you embark on this.
You can use this as a general starting point.
http://bicycling.about.com/od/howtoride/a/bike_sizing.htm
For an affordable bike, you could give Atomic Cycles a try.
http://www.atomiccycles.com
17322 Saticoy St
Los Angeles, CA 91406
(818) 609-0113
petr0lb0mb04.13.10 - 11:15 am
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Go to incycle or some other bike shop in your area. Talk to the people who work there. You'll be able to look at bikes and get information to get an idea of what you want.
shotgunBOOMBOOM04.13.10 - 11:17 am
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Yes, Incycle is very good but slightly pricey in my opinion.
OH!... I almost forgot about Open Road Bicycles.
60 North Sierra Madre Boulevard
Pasadena, CA 91107-3326
(626) 683-9986
Steve is really nice and helpful. His fixies are quite affordable, if you want a new, quality bike.
petr0lb0mb responding to a
comment by shotgunBOOMBOOM
04.13.10 - 11:25 am
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shoot for something between 25o and 4oo for your first road bike anything less wont last more than a few months without putting in extra money if you plan on riding all sorts of fast.
Jet-son04.13.10 - 11:28 am
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also check out the thread on the bike swap meet coming up on sunday
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Jet-son04.13.10 - 11:29 am
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I have done both
Bikes Direct route for a single speed and craigslist for a road bike.
Go to a local shop and see what they have and what size you need. Craigslist takes time to weed through all the crap but it may be worth it.
Foldie04.13.10 - 11:34 am
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sounds like bikes direct wasn't a good experience?
I'm shooting for a $500 price range. if you guys can recommend a specific model from bikes direct, that would be awesome. While I don't mind buying used, I am a bit apprehensive about it. If something goes wrong with the bike, I freak out about whether it was sold to me that way or whether it was something I did.
I've been to pasadena cyclery and incycle, but they seem heavily over priced. I'll try the sierra madre one, but as it's going to be my first bike, I don't really want to make a big fuss about it. Thanks again for the replies
beans responding to a
comment by Foldie
04.13.10 - 11:39 am
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forgot, I was looking at bikesdirect and the tiagra bikes kinda caught my eye. Anyone have something bad to say about these?
beans04.13.10 - 11:41 am
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hate to bug
found this: 2009 Fuji Newest 3.0 Road Bike
from http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1073201_-1_1508500_20000_400306
(don't know how to link).
Think I might want to go with this...good choice?
beans04.13.10 - 12:25 pm
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I'm sure it's a great bike. Print it out and go visit Open Road.
Seriously, Steve is not pushy and will not even try to sell you anything unless you really want to buy it. If you buy from a local bike shop, you will be fitted properly and have all of your questions answered on the spot. I assure you that you will find that he's different from the other bike shops.
petr0lb0mb responding to a
comment by beans
04.13.10 - 12:38 pm
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sounds like a plan...will do. Thanks for all the help.
beans responding to a
comment by petr0lb0mb
04.13.10 - 12:46 pm
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Can anyone point me in the right direction?
just ride the moutain bike... buy some narrow slicks, and keep about $400 in your bank. Wait til you find yourself riding even more and killing it on the mountain bike, then you'll be eager to drop more on a decent road bike....
Anyhow, whats wrong with your MTB?
The best thing to do with these kinds of post, especially when you want a "good", "honest" reply, is to address the following:
1. How often to you ride?
2. What kind of riding do you want to do?
3. What do realistically plan on doing?
4. Can you show us what you currently ride?
5. Is there anything wrong with your current bike?
6. Why do you
want a new bike? -- this one is key because its really a shame when you drop a nice chunk of cash on a rig that isnt worth the investment and in reality, you could put that money to some better uses or just save it.
md2
04.13.10 - 12:52 pm
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well the thing is is that my mtb is good, but it's a mtb. I ride it on the trails up by jpl. I've used it on a few midnight rides, but it's heavy and not really suited for the street. Sure I could do it and I have, but I rather have a road bike.
1. often
2. more cross city rides. midnight rides and such.
3. see 2
4. not at the moment.
5. it's heavy and suited for rough terrain
6. I want something I can use on the street. A lighter bike that'll go faster on flat pavement. Something I can use to go to the store instead of my car. A bike I can use on night rides that'll help me keep pace.
beans responding to a
comment by md2
04.13.10 - 1:20 pm
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I kind of went through the same pattern.
Mtn bike for years then went to a foldie for commuter and street riding but found neither quite right for longer rides on the streets. Obviously the biggest concern is wasting money, but I have found most people that like riding tend to collect bikes as their income lets them.
Wasting money on a bike is subjective, and I am glad I made the investment to a road bike.
Good luck. I know there is a lot of info out there and many directions to go. I spent a good amount of time at shops and on the interwebz until I got lucky and found a good bike on craigslist.
Foldie responding to a
comment by beans
04.13.10 - 1:52 pm
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I'm gonna hijack your thread for a second to ask a question...
Track frame for use on the street as a fixed gear...
Opinions?
I'm mostly concerned about toe overlap with the front wheel.
petr0lb0mb04.13.10 - 2:06 pm
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Actually, nevermind. I'm gonna start my own topic.
petr0lb0mb04.13.10 - 2:11 pm
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picture related.
It's my opinion.
TheDude responding to a
comment by petr0lb0mb
04.13.10 - 2:14 pm
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it'll suck if you try peddling through turns...
beans04.13.10 - 2:18 pm
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Dude Tarck bikes are like pie plates these dayz.
Randonneuring on vintage frames is whatz kewl now.....sell yourz arrozspokz now
Foldie responding to a
comment by petr0lb0mb
04.13.10 - 2:18 pm
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I just bought my first road bike off Craig's List. It took a while because I'm short, but a lot of the research I did was actually
on rides, talking to people, looking at their bikes, hearing their advice. It may take a little time & work, but you can get lucky by being persistent off CL & learning about sizing, frames, etc, from the folks you ride with.
That is the invaluable information...
sinaphile04.13.10 - 3:05 pm
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you have to be patient with craigslist. more often than not, there is always a better deal next week
_iJunes responding to a
comment by sinaphile
04.13.10 - 3:13 pm
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craigslist scares me.
beans04.13.10 - 3:26 pm
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I would definitely go to open road over incycle. the people at incycle are dicks. you could check out the bike co ops as well
buckchin responding to a
comment by beans
04.13.10 - 3:32 pm
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I second the Craigslist- if you wait around, you can always find something great for you.
I got my first bike in LA from Target (didn't know any better), and rode that for almost a year before getting Pidgeot, the fixie I ride most places nowadays. I got the complete bike minus wheels for $150. Just a few months ago, I finally found my road bike, Eurynome, for $250. The extra time on the mountain bike was well worth it, since I spent more time learning how to actually ride my bike. Basically, everything sinaphile said about learning more about bikes from friends and such is very, very relevant.
If you're unsure, just take a friend with you to look at bikes from Craigslist, I'm currently doing that for a pedestrian friend of mine. We're going to be at the swap meets at the Encino Velodrome and Atomic Cycles this weekend.
danya responding to a
comment by _iJunes
04.13.10 - 3:39 pm
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Don't let it scare you. As Danya said, if you take someone with you when you look at the bikes (someone who might know a little more), it might take the edge off. At least until you feel confident enough to do it yourself. I was impatient about it, but didn't have a choice due to the fact that I needed a smaller frame for a specific price range. So that forced me to wait for a few months of looking, but...finally found her & she's awesome. Craig's List can rock.
sinaphile responding to a
comment by beans
04.13.10 - 4:25 pm
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beans, there is a performance bike shop in pasadena at arroyo and del mar if you want to try out the bikes in person instead of shopping off the website. prices are the same as online.
bryan_w04.14.10 - 3:06 pm
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yeah, I stopped by there the other day. Tried to visit steve but I got to his shop at around 6:30 and he closes at 6. Stopped by performance and the 2010 newest 3.0 caught my eye...but I can just as well get the 2009 model for $200 less...however, I like the colors of the 2010 model...
beans04.15.10 - 11:15 am
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