Road bike recommendations?

LindsayE007

I am looking to do a few tri's this summer and I want a good entry level road bike. I have a hybrid that just isn't cutting it. I have been scouring Craigslist but I would love to get some recommendations in what to look for and what to avoid. Thanks!

BrianSharpe

I am looking to do a few tri's this summer and I want a good entry level road bike. I have a hybrid that just isn't cutting it. I have been scouring Craigslist but I would love to get some recommendations in what to look for and what to avoid. Thanks!

You'd be amazed at what you see people riding at local tris, everything from $10,000 TT bikes to $200 mountain bikes from Wallyworld.

Visit http://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php and do a little reading. The most important thing is that the bike fits you well and that the saddle is comfortable.

Buy the best bike your budget allows (you don't need Dura-Ace components but they're nice) and you can get some great deals on bikes with aluminum frames (they're not as "sexy" as carbon fibre) but unless you're climbing hills in France a few grams of weight here or there don't make much difference.

Sabine_Stroehm

A bike with a triple on the front (three gears).
A gender specific seat. Buy whatever bike, then buy the seat.
A good fit.
A waterbottle cage.
A good, well fitting helmet.

The actual brand is less important.

Unless you weigh a lot, I wouldn't do aluminum. I find it far too stiff.

warmachinejt

go to a local bike shop i always wanted to get a specialized at my local bike shop ($700 bucks) but never pulled the trigger...also cause i am no longer working my pt

wellbert

Why a triple? Is that more necessary in a tri or something?
compact double is the next logical step, imo.


I like the Felt entry level bikes... probably a few around from 2011 for cheap. Settled on CAAD 10 5 myself, but found it to be a bit too aggressive after a while. The geometry that is. The ride quality is fine.

zoom2

A bike with a triple on the front (three gears).
A gender specific seat. Buy whatever bike, then buy the seat.
A good fit.
A waterbottle cage.
A good, well fitting helmet.

The actual brand is less important.

Unless you weigh a lot, I wouldn't do aluminum. I find it far too stiff.

My carbon bike is stiffer than my aluminum was...geometry often has more to do with a bike's flexibility than the frame material does.

Triple, compact double...I'd not make that a priority, necessarily. I personally prefer a compact double (they tend to be more reliable and there's less cross-chaining potential), but I also don't live in an area with massive hills. YMMV. A gender specific saddle is also not as important as one that FITS (I'm currently trying to get my paws on a unisex Ergon saddle that is becoming available in the US very shortly). Have your sit bones measured (or measure them yourself), then find something that gives you ~10mm of space on either side. So, for instance, if your sit bones are 130mm apart you'd want a saddle in the 150mm width neighborhood. A cut-out might be good, too, particularly for us gals. A lot of saddle comfort issues are trial and error. The right shorts for you and chamois butter are also good things for most riders.

Sabine_Stroehm

Hmm. maybe it's just because I'm a woman. I have been riding for years and would not ride without a woman's seat.
Transition from a hybrid, I'd get a triple.
And as a woman, carbon? Yes, stiff. Didn't think she'd be going that expensive.

zoom2

Hmm. maybe it's just because I'm a woman. I have been riding for years and would not ride without a woman's seat.
Transition from a hybrid, I'd get a triple.
And as a woman, carbon? Yes, stiff. Didn't think she'd be going that expensive.

Didn't say she would...but aluminum doesn't have to be stiff. That was the point I was making.

I'm not sure why a triple would be preferable when transitioning from a hybrid. Triples shine if a person lives in an especially hilly area. Aside from that, they weigh more and are frequently more prone to reliability issues and dropped chains. You couldn't pay me to go back to a triple, now. My compact double is far more reliable and I lost--at most--one climbing gear.

As to men's vs. women's saddles, I have not found that there is an enormous difference in comparably sized and featured men's vs. women's saddles. I've ridden on the men's and women's versions of the same Specialized saddles and found them to be equally comfortable/uncomfortable. I have two "men's" (unisex) frames, too. The best bike or saddle doesn't necessarily have to be gendered to match the rider. Often the only difference between a men's saddle and a women's is width. And the only difference between some men's frames and women's frames is componentry. This is particularly true for Cannondale. Cervelo doesn't even make "women's specific" bikes, as they have found that there are more differences between individuals than there are between men and women. Often WSD is just a marketing thing.

zoom2

Lindsay, I'd be remiss if I didn't recommend TeamEstrogen.com's new rider forum...lots of great answers to the sorts of questions you have. Quite a few of us are into multisport, too. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/forumdisplay.php?f=59 I don't personally do tris (no time or interest for the swimming portion), but I LOVE duathlons.

LindsayE007

Thanks for all the info. Any specific brands/models you could recommend? Hopefully I will be able to go to a bike shop this weekend.

zoom2

Find a great shop that treats you right (it's a little like buying a car...you will want to find a place that you can rely on to help you maintain your bike in the future), THEN find the bike. My road bikes and my mountain bike have been Cannondales, because that's the primary brand our favorite LBS carries. My cyclocross bike is a Redline, since that's one of the CX lines they carry AND they happened to have that one on closeout in my size. It came with Shimano components (which I'm not fond of) and they swapped out comparable SRAM equipment at no extra charge...because they are nice, like that.

Ride as many bikes as you can and go with what you are most comfortable with (and this may change once you've been riding a while. I went with a more relaxed geometry aluminum bike for my first road bike, but our roads are rough chipseal and aluminum can be very buzzy. It was also more upright than I ended up preferring...I didn't know that as a new cyclist, though. When I was ready to upgrade I had a much better idea what I wanted) and fits your budget. Or, if you find a shop that you can really trust to do a good pre-purchase fitting you have the option to order a bike, but then you won't necessarily get much of a pre-purchase test ride. My 2 road bikes were both ordered, since our LBS is pretty small and doesn't keep a ton of bikes in stock in smaller sizes. The right size was ordered, then the proper stem and saddle height were tweaked after the bike was assembled.

It's nice to find a shop that offers group rides, too...and classes. If you have friends who ride, see who they recommend and why. The only thing that stinks about our LBS is that it's an hour away (we have 3 shops that are closer to us, but we don't really care for any of them and their group rides have the reputation of being "pecker-waving fests." My hubby is a VERY strong cyclist and can't stand riding with some of the other shops' organized rides). We hope to someday live closer so that we can get in on their organized rides and yoga classes.