Tried searching but didn’t see much. I’m thinking about getting into road bikes. Goal is exercise and just being out, no competitions or anything like that. I plan to ride on open back roads, no city/around town riding. Although I may ride to work once in a while which is a straight shot down main st from North Buff to Clarence.
What are your suggestions? I don’t have a huge budget so my best bet would be to find a used bike correct? I can do all my own maintenance, but I would like something reliable. I google searched for a little bit last night and it seemed the concensus was to buy a used good name bike. I did see a few brand new bikes under the name “Tour de France” for like $350, are they total garbage? I figured I would throw on the best tire I could afford to whatever bike I got to help fight flats since that was a big complaint with cheaper bikes.
What are some brands to look for? How do I find the size bike I should be searching for, is there some type of online calculator or should I go to a shop?
I would say to go to a shop and get measured, share your thoughts on what you want the bike for and see what they have.
I bought my bike from Handlebars, it was “last year’s model” and I saved about a hundred bucks, plus they knocked some more money off the accessories I bought. Mine is a “hybrid” bike, which is kind of bs because there’s no suspension to speak of and it would be absolutely terrible to ride on grass or anything, but it’s a fantastic bike on the street. It’s made by Trek, but I forget the model. I think Handlebars does a year of free maintenance too, but I never took advantage of it.
If you can’t find anything in your price range that you like at a shop, just get your measurements and then look around Craigslist. I was amazed at how cheap you could pick up a decent bike when I was looking.
I’ve never heard of the “Tour de France” brand so I can’t be helpful there, but maybe someone else can chime in on it. Good luck!
Also forgot to ask, since I plan on taking longer rides are the ram horn style handle bars a big help in being able to move around? I’ve ridden mtn bikes on the street and after 5 miles or so I wanted nothing more than to move my hands to a different position haha.
This is the only thing I was was different about my bike; it gets to be exhausting hanging on to straight handlebars for anything more than a short ride. If I remember correctly, however, you can buy replacement handlebars or extensions so it shouldn’t be a dealbreaker if the bike you want has straight bars.
Complete and total garbage. The “road” bikes still have 7 speed rear cassette and I have NO clue what in the fuck a Shimano A050 derailuer is? How tall are you? I can give you a rough frame size if I know how tall you are. Check out www.bikesdirect.com For what you are going to be using this bike for, used is absolutely the way to go. So many people jump into the sport and buy uber expensive stuff and then they realize how hard it is and sell the bike the next spring at a huge loss. Make sure whatever you buy has either a 9 or 10 speed rear cassette.
The only tools that ride with those fucking stupid ass ram bars are hipster faggots on fixies. Don’t be that guy. I have drop hamdlebars that sort of flatten out by the stem-I love them. Most of the time you will be riding on the hoods-which are the tops of the brake levers. Between the drops, the hoods, and the top of the bars by the stem-you will have enough positioning available.
Be careful out there-fucking stupidity is rampit in WNY drivers. Just make sure you always have something you can throw at stupid drivers that you don’t mind loosing.
I pulled an '88 schwinn prelude out of my shed friday, got new tires and have been riding it around the entire weekend, and the ram horn handlebars that came with it are quite comfortable, but I also use the hoods, hich are most comfy in my opinion.
I’m 5’9". When I did the online calculator that I found it said a 51cm bike is what I want. I’ll check out bikesdirect.com, thanks for the info. I’ll post up the other questions that I formulate as I continue my research.
Ok, I’m using the bikesdirect website… Say I want to spend <$600 on a bike, since I know I have to get all the tools, etc etc… What would be a good deal? Do I want an aluminum frame? How about the components, is sora better than shimano or vice versa? Is it the more speeds the better or is it just more shit to break?
Basically with a lower budget I would go with anything that has a Cinelli frame with Campanello components. This will be the most bang for your buck and you could most likely find something pretty reasonably priced on craigslist.
If I were you, I would want a bike with Shimano 105. It is dead nuts reliable, inexpensive, and pretty durable. I broke my Dura Ace rear deraileur and just to get going again threw on a 105 and this was a few thousand miles ago without issue.
At your pricepoint, you are pretty much going to be getting aluminum. One of the best aluminum frames out there are the Cannondale CAAD seris. Everyone, and I mean everyone is trying to get their hands on the CAAD 10’s as they were the last Cannondale alu frames made in the states.
As for the gear thing-I was just trying to tell you to stay away from anything with a 7 speed rear cassette as that is pretty outdated. 9 or 10 speed rear cassettes are the same overall widths, but, they use their own rear deraileurs and chain. As for the front crank, I perfer a double over a triple. To me triples just belong on mountain bikes or touring bikes.
Also, 5’9" and riding a 51cm just seems way too small to me. I’d check Ebay as there are tons of bikes for sale there