[ast3r3x]

I knew, and found out a little more after stevegong's thread that we have the cyclists here, and was wondering what bike I should get?

I'm not looking to spend too much, and was hoping to stay under $750. My local bike shop had Felt bikes starting at $550. Is this a good deal, a good brand? Just a little input or direct would be nice, I am looking for a road bike.

If I choose to go with a cheaper model, the $550, instead of the $750 that comes with clip in shoes, how much can I expect it to cost later to ad on?

[LoCash]

Who the hell is Felt? There are a lot of good road bike offerings out there. Trek has some good ones currently. If you don't get clipless pedals now, the pedals will cost you about a hundred bucks later on.... and the shoes will cost about that too, depending on which ones you want to buy. My pedals ran about $200 and shoes ran about $250, so it varies.

[onlyafterdark]

I was going to say the same thing. Who is Felt bikes? I have never heard of them, but then again Im a canuck and we have different brands than everyone else. Try sticking with house-hold names like Trek and Specialized and see if you can take some of these bikes out for a quick spin around the block. It usually isnt a problem and you get a better feel for what you like about a certain bike than you would by just sitting on the thing in the shop.

[Escher]

I was going to say you should get a road bike. But you already settled that.

[ast3r3x]

http://www.feltracing.com/HOME.html

I'll also note that eBay lists Felt as a bike brand in their categories.

[applenut]

I too am begining to look at road bikes. I'm looking for one to do my extra training outside of crew practice. A lot of the guys are getting into cycling and go on 40+ mile rides every weekend now.

Right now I've been looking at the Trek 1500 or 1200. I don't know anything about road bikes though and don't want to put so much money into something I don't research first.

Any suggestions?

[bauman]

Name brands my friend, name brands. It's like the photo industry... you stick with your Nikons and Canons.

My personal advice? Buy used. Road bikes from even twenty years ago can be found in excellent condition with decent Chrome-Moly frames and good components. Granted, there are lighter frames on the market today, but for my uses (I don't race, but do regular long rides), Chrome-Moly is great. And, I'm a poor college student, so it's even better.

On a side note, are you looking for bicycles in Lancaster/Ephrata area? For buying used, go to cycle Circle in downtown Lancaster... that's where I bought my bike. Great store, mom and pop kind of place. They were really good about negotiating and were very open with me. Of course, when you're buying used, it's always hit or miss.

[Eugene]

Name brands my friend, name brands. It's like the photo industry... you stick with your Nikons and Canons.

No way. First of all it's hardly as limited as Nikon vs Canon. Do Litespeed, Kestrel, Lemond (Trek sub), Independent Fabrications, etc. count as big names like Trek and Specialized? There is something about riding a bike that you never see anybody else with... You can't get that with a Trek.

...Out of my price range, but I've always been enamored with SyCip. I visited their shop once. Two brothers working out of one of the piers on the Embarcadero. They have a bigger shop now...

http://www.sycip.com/bikes_supercarb.html

[ast3r3x]

Originally Posted by bauman Name brands my friend, name brands. It's like the photo industry... you stick with your Nikons and Canons. On a side note, are you looking for bicycles in Lancaster/Ephrata area? For buying used, go to cycle Circle in downtown Lancaster... that's where I bought my bike. Great store, mom and pop kind of place. They were really good about negotiating and were very open with me. Of course, when you're buying used, it's always hit or miss.

Lancaster/Ephrata, exactly. First where are you from that you know this area? Second, what kind of prices do they have? I'm looking into getting into cycling for fitness/fun so I don't want to spend a lot, but it seems like low end starts at >$500

The two places I've been have been kinda intimidating going into the places without knowing anything about biking technology or terms. I actually liked the Green Mountain Cyclery I went to, but I want to a place called "The Crank" and the guy seemed like he thought he was better then me.

I guess I'll have to go check out that place you said if they are good.

[Escher]

Originally Posted by bauman Road bikes from even twenty years ago can be found in excellent condition with decent Chrome-Moly frames and good components.

That is sound advice, bauman. I was researching $700 road bikes and $1000 cross bikes. Then I remembered that my father-in-law had a barely used aluminum Cannondale sitting in his garage. Now it's mine.

I blew out a tire on the second ride, because the tubes were old and I was riding on a rocky strech of bike path. So I decided to get slightly fatter touring tires with thicker walls for less worries. Cost me all of $80. and I've been riding about 25 miles a week since. There's nothing like a nice fast bike ride for your heart and soul, especially right now with the turning leaves.

Escher

[ast3r3x]

I do not want a cross bike, I can't imagine mountain biking would be that much fun for me, I'd rather go around the millions of back roads.

[usurp]

I just got a Cannondale F400 for me and my girlfriend.
Will be picking them up tonight. Actually got to call the shop in a while to remind them to have them ready for me.

I checked out the Treks, they just didnt really grab me the way the Cannondales did. I also checked out some other brands like Jeeps, Royce Union and some unknowns, but found all of them to be too heavy for my liking.

[usurp]

ah sorry just noticed you wanted a "road bike". then i would stick to trek on that one since i think Trek makes better roadbikes then cannondale.

[bauman]

Let's see... The bikes I looked at from Cycle Circle were between $150 and 400. I ended up buying one for $240 or so. It's a decent Schwinn Chrome-Moly with Shimano 600 components from about 20 years ago or so. It was right at the junction where Schwinn finally started making respectable Road Bicycles. Oh, and it's hot fuchsia The joys of buying used.

Green Mountain is good, but when I was looking, there wasn't much there at all. I seemed to be really limited by my size - there really aren't that many used bike shops in the area, and the ones that were there certainly didn't have any frames that fit me (I'm about 6'1" or so).

I'm trying to remember other stores that had a good selection of used bicycles. There was a store out towards Intercourse (called Martin's maybe... or some other Amish/Menno name) that had some, but none my size. And the salesman there was really creepy with a terrible PA Dutch accent. He kept trying to sell me this crappy low end Giant and had no idea what he was talking about.

Cycle Circle is on N. Queen Street... just north of Orange? I think. It's kind of a hippy place, and the owner is usually there. If he doesn't have anything you like, I bet you that he'd recommend some other stores in the area. And don't forget to keep an eye on the classifieds.

On another note, once you get you bike, some great rides through Lancaster County can be found at Lancaster Bike Club. I've ridden quite a few of their routes and I really enjoy them all. They do a good job of getting all around, and yet staying away from the main roads.

In the spirit of the holiday, I'd just like to mention that I know where you sleep at night.

[Jay]

I can't comment on the bike your looking at but expect to pay at least $200 for shoes and pedals and possibly more. I personally have a Specialized Allez Sport from '01. I managed to get an end of season deal on it and it only cost my $750 for a $1000 bike. I then added Eggbeaters after my original set of clipless pedals that I got for a gift died, which I got for around $75. I know they aren't officially road pedals but I love the ease of entry with them and they have been comfortable for the few times I've been on 5 hour rides. Good luck in your search.