Road Bike Christmas Specials

[naticen]

My girl rides her bike to work daily, about 15 mi round trip, and needs a better bike for it. She wore out a couple cheapos and then a friend that was moving gave her a Specialized that she fell in love with. Neither of us know anything about bikes, so I don't know a single thing about that bike except that it was stolen and now she needs another.

Any tips on what would be a good bike? The new one will be kept locked indoors, therefore not stolen, so I want a good investment, but $800 is max and I'd prefer $300 or so.

A couple that I've pulled and have no idea what you get for the price difference. Components that wear out in a year, a bike that saves 1 minute off the commute, or pedaling one for a couple miles will feel like you ran a marathon?

http://www.backcountry.com/orbea-aq...85850&SID=q5ndgFnNEeOIux6tB_wLuw0_MI8o3_0_0_0

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gravity/avenue_a_xiv.htm

 

[Big Kahuna]

That Orbea is a smoking deal. Jump on that. With bikes. You get what you pay for.

 

[naticen]

Sounds like everything else in life. I just thought maybe it was only for people who ride 10,000 miles a year but I guess she is still doing a couple thousand. Might as well do it right

 

[Big Kahuna]

If she were to ride every day. She would do 3900 miles. Now add in her going riding for fun. Which could happen having a good bike. I had a nice road bike a few years ago. Full carbon. Top line components. Loved the bike. But just did not like the road thing. Give me roots and trees.

 

[High Speed Industries]

Those bikes are decent. I worked in a bike shop for 3 years and I've never been a fan of the bikes you buy online. I've seen many issues with them out of the box like broken derailleur hangars, bent handle bars, bent cranks ect. I'm not saying that will happen to you, but I've seen all of them quite a bit. For $800 you can go down to your local bike shop and buy a decent aluminum framed road bike with a carbon fork. If it's from a shop it will come with a warranty, tune ups, and it will be assembled. Remember online bikes need to be assembled and if it's not done by an authorized dealer the warranty is voided. Today is small business Saturday, go down to your local shop and see what they can do for you. As long as you stick with a name brand like Giant, Specialized, or Trek you won't have any issues.

 

[naticen]

That is good advice and being a business owner myself, I highly support buying local. I believe that even though you pay a little more, you get a knowledgeable sales person and customer service to go with it. However, we bought a pair of Trek bikes from the LBS a couple years ago and they were both in need of tune ups before we got on them. I took care of it myself and after riding for a few months, took it in for the free tune up and it came out worse than when I took it in. She works at the local university and some landscaper in a golf cart ran into the bike rack and bent up her wheels. I sent her to the LBS with a spare wheel and her bent wheel to have them switch out the hubs and they told her that you can't do that and that she should buy a new wheel there. I sent her back to tell them no and just do it. It works fine now.

The other bike shop is inside of a ritzy shopping center across the street from an exclusive gated community. Their prices are so outrageous and selection so minimal that I have never bothered trying to deal with them.

I will probably take the risk on voiding a warranty and get a deal from online. That website is reputable and will take returns if needed.

 

[Matt_E]

I commute daily, about 15-30 miles every day for the past 3.5 years. I rode a Trek 7.3 Hybrid for three years and liked it a lot. It was a $600 bike new. I put an Explorer MTX rack on it and some fenders. In June I found a CL deal on a used Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Sora road bike, $400 bucks for what's normally a $900 new bike. While the Trek hybrid had a certain utility to it that the road bike does not, I still sold off the Trek because I liked the ride of the road bike a lot better.
Since June, I've put 3,200 miles on the road bike. Total this year I've got 5,400. While you do get what you pay for, I would not spend thousands of dollars on a commuter. The Bianchi I ride has an aluminum frame and a composite fork. I put a rack on it so that I could continue to use my MTX trunk bag (required if you commute).
I have had to replace the crank set, cassette, derailleur, and chain. They plain wore out and that's expected at those mileage numbers.
My personal opinion: If you're buying new, don't buy junk, but don't be buying a glitzy carbon bike, either. Don't get something with low spoke count wheels.
Try to find a good used road bike, you get way more bike that way. BUY THE RIGHT SIZE.

Additionally, absolutely plan to spend money on the following:

• A good set of lights (I spent about $150)
• A good helmet ($50-$100)
• Good gloves
• Good shoe covers
• A good coat and pants
• An MTX style rack and back ($200 right there)
• Tools ($20-$40)
• $10-20/month on tubes and patches
• $100 every 1500 miles on new tires

 

[Big Kahuna]

Orbea's are good bikes. You are buying from a dealer. Just a dealer that will ship.