I want a road bike, but I have a baby on the way, so need to keep it budget friendly as it will solely be a training/group ride bike.
I currently ride a Felt S 32 tri bike, so nothing fancy on race day, so I am not looking for something fancy in a road bike.
Aluminum frame, 105 components is all I’m interested in at this point.
Any recommendations on a make/model? I’ve been able to find some aluminum frames w/ sora but sellers are asking $1000+.
Would I be better suited to buy a frame and put it together myself? Again, recommendations on frames? I can keep an eye on ebay, just need an idea of what to be looking for.
I don’t have a recommendation for you but you can really do a lot of things with a road bike. I would look for enough room for 25 or even 28 tires and maybe for fenders. It may want to become your commuter or gravel bike in the future.
I have built up several frames but I don’t think it saves money unless you have a bunch of spare parts sitting around. You can pick up parts cheap on places like ebay but the shipping can really add up. I would look for components that are compatible with the Felt so that you can swap wheels and cassettes back and forth.
The Dimaondback Century 2 boasts a nice aluminum frame, with a Shimano 105 drivetrain, and is available on Amazon for $1,000.
Manufacturers are starting to release their 2015 models. The new (2015) Shimano 105 group (5800 series) will bump everything to 11 speed. For someone on a budget, that means you’ll likely be able to find good deals on 2014 (10 speed) models at your LBS and online.
