On my last few weekend group rides my buddies have been giving me a hard time about riding my QR Tiphoon Tri bike on the group rides. I don’t own a road bike but am going to go ahead and get one. Since I spent the equivalent of a small countries gross national product on my QR (which I wouldn’t trade for the world), I am looking at spending in the $1000.00 range for a new/used road bike. My QR is a 56cm, so figure I need the same on a road bike. I was a collegiate swimmer so my bike knowledge (limited) has been picked up along the way…i.e. here and at the great bike shop B&L in Solana Beach. Any recommendations? Brands? EBay?
Felt seems to offer the most bang for the buck. From the forums I’ve researched, Felt buyers seemed to be very pleased with their purchase. That’s the reason I bought mine. Check out this sweet F70:
i’d buy used. you can get a great deal on ebay if you use paypal or an escrow service to protect yourself from scams.
to give you an idea, i bought my wife a Decathlon R Serie for $400 (mostly tiagra setup). i got my Cervelo Eyre Tri with Ultegra drivetrain for $995.
or check the roadbikereview.com classifieds. i’ve gotten some nice stuff from people there too. just be sure you use something like paypal or an escrow so you’re protected.
“I am looking at spending in the $1000.00 range for a new/used road bike”
Your roadie buddies are right. There is no way in hell that you should be on a tri bike in a group ride. We have 6 or 7 trigeeks in our roadie group but none of us show up on tri bikes.
Go second hand. There are some really nice bikes on ebay for that amount. A couple of suggestions - any of the steel Lemonds with Ultegra a few years old. They ride and handle nicley. Used aluminium Giant TCR1 or TCR2 of similiar vintage. Fast bikes with a compact frame. Lots of other good used stuff only 2-4 years old with 105 or Ultegra. Figure that these bikes were about twice that price when purchased new.
Go used. One of your roadie friends might know of a deal. Go out on a group ride (assuming your skills are up to it) and mention you are looking for a road bike to buy used. That is how I found my De Rosa that I race on. I got DA9 with Time pedals and shoes for $500. He even had a brand new chain and rear tire on it for me when I picked it up.
cerveloguy says: “There is no way in hell that you should be on a tri bike in a group ride. We have 6 or 7 trigeeks in our roadie group but none of us show up on tri bikes.”
Well it is either show up on my Tri bike or not ride…since I don’t own another bike…I enjoy riding with the group and need the fitness. I stay at the back of the pack and never drop into my aerobars. I do understand the group ride dynamics and hence why I am going to buy a road bike and also for the comfort factor while training. Thanks for the advise on the Lemonds and Giant.