Road Bikes and Frame Sets

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johnny4ever

johnny4ever

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Jul 10, 2004
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79
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846
Location
Central Texas
Website
www.popartdavis.com
I ride my mountain bike between 6 and 10 miles nightly. I am working very slowly up to longer rides with lots of climb.

Lately several road cyclists have been stopping in at the bakery and inviting me to go road biking with them. They ride between 40 and 50 miles on the weekends.

Any mudders know a good entry level road bike? I am not really wanting to impress them with how much I can spend on a bicycle. I would rather the frame be either steel or aluminum. Is there such a thing? Do I really have to spend 3k on a bike?

I like the idea of building my own bike too. Is this cost effective? Meaning will I actually be spending more for separate components?

-------------Edit
Is there such a thing as non-gay road bike wear?
 
Here are some pics of the Kestrel.
PICT0068.webp
PICT0069.webp
PICT0072.webp
 
I am switching from MTB to road bike, but I am taking a different approach. I am working on a 1967 Schwinn Super Sport. In the early 80s some components had already been changed, but the frame/fork/paint is all original.

Because the changes were made, I can actually upgrade again and I plan to put on some good components on this frame. It is a really nice riding frame....
 
I just picked up a used Kestrel Talon from a friend of a friend.

$3000 bike, I payed $800, with all the goods .:cool:

More bike than I wanted or needed.
But it was a sweet deal, and will never need to upgrade.

Good luck,
definately go used!
 
I bought a bike from bikes direct a few years ago for $750 shipped. Shimano 105 shifters, carbon fiber fork, nice wheels. Really nice bike that I ride 30 to 40 mile trips with regularly. This bike even came with the clipless pedals, although I've switched out the pedals to some shimano's.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/

They have great prices, and are easy to deal with.
 
MJADDICTION said:
I bought a bike from bikes direct a few years ago for $750 shipped. Shimano 105 shifters, carbon fiber fork, nice wheels. Really nice bike that I ride 30 to 40 mile trips with regularly. This bike even came with the clipless pedals, although I've switched out the pedals to some shimano's.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/

They have great prices, and are easy to deal with.
Click to expand...

What did you do with your clipless pedals?
 
stinkyfj60 said:
I am switching from MTB to road bike, but I am taking a different approach. I am working on a 1967 Schwinn Super Sport. In the early 80s some components had already been changed, but the frame/fork/paint is all original.

Because the changes were made, I can actually upgrade again and I plan to put on some good components on this frame. It is a really nice riding frame....
Click to expand...

This is exactly the way I want to go. I love the older steel and cromo frames and I love the idea of building my bike up.
 
johnny4ever said:
This is exactly the way I want to go. I love the older steel and cromo frames and I love the idea of building my bike up.
Click to expand...

Check this site out:

http://oldroads.com/d_ltw_def.asp?rec_count=1

The link goes to the "Lightweight" section. My Super Sport was a "Lightweight", even though it is like 30lbs :eek:

My crank was changed out for a Shimano 3-piece set back in the day, wich will help me a ton. I am not going to spend a lot of $$ on components, and I dont want to change the classic lines of this bike...
 
They're sitting in the tool box. Do you want them? You pay shipping and they're yours. They aren't the greatest pedals, but they work fine. They are a little hard to get into as they are small. I bought some with a bigger platform. Send me a PM if you want them.

I've still
 
i have a mid 80's road bike you can have if you want. it was given to me to start to ride with (even won a few cat4 races with it). If your interested i can take some pics. like i said its yours if you want to pay shipping or if we can find out mud-ship
 
sc40 said:
i have a mid 80's road bike you can have if you want. it was given to me to start to ride with (even won a few cat4 races with it). If your interested i can take some pics. like i said its yours if you want to pay shipping or if we can find out mud-ship
Click to expand...

You have PM
 
D'Animal said:
It's not mine, it is my neighbors. He is asking $300.00 OBO. It needs some work, look closely at the front forks.

The two bike shops he took it to said the components were worth around $500.00.

I know nothing about bikes.
Click to expand...

If you're tall, that Kestrel for 300$ is a very good deal.

You'll probably want to upgrade (eventually) to 10 speed and brake-lever shifting (for another 500 or so, unless you find someone ditching after an upgrade), but the Kestrel carbon frame is pretty sweet. Nothing wrong with the set-up as it is, unless the front fork is broken rather than merely sporting chipped paint.
 
No you don't need to spend $3000 to get a decent road bike. You can get a perfectly serviceable roadbike for $700+, for $1000 you start getting into nice bikes with Shimano 105 components or better.

Fit is the most important factor in a roadbike, so I would strongly recommend finding a good local shop that spends a bit of time getting you comfortable on a bike. If it doesn't feel right to start with, it won't feel better in 20 miles. By buying a local shop you will probably end up with a Specialized, Trek, Jamis, Felt, Bianchi, Giant, or Cannondale, all of which are great bikes.

If you go mail order, you can get better value for your dollar in components, but you lose 1) getting the chance to test ride and get fitted, 2) free tuneups, 3) local warranty service, and 4) a personal relationship. If you go the online route some good companies to check out are:

Bikesdirect.com
ibexbikes.com
 
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