# Newbie Looking to Buy my First Road Bike



## nshine (Apr 27, 2007)

I am transitioning from my MTB hardtail (which I use for MTB and Commuting to work everyday - Approx 10miles RT). I swap out my road and off-road tires depending on the type of road I am on.

I am 6 feet 5 inches and 243lbs. 

I have been told that I would need a 62cm frame for a good fit on a road bike. I have searched numerous stores and sites for a bike for a good price to begin with. Bikedirect seems to be the one spot I keep coming back to. This Site and Forum has also provided me with a lot of great information, but sometime too much information can be crippling.

I have come down to the list of bikes I am settling on buying and would like some feedback from some of you (Mike - Of course I would love to hear from you please) .

1. Full CArbon Motobecane - Immortal Pro
2. Carbon Stay Moto - Grand Sprint
3. Mercier Serpens 20 spd
4. Mercier Serpen 30spd
5. Windsor Knight

(I will be riding on some 50 and 100mile rides through out the year - 6 all together ) - 

Also, is the size of 62 cm going to fit me well? 

I was told that because of my size and weight I may place more wear and tear on the back faster, so should I stay away from the Carbon Bikes and go with something stiffer?

Thanks in advance for your timely response. This is going to be my B-Day gift (05/01).


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## simonton (Mar 11, 2007)

Well I purchased an immortal pro from BD and I am very happy with it. The aesthetic of the frame appears extremely well engineered and I would highly recommend it for its stiffness/comfort ratio especially for a first road bike. I think it is an absolutely beautiful bike and it has superb components. I would be concerned about the AC350 wheels at your size. My 2cents advise is to sell the AC350 wheelset on ebay brand new -should do well. These do have the current AC hub which is supposed to be an improvement. I would then take the cash and buy the Shimano Dura ace set from performance bike (join team performance if you do this) I would expect you to actually have extra money from the sale of the AC350's to spend on goodies for the bike and you.. 
My personal experience with BD was good. The bike arrived timely and well packaged and in factory direct condition. Assembly took 30 minutes because I was careful. Make sure everything is tight-and ride it for 100 miles and then bring it to your LBS for a tune up. 30 day return policy along with pedals and saddle give you a chance to demo the bike. Worse you can be out is $50 or so for the demo (save the box  if you do not like it and decide to mail it back; but I am betting as soon as you unpack the box you will be in love.

Check out motobecane's website for the immortal dimensions.
Here are some fit sites to look at:
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm
http://www.cbss.ca/Custom.htm

This is what I did to modify my bike: I added crank brother's 4ti quattro pedals and a fizak aerione seat from ebay for $230 more for a total of $1420-great price! You can switch the stem seatpost and handlebars out easily for more bling and some weight savings. I wanted a longer stem than the one provided so I switched to a token carbon fiber oversize stem and rithcey wcs os handlebars (one of the best consistent deals on ebay) I added a token cf seat post for some bling for a total of $94 more off ebay pushing the total bike price to $1514. The graphics on token's carbon fiber products are a great match to the immortals. I hope to sell the seat/pedals/stem/handlebars for something on ebay.


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## nshine (Apr 27, 2007)

Thanks Simonton for your reply. I did look at the Immortal Pro, but it was sold out. Plus I did not want to get a CF frame on my first road bike due to my size and newness to the game. It is a sweet looking bike. Thanks also for the sizing sites. I checked them out to get a better understanding of what to look for. 

I just purchased from BD the Mercier Serpen 30spd - 62cm. 

I just want to thank you all for your many threads throughout this forum. They have been informative, encouraging and amusing. I will post soon after I get my bike and log about 500 miles on it. Soon as I get the bike I will take it to my LBS to put it together. I just don't trust my skills. Thanks again.

N8


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## John_JCB (May 3, 2007)

nshine said:


> Thanks Simonton for your reply. I did look at the Immortal Pro, but it was sold out. Plus I did not want to get a CF frame on my first road bike due to my size and newness to the game. It is a sweet looking bike. Thanks also for the sizing sites. I checked them out to get a better understanding of what to look for.
> 
> I just purchased from BD the Mercier Serpen 30spd - 62cm.
> 
> ...


This thread interests me as I am looking for a new bike and I am about your size. When you get your bike and assemble it please post on the experience. I would like to hear how much tinkering was needed out of the box and what you think of it on the road.

Also if anyone has other comments pertaining to larger riders they would be appreciated as well.


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## terbennett (Apr 1, 2006)

Looking for a road bike? Check this one out:

http://bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/knight.htm

This is the deal of the century!! An Ultegra 30 speed for under $795?!! I still can't believe it!! I've sent this ad to every cyclist I know. Noone believes it!! That's why you go with Bikes Direct!! you'll always get a good price. Think about selling my Felt F85 to buy this.


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## Lifelover (Jul 8, 2004)

terbennett said:


> Looking for a road bike? Check this one out:
> 
> http://bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/knight.htm
> 
> This is the deal of the century!! An Ultegra 30 speed for under $795?!! I still can't believe it!! I've sent this ad to every cyclist I know. Noone believes it!! That's why you go with Bikes Direct!! you'll always get a good price. Think about selling my Felt F85 to buy this.


Stick with the felt. It's a better bike!


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## Oversane (Mar 31, 2007)

Lifelover said:


> Stick with the felt. It's a better bike!



Lifelover, one of the main reasons I didn't go with the Felt was because of the warranty. That warranty clearly states that if your Felt frame cracks it's your problem and not Felt's.

And if you check out the review section of this site under Felt you will notice that some owners have had problems with cracked frames.


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## Slade (Oct 27, 2005)

*Newbie Buying Over the Internet*

Personally I think that a newbie buying a bike over the internet is a huge mistake. :mad2:


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## Lifelover (Jul 8, 2004)

Oversane said:


> Lifelover, one of the main reasons I didn't go with the Felt was because of the warranty. That warranty clearly states that if your Felt frame cracks it's your problem and not Felt's.
> 
> And if you check out the review section of this site under Felt you will notice that some owners have had problems with cracked frames.



I believe the the bad reviews about as much as I believe the good reviews. That is the case for any of the brands.

As much shilling as we have seen in the forums there is no question a ton more in the reviews section.

As Mike from BD as pointed out numerous times, almost all the of the brand name frame within a similar price range are manufactured by the same factories. I would be amazed if any brand has a larger percentage of failures than the others.

It is all about marketing and integrity. Felt is a upcoming brand that is fairly heavily involved in the racing scene at many levels. That is enough for me to select them over any re-badged brand that BD sells.


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## John_JCB (May 3, 2007)

I can understand the disdain for shilling. I am a moderator at an audio site and I would recommend that you visit some of them if you want to see true shills in action. Thousands of posts on their product line, no question a poster can ask cannot be answered without mentioning their brand. It does not stop there, they flood the IM system and email with useful advice that always includes a plug.

I have ridden bikes all of my life and got my first road bike in 1970. I still have that one. My last couple of bikes have been MTB's. One was stolen and the other my son absconded with when he went to college. 

I am a bit perplexed to be honest what makes one bike better than another for a normal rider. If the frames mostly come from the same plant and the rest of the components are from assorted manufacturers it would seem to me that there is very little difference from one bike to another if they have the same or very similar frame and bolt ons, except for color an decals. Price, Warranty, Return Policy and Service may be larger differences than the mechanical parts.


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## Lifelover (Jul 8, 2004)

John_JCB said:


> ...I am a bit perplexed to be honest what makes one bike better than another for a normal rider......



Geometry
Fit
Design
Brand recognition 



Geometry, fit and design are all intermingled but can make a significant difference to the average rider. Horses for courses!

Brand recognition makes no measurable difference but can mean allot. Sad but true!
If it didn't matter BD would not invest in the old names like Motobecane et al.


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## nshine (Apr 27, 2007)

*I got the bike and it is nice*

The Bike was ordered on Sunday Night April 29, and the bike came on Friday May 4. I took the Bike to a LBS to assemble it for me. They had it assembled by Saturday afternoon. I had just finished a road ride on my MTB earlier that day. The guys at the LBS said that the bike looked great and that I could not have gone wrong with the choice made. I changed out the Pedals for ones that matched my MTB pedals. I road to work with it on Tuesday (5 miles). The ride is very different from the MTB, but I shaved my time by about 5 minutes without trying. Based on a discussion with a close mentor, I am scheduling a meeting with a fitting specialist just to work on the seat and handle bar position. The Bike weighed in at 18 lbs with pedals. The guys at the shop placed it on the scale for me to see. They were impressed. I will add pics later.:thumbsup:


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## phins42 (Jan 5, 2007)

Hey I just wanted to chime in, I am 6'5 195 and bought a Moto Grand Sprint last year http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/APR10day.htm
It has been great I upgraded the saddle and the pedals. This Grand Sprint came with a few extras, and my lbs also said it was a great deal. You should really enjoy it!


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