# Good Starter Road Bike



## nismosr

I'm helping a friend shop around for Road or Pave/path bikes, she has a budget for about $600, can anybody recommend me a good starter road bike or pave/path bikes. this is for fitness reason why she wanted to get a bicycle. Thank you


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## jorgy

Specialized Sirrus and Trek FX series come to mind. Both brands that are widely available, and each has a variety of models, from low to high end.

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=38461&eid=121

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/bike_path/

Road bikes for $600 are going to be hard to come by except on the used or new-old-stock market.


Don't forget to have your friend budget in the cost of a helmet and a pair or two of shorts.


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## il sogno

If she's new to the sport I suggest going down to her LBS and seeing what they have there. A fitting session and good relations with the LBS are priceless.


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## Welles

*Specialized, Jamis, Fuji*

The specialized sirius is a nice bike, good geometry, flat bars, good for fitness, without any drop bar learning curve.

If you want to go drop, the Specialized Allez Comp has a steady feel and there may be good used ones floating around on craigslist, etc. 

The problem with buying from anywhere but a bike shop is that you have to have a lot of knowledge of components, mechanics, and fit; otherwise you can buy a bike that doesn't fit, or one that has shoddy or broken parts. 

Jamis is another brand I'm fond of, and their bikes are usually at much less expensive price points but still well made. If you go with lesser known but still quality brands you may be able to hit your price. Jamis, Fuji come to mind.


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## ColoradoVeloDude

nismosr said:


> I'm helping a friend shop around for Road or Pave/path bikes, she has a budget for about $600, can anybody recommend me a good starter road bike or pave/path bikes. this is for fitness reason why she wanted to get a bicycle. Thank you



At a minimum, look for something with carbon forks - this will absorb the road vibrations and make for a nice ride. Also traditional handlebars with drops are a good suggestion too - these will give more choices for hand rests and body position on the bike instead of being locked into one position on flat bars. I have a Specialized Sirrus for commuting and I feel MUCH more comfortable descending when in the drops on my road bike rather than the flat bars. 

Instead of looking for a bike that fits the price, why not go out an look/try a bunch of bikes in that price range. Fit and handling is what it really comes down and it's different for everyone on every bike there is out there. When I was searching for a road bike I came down to three choices that I didn't buy they were either too cramped, to twitchy, or just didn't feel right. Finally ended up with one that was "just right" (took the better part of 4 hours to get to the right bike). 

If you go to Sports Authority/Dicks Sporting Goods/REI you're probably going to find bikes in the right price range but they are most likely going to be skewed towards hybrid, cruiser, cross over, mountain bike types of models. (I think REI has a road bike of some sort). Go look, try, but I think a LBS is your best choice. 

If you up the budget to the $800-$1000 range, the bikes get better and the geometry is more "roadie," Go to $800 to $1600 and it gets in the category of "good." Go to $1600 to $3000 and it gets great. Over $3000 you'll need to have your friend seriously consider selling her car and becoming a bicycle racer.

If this is a starter bike to see if she wants to even do cycling as a serious hobby, then I'd go for something like the Specialized Sirrus or Novara Buzz V Bike (http://www.rei.com/product/760872) - but put roadie shifters on it with regular roadie bars. But, after you do this, you'll have a near $1000 bike. So, go to a low price roadie bike like this that has the shifters:

http://www.rei.com/product/776887 

or these: http://www.rei.com/category/4500865 

Also, Terry Cycles (http://www.terrybicycles.com/cycling_savvy) might be worth checking out. If your friend has small hands or a small overall build, a women's specific design might be needed. A lot of the lower end bikes have the one-size-fits-all shifters. This may mean a long reach for her to get to the brakes from the bar and to operate the shifters. You don't want a noob compromising the hand position, having to essentially let go of the leverage aspects of the bar to reach out to operate the brake. Plus, it's dangerous. 

If this is the qualifier bike for serious road biking in the future, buy something of the hybrid variety. Serious road bikes are for road use. But it's nice to have another bike for just touring around on gravel bike trails where a road bike would not be nice to handle.

Before going into this, make certain that she's into the road cycling and doesn't become a $600 garage decoration. Cycling takes a large initial investment to get into it. Once there, it gets fairly cheap (tubes, some adjustments, etc). But if she just wants to dabble in it, then there is nothing wrong with getting a Wal-Mart or large sporting goods store bike and go from there. This kind of investment is a) $400 bike (or cheaper maybe), b) swap out the saddle for something cheap but serious (the "cushy" seat needs to go for power transfer and also to get away from numb nether-parts), c) cycle shorts, d) jersey, e) helmet, and e) gloves. Pedals and shoes can come after the first couple of rides.

If you go with the plunge into the serious roadie world, put a goal out there at the end of the summer. Sign up for a century of metric century ride. The goal will keep the motivation up to keep cycling. It's better to sign up for an event because you can't just blow it off like if you scheduled it yourself. Here's a good, reasonable training plan:

http://www.ridetherockies.com/rider-area/training/ 

And, when you and your friend bike though this year and the winter, you'll be ready for some serious touring along with some serious scenery:

www.bicycletourcolorado.com
www.ridetherockies.com

I started cycling in late 2004 (December) from zero at the young, tender age of 47. The first year was rough but I managed to train up for a century ride in May 2005 (www.bvbf.org) and Ride The Rockies in 2005 (one week, 440+ miles, from Grand Junction to Breckenridge - yeah, there were some pretty serious hills in that route). I now put on around 3,000 miles a year on my bike and ride to work most days too. The only regret is that I didn't start riding earlier in my life. It's a wonderful sport - easy on the knees and unlike running, has built in freebies (like after a 4,000 foot climb, you get a 18 mile 4,000 foot descent with no pedaling!)

Hope this helps...

ColoradoVeloDude
Colorado Springs, Colorado


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## Trek2.3

Sales are running in the Fall. A Trek 1.2WSD can be found in her price range. Some dealers still have 2008's in the warehouse. They are just as good (that's what I had).


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