# Recommendation for a 1st road bike, reasonable price



## weiland2 (Apr 23, 2007)

I'm looking into getting a road bike, but I can't decide what is good quality for the price and what isn't.

I'm a college student training for a marathon and need a bike for cross training... I've never had a road bike before, but I'm set on getting one. I've looked on eBay for some bikes and I've found a couple in the $250-$350 price range, which is right where I want to be for my first road bike. Here are the links if you would like to critique:

Dawes Lightning 1000
http://http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ALUMINUM-ROAD-RACING-BIKE-W-SHIMANO-SORA-24-SPD_W0QQitemZ150114906250QQihZ005QQcategoryZ98084QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Schwinn Varsity
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Schwinn-Varsity-Road-Racing-Bike-Bicycle_W0QQitemZ160109627474QQihZ006QQcategoryZ98084QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or even this Vilano Shadow
http://www.vilanobikes.com/roadbikes.html




I think I remember some guys telling me that Schwinn quality has gone downhill recently, but I can't remember if they were actually talking about one of the other million of makes out there. There is a local bike shop by me that I checked out, and he had lots of old Peugeot's, Dawes, Schwinn's etc., lots of old bikes that he said he would have ready to go for my price range, some a bit rough looking. I'm not sure if it would be more beneficial to buy a brand new one off of eBay or to go with the older bike at the same price.

I'm not going to put tons of miles on the bike, so I don't need anything of super durability. So if you guys have any ideas or any bikes you've seen online or anything, send it my way so I can get rolling!

Thanks a bunch


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

The Sora-equipped Dawes is the best spec'd of the three by a fair bit, but if you have someone to help you shop the used market you can get a lot more bang for the buck than any of these three items.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

My suggestion is to avoid the Varsity at all costs. It's not onle spec'd with components that don't work well at all, but it's extremely heavy for a road bike...probably over 40 lbs.


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## Alx (Mar 22, 2007)

Try bikesdirect.com I bought a bike from him and I love it. He's got bikes within your budget that are really good quality if you're not looking for a brand name just to show off how much spending power you have. It fits me very well, it rides perfectly and it was brand new with a warranty and I received it in about one business day.


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