Recommendations for a road bike newbie

In article . com,
"Bill H." writes:
Tom Keats wrote:

At first blush it looks as if Bill H. is saying absolutely nobody
in r.b.m is as qualified to offer advice, suggestions or
recommendations as any bike shop staff whippersnapper (remember
the "you have to be kidding" thread?) But I think Bill was
actually speaking in terms of matching customer to purchase in
an in-person venue.


cheers,
Tom

Tom,

Yes, that's closer to my point. In retrospect, my original reply seems
to have made the fault of sacrificing clarity for brevity, which wasn't
my intention at all.

Well, miscommunications are bound to occasionally occur, both
transmitting and receiving. Then when they get figured-out
and resolved we can have a friendly, mutual, acrimony-free
chuckle about it, and continue on.

Hopefully my subsequent post clarified my position accurately enough.

I think it did, quite well.

....

I also think that a personal
preference might quickly come up after a quick spin on a bike that
could affect a purchasing decision more than the opinions and
experience of others.

I wholeheartedly agree. I believe sometimes there can be
a love-at-first-sight destiny thing at play.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 12:20:16 -0800, (Tom Keats)
wrote:

When you look at the remark to which Zoot was speaking: "Nobody on
this message board can help you anywhere NEAR as much as a good,
local bike shop" and read it literally, /that's/ a pretty harsh
dissing of a number of extremely knowledgable and helpful
contributors here -- Mike, Mark, Jobst, and others.

At first blush it looks as if Bill H. is saying absolutely nobody
in r.b.m is as qualified to offer advice, suggestions or
recommendations as any bike shop staff whippersnapper (remember
the "you have to be kidding" thread?) But I think Bill was
actually speaking in terms of matching customer to purchase in
an in-person venue.

Of course, that's true if your LBS is a good shop and knows road
bikes. Varies by area, of course; there are some places where there's
almost zero interest in road bikes, either by the local riders or by
the staff of the local bike shops. If the OP is from one of those, it
would be a good idea to check out the web and usenet resources first.
Not a bad idea if you don't know the local bike scene, since it helps
decide if the shops know what they're talking about, or just pushing
what is in stock.

Has anybody suggested Mike's article on test driving road bikes yet?
http://www.chainreaction.com/roadbiketestrides.htm is worth reading
before venturing forth into the wilds of bicycle retailing.

Pat

Email address works as is.

Tue, 08 Mar 2005 21:04:23 -0600,
, Patrick Lamb
wrote:

Of course, that's true if your LBS is a good shop and knows road
bikes.

Then you get into the ultra-snob shops where if you aren't buying the
latest stupid-light composite full tech type bike you're treated like
a affliction and they're just as happy to see you leave.
It happens with any of the genre specialty shops.
You aren't riding a crusier or looking for a twisted sissy-bar?
Get out. We'll sell you lighted skull valve caps but you don't have
Shrader valves. So, get out.
--
zk

Patrick Lamb wrote:

Has anybody suggested Mike's article on test driving road bikes yet?
http://www.chainreaction.com/roadbiketestrides.htm is worth reading
before venturing forth into the wilds of bicycle retailing.

Pat

That's a very helpful link. Thanks.

Peter Cole wrote:

For your first bike, don't focus on bike selection, focus on shop
selection. The right shop will set you up with the right bike.

That's too simplistic.

The bicycle and the shop go hand-in-hand. There are shops that are
excellent shops, that have no bicycles to offer in certain market
segments, while there are lesser shops that have much wider selections
of products.

It is entirely reasonable to try to narrow down the bicycles under
consideration by asking advice on Usenet, where there is more expertise
than you'll find in most shops. The original poster gave a good idea of
his desires with the Lemond Sarthe, though in terms of his desire for a
more comfortable ride, something like the Rivendell Romulus would have
been better (unfortunately it is out of production).

I'd also look at the 2003 Marin Verona ($1300), though the Sarthe is
probably classier with the Campagnolo components.

I have purchased more than 20 bicycles for myself, friends, and family
members, over the past 25 years, and unfortunately, many of these had
to be purchased at shops that were not the best in terms of product
knowledge or fitment, simply because the more knowledgable shops had no
bikes that fit the ultimate owner's requirements. Once, I had to hold
my nose and buy from a shop that I despised, (that Palo Alto shop has
since gone out of business). Occasionally I would be going shopping
with a relative on a Sunday, which limited the choice of bicycles, to
ones carried by shops that were open.

Decide the maximum you want to spend. Then take 20% from that figure.
With the 80% figure, go to the L.B.S. and have them show you what they have
in YOUR price range. Then buy the bike that speaks to you and fits you
well. Just about anything you buy these days for a grand or more will be
more than adequate for your needs.

Rangersfan wrote:

I'm looking to buy a road bike. I've been checking out the bikes of
some friends, and I have a general idea of what I want, but I'd like
some more input. Here are my particulars. Presently I have a hybrid
that I've been riding for a while. I ride approximately 15 miles per
day about 5 days per week weather permitting. I'd like to go a bit
faster in order to keep up with some of my friends who have road bikes.
I'd also like to participate in some of the advanced club rides in my
area. I don't mind paying what it costs for a quality bike, but I'm 38
years old and I know I'm not going to be setting any records. I'm
basically looking for something that favors comfort over all out
performance. My #1 candidate right now is a Lemond Sarthe, but I'm
open to other suggestions. I'm 5'7" and have a long torso. From what
I've read, some of the Lemond models seem to favor people with longer
torsos, but this may not be true from what little I know about the
subject.

--
Tp,

-------- __o
----- -\. -------- __o
--- ( )/ ( ) ---- -\.
-------------------- ( )/ ( )
-----------------------------------------

No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron...

On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 16:19:24 GMT, TomP wrote:

Decide the maximum you want to spend. Then take 20% from that figure.
With the 80% figure, go to the L.B.S. and have them show you what they have
in YOUR price range. Then buy the bike that speaks to you and fits you
well. Just about anything you buy these days for a grand or more will be
more than adequate for your needs.

I'm curious as to where you get this 20% subtraction?

I would agree that it's important to ride a number of bikes and buy the one
that 'speaks to you', or makes you smile when you ride it. However it is
difficult to tell just riding around in the LBS parking lot. Ride a number
of different bikes. Don't be too hasty to buy. Look up the bike in the
roadbikereviews.com page and the epinions.com page and check for obvious
problems.

jj


Rangersfan wrote:

I'm looking to buy a road bike. I've been checking out the bikes of
some friends, and I have a general idea of what I want, but I'd like
some more input. Here are my particulars. Presently I have a hybrid
that I've been riding for a while. I ride approximately 15 miles per
day about 5 days per week weather permitting. I'd like to go a bit
faster in order to keep up with some of my friends who have road bikes.
I'd also like to participate in some of the advanced club rides in my
area. I don't mind paying what it costs for a quality bike, but I'm 38
years old and I know I'm not going to be setting any records. I'm
basically looking for something that favors comfort over all out
performance. My #1 candidate right now is a Lemond Sarthe, but I'm
open to other suggestions. I'm 5'7" and have a long torso. From what
I've read, some of the Lemond models seem to favor people with longer
torsos, but this may not be true from what little I know about the
subject.

"jj" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 16:19:24 GMT, TomP wrote:

Decide the maximum you want to spend. Then take 20% from that figure.
With the 80% figure, go to the L.B.S. and have them show you what they
have
in YOUR price range. Then buy the bike that speaks to you and fits you
well. Just about anything you buy these days for a grand or more will be
more than adequate for your needs.

I'm curious as to where you get this 20% subtraction?

I would agree that it's important to ride a number of bikes and buy the
one
that 'speaks to you', or makes you smile when you ride it. However it is
difficult to tell just riding around in the LBS parking lot. Ride a number
of different bikes. Don't be too hasty to buy. Look up the bike in the
roadbikereviews.com page and the epinions.com page and check for obvious
problems.

That's my basic strategy right now. I'm not getting in a hurry. I'm just
trying to educate myself so I can make an educated decision when the time
comes. Right now the questions I'm researching a

How much of a difference the different frame materials really have on ride
quality.

Which aspects of frame geometry are best suited for my situation.

Which components would really make a difference in my riding experience.
How does Campy Voloce stack up against Shimano Ultegra and should I even
care at my level.

I'm not looking to buy a bike I might outgrow in a short period of time. I
don't want to spend $1K on a bike that might suit my needs today, but be a
real disappointment when I'm going out on some long club rides in the
future.

TomP wrote:
Decide the maximum you want to spend. Then take 20% from that figure.
With the 80% figure, go to the L.B.S. and have them show you what
they have in YOUR price range. Then buy the bike that speaks to you
and fits you well. Just about anything you buy these days for a
grand or more will be more than adequate for your needs.

Change the above to "ADD 20% TO that figure" and "With the *120%*
figure...", and now you're talkin'.

That's what 64.23% of buyers do, anyway.

/BS (OK, I made it up)

jj wrote:
On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 16:19:24 GMT, TomP wrote:


Decide the maximum you want to spend. Then take 20% from that figure.
With the 80% figure, go to the L.B.S. and have them show you what they have
in YOUR price range. Then buy the bike that speaks to you and fits you
well. Just about anything you buy these days for a grand or more will be
more than adequate for your needs.


I'm curious as to where you get this 20% subtraction?

Makes sense to me on two fronts. First, you probably need some other
stuff -- bike shorts, gloves, jerseys, pedals and/or shoes. May as well
budget for them. Second, even if you don't need that other stuff, the
bike shop staff will show you what more you could get for only a little
bit more, and there's a good chance the buyer will bite. Go in with a
lowball!

Pat