Recommendations for a road bike newbie

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.

Rangersfan wrote:

I'm 38 years old and I know I'm not going to be setting any records

I'm 39 and I don't feel over-the-hill just yet :-) I don't ride like I
did 20 years ago but I'm still in pretty good shape.

LA is, what, 33?

RFM

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.

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.

I have an excellent bike shop less than a mile from my house. The only
problem is their selection of bikes is limited to just a few models. I
know their recommendation will be limited in scope to those bikes. I'd
just rather have a recommendation not limited to the particular stock
of any one bike shop.

Rangersfan wrote:
I have an excellent bike shop less than a mile from my house. The
only
problem is their selection of bikes is limited to just a few models.
I
know their recommendation will be limited in scope to those bikes.
I'd
just rather have a recommendation not limited to the particular stock
of any one bike shop.

That's a valid consideration.

If I were in your situation, I would still go to the bike shop first.
Since you mention comfort as a priority, tell the shop employee what
you're looking for. They may not have a huge range of models to choose
from so just look at what they DO have. You're not committing yourself
to one make or model just by showing up.

You list comfort as a priority. I know from experience that comfort is
a criterion that means something different to everybody. The amount of
time you'll be spending on the bike will factor in, as well as how a
particular bike fits you. You'll really only learn about this by
actually hopping on bike.

If you're not satisfied with the selection at the first biks shop,
you'll at least have a personal basis for comparison. You can evaluate
future bikes based on whatever criteria you've determinie will be most
important.

As a personal example, I bought a new mountain bike last year. I went
to a few different shops (3, to be exact) and told them basically what
I was looking for and what I had to spend. The first shop I went to
let me take a couple Gary Fishers for a test drive. I ended up getting
the Marlin, even though the Tassajara had better components. The
problem with the Tass, even though it was still in my budget, was that
it was just a little too uncomfortable to ride. Had I done my primary
research over the Internet, I would probably have gotten more
recommendations for the Tass because of the components, but would have
still had the comfort problem. So trying out the bikes in person told
me a lot more than I would have learned online.

I'm not dismissing Usenet as a resource. It's great for a lot of
things, but I think trying out something in person is the only way
you'll really decide on a bike. That being said, I wouldn't even
consider purchasing a bike over the Internet. So my suggestion "go to
a shop" isn't a rebuke, but a well-reasoned recommendation based on
what you specified.

Good luck.

-Bill H.

Bill H. wrote:
I'm not dismissing Usenet as a resource. It's great for a lot of
things, but I think trying out something in person is the only way
you'll really decide on a bike. That being said, I wouldn't even
consider purchasing a bike over the Internet. So my suggestion "go
to
a shop" isn't a rebuke, but a well-reasoned recommendation based on
what you specified.

Good luck.

That's all great information. I've spoken to a few friends with road
bikes. I've also already been to a couple of bike shops and have tried
out several bikes. The best one I've found so far is the Lemond
Sarthe. I'm not all that convinced I can tell that much about comfort
from a short test ride given my inexperience with road bikes. I'm
asking here because I'm looking for more information than what I
already have. I'm not looking to solely base my decision on any one
source.

8 Mar 2005 10:38:20 -0800,
.com, "Bill H."
wrote, in part:

As a personal example, I bought a new mountain bike last year. I went
to a few different shops (3, to be exact) and told them basically what
I was looking for and what I had to spend. The first shop I went to
let me take a couple Gary Fishers for a test drive. I ended up getting
the Marlin, even though the Tassajara had better components. The
problem with the Tass, even though it was still in my budget, was that
it was just a little too uncomfortable to ride. Had I done my primary
research over the Internet, I would probably have gotten more
recommendations for the Tass because of the components, but would have
still had the comfort problem. So trying out the bikes in person told
me a lot more than I would have learned online.

Now that's weird. The forks, handle bars, stems, rims, spokes, tires,
saddles, seat posts, grips, frame sizes, geometry and material is
identical on both bikes. IOW, anything that would affect comfort.

I'm guessing the shop didn't set-up both bikes the same when you did
your test rides. It could have been something as subtle as tire
pressures or saddle tilt. Unless there's an as yet unknown factor
about different colours being more comfortable for some people than
others.

I'm not dismissing Usenet as a resource. It's great for a lot of
things, but I think trying out something in person is the only way
you'll really decide on a bike.

Bingo. You found your bike
--
zk

"Rangersfan" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have an excellent bike shop less than a mile from my house. The only
problem is their selection of bikes is limited to just a few models. I
know their recommendation will be limited in scope to those bikes. I'd
just rather have a recommendation not limited to the particular stock
of any one bike shop.

Hey, try being short(er). I ride a 50 or 52, depending on manufacturer, and
I've yet to find a bike shop with either size in stock. Lots of 54s and 56s,
but never one in my size for a test ride, and I have a high end(Waterford,
Litespeed, Co-Motion) shop just up the road.

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.

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.

Yeah, go to a shop. Nobody on this message board can help you anywhere
NEAR as much as a good, local bike shop.

-Bill H.