Advice on new road bike purchase

[jatthey]

I’ve been riding a Cannondale hybrid (which was my first real purchase) and am ready to move on to a real road bike at this point. I’m looking for some advice on where to look.

My budget is about $400. I realize this is very small, which makes it all the more important to know where to look.

I currently ride about 50 miles a week, all pavement. I ride for fitness and may join some races for fun. I live in the Denver area.

The first place I’ll be looking is my LBS. I’ll then look online. I may also wait until 4th of July to see if any sales pop up. I could go second-hand, but would prefer not to because of the unpredictability.

Do you know of any deal sites or other sites I should look at for bikes in that price range? Any specific models I should be looking at?

Thanks for your help.

 

[User169]

Most members of this forum are UK based. You'll likely get better help from a US forum.

 

[Cycleops]

We do have quite a few US members. Perhaps @Gravity Aided might offer some suggestions.

 

[Gravity Aided]

In that price range, in the States, I'd consider going to a LBS that has used bicycles checked out by the shop. You could get something great used in that range. Or try Craigslist.

 

[froze]

$400 limits you to a finding anything new in America unless you go to Walmart and Walmart type of bikes do not have readily available replacement parts should something go wrong.

So I agree too that you need to scour Craigslist for a solid used bike; some bike shops do sell used bikes but generally they'll be a bit more expensive than those found on CL, but you might be able to negotiate a better price; also try Goodwill and the sort. Make sure any bike you find you check it out on the internet to make sure the brand and model is a good one because some are junky brands and models they're trying to pass off as vintage and crank the price up hoping to find someone ignorant enough to buy it.

 

[Gravity Aided]

You might also look at Pawn Shops, but be ready to do your own repairs, and know what you are looking at. The same provisos apply as @froze mentions above, although with an even greater level of care. If you're in the Midwest, many small and medium sized towns have their bike hoarder/fixer/seller as well.

 

[Grant Fondo]

I’ve been riding a Cannondale hybrid (which was my first real purchase) and am ready to move on to a real road bike at this point. I’m looking for some advice on where to look.

My budget is about $400. I realize this is very small, which makes it all the more important to know where to look.

I currently ride about 50 miles a week, all pavement. I ride for fitness and may join some races for fun. I live in the Denver area.

The first place I’ll be looking is my LBS. I’ll then look online. I may also wait until 4th of July to see if any sales pop up. I could go second-hand, but would prefer not to because of the unpredictability.

Do you know of any deal sites or other sites I should look at for bikes in that price range? Any specific models I should be looking at?

Thanks for your help.

Spend more money, get something sub 8kg and enjoy those Rockies!