Cyclist33
Guest
- Location
- Warrington
I know, I don't even have to try!
Looking for advice on a road bike
- Thread starter nethfel
- Start date
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SteCenturion
I am your Father
- Location
- The Dark Side of the Moon.
Hi & 
from Great Britain @nethfel
IMHO Giant as a brand & the Defy model are great.
Now, I am not trying to talk you down in any way shape or form, but the spec & prices, even colours will possibly be different for you in the US than for us here in the U.K, it might be worth also having a look at a U.S.A based forum for advice on deals & spec of the Defy at stores near to you in Tennesee.
Good news is that there are many Giant & Defy owners on Cycle Chat who can advise better than I could.
You also have Trek as a quality U.S brand, so should have plenty of Madones & Domanes available to you.
The same goes for Cannondale & you should have a look at the CAAD aluminium range of bikes.
Oh & while I remember, 1 1/2 to 2 hours drive is a long trip to a bike store for us here but then the US & it's States are vast compared to our tiny Isles.
Best of luck with your search.
from Great Britain @nethfel IMHO Giant as a brand & the Defy model are great.
Now, I am not trying to talk you down in any way shape or form, but the spec & prices, even colours will possibly be different for you in the US than for us here in the U.K, it might be worth also having a look at a U.S.A based forum for advice on deals & spec of the Defy at stores near to you in Tennesee.
Good news is that there are many Giant & Defy owners on Cycle Chat who can advise better than I could.
You also have Trek as a quality U.S brand, so should have plenty of Madones & Domanes available to you.
The same goes for Cannondale & you should have a look at the CAAD aluminium range of bikes.
Oh & while I remember, 1 1/2 to 2 hours drive is a long trip to a bike store for us here but then the US & it's States are vast compared to our tiny Isles.
Best of luck with your search.
DolbyDan
Regular
If you go for a cheaper bike like I did initially, you might find that the bike comes with very weak wheels like my Jamis Ventura Sport did, had awful Alex rim wheels with cheap steel wire tyres. I replaced them with Shimano RS21's and put decent Michelin Pro4 Service tyres on them, transformed the ride.
biggs682
Itching to get back on my bike's
- Location
- Northamptonshire
buy 2nd hand once as an investment
Hi &
IMHO Giant as a brand & the Defy model are great.
Now, I am not trying to talk you down in any way shape or form, but the spec & prices, even colours will possibly be different for you in the US than for us here in the U.K, it might be worth also having a look at a U.S.A based forum for advice on deals & spec of the Defy at stores near to you in Tennesee.
Good news is that there are many Giant & Defy owners on Cycle Chat who can advise better than I could.
You also have Trek as a quality U.S brand, so should have plenty of Madones & Domanes available to you.
The same goes for Cannondale & you should have a look at the CAAD aluminium range of bikes.
Oh & while I remember, 1 1/2 to 2 hours drive is a long trip to a bike store for us here but then the US & it's States are vast compared to our tiny Isles.
Best of luck with your search.
I'll have to look into some of those other names. I currently have a Trek hybrid/fitness but I'm not terribly happy with it; part is the feel of the bike (which is why I'm looking at a road bike in my future), part I think may be Trek design - when it comes time I'll have to make sure to hit stores that have demo models for test riding to make sure the bike feels good in terms of smoothness of the controls for the price range I'm looking at. I know one thing - I don't want to go with a brand with a bad reputation among cyclist - not for how I would look to others, but more for I don't want to have to spend a ton of time bringing a bike back into a shop for repairs.
Well, although I'm looking for a cheaper bike - I'm not looking quite at the cheapest. I know there are road bikes I can get in the $600 range, so I'm really looking more in the upper low price range for the class. I'll have to take your advice though and make sure the parts are at least decent for my riding level when the time comes. The Defy 1 which is what I'm currently leaning towards has Shimano 105's which seems to be a decent shifter/chainring/cassette combination for a beginner; the wheels I don't know much about - I'll have to do more research on wheels to get a better understanding of the differences.
I would consider 2nd hand if I had more knowledge and felt comfortable evaluating the condition of the equipment on a bike. Maybe by the time I do make a purchase I'll have actually seen enough to make that kind of a judgement, right now I don't feel I could do it and feel that I would be safe on the bike.
SteCenturion
I am your Father
- Location
- The Dark Side of the Moon.
@nethfel
Please don't worry about 'what bike' others have or what you have.
I get passed by older guys on older, heavier bikes with lower tier kit on them more often than I could remember, than the bike I have.
It doesn't matter, enjoyment of cycling & the great outdoors is the biggest thing.
Shimano 105 is plenty good enough for everyone except Pro's, anything more is just Bling.
Enjoy.
Please don't worry about 'what bike' others have or what you have.
I get passed by older guys on older, heavier bikes with lower tier kit on them more often than I could remember, than the bike I have.
It doesn't matter, enjoyment of cycling & the great outdoors is the biggest thing.
Shimano 105 is plenty good enough for everyone except Pro's, anything more is just Bling.
Enjoy.
Well, it's not as much as a concern about what bike others have vs what I have - right now it's a I'm not happy with my current bike, so I'm looking to change. My comment about the price range was more that I am looking for a decent bike that has decent parts that I won't have to have serviced all the time (ie: a bike line with a bad reputation or shifters that are either difficult or prone to early failure, etc.). I could care less honestly about riding what someone else rides in the sense that I think you're referring to - I just want to find a bike in the style that I would like to use in the price range I can afford that are recommended by people on the road rather than someone who may be trying to make a sale - plus it helps me learn the reputations of different manufacturers. Online reviews have helped to a degree, but I know that a lot of them are short term use rather than long term use; so I really value input from long term users.
Honestly I expect to still be slow no matter what bike I'm on
