Brantel
Active Member
I am a newbie road cyclist wan't to be who want to get a decent bike out of the gate but cannot break the bank doing so.
I am 5'9" and around 200lbs. I am a slow runner that has completed 6 half marathons and 2 full marathons and dozens of other races (5,8,10 & 15K) in the past 2 years. I have lost over 135lbs as well but at 45 years old, it seems to lose more weight and to get faster running is going to beat up my body so I have been looking at getting into road cycling.
My goals for a road bike are simple: Outdoor low impact aerobic exercise to help me lose more weight to improve my health. (I forgot to mention that I am also a cardiac athlete with 3 stents in my heart. 2 in 2008 and 1 in 2015...)
I have been looking at these bikes:
http://www.diamondback.com/bikes-road-bikes-endurance-century-series-century-1
http://www.raleighusa.com/merit-3#
After some research I am under the impression that the Shimano 105 setup on this bike is like the gold standard on this class of bike.
The rest of the specs seem to also be good for a bike in this class as far as I know.
This area is not road cycling friendly. I live in rural East Tennessee. Most of my friends that bike have the first reaction to my queries like " You do know that road cycling is very dangerous?" or "Road biking is treacherous!" or "3 near misses last year on a short ride" or "3 of my team members got hit last year, 2 are gonna recover, 1 is in bad shape, 2 of the 3 were hit and run!"
That being said, there is not a bike store on every corner and good used road bikes are not easy to find here. That is why I am just planning to start out new.
I realize the bike is just the beginning and then there is some proper clothing, shoes, pedals, water bottles, bike computer (I am a tech geek) etc....another reason I can't break the bank out of the gate with just the bike.
I am 5'9" and around 200lbs. I am a slow runner that has completed 6 half marathons and 2 full marathons and dozens of other races (5,8,10 & 15K) in the past 2 years. I have lost over 135lbs as well but at 45 years old, it seems to lose more weight and to get faster running is going to beat up my body so I have been looking at getting into road cycling.
My goals for a road bike are simple: Outdoor low impact aerobic exercise to help me lose more weight to improve my health. (I forgot to mention that I am also a cardiac athlete with 3 stents in my heart. 2 in 2008 and 1 in 2015...)
I have been looking at these bikes:
http://www.diamondback.com/bikes-road-bikes-endurance-century-series-century-1
http://www.raleighusa.com/merit-3#
After some research I am under the impression that the Shimano 105 setup on this bike is like the gold standard on this class of bike.
The rest of the specs seem to also be good for a bike in this class as far as I know.
This area is not road cycling friendly. I live in rural East Tennessee. Most of my friends that bike have the first reaction to my queries like " You do know that road cycling is very dangerous?" or "Road biking is treacherous!" or "3 near misses last year on a short ride" or "3 of my team members got hit last year, 2 are gonna recover, 1 is in bad shape, 2 of the 3 were hit and run!"
That being said, there is not a bike store on every corner and good used road bikes are not easy to find here. That is why I am just planning to start out new.
I realize the bike is just the beginning and then there is some proper clothing, shoes, pedals, water bottles, bike computer (I am a tech geek) etc....another reason I can't break the bank out of the gate with just the bike.