Bi-cy-cle

[minux]

Guys,
I have kind of got a cycling bug...been loving fanging around on my MTB, problem is it sucks on the road. Im after some advice on what sort of frame, wheels etc to buy to suit a typical spandex spastic bike. Want to do longer rides and this seems the way to go. Have a budget of around 4k initially.

Any help much appreciated. This bike must handle long road rides if possible..so many choices out there and I have no clue

Cheers in advance.

PS: I feel like such a tool for paying out the spandex spastics in the past

[Tom_1569]

[PS: I feel like such a tool for paying out the spandex spastics in the past

LOL, so you should :P ahh what i delightful thread, you better hope you dont ride anywhere near me caus i swerve and hit you... IM JUST JOKING, but doesnt it suck people wanting to kill caus you ride a bike lol.

What type of long trips will you be doing and where?
If your thinking of day+ trips id be thinking of a mountain bike or even a road with a saddle to pack water lunch, sleep equipment if required.
If you just mean a long social/exercise ride then a decent road, price depending on how much your going to use it. BUT get the BEST tyres you can buy. Im not to up on the road bike parts so im not much help, though i will be reading this thread with interest cause im in the market for a new one soon.

[minux]

LOL, so you should :P ahh what i delightful thread, you better hope you dont ride anywhere near me caus i swerve and hit you... IM JUST JOKING, but doesnt it suck people wanting to kill caus you ride a bike lol.

What type of long trips will you be doing and where?
If your thinking of day+ trips id be thinking of a mountain bike or even a road with a saddle to pack water lunch, sleep equipment if required.
If you just mean a long social/exercise ride then a decent road, price depending on how much your going to use it. BUT get the BEST tyres you can buy. Im not to up on the road bike parts so im not much help, though i will be reading this thread with interest cause im in the market for a new one soon.

I want a road bike, have an MTB, but for long road trips its just too heavy and bulky. Rides will be anywhere from 30-40k to 200k depending on how i feel i guess. Currently doing 30k a night on the MTB, I look silly being passed by the spandex's at whopping speeds ont heir road bikes.

[immortality]

something with a nice alloy frame. i'd stay with the MTB theme as race bikes can get fairly uncomfortable for long rides unless your into that sort of thing. make sure you get some road tyres however, not the knobly offroad stuff that'll rattle the fillings outa your teeth.

personally,after been side swiped by a bus , haivng the handle bars brushed by the wing miror of a car that was traveling over 100km/h and and then going across the bonnet of a car into the windscreen (causing a permanently ****ed back) i'm over the bike thing.

[minux]

something with a nice alloy frame. i'd stay with the MTB theme as race bikes can get fairly uncomfortable for long rides unless your into that sort of thing. make sure you get some road tyres however, not the knobly offroad stuff that'll rattle the fillings outa your teeth.

personally,after been side swiped by a bus , haivng the handle bars brushed by the wing miror of a car that was traveling over 100km/h and and then going across the bonnet of a car into the windscreen (causing a permanently ****ed back) i'm over the bike thing.

Ouch,


Thing is, I have a good MTB now, it is just too hard to ride on the roads up and down decent hills etc.

Looking at something like this,



just have no clue on best brands etc and how to spend.

[Boonz]

specialised bikes are good value for money, middle range bikes come in around $1500-$2000 and are what your lookin for, i used to road race a few years ago but couldnt keep up with the older people in my grade as they actually had money to spend on things like gearing and wheels size and adjustable 3 piece cranks and stuff


if you get serious about it it does become very expensive lol
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=34084 they are the tarmac series and are pretty nice bikes to ride and alot of riders are using them in club comps and stuff round here

[minux]

specialised bikes are good value for money, middle range bikes come in around $1500-$2000 and are what your lookin for, i used to road race a few years ago but couldnt keep up with the older people in my grade as they actually had money to spend on things like gearing and wheels size and adjustable 3 piece cranks and stuff


if you get serious about it it does become very expensive lol
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=34084 they are the tarmac series and are pretty nice bikes to ride and alot of riders are using them in club comps and stuff round here

Cheers, thanks for that. I am amazed at how many people claim they do so much riding on JC yet no one has posted in here. Seems like a lot of people are all talk!!

[Rishy]

Have you been watching the Tour De France Minux

Ive been thinking of doing some cycling to help build my fitness for hopefully my next job. And cause just generally being unfit is annoying.

[minux]

Have you been watching the Tour De France Minux

Ive been thinking of doing some cycling to help build my fitness for hopefully my next job. And cause just generally being unfit is annoying.

Watched a little, not a lot. Since I have bought my Mountain Bike I have come to realise how much I used to love treadlies as a kid. As stated earlier I have been doing minimum 20k rides every night, its just too hard work on an MTB so want something more suitable for longer rides. Funny thing is one o fmy best mates is going through the same thing, 20 years ago I knew what the best bike was etc, now i have no clue, so just hoping people can help.

Going into a Bike shop later to see what they have to say.

[MasterOfReality]

Don't worry about wasting money on a roadie.

What type of mountain bike do you have now?

I have a Avanti Barracuda hardtail, its quite light and I purchased 2 extra rims and had them built up with the spokes, one with the rear cassette and both with disc rotors.

I put Ritchey Tom slicks on these wheels and whenever I think I'll be doing a fair bit of road riding, I just swap them over. Takes less than 5 minutes to do.

It makes a huge difference on the road so it might be an option for you.

[minux]

Don't worry about wasting money on a roadie.

What type of mountain bike do you have now?

I have a Avanti Barracuda hardtail, its quite light and I purchased 2 extra rims and had them built up with the spokes, one with the rear cassette and both with disc rotors.

I put Ritchey Tom slicks on these wheels and whenever I think I'll be doing a fair bit of road riding, I just swap them over. Takes less than 5 minutes to do.

It makes a huge difference on the road so it might be an option for you.

No option for me, the hills I ride are ermm long and quite undulating This is the best option for me to take. I plan on doing quite a few coast rides and want to be able to maintain decent speeds.

[minux]

Hmm, I am amazed no one has taken the **** out of me yet

[jules]

don't go out and spend $4k on a road bike. there are so many of my work mates who ride these ferraris on wheels. you can pick up a good one for $1-2k.

i ride a $500 mountain bike. everyone laughs at it but it works perfectly well.

personally, as i ride into the city, a mountain bike suits me better as i routinely hop kerbs and ride over smashed glass in bike lanes. i often pass road bikers with their razor thin tyres, sitting on the kerb changing the tube.

[Tom_1569]

specialised bikes are good value for money,

Agreed, my BMX is a specialized and you cant beat the value to money and the quality. My bmx has taken a severe bashing but it still rides straight. Not sure what felt road bikes are like but their BMX's are called the rolls royce... cost heaps, look good, but performe **** house and weigh tonne.
Make sure you post up what you end up buying and what you think about it.

Hmm, I am amazed no one has taken the **** out of me yet

lol, i can if you like? Considering you did it to me in a thread about riding bikes not so long ago haha.

[50LTRv8]

Hmm, I am amazed no one has taken the **** out of me yet

Minux, I wish I could do what your doing, not much laughing here. back when I was young and had no responsibilities I used to mountin bike all the time, good for fitness and general health (until you stack it anyways).

The problem was that the bike I was riding needed a rear wheel respoke after every decent ride in the bush, and I even snapped the frame once on a downhill.

I would love to get back into it (Canberra is great for cycling) but time isn't on my side. Good luck with it.

50LTRv8

[VN_Luke]

I'd also steer away from spending 4k on a road bike just yet.

If you have a good mountain bike - you should go pick up a set of light wheels with some 'semi slicks' (smooth on the top, great for paths etc, with a few knobblies on the sides so you can go offroad and cut through a bit of dirt no problem) - light wheels go a LONG way.

while you're getting new wheels, get a decent set of gears fitted to the rear one, with a wide enough spread to cover all your needs (climbing and top speed runs)

Once you've been riding for a while, you'll have talked to lots of people and checked out what kind of setups they have - what kind of gearing they run, what they break/bend with their body weights etc - then you will then be able to make a good decision on what you want.

I think when buying a decent bike, it's more so about what works for you personally, rather than just buying a name brand and putting up with it's flaws.

[Fr3ak+--]

i think your best bet is to go and talk to someone at a bike shop mate

tell them exactly what you want to do with it and most the time they will point
you in the right direction

[VN_Luke]

Think about it this way:

- What kind of seat is most comfortable?
- are you a big guy and need a larger frame? or will regular work fine?
- Are you riding to cover as much distance as possible? or are you riding to get healthy? (i.e. do you need the lightest bike possible? or will a heavier one do the trick?)
- Are you planning in competing at all?
- are you willing to stop and walk to get over grass/gravel etc?
- do you need a 'fast' bike? or do you need a 'hill climb' bike? or do you need a combination?
- do you need ace stopping power? or will you always just be riding on smooth open road?
- will the bike fit in the car if you want to go riding somewhere cool?

I'm sure there's a billion other things that you can ask yourself... I guess the point is, if there's something that works for someone else, it might not necessarily be good for you! particularly things like frame design etc come down to personal preference.

[jules]

i think your best bet is to go and talk to someone at a bike shop mate

tell them exactly what you want to do with it and most the time they will point
you in the right direction

yeah, straight at the $8k Colnago "with your name on it"

[Kikki]

Hmm, I am amazed no one has taken the **** out of me yet

Oh my its tempting.....

But I really have no place to comment... I have a bike (i think) its out the back somewhere. Dont think I would remember how to ride.

[immortality]

ok, don't forget to shave the legs to cut that extra wind resistance

honestly, as fitness improves the weight of the bike won't be a major issue. decent tyres makes or breaks the ride really.

the gearing on my old MTB was so tall that i could ride faster then a lot of guys on racing bikes.

i didn't own a car till i was almost 20 cause i rode everywhere.

[familyguy]

Slicks on the MTB is a great start. It saves you spending cash on a bike that you want dont want if you dont like riding that much.

You want long rides? Dont buy a hard core race bike. It'll be a pain in the arse/shoulders/hips/knees/neck/wrists after about an hour. Slick MTB's work well for that sort of thing, but a touring bike with the right geometry (frame angles) will be a million % better.

I've got 5 bikes at the moment (MTB, alu/carbon roadie, alu/carbon flat bar and two steel roadies). They're cheaper to mod than cars

Jim

[jules]

ok, don't forget to shave the legs to cut that extra wind resistance

you don't need to shave if you're just riding around for fitness, but if you plan to compete in road racing or criteriums, you will fall off (take it from me) and apparently shaving reduces the severity of abrasions.

[vncruzr]

Minux, mate being from Geelong if want some honest advice give Geelong CyclingClub a call. A few of the boys might even have a bike you could buy. I envy you in Geelong as you have so many great rides and roads.. Mate been racing for 20yrs and pro for a few of em and can tell you that the most single most important issue when getting a road bike is to get measured up for the size. get the bike shop to set everything up for you.(seat height, bar height seat set back lever height etc) cause believe me when your doing the kays your arse and back and arms will thank you for it. also take a water bottle and something to eat. drink before your thirsty and eat before your hungry. hope all goes well and enjoy it mate... hope to see on the road soon.....

[minux]

Minux, mate being from Geelong if want some honest advice give Geelong CyclingClub a call. A few of the boys might even have a bike you could buy. I envy you in Geelong as you have so many great rides and roads.. Mate been racing for 20yrs and pro for a few of em and can tell you that the most single most important issue when getting a road bike is to get measured up for the size. get the bike shop to set everything up for you.(seat height, bar height seat set back lever height etc) cause believe me when your doing the kays your arse and back and arms will thank you for it. also take a water bottle and something to eat. drink before your thirsty and eat before your hungry. hope all goes well and enjoy it mate... hope to see on the road soon.....

Cheers for that info!! Appreciated.

Any bike shops down here you recommend?