Kano
03-07-2007, 10:06 PM
Can you tell spring is in the air?
I can -- just look at all of the people planning new bikes!
Especially first time road bike buyers!
And count me in, I think! DH talked about getting me a road bike yesterday, like he really means it. He's been poo pooing the idea for many months, since we just bought our matching Specialized Expedition "comfort beasts" last spring, but then I found out he's been to the bike shop without me, doing research...
(what a sneaky, wonderful guy!)
Not to say I don't like my beast, I learned to love riding from her, so she'll always be special, I think -- nearly a thousand miles last year says I like to ride, and about the same on DH's says I've gotten good at dragging him out for a ride too! (He likes it, just has a hard time motivating himself, so one must work through his competitive spirit -- I can't have more miles on my computer than he has, and certainly not a higher average or top speed for any given ride!) After a year on the beast, which was in theory going to be a big improvement over the ancient Trek cute little blue mountain/hybrid that I used to ride, I've made the determination that the frame must indeed be the wrong size. I had to get a longer seat post for it, and STILL want my butt higher and back farther than I can possibly put it on this bike. Maybe hands farther forward would handle that, I don't know for sure, but I can tell I'm wasting power the way I currently sit on that bike. And that all those shocks aren't for me -- it has a suspension fork and seat post and again, I can feel the power drain! Well, maybe the seat post I could consider keeping... I didn't keep the knobby tires for long, and got rid of the beastly :eek: seat almost immediately.
SO
Anyway
He thinks of road bikes as VERY EXPENSIVE -- and that's not "the ones we've never heard of" that's the entry level Treks and Specialized, which list in the neighborhood of $700. Our current bikes were "very expensive" at about half that price -- Specialized Expedition Sport comfort-beasts. He's also a bit concerned that I won't like the "sit" of a road bike, and that has a lot to do with his worry about the money involved. (it's not the bank balance)
I can live with entry level, if I can get a good fit, since I'm fully aware that parts can be changed out over time. (no, honey, the cogs were always gold plated, really they were!) Heck, entry level makes all kinds of good sense, since I'm just getting started and have no idea where this will all take me over time!
HOWEVER, perhaps there are some things I should think about having changed out right away, and that's why I'm writing: to pick the wiser brains out here!
The bikes I saw (and I mean saw) when I popped into the shop today were the Trek 1000 wsd and the Specialized Dolce. Seeing bikes was okay today -- I wasn't prepared to ride anything, and part of my visit was that the shop just moved and I really wanted to see the new place, but I had higher hopes from the bike dude...
Again with the difference between bikes is "the components," with no real explanation as to what those differences actually are. Some of these young kid bike dudes....
So, ladies, what are the differences in the components -- when bike dude says "I KNOW this bike is well worth this $1500, it's got 105 and ultegra" that doesn't really mean much to me, except that I've read the words here and they seem to always be posted with favorable context. No one really ever says just what it is about them that makes them desirable, or WHY the Sora or Tiagra is perhaps less than...
My gut says get the bike with the lower end stuff -- given that the fit works -- and upgrade things as they wear out, but perhaps there's stuff I should be doing immediately instead?
Oh, and another thing: my beast has clipless pedals. Should I be adding those to my road bike right away, or would I be well advised to spend a little time riding with the other pedals for a while as I get used to it?
Karen in Boise, who loves the paint jobs on the bikes -- they're the easy part of choosing!
I can -- just look at all of the people planning new bikes!
Especially first time road bike buyers!
And count me in, I think! DH talked about getting me a road bike yesterday, like he really means it. He's been poo pooing the idea for many months, since we just bought our matching Specialized Expedition "comfort beasts" last spring, but then I found out he's been to the bike shop without me, doing research...
(what a sneaky, wonderful guy!)
Not to say I don't like my beast, I learned to love riding from her, so she'll always be special, I think -- nearly a thousand miles last year says I like to ride, and about the same on DH's says I've gotten good at dragging him out for a ride too! (He likes it, just has a hard time motivating himself, so one must work through his competitive spirit -- I can't have more miles on my computer than he has, and certainly not a higher average or top speed for any given ride!) After a year on the beast, which was in theory going to be a big improvement over the ancient Trek cute little blue mountain/hybrid that I used to ride, I've made the determination that the frame must indeed be the wrong size. I had to get a longer seat post for it, and STILL want my butt higher and back farther than I can possibly put it on this bike. Maybe hands farther forward would handle that, I don't know for sure, but I can tell I'm wasting power the way I currently sit on that bike. And that all those shocks aren't for me -- it has a suspension fork and seat post and again, I can feel the power drain! Well, maybe the seat post I could consider keeping... I didn't keep the knobby tires for long, and got rid of the beastly :eek: seat almost immediately.
SO
Anyway
He thinks of road bikes as VERY EXPENSIVE -- and that's not "the ones we've never heard of" that's the entry level Treks and Specialized, which list in the neighborhood of $700. Our current bikes were "very expensive" at about half that price -- Specialized Expedition Sport comfort-beasts. He's also a bit concerned that I won't like the "sit" of a road bike, and that has a lot to do with his worry about the money involved. (it's not the bank balance)
I can live with entry level, if I can get a good fit, since I'm fully aware that parts can be changed out over time. (no, honey, the cogs were always gold plated, really they were!) Heck, entry level makes all kinds of good sense, since I'm just getting started and have no idea where this will all take me over time!
HOWEVER, perhaps there are some things I should think about having changed out right away, and that's why I'm writing: to pick the wiser brains out here!
The bikes I saw (and I mean saw) when I popped into the shop today were the Trek 1000 wsd and the Specialized Dolce. Seeing bikes was okay today -- I wasn't prepared to ride anything, and part of my visit was that the shop just moved and I really wanted to see the new place, but I had higher hopes from the bike dude...
Again with the difference between bikes is "the components," with no real explanation as to what those differences actually are. Some of these young kid bike dudes....
So, ladies, what are the differences in the components -- when bike dude says "I KNOW this bike is well worth this $1500, it's got 105 and ultegra" that doesn't really mean much to me, except that I've read the words here and they seem to always be posted with favorable context. No one really ever says just what it is about them that makes them desirable, or WHY the Sora or Tiagra is perhaps less than...
My gut says get the bike with the lower end stuff -- given that the fit works -- and upgrade things as they wear out, but perhaps there's stuff I should be doing immediately instead?
Oh, and another thing: my beast has clipless pedals. Should I be adding those to my road bike right away, or would I be well advised to spend a little time riding with the other pedals for a while as I get used to it?
Karen in Boise, who loves the paint jobs on the bikes -- they're the easy part of choosing!