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I am looking to get my first Road Bike with my tax refund. I don't want to spend more than 1000 or so. LBS carries Giant brand and so I have been looking at the Avail 5, Avail 3 and the Dash. Can anyone give me any input? I have been riding a hybrid for 3 years and am looking to ride my first century this May.
I have three bikes, two steel and one carbon. If I had to choose in your price range, I would get
the Jamis Bosa Nova steel. It rides really smooth, has three rings for the steepest hills, disc brakes
and fenders for rain. It all depends on what you want to do, and you need to try a bunch. If you live
where you have a good bike fitter, I would have him fit you before you got a bike. That's the best $ I
have ever spent.
Welcome to TE!
The Dash is the flat-bar bike. Do you want a flat-bar (like what you have now)? If you want to do a century, I would suggest you look at the Avail models, because the drop bars give you more hand positions.
Between the 5 and the 3, go with the 3. The 5 is Shimano 2300 with a Sora rear derailleur. The 3 is full Sora, and the new Sora gets you the paddle shifter rather than the thumb trigger on earlier Sora or 2300. The paddle shifter (like the ones on the higher-level componentry) gives you the ability to shift from the drops.
My Avail 3 is actually the equivalent of the current 5 (I bought it the spring after the economy tanked, so they were trying HARD to meet a price point), and I wish I'd saved my money and sprung for the Avail 1 (105).
For $1000, though, you should be able to get Tiagra, which is nicer. See if you can find a Defy 2. Try a whole bunch of bikes if you can. Take a road trip.
I'd plus one what Sheila had to say. She directed me to Jamis too and I've been very happy with my purchases.
Jamis makes nice bikes. If you can find one to test, do it!
Steel makes for a plusher ride. The Avail can be a bit chattery on chipseal.