So what is appropriate to spend?

Another thread around here got me wondering about some of the conflicting advice I see on this board, and I was hoping someone could pull it together better for the newbies.

The question is what is appropriate to spend on a new road bike.

The issues are components and fit, as far as I see it. If you try to buy a cheap used bike to see how you like it, you don't get the benefit of even a quick fit by a bike shop. Components are obviously the other issue, because they're a huge chunk of what you're paying for the bike. But I see some posters say that sora is junk and should be avoided, while others say (not explicitly) to spend less money on a first road bike which means you're not getting anything more than sora. But then sora is (relatively) entry level, which means you have to spend at least 1K to do better, right? And then we're firmly out of the range of cheap, so you might as well get what you like, even if it means spending a bit more, and hope you end up riding.

Thoughts?

"Appropriate" is an individual decision.

So long as there is food on the table, a roof over your head, and you aren't jeopardizing any of the necessities then spend whatever you darn well please.

There are many factors you can weigh to help you make or justify a decision, and intended use plays a huge role.

But there is nothing "inappropriate" about spending whatever you want on a bike, first or not, given the above caveat.

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Originally Posted by MartianDestiny

"Appropriate" is an individual decision.

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+1 to that.

I'd leave the "appropriate" and the "first road bike" out of the equation, and then it becomes just like any purchase in that presumably there is some maximum amount that you want to spend, and some minimum criteria you want your selection to meet, and you choose from what fits between based on your own personal preference & goals.

Appropriate is whatever you have to spend. If you don't love what you buy, you won't ride. If you aren't sure what you want, you may spend too much and still not ride.

Rent. Borrow. Research. Buy what's right for you, not what everyone else has/or what the bike shop is trying to sell. I bought a new hybrid, but ended up upgrading to a road bike within a year. Do I regret it? No. I wasn't ready--and you can always find a new home for a bike :D

It's very important to get the right size--a bike that fits you. However, my first road bike came from Craigs List, locally for $50. I needed to know if I could comfortably ride in that position (I have a bad back). I could. My husband loved the bike--took it to work as a "run around" and ended up sending it home with a coworker, for HIS wife. Wish I still had that one!

My brother-in-law's first bike came out of a dumpster. My sisters from a garage sale. Once they started riding, they knew what they wanted to move to (BIL--my DH's old street bike. My sis--my old hybrid).

The reason that some people recommend getting a more affordable bike at first is so that you can get some miles under your belt and figure out what you want in a bike without putting down a whole lot of money up front. But everyone is different, and if you can afford a really nice bike that fits your body and your riding habits, then by all means, go for it. Good quality does make a difference.

You can get very good quality used bikes, but new riders may not know what to look for in a new bike.

Just remember, if you don't like your bike, you can always sell it and get another one once you get some more experience.

I agree with the other 2 posts in that some people will go all out and get the $8000 titanium, pro team bike whereas others will get the $200 off of craigslist. In some sense it's what your budget allows. Both are fine paths.

However, I think you are sorta asking what a decent median path not the crazy extreme path..

I'm not sure of pricing these days but a brand new "decent" road bike will likely cost you about $1k-2.5k. Decent is assuming 105 level components. YOu might be able to find some last season bikes on sale and it might be a bit lower

In this market, you can also get a nice used road bike for under 1k if you don't mind a few miles on it. For bang for your buck, a used road bike is a better deal but *only* if you know what you're looking for as far as sizing, materials, quality, and the general "how used is it" type of stuff.

The 1k-2k range is probably a good range to stay in for a first road bike for most folks until they get some miles under them and then decide who they are as a cyclist (cross, roadie, touring, commuter, etc). Then like most of you'll end up either upgrading to a different bike w/ better frame n better components or buying a different bike for a different adventure :)

Go test ride bikes, all sorts of bikes and you'll also start to figure out some of this too.

Hope that helps.

It all really depends on your budget, your time and how much you can spend...


Basically, in your first year of heavy cycling, I think you really somewhat "develop" as a rider (okay, if you already ride a hybrid a lot or a mountain bike, you can sort of just disregard me... )... but I started off really cycling a lot with a 9 speed 105 level road bike that I'd managed to buy new for $500.... It was the first bike I had that was so easy to ride that it was fun and fit me well enough... Now, I had a bf that knew an okay amount of bike fit after mountain biking for several years, so when he looked at the geometry, he said ... okay, that'll work for you. So I got it, he sort of set me up on the trainer, switched the stem and a few things and said, okay, you're in a good position... go ride.

And i did... and i ached, and my wrists did whatever, and blah blah blah... so i switched out handlebar tape, handlebars, saddles and all of that to stuff that made me more comfortable...

After a year or so of riding that, I had a good idea of what I liked/needed in a bike... and, I'd built up my core muscles to the extent that positions I couldn't ride in comfortably when i started riding were comfortable... And then I bought used higher end road bikes with the knowledge I'd gained from tinkering with my first bike and I sold my first bike on... (I will admit there were a couple used bike mistakes, but they were ones that I still got my money out of after selling the bikes on).

So... my way was tedious, it worked and I learned an awful lot along the way and hung out on Team estrogen and learned even more. And it was cheap.

But if you're not the type of person that wants to go through that - go get fit and have someone recommend your first road bike.

If you look at it from the point of view that you juts want to build up your skills and learn who you are as a rider before you go all out... then buying sora's okay, if your intention is selling it on... but just remember that it won't quite shift as well, and if you're someone that gets pissed off at your bike when it misshifts when you're trying to go up a hill, you're going to hate sora most likely and maybe you won't ride that bike much.

If you just want to get "the bike" buy it and keep it forever, then get a bike fitting and buy at least 105 components.

For my first road bike I spent $100 (this was in the 70's). Several bikes down the road, I am now having a custom bike built for me and most likely it will run around $4500 (frame, fork, components - I already have wheels but that would add another $800). I have been riding for some 40 years and don't think that is too much to spend at this time of the life and given my passion.

If you are looking for a good entry level road bike (not a sport or comfort bike but something you can actually race with) you need to spend around $1000 - 1500. I think Components are a real issue and I would never recommend anything less than Shimano 105 but Ultegra is better (and equivalent Campy and Sram). I question spending more than $3000 on a production bike when you can get a custom bike in either steel, carbon or ti for less than $5000. But some people like the fancy look of Trek's or Specializes race bikes.

For a mountain bike you get alot for around $1500. For alittle more ($2000) you get full XT and Fox shocks and forks and the bike for last a long time and perform well. You can buy a $3500+ bike but then it's just to cut weight. Personally I see no performance difference in XT and XTR. Same goes with Ultegra and Dura-Ace on a road bike.

Consider the rest of your budget too.
Most would agree that leaving your kids starving at home with you out on a new carbon ride is bad form.

Good idea, Malkin. No starving kids.
I think my first road bike cost around $1,000. It was aluminum and had 105 components, which did not work that well. I*never* was able to use the big ring. A year and half later I bought a carbon Trek 5200 with Ultegra for 2500. I eventually had to put a Dura Ace front derailleur on that bike, as it had shifting problems, too.
I now ride a Kuota Kebel that cost around 5K. It's very light (14.8 lbs) and has Ultegra. I switched out the expensive carbon bar for an aluminum short/shallow drop bar that is narrow enough for me, and added the short reach brifters a year after I got it. Am I a racer? No, not by any stretch. I like the bike and I could afford it. But I think you can get a really nice road bike for around 2500, and have most of what anyone would want.

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Good idea, Malkin. No starving kids.
I think my first road bike cost around $1,000. It was aluminum and had 105 components, which did not work that well. I*never* was able to use the big ring. A year and half later I bought a carbon Trek 5200 with Ultegra for 2500. I eventually had to put a Dura Ace front derailleur on that bike, as it had shifting problems, too.
I now ride a Kuota Kebel that cost around 5K. It's very light (14.8 lbs) and has Ultegra. I switched out the expensive carbon bar for an aluminum short/shallow drop bar that is narrow enough for me, and added the short reach brifters a year after I got it. Am I a racer? No, not by any stretch. I like the bike and I could afford it. But I think you can get a really nice road bike for around 2500, and have most of what anyone would want.

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Whereas, my first/only road bike is aluminum with mostly 105 components (front derailleur was Tiagra), and with one exception I'm happy with it. The exception was that Tiagra derailleur, which always had problems. Eventually it broke while being adjusted for the umpteenth time, and was replaced with an Ultegra.

I'm sure if I upgraded to all-Ultegra or better I'd see a difference, but I've ridden many happy miles with what I've got.

I think I spent about $1300 for my road bike back in 2002. My goal was to get something that would be good for long rides, centuries and such, but I did not need anything for racing.

I wouldn't mind getting a carbon bike with better components, but it's just not in my budget for the foreseeable future.

I have an all ultegra bike and an all 105 bike.

i don't notice any difference in the shifting.

I was the newbie at one point who bought the Sora bike first. I didn't know I would get so 'hooked' and quickly wore that drive train completely out. It never was smooth shifting but did do the trick and got me into cycling so it's hard to say it was a bad decision. If I had to do over I would have prolly saved my $600 I spent on the Sora bike and applied it to the $2000 bike I bought later. I went ahead an bought a carbon bike at that point which ran my price up considerably but actually came out with decent components. Mine was a 105 and Ultegra mix. I supposed if you buy a nicer bike first you could always sell it if you decide you just don't like cycling all that well? Good luck. :)

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Originally Posted by malkin

Consider the rest of your budget too.
Most would agree that leaving your kids starving at home with you out on a new carbon ride is bad form.

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Snort!

:D:D:D

My first road bike was an $800 aluminum Trek 1000. It had Tiagra and Sora and I put about 5K miles on it without anything breaking. This might sound strange, but I didn't realize what a great bike it was until I upgraded to my $2500 carbon fiber Madone which is all Ultegra. I absolutely love my Madone, but the 1000 was an excellent bike too. And there are certain things I miss about the 1000, like better stability at really high speeds.

Starting with an entry level bike was the right choice for me because I was brand new to cycling and I wasn't even sure I would like it. And I knew I could upgrade, which I did after 18 months (and I sold my 1000 for $400). But it's an individual thing. So I say spend what you can afford and have fun shopping for your bike :p

Thanks for all the responses. It's finals time so I haven't gotten to check in on here as often as usual!

I think what you all said makes a lot of sense, so I'm glad I asked. I had just seen that other thread where people were saying that $1,400 was a LOT to spend on a first road bike, and trying to talk the OP into something cheaper. I didn't figure it applied to me since I've been mountain biking regularly for 3 years now (and LOVE it!), but was thinking that if I wouldn't notice the difference between cheaper and more expensive components being relatively new to road biking, that maybe it would make sense to spend less.

We'll see, I'm lusting after a specific bike and can't manage to find one in my area to test ride, so I may have to take a road trip soon :) It's an ultegra-105 mix, and I've never even ridden anything that nice, so I guess the thing to do is go ride a bunch of bikes and see if I can tell the difference!

I saw that thread also. $1400 is relative. If you go cheap and end up buying a second bike, then it will end up costing you more in the long run. It also depends on how much money you make and how involved you get in your hobbies. My DH & I tend to go off the deep end on hobbies and the kids are grown, so.........................