first road bike

[abvnx]

im looking for my first road bike. ive been riding a kids mountain bike(way to small for me, weighs a ton..) im 5'1-2-ish. im deciding between giant ocr3, the trek 1000 and the specialized dolce. so far im leaning toward the trek.

im also considering bikes from REI, the novara carema, k2 tradewind and the c'dale synapse. i test rode the synapse and LOVED it, its like heaven on wheels(but way out of my price range). however, im not sure if id wanna buy a bike from REI, being a big chain store and all. anyone have experience with REI bikes or any of the other bikes mentioned? thanks in advance...


oh yeah, this bike will be my primary mode of transportation. i am near seattle wa.

[RolliePollie]

I bought a Trek 1000 WSD in February and I'm very happy with it. I think you get a lot of bang for your buck with Trek. I've put 1,000 miles on it so far and I really have no complaints.

Although the 1000 is an "entry level" road bike, I'm not at all disappointed with its performance. I wasn't expecting all the bells and whistles, and the components aren't spectacular or anything, but it gets me where I want to go and (knock on wood) everything is working like it's supposed to. I did have an issue with my front brakes, but it was covered under the Trek warranty and my LBS put on a whole new set for free. I also switched to Kool Stop brake pads because evidently the stocks pads don't get along too well with the stock wheels. Other than that, it's all good!

I looked at the Novara line from REI as well, but it kind of seems like no one knows much about Novara. I was tempted, but my closest REI is almost an hour's drive and the Trek had a similar component group at a comparable price. I've really learned to appreciate my LBS...I'm so happy that I chose to buy locally. I'm sure you might get great service from REI, but since it's a chain store, I was a little leary.

Whichever bike you choose, I hope you love it!

[BikeDutchess]

I love my Specialized Dolce. What made it great was (in part) that my LBS really took the time to dial in the right fit. While I have bought other bikes from REI (for myself as well as my family), the fitting service made my LBS stand out head-and-shoulders over REI.

But I think the most important thing is that you fall in love with the bike when you test-ride it. If that happens to be an REI bike, by all means go for it!

[Tri Girl]

My first road bike was a Giant OCR. I loved it (well, I still have it, but it sits unridden this season because I'm testing out a new tri bike). It provided me with 4000 miles of fun and good times.
I agree with Bike Dutchess- buy what feels right. Test ride as many as possible (but not so many that it's too confusing ) and buy the one that feels like a second skin. I don't think you can go wrong with Trek, Cannondale, Giant, Specialized or any of the other big name bikes. Even the entry level bikes provide good quality and durability. Don't know about the REI bikes, or what the quality is.

Good luck- and be sure to report back what you've decided on (with pictures, to boot!).

[abvnx]

i test rode the dolce when i was having some back issues so it felt really uncomfortable. then last week i was at rei and decided to give the road bikes another try for the heck of it. i rode a few and really enjoyed it. i especially loved the synapse, but that will have to go in my someday category . the giant felt nice the reach for the break levers was a bit much for me(it wasnt a wsd) , the trek even better. id really like to take the 1000 and dolce out on the hills and go for at least a few miles. my palms tend to get sore, is this from my positioning or what?

another question, is it better to buy the bike with the components you want(the next level up with better components) or to buy the bike as is and upgrade components as needed? do you end up spending so much on upgrades that you may as well have just gotten the next bike up?

thanks for all your help, everyone!

[SouthernBelle]

I'm a member at REI and it really isn't a chain, it's a co-op. That being said, it will only be as good as the mechanics they have a particular store.

[onimity]

My sister has a Novara MTB, we bought it because she needed a good bike on a very limited budget and with a 20% off coupon we got a great deal, about half the cost of my very similarly equipped bike. The bike itself was a great value but the service at REI was less than stellar. We got all of her accessories at our favorite LBS, figured we'd give them that business since the prices there were comparable and we love our LBS. The mechanic got his hands on it to install lock mounts/lights/etc. and ended up tuning up the bike ("Hey, I just have to fix this thing..." he kept saying) he adjusted the brakes, both derailleurs, fixed the crooked handlebars...all this the day after the REI guy spent an hour and a half tuning it up before we brought it home. I told him that I'd go ahead and pay for a full tune up but the guy wouldn't hear of it...even though he knew we'd *just* bought the bike and not from them. Then the fit guy came by and asked if she wanted him to take a quick look.

My sister & I are training for a ride together and decided that our increasing distances warranted road bikes. We looked all around, I wanted to get the best bike for me, so again I included REI and various bike shops around town. The Novara bikes seemed like a pretty good deal but I got a much better value at my favorite LBS on last year's model. My strategy was this: I set a budget, looked around to determine the various bikes that fit that budget then went out to see and ride them. I've read that the best deal you'll get on components is with the purchase of a new bike since the manufacturers buy in bulk, so I decided that it was better to buy a bike that I thought would meet my needs for a long time rather than upgrading over time.

Test riding at REI basically consisted of riding around the parking lot. The salesperson wasn't terribly knowledgeable and there was a hiking with poles class going on that had hordes of senior citizens hiking around the store. Clank, clank, clank went the hiking sticks. Ooops, sorry. Excuse me. And meanwhile the REI guy is trying to get bikes off the ceiling. It just wasn't happening, the bikes didn't feel great, but I'd never ridden a road bike so there was a lot I didn't know, like how to shift the thing.

The next day we moved on to our favorite LBS. They let us test ride bikes on a group ride they had, gave us a complete lesson on how to ride a road bike, shifting, body positioning, etc. The leader was great about helping us and answering questions. After 20 miles I knew it wasn't the bike for me, but I also knew what qualities I was looking for. We test rode bikes for the entire day (my Garmin says it was 68 miles of test riding) and when I got on my bike I knew it was the right bike. I ended up getting a *much* nicer bike than I thought I could get and only went a little bit over my budget.

In short, I think REI's bikes are great, but their bike shop service is likely to be hit or miss, definitely a miss here. The outstanding service at my LBS made buying a bike from them a joy. I was willing to pay a little more to buy a bike from my LBS but I ended up getting the best deal there too.

Sore hands, part of that is getting used to the new position, sort of like getting used to being in the saddle when you haven't ridden in a long time. Part of it may be that you are gripping too tightly, though, or putting too much weight on your hands. Switching your hand position around helps. As I've developed new muscles and gotten more comfortable on the bike I've been a lot less sore. Also, once you buy a bike you can fine-tune the fit. I shortened my stem a little yesterday and that helped a lot.

Anne

[batsheva]

hi.

i am a newbie - bought a cannondale synapse 4 alloy $1049 - love it... been out riding most days since i got 2 weeks ago - even managed 20 miles this week - if you knew how unfit i was, you would be amazed at this :-) i can so recommend this bike - i dont know if the synapse you were looking at was maybe carbon or something, but there is the alloy version, which i got due to price constraints and i have not been sore ANYWHERE on it - pretty incredible - i am short 5'3" and got the 47cm frame and the geometry is just perfect for me... i am so pleased with the cannondale synapse feminine 4 alloy - hope this is within your priceband-- same geometry as the synapse carbons as i understand...

[dex]

If you're thinking about looking at bikes from REI, I'd suggest coming into the city and checking out the flagship store downtown. You'll probably have better luck there (with regards to knowledgeable staff) than at some of the other smaller stores in the area. I've never shopped for a bike there, but I have spent a good bit of time browsing around their bike department. (It's a great place to see a lot of different gear when you're doing comparison shopping...especially clothes.)

Besides, if you haven't been to that store yet, it's kind of worth it just to witness the sheer size of the place. A lot of my friends who come to Seattle just for a visit request a trip there as a tourist stop, which works for me since it's pretty close to my place. (I pass it every morning on my commute to work.)

Also, there's a Play It Again Sports right around the corner from it on Stewart. They usually have a good number of bikes (new and used) hanging around as well--lots of Marin bikes, if their window displays of late are any indication.

[nmeadows]

I live in atlanta and started shopping for a new road bike-any suggestions on stores that are helpful? I am thinking trek, althhough I am partial to cannondales ( previous road bike).

anyone want to ride with someone just getting back into it?