New road bike- how much bike should I buy?

[ace]

Lots to think about- I just wonder, if you don't ride a road bike, how can you tell what comfortable should feel like? I get what you're saying, Mimi, about buying a cheapish bike to see if I like riding a road bike, period. I'll have to think about that.

[KnottedYet]

The right road bike will be comfortable. The wrong road bike will feel uncomfortable.

It's not an earth-shattering change. My hybrid and my road bike are almost the same as far as seat/bar/pedal relationships. My hybrid bars are a bit higher than my seat, my road bike feels great with my bar-tops a just slightly higher than my seat.

If you buy a cheap roadie to see if you like riding a roadie, you might end up with a bike that is uncomfortable because it isn't the "right" roadie for you.

Go test ride roadies, lots of them. Have the shop raise the bars to touring height and go for a ride! Write down your opinions of the various bikes so you can keep track of what you do and don't like about each one. Then take your list to your favorite shop, have someone sit down with you, and work on your list to find the right bike and components. And color. color is important! And saddle!

If you have a saddle you love, take it with you on your test rides.

[jobob]

Lots to think about- I just wonder, if you don't ride a road bike, how can you tell what comfortable should feel like? I get what you're saying, Mimi, about buying a cheapish bike to see if I like riding a road bike, period. I'll have to think about that.

That's a difficult question to answer. I went from a hybrid to a road bike (which in my case was a Rivendell Romulus, which was a lower-price version of the Rambouillet, but alas Rivendell doesn't really sell that bike anymore. Well, they do, sort of, they have a few Romulii with cantillever brakes instead of sidepull brakes, which in some ways is good, but that's a whole 'nother discussion) and it took me a couple of weeks to get accustomed to the handling of the road bike.

An advantage of Rivendell (and similar style bikes) is that their bikes aren't generally meant to be ridden in an "aggressive" posture, that is, with the handlebars well below the level of the seat. Instead they're meant to be ridden with the handlebars about level with the seat which is generally more comfortable for the average non-racer type.

Check out the Riv website if you get the chance (they recently did a pukey redesign of the site, I hope that doesn't put you off too much), there's a lot of info there about what makes a bike comfy.

The Bleriot is another bike made by Rivendell which features slightly smaller diameter wheels, in a size called 650B. It's worth checking out at Robinson Wheelworks if they have it in stock.

[SadieKate]

1) Go test ride a lot of bikes and 2) find a shop with a FitBike that will do a very careful position analysis. You don't have to be hunched over on a road bike. Some have higher front ends (head tubes) and shorter top tubes than others. Racers like the opposite so they can get stretched out and low on the bike but this isn't a good position for recreational centuries. With a good bike fit, a good shop should be able to tell you what frames might work for you.

Jo's recommendation of a Rambouillet is good for an all around frame that will soak up the jars of bad Bay Area pavement and give you all day comfort. Salsa is bringing out a new bike called the Casseroll which I find intriguing. Read the description. Much the same attitude as the Rambouillet at a lower price tag.

[ace]

Ya know, I just realized how sad it is that I have about 5 friends who would LOVE to endlessly go shopping with me for just about anything, except bikes. Which is the only thing I like shopping for (plus bike accessories). I think I need some new friends.

Just kidding.

[SadieKate]

Ya know, I just realized how sad it is that I have about 5 friends who would LOVE to endlessly go shopping with me for just about anything, except bikes. Which is the only thing I like shopping for (plus bike accessories). I think I need some new friends.

Just kidding.

Been there, done that. That's why I came to TE.

[mimitabby]

Been there, done that. That's why I came to TE.

yeah, me too.


about comfort.

When you get on a bike, it's hard to tell if it's comfortable or not unless of course something in your back (or other body part) is screaming.
After you have ridden that bike for a while, other things will come into the forefront. You know what you feel like after 25 miles on your hybrid. If you feel that good after 25 miles on a particular road bike, it's a good deal. If your back, neck, knees, whatever are hurting, something is not right. what i learned the hard way with my bike experiment was that yes, you can be just as comfortable on a road bike as you can on a hybrid, but you need to get a bike that fits.
With your budget and your nearness to some great shops, I think you can do that easily.

[KnottedYet]

Oooh, boy, that Cassaroll sounds cool! (and is that a Brooks saddle on the finished model bike?)

[SadieKate]

The Casseroll fork and frame is $540 from bikeman.com. The component build on Salsa's page is just very traditional, err, Riv-like.

The Bleriot is $800.

[ace]

I am just going to have to do lots of test riding. I am very un-mechanically minded, so specs aren't going to be very useful to me. I always read what you guys have to say about your bikes with great interest, but I never know what the hell you're talking about. Yeah, I can get more mechanical, but it is not my strong suit.