newbie intro and first bike advice

[maillotpois]

I live and ride in the Bay Area and highly recommend the triple, regardless of what bike you go with.

Also, even for a test ride it would probably be a good idea to have some bike shorts on to really get a better feel for how the bike and the saddle are going to feel. (If you haven't yet been to Sports basement you should check it out. they have 3 locations in SF area: Marina, by Pac bell or whatever it is now park and somewhere in the South Bay. Anyway, they generally have some good deals on shorts and gear you will likely need to have with your new toy.)

I would recommend really getting a feel for the bike and how it handles, developing your skills well, before you toy with the idea of aero bars.

[tulip]

I would recommend really getting a feel for the bike and how it handles, developing your skills well, before you toy with the idea of aero bars.

Good idea to hold off on the aero bars for a while (at least). If you decide to start riding with a bike club (which I recommend to get comfortable riding with people and improving your skills), you may not be allowed to use aero bars in group rides. This is for a good reason, as aero bars can be dangerous in a crash. Also, with arms on the aero bars, it's harder to control the bike, and that's no good with a group of people going 15+ mph.

[RoadBunner]

Thanks, everyone for the suggestions. I am definitely not planning on aero bars anytime soon! It's just something I want to take into consideration when selecting a bike. The Lemond LBS got me thinking since he told me it would be harder to get into the aero position on the Lemond geometry.

A quick question re: saddles. When I was actually on the Trek the saddle felt very comfy even in jeans. Just the next day I felt sort of bruised in the seat-bone area. I wasn't sure if this was just something your body adapts to or if this means the saddle wasn't good for me. I also understand that I need some bike shorts to really simulate what it will be like, but even with the padding is a bruise-like feeling "normal" or unacceptable?

[mimitabby]

if you really haven't ridden for years, it could be your sit bones just need to be conditioned. 20 minutes making you sore just seems a bit extreme. If you really are planning on riding you probably ought to get some bike shorts anyway. And even with bike shorts you're going to get sore.

[F8th637]

RoadBunner, I recently was in the market for bikes and spent an afternoon, wearing jeans, trying out like 5 bikes: a few cyclocrosses, an entry-level road bike, and a touring bike. The next day I was incredibly bruised in my sit bones as well and couldn't ride my brand new bike for a couple of days while they healed up. I had been riding indoors but on a cushier wider seat on my old bike. I had issues with the saddle that came with the new bike the first few rides but now I pretty much have no problem. You'll bruise for a little while like I did but in time it too shall pass. You may want to spread out the days you test bikes if you have the bruising problem like I did.

[KSH]

Well, don't pick a bike based on how comfy the seat is, because that can be changed out. As for your sit bones... you just have to break your butt in on the bike. If I don't ride at least 3 days a week, my sit bones are typically always sore when I get back on. Yes, padded shorts help this some, but will not completely fix the problem.

You have a lot of choices there. Maybe you should sit down, make a chart and list the components and your general feedback on each one.

You also need to know what you want and don't want. Do you want a full carbon bike? Do you want all 105 components? All Ultegra? A mix of both? Does it matter to you? Do you want a comfort road bike, like the Ruby or the Giant.... or do you want a racing road bike? Do you care about the color?

As for the double versus triple. If you ride serious hills, get a triple. You can switch it out to a double once you get stronger on the bike. But starting, you might want to get a triple.

By really narrowing down what you want and don't want... you can narrow down your search some.

Also, you said your budget is $2,000. Does that also include... bike shorts... clipless pedals... shoes... a tool bag with goodies inside... bike pump... water bottles... bike computer... new saddle... etc? That stuff and easily run up a $150-$500+ bill. EASY!

When I went to look for a new road bike (started with a Trek 1000), I knew what I was looking for. Once I found the bikes that fit my criteria, I test rode them. One bike stood out amoungst the crowd. When I rode it, it wow'ed me... and I knew it was the one.

[breezy]

I was in your same situation last year. I rode those bikes and analyzed components and cost...I spent weeks trying to figure out what was right.

In the end I went with the carbon Trek Pilot 5.0 WSD. Why? Cause I liked the Trek dealer more than the others. Cause 2K was my upper limit and you get what you pay for so I went for the bike that cost exactly 2K. Cause I liked the color.

As someone new to a road bike I found it impossible to determine which one felt better, I knew the few that didn't feel good but after that they all seemed the same to me.

They tried to talk my into a double but I went with a triple because it is more important to me that I can get up hills than that I can shave a few seconds off a straight-away time.

I went with the Pilot because I tend to have issues with my shoulders and long distance comfort was again more important that a few seconds of speed.

A year later I am still happy with my purchase, mostly because I know I can talk to my LBS.

If you go by saddle comfort, you will wind up picking the first bike you ride on a given day. The pain should go away after a few rides, no matter what saddle you have.