New to road bikes

[texasstar1874]

I'm finally ready to buy a road bike after having been a glutton for punishment... I rode my Gary Fisher mountain bike (with slicks) during the MS 150 twice. The hills near/in Austin just about killed me. I have one bum knee that gives me trouble from time to time, and I've heard that a "triple" would help with that on those pesky hills. I've been looking at the Trek Lexa S & SL Triple WSD bikes. I've been unable to find many reviews, however. All I know for certain is that a 47 cm is a good fit (I'm 5'2"). I can't afford carbon so I'll have to settle for a carbon seat/fork based on what I've read. I'll be using the bike I get for the MS 150, training, general exercise...etc. Any brand/model suggestions? I'd love to hear from people who are avid cyclists. Thanks so much!

[redrhodie]

I don't know about those bikes, but hi, and welcome! Have you test ridden them yet? If the fit is good, the hard part is done. You might also want to try a few other bikes, even if you think they're "too much bike" for you, just for comparison's sake.

We have a lot of Cannondale lovers around here, so even though I've never ridden one, I'm going to suggest checking them out. And Specialized, of course, since my first bike was a Dolce, and what I fell in love with cycling on.

[Owlie]

Try steel--it's supposed to be a smoother ride (with the right quality tubing) for about the same price as aluminum. Jamis makes some nice steel road bikes (I'm looking at a Quest Femme) at reasonable prices. There's also Surly.

As far as aluminum...try Specialized, Giant and Cannondale as well as Trek. Giant may not work for you depending on your proportions (they tend to have long top tubes), but they make nice bikes for the price. Cannondale's "thing" is supposed to be aluminum. There's some discussion in the "general" section of the forum right now about aluminum's vibration problems and tubing quality/frame geometry. If you're willing to take a crack at a more aggressive position, the CAAD10 is supposed (according to shop, Bicycling magazine and Cannondale representative ) to be about as nice a ride as its carbon equivalent for much less money.