Me and my husband are looking to buy 2 road bikes. What characteristics and brands should we look for??

Question

Me and my husband are looking to buy 2 road bikes. What characteristics and brands should we look for??

Answer 1

I would look into a TREK or Specialized (found at local memphis bike shops)!  It also depends on how much you will be riding and how much you want to spend a good bike will range from $770 low end to $2900 better bikes.  They do have road bikes at places like Wal-Mart and Target but I haven't heard anything about those bikes.  But whatever you buy let us know!

Answer 2

trek, specialized, jamis and giant are all good brands, again about 750 dollars is a good starting bike.  weight is an important charactiristic, but most important is components (goes sora, tiagra, 105, ultegra, then dura ace in terms of quality, with dura ace being the most expensive)  because of $'s poor standings and euros strong standings accept sora and tiagra if price is good, they are still great components.

Answer 3

for any type of biking, it comes to what you need and not what you want. If you are a beginner, then road bikes ranging from 500-1000 is a good starting point. characteristics to look for would be weight. Brands that would be good for that price would be specialized Sequoia or Roubaix.

When you actually get to ride the bike you check for how comfortable it is and your test ride. Ask the dealer to check for posture

Answer 4

Lower priced brands are Mercier, Novara (REI brand), Windsor. More higher priced brands are Specialized, Specialized S-Works, Felt, Orbea. As for characteristics, you should look for something light, and you should try a few bikes out at the shop to see what models feel best for you. Look for bikes with top brand components such as shimano, ritchey, FSA, etc.

Best of luck!

Answer 5

Pretty much all new road bikes sold today have aluminium frames, but you might want to try and make sure you have a Carbon fork at the front - This makes riding much more comfortable.

All of the big guys in the market make entry-level road bikes. The Specialized Allez always gets positive feedback. A few other companies for example: Giant, Trek, Felt, Fuji, Raleigh and Cannondale.

As for components, if you're a beginner and weary about spending too much, look for Shimano "Sora" to "Tiagra" or Campagnolo "Xenon" to "Mirage" range of groupsets.

Most importantly though, you need to test out the bikes which you're interested in. Please don't go on by looks alone. Each bike will handle and "feel" different as they all have slightly different geometry. Last but not least - Try and buy locally from a bike shop, not only will you be supporting them, you'll be able to get professionally fitted to the bike (very important) and they *should* provide a free service/tune-up up to a certain point

Answer 6

diapris2003,

To gain a clear understanding of what bikes would be best for you and your husband, you should consider:

#1  YOUR PREVIOUS RIDING EXPERIENCE

What have you ridden in the past?  What did you like/dislike about those bicycles?

#2  WHAT IS YOUR INTENDED USE?

Are you looking to get/stay fit?  Will you be commuting on it?  How about day trips or light touring?  Charity rides?  Centuries?  Or maybe you're a strong rider and you want to compete?  These are all unknowns in your question.

#3  HOW FIT ARE YOU PRESENTLY?

Do you have any issues with flexibility?  Have you been physically active?  Or is this a starting point?

#4  WHAT ARE THE RIDING CONDITIONS IN YOUR AREA?

Are your roads smooth and blemish free, or are they full of cracks, ruts and holes?  Will you be riding in wet conditions?  Will your rides take you through roads that are heavily used by motorists?  Or will you typically have the road to yourself or spend ample time on bike paths/trails?

#5  WHAT IS YOUR BUDGET?

Usually this is the first thought, but without considering the above points first, you could be making the wrong choice.  Will you be buying new?

"Road" bikes is a rather broad category.  It includes ultralight, barebones bikes for racing as well as overbuilt, rugged touring bikes.  In between, you will find many models that offer more comfortable geometry for the noncompetitive recreational rider, with some offering mounts for racks and fenders.

Don't buy until you know what you want.  Sometimes just standing there and gazing at a gleaming new bicycle is enough to make us want to hand over our credit card.  It's easy to buy a bicycle, but it's easier to buy the wrong bicycle.  Just give some thought to the above points and try, with the help of your local LBS, to make the best choice.

Answer 7

for starters i would look for giants or fuji. they are really well built and are not overpriced like trek or specialized. in fact you can always find ginat and fuji to have better components than any other brand for 10-20% less money. think of these brands as the honda or toyota of bikes, killer prices and exceptional quality

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