Road bike help?

Question

Well I need some help, this is my first road bike and i know nothing about them.I'm 5,9 195lbs with and 31.5 inseam.I'm looking at bikesdirect.com and im really interested in the Dawes line (1000,1200,) in price from 389.99-439.99.I know nothing about the parts or anything so if anyone could help(with the size i would need or what bike would be rite for me that would be awesome)

THANKS

Answer 1

I woudl steer clear of dawes. they made entry level bikes back in teh day. Nowadays their bikes are un-tuneable, so you'll never get to fully enjoy a quiet bike. For that price range, id look at a used bike from the early 2000's. You can get a barely ridden aluminum frame with full Shimano RSX or 105 for that same price, and the quality will be much higher. If you were buying an SUV, the dawes is a brand new Ford Escape, and the option I'm suggesting is a 2 year old, once leased, Explorer. People will probably never know a difference, but your ride quality, tuneability, and general component quality will be wel well worth it. Dawes bikes in that price range come with Sora components, which is the first "named" component above their wal-mart pot-metal lineup. Above Sora it Tiagra, then 105, than Ultegra, than Dura-ace. and youll probably want a 56cm bike frame.

Somethign like this is a KILLER value.

http://cgi.ebay.com/GT-aluminum-58cm-roa...

Answer 2

As far as the bikes, Dawes is an established Brit. brand. The bikes are low end entry level road bikes. I take it's just what you're looking for. The price is good for what you get. The Sora drivetrain is what I consider the 1st level above "toy" components. I think the bikes are a good way to get into road biking, to see what road biking is all about.

The only difference I see between the two is a carbon fork on the 1200. I really like carbon forks but if your trying to get into cycling cheap the 1000 will do.

The most important thing is the fit of the bike. Buying on-line not knowing what a road bike should feel like is a tricky proposition. Fit is more than simply picking a frame.

I looked at the sizing chart they have, and it confuses me. They say a medium fits 5-7 to 5-9 yet the standover is 32" and it's a sloping top tube. This makes no sense at all to me. You must be able to easily standover the bike - that means you can't on the size thay say fits you. A sloping top tube should have a LOWER than normal standover but this bike is the opposite???? I'm 5-8 with a 30.5 inseam and ride a 52cm frame and a 29.5" standover height. My bike has a standard non-sloping top tube. I would have to have the small Dawes size, but they state it's too small for me.

I think the bike is fine but I wouldn't buy it based on the stange sizing information. If I could try them in person and find a fit I'd go for it.

EDIT:

Well that's quite a jump in price for you. The Windsor frame I believe is a Kenisis, they make a ton of frames for many brands. They aren't bad. The components are exellent. 20 speed Ultegra - sweet. Lots of nice parts and a very good price. It's a performance bike - good for hard fast riding - if that's what you want.

If that looks good to you you still have to issues:

1. Size. 54 or 56 hard to say which would be best for you.

2. It comes partially disassembled. You have to do a bike shop prep to assemble and tune it. It's easy enough IF you know how.

Finally, two buds of mine bought from here and were very satisfied. I prepped one of them; took a couple hours but I owned a shop and was a wrench in my younger days.