I recently moved here from Portland, OR, and I'm looking for a new bike. pretty much just road/commuting to work and back. It's about 6-7 miles round trip. not a big deal. I'm riding a specialized rock hopper currently though. What would you recommend starting out on road bikes? My tentative budget is around $700-$1800. I refuse to buy a car here for many reasons. So an investment into a more suitable bike is worth it. I'm partial towards Specialized, but they seem to be a bit out of my range. a riding friend from Oregon recommends trek.. I've looked into the 2.1 triple, and it seem's solid. any help is awesome though. I'm essentially new at this. also, bike bags.. panniers etc.. what's good and what sucks?
Other info that might be useful:
I don't like going slow.
i ride at night constantly.(I have multiple lights and vests etc..)
There are some hills involved.
I ride every day.
If you don't like going slow... a road bike is the ticket for commuting on the San Diego area roads.
To keep up the speed you want to stay as light as is convenient for your use? Will you need to haul a lot of stuff?
I have a top of the line used woman's road bike for sale in your price range if it's your size. Here's the link to it.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114396&id=636000613&l=75db489a85
I'd mostly have to haul my work boots/jacket and lunch etc.. Not a lot of stuff, but it would be nice to get it off my back. I'm a guy by the way. I'm 5'8 so (I think) a 56cm is about what I'd need. I'm not too familiar with the whole sizing thing.
This thread is a little old, but I"m commenting anyways and maybe the original poster will see it. I have to disagree with Judy, you don't need a road bike for commuting 6-7 miles, you need a touring bike or some sort of hybrid. You want to be able to attach a rack and panniers to the back. I commute to work and use a single pannier; I commute on a hybrid bike. My road bike does not have the little screw holes (that have an actual name, I just can't think of it) needed to attach a rack to so I would either have to use a rack that extends from the seat post or wear a backpack. Because I carry a lot of stuff to work (food plus clothes) my load is too heavy for a seatpost rack and too much for a backpack, hence the panniers. I also tell people you don't drive your fancy sports car to work so why should I ride my nice road bike.
Shopping wise just go to the bike store and tell them you want a commuter bike, they will point you in the right direction. You might try the Performance store since you are a guy and are probably normal height; as a short woman they don't have bikes that fit me. Good luck and tells us what kind of bike you buy.
Quote from: Letitia on March 29, 2011, 01:16:00 PM
This thread is a little old, but I"m commenting anyways and maybe the original poster will see it. I have to disagree with Judy, you don't need a road bike for commuting 6-7 miles, you need a touring bike or some sort of hybrid. You want to be able to attach a rack and panniers to the back. I commute to work and use a single pannier; I commute on a hybrid bike. My road bike does not have the little screw holes (that have an actual name, I just can't think of it) needed to attach a rack to so I would either have to use a rack that extends from the seat post or wear a backpack. Because I carry a lot of stuff to work (food plus clothes) my load is too heavy for a seatpost rack and too much for a backpack, hence the panniers. I also tell people you don't drive your fancy sports car to work so why should I ride my nice road bike.
Shopping wise just go to the bike store and tell them you want a commuter bike, they will point you in the right direction. You might try the Performance store since you are a guy and are probably normal height; as a short woman they don't have bikes that fit me. Good luck and tells us what kind of bike you buy.
I ended up getting a used Raleigh Sport with a rack and bought a set of Avenir Metro panniers. I've had it about a week now. Seems like a solid bike so far. the front derailleur is giving me trouble though. I might replace it. I took the bike to Bicycle warehouse in Escondido, and they did a tune up on it, and it worked great for a few day's, but the front derailleurs acting up again.. I'll be riding this one until I figure out what I really want. The panniers work great, it's a bit of an adjustment for me as I'm not used to road bike's at all. I've been riding a mountain bike for a couple years now. My friend say's I'd need a beefier rear wheel for carrying panniers, the rear wheel on the Raleigh has 32 spokes I believe(counted them the other day).. Any recommendations at this point are good. I'm new to all of this essentially.
Raleighs are good solid bikes, sounds like you made a good choice. Are you breaking spokes on your rear wheel? I wouldn't worry about it unless the spokes start to break. Full disclosure though, I'm not a wheel person, all I can tell you is you don't want light race weight wheels when carrying a load. What kind of wheels are they? Is there a name on them? I've got a couple of friends who do know wheels and I can steer them over to this posting.
Letitia
Quote from: Letitia on April 05, 2011, 01:11:37 PM
Raleighs are good solid bikes, sounds like you made a good choice. Are you breaking spokes on your rear wheel? I wouldn't worry about it unless the spokes start to break. Full disclosure though, I'm not a wheel person, all I can tell you is you don't want light race weight wheels when carrying a load. What kind of wheels are they? Is there a name on them? I've got a couple of friends who do know wheels and I can steer them over to this posting.
Letitia
I haven't broken a spoke yet, The wheel seems to be holding up pretty well. It's got the 'Freedom RLX 1.9 Double Wall' according to the Raleigh site. I just put the bike away for the night or I'd go look, but I'm confident that's what they are. It's approximately 25-30lbs of weight in the panniers.. maybe 20. As long as the bike stay's working until the end of the month then I'll be fine. I "should" have enough cash saved up for a brand new bike by then.. I'll most likely keep using this one for commuting and the other one(looking at a Trek 2.1) for weekend rides/a backup)
Quote from: Sharrn on March 18, 2011, 01:14:00 PM
I'd mostly have to haul my work boots/jacket and lunch etc.. Not a lot of stuff, but it would be nice to get it off my back. I'm a guy by the way. I'm 5'8 so (I think) a 56cm is about what I'd need. I'm not too familiar with the whole sizing thing.
Update: a 54 cm fits me better after riding a few bikes.