whats a good intro road bike?

im looking for a nice road bike to ride to class and to just ride around town and cruise. not really looking to spend alot of money, (saving for UCAs but im also in college and stuff)

i have literally no experience in all these high end and pricey bikes. i didnt even know there were different kind of bikes until like a week ago.

i dont want a fixed speed and i dont really want a regular cheapo 21 speed type sports authority sale type thing.

thanks for any info!

 

First, you have to consider the type of riding you will be doing and if you will possibly want to continue riding in the future. In addition, you must consider how many miles are you riding, is it hilly, do you want to go fast or do you want to enjoy the ride? And most importantly, what type of budget are you dealing with? If you can answer some of these, you might be able to get a smaller list of bikes to choose from.

Honestly, if you would like to pursue the sport for more than just commuting to classes, it is worth getting a decent bike that is worth building on (similar to you wanting to stay away from Sports Authority bikes).
I would suggest starting along the Specialized Sirrus line for an average bike to just commute:
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=10Sirrus
If you would like to commute and ride on your free time, maybe look along the Specialized Allez line of bikes:
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=45680&menuItemId=0
These are only suggestions from Specialized, but there are many other great road bike companies out there.... ie: Cannondale, Giant, Trek, etc. However, the main road bike website for Specialized is:
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCExperienceGroup.jsp?my=2010&gid=Road&menuItemId=11532

Hope this helps and that you can get a bike soon before Summer.

 

thanks for the info...really helpful!

all those are pretty expensive though. maybe the base model sirrus. but thats still pretty expensive. are these bikes are to find on craigslist and stuff?

 

Take a look at Giant bikes. They usually have some well priced intro models.

 

Look on Ebay, I bought all of my bikes off of ebay. I got lucky and got GT bikes when they were selling all of their stock before changing over to huffy. Go to a bike store and get fitted. This is the first step in getiing a bike, then ride a few around the store, most places encourage this. Most road bikes are expensive. You are looking at 400.00 for a starter road bike, and some of these can cost up to 8000.00. Good luck with your search, if I can be of any help please let me know.

 

Motobecane single speed. It's cheep like a big bmx bike. You can get a new 29er for $350 shipped. I might get one.

 

Yes, you can find these bikes on Craigslist over a little bit of time (sometimes there are some GREAT deals). However, I suggest going to look at the bike very carefully, make sure you know exactly what you're purchasing (wheels are true, derailleur's are straight and functional, cables are not rusted [all signs of how the bike was treated]). Unless you have the tools to adjust and tighten all/most parts on a bike, it may pay to have a local bike shop adjust the bike for at least the first time so you can perform routine maintenance afterwards.

Unfortunately, it is not a cheap sport, but once you get a bike that can be built on, it is relatively cheap to maintain and stay riding.

 

hmm lots of info here...pretty confused haha. if i want to like go over jumps and over curbs i need a different type of bike than a road bike am i right? the wheels dont look like they are very sturdy although i could be wrong.

i like hopping off curbs and maybe small jumps but i want something thats light and looks nice. something like i could go on an adventure with around town