Anyone know about bikes?
 

I haven't ridden in years & years and I'm looking to buy a decent road orientated bike.

My last bike was a GT Avalanche which is great for hard trails & downhills but not really practical for the open road.

I need something that's light & fast enough for some lengthy road work but wont fall apart or buckle a rim if I take it on a light trail or hop off a curb.

Anyone have any recommendations around the $750-1250 range?

I was thinking this one @ $900 something... (Rocky Mountain Metro 30 D)

http://www.bikes.com/DATA/PHOTO/321.jpg

Link to Bike

Any thoughts?

Any decent bike shops in the Valley?

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Can't see the pic or link to the URL. I have a Trek commuter bike that is in that price range, slightly larger tires, kevlar rubber (no flats) and not terribly heavy. I wouldn't ride it 100km, but for riding to work and the store, etc, it does the job.
Have a look at some of the models here

http://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes/urban/

Hmm, now I can see the pic. Weird. anyway, pretty much what I suggested for style in Trek. RM is also a decent bike.

Thanks for the info...

I like the look of the Trek's. Soho & Police look like good possibilities.

I've not seen many Trek commuters on the stores I've been to so far.

Sounds like they may be more urban/light trail biased than road biased.

I will probably work up to longer & longer road rides, ultimately in the 100-150 km range.

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you'd then want a real road bike, with as much carbon on it as you can afford. The difference in ride and comfort between aluminum and carbon when riding that far is pretty big.

I find dedicated road bikes to be a bit too twitchy when riding anything other than open roads or tracks. Kinda overly responsive.

Carbon would be nice but I don't want to drop $2+k

A Cyclocross bike would probably be best but again, don't want to drop so much money on it.

It's difficult, I want to do long road work but there's lots of nice light trails near me that I don't want to miss out on.

What's the bike on your avatar?

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Ya, but its tough to find something that will do it all. The cyclocross' are nice as a compromise, but in the end, not a perfect solution. For me, I have a mtn bike, a commuter and a road bike. My avatar is my road, a Trek Madone. I found the road bikes "twitchy" for only the first 50k, now it's the bike I feel most stable on. I'd rather go through traffic at 40k on this over either of my two other bikes!

Just looked at the Trek site again...

That bike on your avatar is dreamy!

How is the stance on a longish (3-4hr) ride?

I'm used to something more upright but I guess I need to adjust if I'm changing over to roads.

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The first time I went for a long road ride, my back felt like I'd been hit with a board! lol
but now, I can ride 4 hours in total comfort. It's different than a mountain bike for sure, but much more comfortable on a long ride. And a 15 pound bike is nicer to ride all day than a 25 pound bike! The big thing with carbon, other than weight, is it really absorbs the road shock. my first road bike had carbon forks and rear triangle, but still not as nice as full carbon.
Once in a while I'll take the long way home on my commuter, and an hour on that, and I'm not happy. It does all come down to how much you're going to ride, but if you think you're serious about road, I'd go best I could up front. Most shops will let you go out for a serious test ride, so go try them out. After an hour, you get a pretty good idea of the differences.

Also, make sure you budget for a good helmet (~120) and I'd recommend cycling shoes, sure makes the long rides easier. Pedals and shoes, at least 150. More for the higher end stuff. Carbon soles are nice, they have no flex at all, which means energy transferred to pedals, not shoes. And don't worry too much about weight of components, unless you're going pro and already have 6% body fat :)
Oh, and a tool kit with a pump. And a computer..hehe

Yep - I need a good lid, tool kit & computer for sure!

I have some of those super slinky Puma's that I'll have to wear until budget allows for something dedicated.

Weight not too much of an issue as my prodigious eating of fine foods negates any advantages!

I was hoping to get the lot for under $1k but it's probably gonna be double what I 1st thought (sounds like keeping a reef tank!)

Why the hell do we get ourselves into such expensive hobbies!??!?

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Ride as many bikes as you can in your price range and buy the one that feels "right" to you. After all, if you aren't comfortable on the bike you aren't going to ride it.. Any decent bike shop will also make sure you fit the bike properly.. if they don't, walk away. Also if you are going to upgrade componants at the time of sale most shops will give you credit for your unused parts on trade.

I'm planning to spend my next few weekends testing out bikes.

Some of the stores in Vancouver told me I can't have anything other than a brief 5 min trial so they've lost the sale already.

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I love Rocky Mountain bikes.. I own a Rocky myself.. HOWEVER they are genneraly overpriced. You can usually get a better bike for less money.

They feel comfortable & look damned sexy though!

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I test rode mine for about 30km before deciding on it.

30km's! now that's a test ride!

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Yeah, a 5 minute ride is nowhere near enough. :( Good luck. Bike buying is so much fun. I do it at least 10 times a day. (In my imagination anyhow :redface:)

Yep! It's addictive! As you can see my the number of replies in this thread, I'm finding hard to keep my mind on work!

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thank good you didn't emntion spandex. just the though of you in spandex.. shivers.... :mrgreen:

Steve

Hey Viv, there is a great bike shop just up the street from where I work...If you want I will get you the number and you can give him a call.:biggrin:

Is that Jack's on Thomas Rd?

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Yeah that's it.....:biggrin:

Well, I finally bought a bike after trying out a good few...

Thanks for all your advice

I nearly dropped $3k on a Trek Madone thanks to being influenced to try one by someone's avatar pic!

Man I shouldn't have test rode that one! A real dream to ride & I got used to the quick responses in about 5 or 10 km's.

Back down to earth I tried Cannondale Badboy's, a few daVinci's, a couple of Rocky's & I ended up with something similar to my original choice.

A Rocky Mountain RC30 D

http://www.bikes.com/DATA/PHOTO/256.jpg

I'm loving the light weight road bike like build & features complete with a more upright riding position & slightly wider tires.

Also, is it really illegal to ride without a lid in BC?

One store told me I couldn't ride more than up the road & back unless I had a lid?

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Congrats on the bike!
While visiting Stanley park, we bought helmets because of that law, but I saw a whole bunch of people with helmets on our ride.

Nice ride. :)

I'd just wear the lid. Spend $80 or more and you'll love the helmet. (No really - there's like 3 price categories, cheap, not so cheap, and expensive .. The $80 mark seems to be the beginning of the middle category and the feel and comfort really is there.)

Thanks guys :biggrin:

I'm enjoying it loads. Computer says I've put just over 150 km's on the few days I rode it. Having not ridden for a while, my legs are surprisingly fine but my crotch/butt area is killing me!

Interesting to know it's actually illegal with no helmet. I wonder if it's BC wide or just Vancouver (I see loads of people riding without helmets out in the Valley).

I usually do wear a lid, but didn't think to bring one with me bike shopping until one store told me I shouldn't go more than a few hundred yards without one.

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it's the law in bc (with excp. of pedi cabs)


http://www.bikesense.bc.ca/Bike_Sense-Nov05.pdf

Wearing a helmet has saved my head a couple of times. My last helmet is crushed, glad it wasn't my head.
Always wear a helmet, law or not. But yes, it's a BC wide law.

Congrats on the new bike, now we need a pool to bet on when the Madone gets bought