Which bike should i get

I'm in your corner here.

I would also like to add that if you buy a bike online, you better well know what size bike you need. Otherwise, you'll be riding a bike that doesn't fit and then your knee will hurt, maybe a shoulder pain, or your fingers will go numb, etc... Then, if you want to be able to use the bike, you'll have to go buy parts that are actually the right size, if you can even figure out what the right size is. Supporting your local bike shop is not just for them, it's also for you to be able to ride your bike comfortably.

My guess is you buy one of these cheap bikes and you'll ride it a few times and it will get put in the garage for whatever excuse you decide to come up with. So...maybe it would be best for you to buy one that is cheap. Don't worry about quality or fit, that's just stupid talk!

It is not that hard to know what size bike you need. Certainly not worth $1500 etc..

The trick is going on ebay finding a bike that some dude over paid for because he thought biking was something he could because it's not as hard as running and he like the idea of having all that cool gear. Then he gets tired of the toy and moves on... So the yuppie spends $2000+ on the new bike and you buy it for like $450.

Unless you are totally into biking and as committed to that as most folk on here are to running, there is no need to drop big dollas on a bike. If you get into it later, sell the $500 bike and buy that sweek Lance Armstrong carbon fiber bike that cost as much as a small car.

much to the chagrin of my LBS i have to agree with the ebay comment....do be careful though, have to do a lot of looking don't just impulse buy. i had to send back the first frame i bought on ebay (cracked non-drive seatstay ona lemond tet de course) but it was no problem with paypal.

Snagged a BMC SLT01 frame for $1100, full Dura-Ace for less than $2000 all said and done. best injury insurance you can buy (course it still didn't keep me healthy enough for the trials :).

just take your time, watch for "buy it now" bikes that go unbid upon and offer say %80 after the auction ends, that's how i scored mine. in short, you can do better than those one's listed (for the OP)

dude-

Where do you plan to have it serviced? From where will you obtain repair parts if needed? Do you know or are you yourself a competent bike mechanic?

Hey, buy it from those on-line guys if you want (knock yourself out), but don't accuse me of talking out of both sides of my mouth, please. You asked a question, I gave you one answer. Ask ten other people you'll get ten other answers.

Have a nice life.

go to your local shop and look around. I got a bike with solid components all around (shimano tiagra... not great, but 2 levels up from most of those bikes you listed), and solid components in the "non-glory" parts (an FSA crank and vittoria tires, for instance). Grand total? $550. And I got to deal with a real person who fit me. There's WAY, WAY, WAY more to fitting a bike than frame size. Seat height, stem length/height, and many more measurements will all have profound effects if they are even a CM off. Not to mention you get some service after you buy.

Besides... isn't supporting a local business, even if it means a little more out of your pocket, still the right thing to do? I mean you could buy your running shoes online too, but the right thing is to buy from your local running store, even if you don't get $15 off of last year's model. Any dollars you spend locally help. (I don't work at a bike shop, although I wish I did so I could get bike stuff at cost...)

Oh... not to mention... buying a bike is a little like buying a car. You can haggle some. Don't walk in and think the sticker price is final. Especially if you buy accessories with it.

I also work at a bike shop and i can tell you that those bikes are crap. The components are all super low end and will break on you, especially anything below Sora, which is not very good anyway. If you go to a bike shop you can get a better road bike than this for around $500-650 that is specked a little bit better, has a tune-up plan and was built by guys who know what they are doing. It still wont be a very good bike, but at least you get some service and some quality work. Look at lower end specialized or Raleigh bikes, both make road bikes that are under 700.

You asked for our opinions and you are getting them, those bikes aren't worth shit.

What's with the deal with the brake levers? They say there are two pairs of levers to stop your bike from anywhere on the bars, but that's not true. Look at the picture - only the brakes on the bar flats have brake cables. The ones in the drops (the curve part of the bars) only have derailleur cables.

A lot of those components are very low-end, but I guess you might expect that on a lower-end bike.

I don't know, maybe search roadbikereviews.com to see if these bikes are listed. It just has the look of a poorly constructed bike to me.

everything but the food wrote:

What's with the deal with the brake levers? They say there are two pairs of levers to stop your bike from anywhere on the bars, but that's not true. Look at the picture - only the brakes on the bar flats have brake cables. The ones in the drops (the curve part of the bars) only have derailleur cables.

The brake cable is usually routed under the handlebar tape, so the bike is as advertised.

But anyway, I think the OP should make a decision based upon how much time he wants to spend looking for a bike. If he has time, then ebay will get him a far better bike than a Dawes. If he doesn't want to sit around for a few weeks bidding on ebay bikes, then the cheap Dawes may do.

Personally, I'd go for the ebay bike. I think the Dawes is likely to give you maintenance problems. Just figure out your height based on inseam and then setup a search for that frame size.

I'm looking at the pictures. I see one cable going to the front brake. I know they usually tape the brake cables - I've been riding road bikes for 25 years.

I wouldn't go for an eBay bike because you can't inspect it. Some people treat their bikes like garbage. A nice shiny bike may have been ridden through water and not had the bottom bracket or hubs maintained. It might or might not have sealed bearings. Looks good on the outside, but ready to fall apart.

Do what you want OP, but with all the conflicting advice here, I'd say more research is in your best interest.

I agree with the advice to go to the LBS. They will be much more accommodating to your service needs if you bought the bike from them. Plus, you get the fitting. On a bicycle, as little as a millimeter's adjustment can make a major difference in comfort.

Not much talk on here of Jamis. I really like the brand. Generally, you'll get about the best set of components for the price range, but more importantly, not many companies make steel frames anymore. That's a shame because the ride is great and won't be damaged in a crash. They say a steel frame can last a lifetime - realistically, of course, your bike will probably get stolen before you have to think about that.

Personally, I like its versatility. My bike doesn't weigh much more than its aluminum counterparts (and both cost much less than a carbon bike), but I would feel comfortable taking it on a cross-country tour.

I am going to reiterate a lot of what has already been said... but I just don't want to see someone get on a bike that they won't be happy with.

I know that saving a couple of hundred dollars can be enticing. I have been caught up in that as well. The thing to remember is that this bike will not come assembled. You will have to run cables, adjust derailleurs, brakes, etc. Unless you are a bike mechanic or know a hell of a lot about bikes, you will not be able to assemble any of these bikes safely. Most likely you will pay a bike shop $50-100 assemble your new bike.

But, as an employee of a bike shop, I have seen this situation a lot: Guy pays a few hundred bucks for a bike online (GREAT DEAL!). He pays my shop at least $50 just to get it built. Chances are the bike doesn't even fit. So he ends up buying a different stem or seat or whatever and spending an additional $100 to make the bike almost fit. Ultimately he ends up with a bike that has much worse components and a lower grade frame than what he could have gotten from our store for a similar or lower total cost.

Meanwhile another person buys last year's model of say a Raleigh Super Course or a Grand Sport for $600-$800 and gets a bike that is already built. It is also from a reputable company with MUCH better components than the internet specials (just like what you posted). He also gets a lifetime warranty on the frame, a labor plan and a bike shop he can claim as his own. The shop employees help pick the right size and mix and match properly fitting parts with little to no additional cost. No hidden costs.

So here are a couple of 2008 bikes that would be in your price range that you can get from a shop like what my store carries:

Raleigh Sport~ $575

Raleigh Grand Sport~$650

We don't stock these, but we can order them. Just go to a shop and tell them your price range. If they try to get you to buy something more expensive off the floor ask if they have a catalog you can order something cheaper from.

Trust me they will work with you.

Good luck.

You should call Bikes Direct and ask what their labor warranty is.

To defend the bike shops, here I will say that mark-up on bikes is very small for most stores. A bike that has a sticker price of $1000 cost the store around $700-800. That mark-up also has to pay a mechanic for the time it takes to assemble the bike. So in the end there is very little profit on bike sales. So, to say that bike shops massively overcharge for bikes is a completely ignorant comment.

In fact almost every bike manufacturer that I know of sets a suggested and a minimum retail price. The minimum retail price is generally only about 5% less than the suggested.

No shop that I have ever seen actually charges more than suggested retail.

A shop in the town where I live opened with the idea of undercutting all the local business by charging 8% margin on all of their bikes (with a bike company that didn't set minimum retail prices). They tanked in less than a year. I guess 8% margin wasn't enough to pay the utilities.

I think that tinkering with your bike is a great way to learn. However, tinkering with the bike you will be riding is not safe until you are proficient at wrenching. The OP certainly should not attempt to build a bike he buys from Bikes Direct. Generally a person who is inexperienced at bike wrenching does not pay close enough attention to detail. This can be disastrous for the rider.

Don't learn how to work on bikes with the bike on which you plan on doing lots of riding. Get a bike at a yard sale for $25 to do this.

Are these bikes decent ? wrote:

I cannot find a better bike that is used then the new ones on bike direct. I am not racing, I just want a bike for riding. You guys supporting local bike shops talk out of both sides of your mouth. Please show me a bike online that is used that is better and not as expensive as the bike direct ones.

The problem with buying used and with buying on the net/mail order is that you might get a bike that is good for someone else but not you. Assume that you know little about shoes and you want shoes for racing a marathon. Do you go to a mail-order place with no feedback and where they describe the shoes as Extra Small, Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large?

What happens when something breaks or is out of alignment or gets loose. With a good store they should stand behind the bike (I just brought mine in on Sunday and they tightened up the cog set, gave a little advice and sent me on the way with no charge).

I do not and have never worked at a bike shop, but I have raced a little bit (~15-20 USCF races). Now 25 years passed my racing period.

I wasn't flaming bike shops - as you pointed out, the bike manufacturers are the ones that set retail prices on bikes. My point was simply that a very gently used bike will cost 25-50% less than the same one new, and yet will be in identical condition in a couple weeks. Perhaps a better phrasing would be that new bikes are overpriced.

I disagree here - IMO, as long as the person in question has some degree of mechanical proficiency, they can safely work on their everyday use bike. Naturally, any work they do should be done with great care, but the majority of basic maintenance is simply screwing and unscrewing allen bolts. The only potential danger would be leaving brake cables or other parts too loose, but with a decent guidebook and basic common sense, this shouldn't be an issue.

When it comes to tinkering: A basic guidebook would help a lot but I've seen the several carbon parts come straight out of the box without a torque spec anywhere. This is something that comes from experience and most books may have a guideline but there are no set rules. SO...when little johnny starts cranking down on those easy to tighten allen bolts for what he things is basic maintenance and he ends up fracturing something like a carbon handle bar, well, let's hope he's not putting too much torque on the bars.

I say tinker on your yard sale bike until you get some experience. Have you ever tried to adjust a derailleur that wasn't bent?? That's hard enough to learn by itself. Try one where you need to hook up the alignment tool.

It sure sounds like you are flaming bike shops when you say:

"The fact is, the shops around me, like the majority of LBS's, massively overcharge for their new bikes."

So, according your rephrasing, bikes are simply overpriced. Fine, but overpriced relative to what? Cost of materials, workmanship and demand for those goods is what determines the price. If people are willing to pay list price for said goods and it grants sellers and manufacturers involved a small profit, then those items are priced appropriately.

Sure you can get a used bike from ebay for a lot less than you can get one new. Fair enough. The difference is that a person selling on ebay is not trying to make any sort of profit on their goods while a bike shop, a bike manufacturer, etc. sets prices on their goods so they can make a profit.

They aren't in the business of giving things away; selling is their business. And it isn't like they are making money hand over fist on each bike sold. It's just not the way it works. Manufacturers like Trek, Raleigh, Giant, et. al. make their money in volume. If they made as much money on each bike as you seem to imply, they would be the richest companies in the world.

When 80-90% of serious cyclists I encounter can't manage to change their own inner tubes, I have to question anyone's mechanical proficiency. I just have a hard time believing that a person without any prior bike experience could pick up a book and safely perform maintenance. There are just so many things a book cannot cover.

Well, my initial statement remains true - the reason, though, for their high sticker prices is the manufacturers prices.

New bikes are overpriced in my mind because cycling is a rich person's sport. Most of these high end bikes are not being sold to young (poorer) racers, as these people will usually get some form of sponsorship. Most of these bikes are being sold to well-off people in their late twenties and thirties who can easily be convinced to shell out huge sums on a bike for recreational or semi-competitive use just because they are told it is a top of the line bike. These kind of people have money to burn, and buying an expensive bike is a sort of status symbol.

Bike companies don't have the number of customers necessary to become gigantic companies. Especially in the US, there just aren't a whole lot of people who buy bikes. Additionally, the top-end manufacturers spend a great deal of money on pro-teams and very high level R&D - without which, they would still be able to provide good quality mid-range bikes.

I'm not saying what either the LBS's or the bike manufacturers are doing is wrong. Simply that both entities have a target audience, and that audience has a great deal of money to spend. Therefore, if you do not happen to be a part of that particular demographic, it would be wise to explore other bike-buying avenues.

I suppose I may have a skewed view of the average cyclist's mechanical capabilities. However, buying a yard sale junker to practice on isn't a great alternative, as most bikes today have fairly specialized components - hence, how you might approach the crank or bb of the junker might be completely different than the approach required on the new bike. What I would probably recommend to a newbie would be to start off reading and learning about maintenance from books and the web (there are some really good websites on the topic). Then start maintenance alone, but if they were ever even the slightest bit unsure, to get someone who knows what they are doing to take a look at it.

Additionally, for the previous poster, at the price ranges being discussed, I don't think carbon torque tolerances are going to be an issue.

You guys fell for this thread? This is how bikesdirect advertises.....by starting up spam threads like this all over the net. They do it all the time over at bikeforums.net.