For about the past year I've really wanted to get a road bike. My old mountain bike is still good and doesn't have a ton of miles on it all things considered, but there are two things I'm looking at:
1) there are no mountains around me
2) the thing weighs a ton and is not the most comfortable for everyday road riding.

So I've been starting to do some research on road bikes with the hopes of picking something up before the summer. But there is one obvious obstacle right now: I don't have much money at this moment in time. Anyway, I know we have some biking fans around here so I thought I might as well ask for some recommendations or some things to look for in relatively inexpensive road bikes. Thanks ahead of time.

price window first. then suggestions.

I won't make recommendations, because I've found over these years, that everyone has different tastes, different price points, different desires in performance, etc.

With that said, I bought my first real road bike 3 years ago. It was an inexpensive entry level bike- a LeMond Reno WSD (women specific design). I got it on sale for $750 (regularly $850). Before I decided to go with that one, I tried out all sorts of bikes-- Specialized, Felt, Trek, etc. To me, that's the biggest hurdle. As most of you know already, I ride the hell out of this bike. It's been on century rides, and I've logged almost 3000 miles on the thing. It's been a great little workhorse, and with proper maintenance, I plan on riding it for a few more years. Only this past January did I replace the chain, derailleur, and got new tires. I could probably upgrade to something more expensive and lighter, but right now, this works for me.

As Phil suggested, you should probably narrow your window to what you're willing to pay, and then look at what's available in your price range. Ride LOTS of bikes... no one bike is like another, and if the bike shop is reputable and decent, they won't steer you towards buying something that doesn't work for you (i.e. in my experience, avoid Performance Bicycle like the plague, and all their "packages" and "bonus points" programs, or any of the big-box retail stores that sell bikes as a part of their enormous inventory-- I haven't had experience with REI/Novara bikes, so I'll refrain from lumping them within that big-box category). In fact, most reputable bike shops will go out of their way to make adjustments for you BEFORE you even test ride it (seat height/pitch, handlebar height, etc.). Ultimately, if you plan on riding the bike a lot, you need to find one that is comfortable.

I'm sure there are tons of bike review sites... just a precursory google brought up http://www.roadbikereview.com/

Another good idea is to talk with your local bike shop, and see if they (or they know a business that does) sell used or refurbished bikes. I know at least here in Portland, several of the pro-riders often retire their bikes at the end of each year, and you can get a pretty top of the line for sometimes as much as half the original cost (and with a pro-rider, you'll know that they took pretty good care of it, barring any massive crashes).

Good luck!

d, sounds like you do a lot of riding out there in pdx. if i wind up moving out there this fall [distinct possibility] i'ma look you up. we do a lot of riding out here in nyc, altho my daily average is usually only 15-20 miles based on my commute + any extra shit i do, laps in the park, etc... and i guess my daily max is to this point maybe about 60 or so...altho we are kicking around the idea of an all fixed race from philly to nyc right now... hell, it's only about 85 miles, hahaha.

ouch, I don't do fixies, haha... it's actually funny, there was a lot of brouhaha lately over police issuing tickets to fixie riders for lack of brakes:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews ... en_li.html

But sure, look me up if you move here. I do most of my riding in the summertime, and my goal is to do a century by August/September time frame (doing a metric century at the end of the month). There are tons of organized rides around here, charity rides, and a pretty big pro community as well (I don't compete, except with myself, haha). I also ride mostly with other women, but I'm sure I could put you in touch with a cool group of guys to ride with too.

60 miles a day? You're doing more than me, sir.

ahhh yeh, ive been keeping up with the fixed gear/brakeless law progress. it's good that theyre recognizing the inherent differences in the bikes and tyring to accomodate everyone.
most of the riding i do, i do it for myself, too. altho i'm getting my arm twisted about racing here since there are so many alleycats scheduled, so eventually i'm sure i'll cave...

preferably under $700

i picked up a low-end specialized allez road bike last year for a little over $600. i have been really happy with it. it's light, which makes it easy for me to carry it up to my apartment everyday. it rides comfortably (did 50 miles one day last year and only had typical soreness from being on a bike for so long). and it's kinda tough, except for the front reflector, which i busted off the first day i owned it when i hit a person.

I think the Trek 1000 series is now under $700, ever since they got the chinese frame quality up to standards. Those would probably be a great value if they fit you ok.

I bought a sick road bike for $280 off Craig's List last summer. Probably not an honest purchase, but I have no way of knowing. I brought it into the shop for a new tire and the guy offered to buy it on the spot, said the rims alone were worth what I paid.

yeah, search craigslist for deals. there is a lot of junk there, but people are always selling bikes. or... find out wherever there's a stolen bike flea market (usually only in huge cities). or just go to the recovered stolen bikes auction. there're plenty of good/great road bikes available for less than $700 if you know where to look.

yeah, be careful on craigslist though... I don't buy anything like this sight unseen, or without trying it out first. Plus I DO know that a lot of bikes get stolen and tossed up there for sale.

Bike stores also offer warranties which you obviously won't get when buying from craigslist.

I just priced a raleigh road bike at $495 on sunday. When I get my extra job, I'm going right to that bike shop to pick her up.

$280.

I restate my case.

I got a Trek XO-1 Cyclorcross on ebay for 400. I knew the frame size i wanted and i knew that i liked that model.

I just kept my eyes peeled.

Also, check out bike recycleries, in chicago it was www.workingbikes.org

I got a road bike last week off craigslist, the guy was totally legit though. It was $175, but I have been fixing it up a bit -- new pedals, handlebar tape, seat, etc. This weekend I am going to repack the bearings, lube the chain, and replace the shifter cables.

The problem is that the seat I got hurts my butt so bad. It sucks because I spent like $30 on it, too.

By the way, biking to work is AWESOME.

speaking of biking to work, one of my co-workers took a major digger today on his bike coming in... ambulances and everything were on the scene. Haven't heard anything new, but hope he's ok... he's an older dude, mid-50s.

[tim gunn]carry on![/tim gunn]

+ 1 on biking to work.
ish, sick moser. what's the wheelset on there? hard to tell from the pics. they kind of look like aeros from this angle but i'm sure it's deceiving.
d, hope yr coworker is ok. every day i ride past a ghost bike that was put up for the 22 yr old victim of a drunk driver. very sad, especially since he was on a bikepath at the time...

I think he said they were campagnolos at one time...

might be wrong.

i bought this bike last year and LOVE it

http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/06/CUSA ... 6RR8D.html
Jet Black (matte) (BBQ)

timis , that's a beautiful ride
how does that 16sp front wheel hold up on the road?

just fine....

from end of april until oct i average 120 miles/week - no probs

shit, i think i'd destroy that wheel inside of about 20 minutes here. oh, how i pine for a stretch of decent road...

The rims are Mavic and the rest is Campagnolo. Sometimes, usually, I don't know what to do with this whip.

and the whole ride was under 300 bucks!