I want to buy a bike that is good for road and trail riding. I have a $500 budget, and I may want to ride it across the Country with my cousin next summer.
What should I buy?
Size: A rough sizing chart to ballpark a purchase. Much fine-tuning will be necessary.
Frame Types:
Road Bike: skinny tires, many speeds, shifters, brakes,
Pro: fast, good for paved roads & commuting.
Con: price, maintenance.
Price: Reasonable new road bikes start at $800.
Track/single speed: 1 or 2 brakes, no shifters, skinny tires.
Pro: lighter/cheaper than road bikes, easier maintenance & upkeep.
Con: hills are tough when you can’t change gearing.
Price: Reasonable new bikes start at $500.
Cyclocross: Like road bikes, but with wider tires.
Pro: handles paved roads and maintained dirt paths (but no suspension, so no real off-roading).
Con: price, maintenance. Generally slower / heavier than comparable road bike.
Price. Reasonable new Cross bikes start at $800.
Cyclocross bikes should not be confused with “hybrid” bikes, which are universally crap.
Frame Material: For a new bike, aluminum frame + carbon fiber fork is the best balance between price, speed, & comfort. If buying a used bike more than 5 years old, go with a steel frame. Here’s a quick breakdown of frame materials.
Aluminum:
Pro: fast + light + cheap. No rust.
Con: less comfortable. destroyed in crash.
Steel:
Pro: Cheap + Comfortable. Survives Crash
Con: Heavy. Rusts.
Carbon Fiber:
Pro: fast + light + comfortable. No rust.
Con: Expensive. Destroyed in crash.
Titanium:
Pro: light + comfortable. Survives crash. No rust.
Con: Expensive. Slow.
Frame Brand. All of the major companies make reasonably good new frames.
Buying new, I’d trust: Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, Jamis, Giant, Bianchi, Fuji
Buying Used, I’d trust:
Shifters/Brakes/Derailleurs:
There are 3 major companies – Shimano (Japan), Campagnolo (Italy), Sram (US).
Each has several product lines with confusing brand jargon:
Shimano:
Sora – crap
Tiagra – decent
105 – sweet spot
Ultegra – expensive
Dura Ace – more expensive
Campagnolo:
Veloce – crap
Centaur – decent
Chorus – expensive
Record – more expensive
Super Record – most expensive
Sram:
Apex – meh
Rival – decent
Force – expensive
Red – more expensive
Cheaper parts have much shorter life span. When buying used, nothing below 105, Centaur or Rival types.
Look for 18 or 20 speed parts. 27 or 30 speed parts have more frequent mechanical problems.
Vendors.
Bikesdirect.com is a good place to start shopping. The website is hideous, and the quoted “list prices” can be ignored. Fortunately, their actual prices are consistently low.
If you can’t find anything decent in your price range, that leaves craigslist & ebay.
Tags: basics, bicycles, bikes, buying guide, fit, intro, new, shopping, size, used
