Should I buy a road bike?

Lazyweek · Postby **Lazyweek** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:24 pm

Hello,

I haven't been on the forum for a while. Anyway, I have a dual suspension mountain bike which is good fun to ride and I enjoy hitting a few trails from time to time. However, a lot of riding I do is just on flat sealed surfaces. For this kind of riding, the mountain bike is not much fun.

I had a test ride on a Trek Madone 4.5 yesterday. To be honest, I loved it. To be able to effortless accelerate uphill (slight incline) is just amazing. If I was to buy a road bike, I would be looking at rides of around an hour with a few sprints thrown in. The one thing holding me back is that I travel a lot for work so it's hard to get a regular routine. Any advice?

wombatK · Postby **wombatK** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:49 pm

Lazyweek wrote: The one thing holding me back is that I travel a lot for work so it's hard to get a regular routine. Any advice?

Roof racks

Lazyweek · Postby **Lazyweek** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:56 pm

If only it were that easy, my travel involves flying.

uncle arthur · Postby **uncle arthur** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:58 pm

Lazyweek wrote:Hello,
......I travel a lot for work so it's hard to get a regular routine. Any advice?

Stop making excuses.

DW260 · Postby **DW260** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 4:44 pm

Of course you should. You might find you will ride more often.

marinmomma · Postby **marinmomma** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:37 pm

Go for it, with a reaction like you have described to having a test ride, you might find that you will make more time to ride because the roadie is more enjoyable compared to the mountain bike.

Good luck with the decision.

waramatt · Postby **waramatt** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:54 pm

marinmomma wrote:Go for it, with a reaction like you have described to having a test ride, you might find that you will make more time to ride because the roadie is more enjoyable compared to the mountain bike.

Good luck with the decision.

+1 If you can afford it, why not? You WILL love it and won't be sorry.

AndrewBurns · Postby **AndrewBurns** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:17 pm

A few points:

- You only have one bike, the correct number is n+1
- You only have a dual suspension MTB, you need a road bike to balance it out
- You do a lot of riding on sealed paths/roads, roads belong to the road bike
- They're fun and it's not like they fall to pieces over time so it will always be waiting for when you can ride it

I think the path forward should be clear

Lazyweek · Postby **Lazyweek** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 8:41 pm

Thanks for all the replies, sounds like I should have a road bike

I will be getting tax back soon so it will almost feel like getting a bike for free.

I imagine brands/models are a very personal thing but what you recommend if setting a budget at $2000 max? As I mentioned before, I am thinking of using it for relatively short rides so comfort is not a huge priority for me. I personally like short bursts of speed over sustained effort. I am only 70 kg though so I won't be too hard on my bike. I would like to get my leg strength back up, I did get to a 1.5 X body weight deep squat but probably don't have that strength now.

marinmomma · Postby **marinmomma** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 8:44 pm

Is the budget just for the bike or does it have to cover bike plus everything else that you need like pedal, shoes, helmet and all the other bits and bobs that come along with a roadie?

Mrfenejeans · Postby **Mrfenejeans** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 9:22 pm

Get a road bike.

Lazyweek · Postby **Lazyweek** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 9:33 pm

marinmomma wrote:Is the budget just for the bike or does it have to cover bike plus everything else that you need like pedal, shoes, helmet and all the other bits and bobs that come along with a roadie?

That's the budget for the bike. For pedals/shoes/helmet I could use what I already have, though that may be blasphemy.

marinmomma · Postby **marinmomma** » Tue Jul 17, 2012 9:44 pm

Take a look on bike exchange and see what your money can get you, you should be able to get a carbon frame with 105 running gear for around that money....they're starting to run out the 2012 models to make way for the '13 ones...you might find the odd 2011 model around, although thos may well be the very small or extra large sized frames....good if you are really short or extra tall!

You'll know when you find the right bike for you...they have a way of finding you if that makes sense!
Bike fit is very important as well as how much the bike appeals to you...if you don't like it or it don't fit you ain't going to enjoy it!

Value for money? At the 2k mark there's not much that will separate the different brands.

Hth, and good luck, let us know what you end up getting!

toppity · Postby **toppity** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 12:43 pm

zero · Postby **zero** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 1:51 pm

Lazyweek wrote:Thanks for all the replies, sounds like I should have a road bike I will be getting tax back soon so it will almost feel like getting a bike for free.

I imagine brands/models are a very personal thing but what you recommend if setting a budget at $2000 max? As I mentioned before, I am thinking of using it for relatively short rides so comfort is not a huge priority for me. I personally like short bursts of speed over sustained effort. I am only 70 kg though so I won't be too hard on my bike. I would like to get my leg strength back up, I did get to a 1.5 X body weight deep squat but probably don't have that strength now.

I bought a second hand roadbike for $900 to go with my DS MTB. It wound up being extremely seductive because its faster in traffic (keeps up more often, more comfortable in terms of motorists responses to my presence etc), and I racked up 4000 commuting kms in 9 months before I'd even fully mentally realised that my Sunday road bike really had become my first choice (and was getting dirty, wet and beaten up as a result). I initially thought that 4000kms would be a 2 year distance budget for it, and I'd still do most of my kms on the MTB.

I use MTB style spds and MTB shoes so that both bikes are the same (though I use pd520s that have no platform on the road bike). Not like any roadie will even notice as they'll be too busy being disgusted by my leg hair and hivis anyway.

Lazyweek · Postby **Lazyweek** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:04 am

Okay, what do you think of these?

-Trek Madone 4.5 - $2000
-Gaint TCR Advanced 3 - $2000
-Specialized Tarmac Elite Rival - $2500

For looks I think the Tarmac takes the cake. Value for money....not so sure.

marinmomma · Postby **marinmomma** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:08 pm

I prefer either the Specialized or the Trek not really a fan of Giants myself. Go for the one that 'speaks' to you and the one that gives you the biggest smile when you ride it
hth

Edited to add....

Just had a look at the specs for the Tarmac...it said that it's a mid-compact crankset, 52/36, will that work for you with regards to hills?
Compact gearing is 50/34 which makes going up hills a little easier....if I lived somewhere with little or no hills I'd go the mid compact set up, although having a 28 cog at the back will help.

The Madone has more 105 level gear on it but a whooping 30 toothed cog on the back with the compact setup.
The Tarmac is a mix of Rival and Apex....

The Giant is full 105 but the gearing is standard crankset of the front and only a 25 toothed cog, hills could be difficult unless you are a strong rider.

Pros and cons for both bikes for me.

sogood · Postby **sogood** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:17 pm

The answer is... Yes... No... Yes... Maybe... No... Yes... No... Yessss!

wombatK · Postby **wombatK** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:03 pm

Lazyweek wrote:If only it were that easy, my travel involves flying.

Don't give up so easily. Roof rack equivalent for aircraft is something like a bike bag. 2.5 kg for bag, plus 7.5 kg for bike, leaves at least 10 kg for the less important stuff like clothes etc. Not saying this is cheapest and best way - just an option.

A job that involves regular flying usually pays good coin - so you can afford the bike bag and a
super-light road bike to pack in it.

Tornado · Postby **Tornado** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 11:44 pm

Do it. On the Road. Road bike is king

Lazyweek · Postby **Lazyweek** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:53 am

wombatK wrote: - so you can afford the bike bag and a
super-light road bike to pack in it.

This doesn't actually sound like a bad idea. I was chatting to a shop owner yesterday and he happened to mention the exact same thing.

I happened to see a Fuji (Altamira 2.0 I believe) that looked pretty sweet. Getting a bit out of my price range though.

sogood · Postby **sogood** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:14 pm

You don't need to regular routine to enjoy a road bike ride. It's no different to ownership of any other bike. You ride when you can, store when you can't. The important thing is, being able to enjoy to the maximum when you are on the saddle and riding!

GolferGoneMad · Postby **GolferGoneMad** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 6:03 pm

I bought my first road bike in April this year. I expected to be keen for the first month and that work would keep me from riding to often and before you know it I'm averaging 600km a month (600 a year if I was lucky before now) and take every chance I can to get on and go for a ride.

So...just do it and you might be surprised how often you actually ride.

yarravalleyplodder · Postby **yarravalleyplodder** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:13 pm

Is this thread still going?

Simple answer is Yes

Nothing else to debate

bossonbike · Postby **bossonbike** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:58 pm

yeah get into road biking it's awesome. the new madone 4.5 2013 comes in a black radioshack nissan team kind of colour and looks really good.