I need some new wheels

[SkiDog]

I know that we are getting into sliding season but we are also getting into cheap(er) bike season. I am looking for a road bicycle that will not break the bank but allow me to go fast and have a lot of fun. I am about 6'3" and have not been on a road bike in years. Any suggestions you folks may have would be greatly aoppreciated. I have been keping an eye on Craigslist but I am no expert on quality for the price. I live in the seacoast of NH and am willing to travel for the right deal. Thanks for your help.
:snowflakes: :snowflakes: :snowflakes: :snowflakes: :snowflakes: :snowflakes:

[TenSeven]

The frame is important. The components you can always upgrade. Invest in a decent frame and make sure that it fits you. Go to a local bike store and figure out what size frame you would be. If it doesn't fit properly you won't enjoy it. Arm yourself with as much info as possible. Knowledge is power. Check out cycling websites. For example:

http://www.canadiancyclist.com/

A lot have classified sections where good deals can be found. Think about a cyclocross bike. They're awesome for road, dirt road, some trails and of course, cyclocross racing. It's exploding in popularity.

[RR]

There's some two road bikes on sale at EMS, both Hybrids:
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RC-10 around $500. The top sz = 58cm better check that out for size.
IRON HORSE Triumph Flat Bar Bike, '06 at $365 the 58cm might do, but the 61 might be more comfy.

The rocky has nice frame, middle of the road comoponents and niceish wheels. The IHorse has geometry I like, okay components and decent wheels.

I ride an old Trek 750 hybrid and find that with bar extensions I get a couple of good positions.

There are a lot of bikers here, if you find something, kick in the details and we might have some beta to kick back.

Happy Hunting.

[Skilasnow]

I love my Trek 1000!

If you find a great frame, but is one size too small, you should be able to make it comfy with a change of stems. I was always told that if you fall between two sizes get the smallr one, you can make a smaller frame feel bigger, but you can't make a bigger frame feel smaller.

[clg898]

Are you looking for a rain/snow bike, or one that will be your primary ride? I'd look for something with Shimano 105 component group... anything lower isn't so hot and anything higher starts getting expensive. 105 is a good combination of price and performance. Sora/Tiagra comes on lower end bikes and is serviceable, but stepping up to 105 is worth the money. Going from 105 to Ultegra is great if you have a flexible budget, but you start seeing diminishing returns on your investment IMO.

For a frame, you should decide aluminum, steel, or carbon. If you are looking for cheap, then aluminum or steel are going to be your choices. If you haven't ridden both an Al fram and a steel frame, you should head to a bike shop and try both. Some people can't stand the ride of an aluminum frame, others like the "snapiness" of a stiff Al frame. It's really personal preference, so you should really try both and be sure to find rougher pavement (not potholes, but not nes asphalt) to test them out on.

Fit is very important and encompasses more than just frame size... the stem, handlebars, seat post, saddle position, frame geometry, etc. are all important. For that reason, if you have the budget to buy new from a bike shop I would, especially if you plan to spend any amount of time on the bike. If you are just using it for a 5 mile commute to work or short trips around town, then you can get away with a sub-optimal fit, but if you plan on spending more than an hour on the bike at a time, a poor fitting bike will be very uncomfortable and will probably end up taking up space in your garage.

[SkiDog]

So I went and checked out two local shops today, Papa Wheelies and Bicycle Bobs. Great guys at both places. Papa's sells Specialized and Cannondale and Bob sells Felt, Jamis and Fuji. I was very interested in the Felt F75 at Bob's. Looks like a great bike and is on sale for $1100. The bikes at Papa's that were in my range were the Specialized Allez, Roubaix and a Cannondale R800 on sale. Not sure where I will go from here. It was too rainy to test ride. Next nice day I'll head out and try them all. Still have another shop in Dover to look at. Do any of you have any experience/knowledge with any of these bikes? Let me know...

And the search continues...

[clg898]

The Felt 75 @$1100 is a nice bike for the money. The Specialzed Roubaix is very nice too. Both have carbon forks which IMO makes Aluminum much more rideable. If you have another grand or so you can go full carbon... if you really don't want to spend that much, don't even sit on a full carbon because you'll end up hocking your wife's engagment ring. ;) ;)

Do you have a bike right now? What is your budget? One thing to consider is that you can drop another $500+ easy on accessories:

Helmet: $75-100
Shoes: $125-200
Clipless Pedals: $100
Floor Pump: $35-75
Bike pump: $25
Spare tubes: $5
bottles, etc

The list goes on... especially if you are planning to ride this time of year and don't have a lot of cold weather gear already.

Not to discourage you, just be aware that your $1200 purchase can become a $2000 purchase pretty quickly...