Road Bicycle Recommendations Under $1000

Fuji and Giant seem to have some well kitted out bikes at lower prices than many.

Performance Bike (mail order) also has some GT's and Scattanes (their in house brand) that seem better than big box store bikes.

 

get a cannondale with Shimano 105 I sold my last bike which was a Cannondale Six5 alum/carbon fork with Shimano 105 for $900 the bike only had 1000 miles on it..

 

Bikesdirect has some great bikes at great deals. The components alone usually cost more than the entire bike.

If you can though figure out what size bike you need and buy used. Craigslist, ebay, whatever. Bought a 3 month old 2010 Trek FUEL EX9 mtn bike for half of what it cost new with less than 50 miles on it. Deals can be found. Just do some research on what stuff costs and you can find very good deals.

 

I bought a 2011 Felt z85 for under $1k... shimano 105 components...

 

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/road_bikes.htm

 

+1 for craigslist or buying used.

I got a real nice klein for 700 bucks.

 

i just bought this specialized secteur triple to get me in the door of road cycling. brand new it was at the bike shop for 875 or 899 somethign like that. i put about 50 miles on it with the standard cage pedals to get used to it. for me, i'm not racing it, i just wanted a good excercise bike and i've been happy with it so far. I just put some shimano 105 pedals on it and got some sidi cycling shoes for a good price at http://www.nashbar.com and i'm even happier with the bike now.

 

Thanks for all the feedback. I'll consider all of it.

Anyone have experience with Nashbar? The Nashbar AL-2 is $799 new and seems well equipped.

 

That secteur triple looks nice.

 

I picked up my Cannondale CAAD4 (probably close to ten years old) for under $200. Great bike.

But, two things I hate about it, are one, SORA shifters. Avoid them. They suck compared to the better stuff. Two, avoid a triple if you can. it severely limits your upgradability, limits your cassette choices, and the extra ring is something you rarely will use unless you live in some serious hills.

 

I picked up a Giant Defy Alliance a couple years ago as a deal when they were bringing in the next year's models. Probably slightly more expensive than buying used, but I got a new bike and I get shop support as long as I own it.

 

Road bike snobs, aka "roaddies", and they are a populous lot, will scoff at a triple, but I say if it gets you out, riding and able to climb stuff that you would normally avoid or not even consider riding, go for it. Trust me, there are times I wish I had a triple. Part of the fun of road biking is grinding out long climbs, believe it or not.

Riding is better than not riding and whatever it takes to get you out; triples, mtn bike shorts vs bib shorts, buying an off name bike for economic reasons, etc, go for it.

 

I am far from a roadie, but I hate my triple mainly because it limits my upgrade options. That, and I RARELY get into the third ring, id rather have another two cogs in the rear instead.

 

I have had some times around my home in Canton where a triple or a 10 speed rear would be nice, but I have a apparent for work near Savannah and when I ride down here I can get away with a fix gear or a 3 speed just to deal with the wind. It all has to do on where you live.

 

I will definitely have to climb some hills where I live. It's called "Hog Mountain"