You’re doing it for exercise? Ride what you already own.

quote:

oo bad you can’t ride a 57 cm. I have an Eddy mostly Super Record to get rid of.

Emma Chizzit?

quote:

Too bad you can’t ride a 57 cm. I have an Eddy mostly Super Record to get rid of.

A Merckx? That's my size!

I much prefer Shimano over SRAM on road bikes, opposite for mountain bikes, but would go with the Ridley out of those listed. If you have the gift of time I’d stalk CL, you may have a local/state wide bike classified on FaceBook as well if you haven’t checked that as an option.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
You’re doing it for exercise? Ride what you already own.

Yup. Upgrade what you’ve got.

I ride a 1998 Specialized Alez Sport.

I have already upgraded what I own, to the limit of 1991 compatible components. It's a fast machine, 22 pounds is very light for all steel bikes. It is more of a treasure than anything. I don't want to crash it, lose it, have it stolen while at lunch on a century, etc. I'm thinking I could handle the SRAM shifting difference, and get the Ridley Helium SL. I need a bike rack trailer hitch on the Lexus, and need to sell a P239 with holster to move hobby funds from one to the other! I also have an exquisite Win 70 that would be about the same cost as the Ridley, gathering dust in the safe.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin101:
you need an endurance bike!!!! what model is the ridley?

I just bought a specialized Roubaix frame. if you are going to knock out a century you want some relaxed geometry at 56!!!

That's what I have. It's a great bike, although I don't get to ride as often as I once did.



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Colorado Cyclist carries quality equipment, at fair prices. I purchased an all titanium bike from them for a great price. It was their "house" brand.

I would look for one that has disc brakes, especially if you ended up buying a new one.

I love Cannondales, raced them for years, my only concern for you would be that you are a big guy. I would ride one first to see how you get along with them. I would recommend a Carbon fork if it doesn't come with one.

Treks are great bikes, and the Ultegra is a plus.

Whatever you get it will be a great step up.

To get into shape, the bike is almost completely irrelevant, so long as the components function correctly. Fit, is, however important, so get a bike that fits well. If you can do that yourself, fine, but otherwise go to a bike shop that offers fitting services. Do not get a triathalon bike.
Use the cheapest bike you can find that will fit and function adequately. Then, get a power meter and a head unit to track your fitness progress.
Power meters and head units are a whole 'nuther topic, but for the purposes of this thread I am jut advocating that a cheap bike will work as well as an expensive one, so save money there and spend the saved cash on a power meter.

If going Cannondale you likely will be better suited going with a Synapse as mentioned already. I love my Synapse carbon 105. Full carbon body and fork with the 105 group set. Very comfortable bike.

quote:

Originally posted by pbslinger:

quote:

Too bad you can’t ride a 57 cm. I have an Eddy mostly Super Record to get rid of.

A Merckx? That's my size!

Indeed, a Merckx. Want to talk?

It’s here in my garage.

4M, I ride the capital trail roughly once a week, not the full distance, usually parking at the Chickahominy bridge and doing 25 miles out toward Richmond for a 50-mike round trip. The trail is so nice, it’s worth the 30-40 min drive for me to get there from York county. I’m currently averaging 16.2-16.7 mph depending how I feel and weather/wind.

I’m riding a 2015 Motobecane Sprint CF(carbon fiber) I bought on bikesdirect.com, shipped to my door for only $1100. It’s a great ride, take a look at the website and email me if you’d like to meet at the trail sometime to look at it. I’m 5’11” and 200lbs and IIRC it’s a 58cm, maybe not your size but close enough for you to get an idea what is available online before you make buying decision. I’ve assembled 2 bikes from them, no need to pay a shop to do it if you decide to buy online.

- John

Newer (within the last decade) bikes come in two geometries for their frames which are as follows:
1. endurance which equal more relaxed position designed for longer rides. Many of your mountain stages of the races are done using endurance geometry bikes.

2. race geometry which aren't as comfortable as endurance geometry bikes as they are designed to put you in a more aerodynamic position.

These two geometries are regular road bikes and not triathalon or time trial bikes.

If $1500.00 is the top of your budget go talk to your local bike stores about buying last year or the previous years model with a 105 groiupset as many people have traded in these bikes to buy this year (next year's) models.

Often the local bike shop will have what you are looking for either as a bike they took in on trade, or a bike that has been sitting on their floor since new.

Your other option which isn't a bad one is to convert your current bike into the newer technology. This would be done by stretching the frame where the rear tire goes to accept a 700R wheel and widening your front fork to accept the 700R wheel. they you would change bars, bar stem, and shifting drivetrain. This can be done within your budget.

Ridley makes a heck of a bike as does Trek and Cannondale.

I am 6'3" 360 pounds and ride an Orbea Orca in 60cm.

Thanks for all the interesting advice and insight.

The 1991 Schwinn Prologue has 700 x 23 wheels and tires, Shimano RSX STI levers, an extended 3TTT stem for wide double bend bars, properly fitted to me, a titanium railed saddle on top of an extended post. I push the Shimano biopace chainrings with Look or SPD pedals. The wheels are so strong that they have never been trued, in all these years. It's a great bike.



I'll spend some time this afternoon riding, and then peruse the sites you all have recommended to continue my learning.

ETA: Just rode 55 minutes at average speed of 16 mph on the machine.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 4MUL8R,

My suggestion is head to a local bike shop and get something new (last year's model or this year's). It will have a warranty and you'll have support from the shop.

Trek has a credit card that allowed me to pay off my new Giant Defy Advanced 2 over time with no interest. The price was $400 over your budget, but included the proper fitting and I went back a couple of times to fine tune the fit. Could not get a better deal if I paid cash.

Just traveling all of those hours to go look at the used bikes you listed is extra time = money.

Just my opinion.

Endurance geometry all the way. I have a Fuji Robaix, and a Fuji Sportif. The Sportif is much more comfortable. The Robaix is aver so slightly faster.

Found a Trek Madone 5.5 in 64 cm frame size! Affordable, but two hours away. May look at it this weekend. Waiting on a car repair after our daughter's wedding.

Wow! I sure don't see any compelling reason to switch from that bike. In fact, you will probably get a lot of street cred for having such a nice vintage bike. I do most of my training on a 1986 Look KG76, and have had French tourists come talk to me about it.

Here are some sites to check out:

https://www.bicyclebluebook.com/marketplace/buy

https://www.ebay.com/usr/thepr...rksid=p2047675.l2559

2011 Madone 62CM with Dura Ace Di2


From the sounds of it, you've already proven that you're willing to ride, a modern carbon frame and decent components will be a serious upgrade.

Again, I think you're best bet is finding a LBS and looking at clearance models. They may have a 60cm on clearance, but if you need a 62+cm, you may have to pay retail.

Is there a Performance Bike near you?