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Jones'n to ride. Looking for Road Bike under $500

2K views 25 replies 13 participants last post by  IAmHolland 
#1 ·
My Fox fork took a crap (yes its the loose crown issue) so the LBS is sending it back under warranty but its going to be 2 weeks w/o a ride (I have a hunch it will be longer). I'll fall off the wagon if I don't ride for that long so this is a perfect excuse to go try out a cheap road bike (or maybe one of those hybrid rigs). I've been interested but dont have a lot of cash to spend with the holidays coming up and all. Basically I want something I can just train on to get better on the mt bike. "Comfortable endurance" if that makes any sense.

I don't know squat about what to look for in a road bike so I'm asking for help from my local guys here. $500 max so I'm pretty sure I'll have to hunt for used. Any makes I should strictly stick to?

I'm going to drop by the LBS later today and ask some questions and have them size me up so I have an idea about possible used rigs that could work.

I found this on CL this morning, is this going the wrong direction? Is a hybrid good for endurance training?

Trek Fitness Road bike 7.3 FX

Thanks guys!
 
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#9 ·
I'd still take my CX bike for road/fire road duties.

I race it, ride road on it, trails on it... etc.
On the road, with road tires its fast enough. top end kinda is lacking, but meh.
It might suck at everything besides CX racing, but it is FAST at fulfilling its destiny of sucktitude.
 
#10 ·
Getting a road bike that fits is more important than getting a mtb that fits exactly right, since you're more or less in the same position for a longer time. Figure out what size frame you need first--they go by cm, not by small, medium, large. Then go shop for used ones.
 
#15 ·
Before I got my CX (which is set up for road only right now) I used my 1990 Rockhopper with gears as a road bike. Add some drop bars and skinnies and it'll be a slacker road bike. :) You would need a size smaller frame to get roadie drops though.

For road, a road bike is cool. It's faster, but if you don't care about that, the steel rigid works. The problem is the positioning of the hands, there weren't enough with my riser. I added bar ends, which helps, but I would say I needed a drop, to really stretch out.

To be honest, I treated my old rigid much like a CX bike, just a ton slower. You could do the same with a 29er, though I don't know if they make them like the old bikes.

My new CX bike is super light, and super bling. The gearing is nice, but after riding it a few times, it doesn't offer much over the rigid other than being light and fast and needed less power to get there.

However, to mod the rigid, takes money. You can pick up the rigid for $100 on CL. That's how much I paid for mine, but I think the prices have gone up now. I guess a few $$ on some parts and you can go. The SS would be about $50 or so. For road stuff, more.

Or, you can pick up the rigid and Japanese steel for under $500 and be a bike whore (like the rest of us). That way you can fit in and submit to peer pressure. :eek::thumbsup:
 
#19 ·
The flat bars work well for me, giving me a similiar feel to a mtn bike. With the 700cc wheels/tires the bike feels like a 29er but the bike is really light and pretty fast. It's fun hybrid/fitness bike. I picked up a brand new 2009 model in 2011 for a great deal. Great inexpensive addtion to my stable: hardtail, full suspension and hybrid... no road bike for me.
 
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