Any road cyclists on deck?

[Cream Soda]

Is there anyone here who has racing or general experience w/ road bikes?

I'm basically looking at replacing my road bike I got into an accident with and I came down to

Trek 1000 alpha vs Vilano TUONO vs Vilano TUONO 2011 for the prices $250, $270, $290 respectively.

The Trek 1000 is used, and the other two would be brand new.

http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/bik/2250819989.html
http://www.roadbikeoutlet.com/road-b...road-bike.html
http://www.roadbikeoutlet.com/road-b...road-bike.html

I'm not familiar with either brand so I'm not sure which would be the best deal.

[Zoolander]

Trek 1000 is a good bike, although every year they kinda lowered the specs on it & it sounds like that one doesn't have a carbon fork. Shimano Sora isn't amazing, but its alright.

I'd take the Trek over the Vilanos, assuming nothing is wrong with the Trek's frame. I've ridden some of those Vilano bikes before and I just didn't like the feel. $250 for a Trek1000 is a good deal.

Edit: oh and those Vilanos are from online...you're gunna have to assemble em and bikes from online are notorious for having untrue wheels and lots of other tweaks that need to be done.

[Correction]

Carbon forks are overrated anyway, they don't dampen nearly as much as advertised on city roads. That Trek is a pretty nice bike.

[Cream Soda]

Alright, thanks guys. I got a pretty insightful post on ffxiah along w/ these two here, all three of you vouching for the Trek.

Assuming there are no problems with it (rims straight, gears shifting correctly), I'm definitely going to go w/ the Trek.

[zoobernut]

Just don't crash this one...

BTW how is your leg doing?

[Zoolander]

Carbon forks are overrated anyway, they don't dampen nearly as much as advertised on city roads. That Trek is a pretty nice bike.

Yea, definitely overrated, but I mean if you have a choice between a 2003 Trek1000 with carbon fork or a 2004 without and the original prices were the same, then gogo carbon fork.

GL with the Trek, hope it works out. That is a way lower price than what I found Trek1000s for when I was looking in Tampa like 6 months ago.

I'll sell you my bike for $500! Cool kids have carbon seatposts, forks and shimano 105 components, just sayin.

[shaddix]

I want to buy one too

[Cream Soda]

Just don't crash this one...

BTW how is your leg doing?

Leg has mixed feelings @.@

Still funny if it twists much or even walking/going up stairs, and i was going to take a break from working out this week since spring break, but a guy from my school wanted me to show him my routine, and I was able to do work weight squats w/o any discomfort whatsoever.

THen I got home and got back to the stairs lol same thing as in the morning when I went down them.

[Correction]

I'll sell you my bike for $500! Cool kids have carbon seatposts, forks and shimano 105 components, just sayin.

No disc brakes, bah! :D

[Zoolander]

In FL? No need. I'm not super hardcore though, I need more money and places to ride that don't make my life flash before my eyes every time I go out. Even USF's campus is dangerous, there aren't bike lanes on the majority of roads, talk about fail. I go faster than cars on campus with that bike though, which is pretty nifty.

[Cream Soda]

Beaten to the Trek :/ Any recommendations for a $300 budget?

[Melena]

I hope CS doesn't mind me hijacking this, but I'm thinking after I move (in september, so hoping for end of season deals) of getting a bike. Nothing fancy, just a decent inexpensive mountain bike for casual riding for exercise. I haven't bought a bike in probably 15 years so I have no clue what to look for.

[Cream Soda]

If you're not looking for a road bike, I'd personally recommend a Hybrid bike. It was the bike I had before my road bike. They ride like mountain bikes, but skinny tires like a road bike. In between the two in terms of speed.

[Stumblingdrunk]

I hope CS doesn't mind me hijacking this.

Me too! I'm thinking about picking up a cannondale t800 this weekend, anyone have any thoughts about, or experience with those?

@Melena I'm with CS, if you're going to be riding on roads, avoid mountain bikes

[Cream Soda]

Oh, I wanted to ask why fixed gears are so popular.

I've only ridden one and it was noticeably slower than my shift gear bike.

Was it just the fixie I road personally, or do gear shifts (of same quality) always have a greater max speed potential than it's fixie counterpart?

[Ezhno]

I was under the impression that fixed-gear bikes are just so prolific because they're the number 1 choice of bum college hipsters.

[Senji]

Is there anyone here who has racing or general experience w/ road bikes?

I'm basically looking at replacing my road bike I got into an accident with and I came down to

Trek 1000 alpha vs Vilano TUONO vs Vilano TUONO 2011 for the prices $250, $270, $290 respectively.

The Trek 1000 is used, and the other two would be brand new.

http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/bik/2250819989.html
http://www.roadbikeoutlet.com/road-b...road-bike.html
http://www.roadbikeoutlet.com/road-b...road-bike.html

I'm not familiar with either brand so I'm not sure which would be the best deal.

Those Vilanos will be better than a clapped out POS for sure, but ideal would be someones lightly used real bike like that Trek 1000. Even if its 10 years old. A key thing that you can see in Zoo's pic is the shifter, those are they style that continues to the high end bikes, where you can shift without having to take your hand off the bar.

Like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Cannondale-CAAD-...item2eb3a04eb0

Carbon forks are overrated anyway, they don't dampen nearly as much as advertised on city roads. That Trek is a pretty nice bike.

Carbon forks will take out the high frequency road vibrations which would wear you down on long rides. For most people it wont make a difference besides being lighter and something else carbon fiber.

If you're not looking for a road bike, I'd personally recommend a Hybrid bike. It was the bike I had before my road bike. They ride like mountain bikes, but skinny tires like a road bike. In between the two in terms of speed.

Hybrid bikes have different geometry that will handle a lot slower and have you more upright with a less aggressive position.

You can also put road bike rims on mountain bike hubs or skinnier tires on mountain bike wheels.

http://blog.hopeglory.com/wp-content...cannondale.jpg
http://www.benoittreluyer.com/blogg/...cannondale.jpg

Saw this on your craigslist
http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/bik/2256767431.html

Also a bunch from Re-Cycle Bicycles, may want to check that place out.

Oh, I wanted to ask why fixed gears are so popular.

I've only ridden one and it was noticeably slower than my shift gear bike.

Was it just the fixie I road personally, or do gear shifts (of same quality) always have a greater max speed potential than it's fixie counterpart?

People are doing this for attention mainly as a hipster fad. Its viable for people who mountain bike in tight single track where they didn't shift much anyways and removed their shifters/derailleurs/cassette/2 chainrings to save weight and eliminate the possibility of rocks or beefy sticks breaking the rear derailleur.

[Cream Soda]

my "emergency bike" just snapped off at the pedal today @.@ (not just the pedal itself but I guess I'll call it the stem as well). so now I don't have the luxury of waiting around for the right bike.

I see an old bicycle for 85, vintage free spirit. However, it's only 10 speed. My question is how do those compare to the 21-24 speed bikes of today? Can I still get my max resistance for max speed and they cut out some of the lower resistances or did they keep the lower ones and cut out the higher ones?

Here's the bike in question.

http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/bik/2258405189.html

[Senji]

I hope CS doesn't mind me hijacking this, but I'm thinking after I move (in september, so hoping for end of season deals) of getting a bike. Nothing fancy, just a decent inexpensive mountain bike for casual riding for exercise. I haven't bought a bike in probably 15 years so I have no clue what to look for.

The manufacturers will start blowing the prices out on leftovers in july to make room to 2012s and will give a better deal to the dealer who should give a better deal to you. Even if it has to ordered, but sizes/models/colors will be limited.

Me too! I'm thinking about picking up a cannondale t800 this weekend, anyone have any thoughts about, or experience with those?

@Melena I'm with CS, if you're going to be riding on roads, avoid mountain bikes

The Cannondale Touring bikes are considered the best for touring, but if your not going to be wanting some long distance with saddle bags to camp out stuff...But if its in nice shape for a nice price and you want a bike to get back into it than by all means. You will be able to sell it for what you paid for it very easily. The handmade Aluminum Cannondales are in high demand.

From the other post, sometimes hybrid and comfort bikes are named interchangeably, its a comfort bike that no one under 60 should be riding.

Spoiler: show

http://www.huskybicycles.com/Merchan.../160-230TN.jpg

[Cadsuane]

There's a pretty clear picture of the sprockets. Eyeball the radius of the smallest rear sprocket and the biggest front sprocket. If the ratio between those two numbers is smaller than on your current bike, you can go fast. In this case, what's missing from this bike is the slow gears, ie. the really short front sprocket and the really tall rear sprocket, which is usually the case with old bikes.