Need help on buying first road bicycle

[b18cr]

ive been lookin into spending not over $1,500 on a road bicycle, for keepin fit, and commuting to and from work every now and then. the commute would be 20 kilomters.
ive come down to these makers
GIANT
TREK
SPECIALIZED
CANNONDALE

and ive been lookin at bowcycle, ridleys, and the bike shop. what would be the best purchase, for the money, and strength and reliablity, life span. im more leaning towards a
Giant DEFY 3 - $950
TREK 1.2 - $970
GIANT TCX2 - $1,000

would it be better to spend the less money? and am i getting a good bike for that price or should i be spending the extra 500 and get into that range of bicycle.

[D'z Nutz]

If I were to get a bike again (and I am looking for another), I would look into a used one. Keep an eye on Kijiji or pinkbike.com. If you're set on those models, you can find them for few hundreds less used or get the next level up for that price.

[trevh]

Go down to Ridley's cycle. The staff will educate you without any pressure sales. I ride a cannondale and love it. It depends on components you want on bike.

[b18cr]

thanks guys, that pinkbike.com seems like a good place.

is there anything specific that i should look for when test riding? comfortability? shifting? how does these bikes vary from an 8-10,000 dollar bike?

[phreezee]

The thing about buying used is depending on what size you are, it's like playing the lottery... you need patience for that perfect model to come up in your size. You could be waiting a long time.

So many things to look for: stiffness, components, fit/geometry, weight, materials, etc. Gotta do some reading to know what you're looking for. If you look at the pricing for different levels of the same bike and see what components are included, you can get an idea of what the differences are in a 8-10k bike.

I know Ridley's has lifetime minor tunes whereas Bow Cycle has the one free end of season full tune.

[tom_9109]

Have you considered a cyclocross bike like Kona's jake serious? Probably a little more functional for commuting and keeping kit.

I'd imagine its a lot more versatile and still almost as fast as a full road bike.

[Little Dragon]

Buy used for sure.
All of my bikes that came from pinkbike were in near new condition, but for much less than the price tag of a new one.

[Khyron]

Cheap as possible, 100 grams isn't going to matter to you. 105, or even ultegra components is more than enough.

Need helmet, pedals and shoes. If you're going to walk around, mountain bike shoes and pedals are fine (and you can get at MEC for cheap)

Also buy threaded 16oz co2s at mec, and a mini inflator, a few tubes some blue park tire levers and a small bag to carry it.

Also need a good floor pump. 40 bucks will be decent.

Tires are important too - waste of money to spend 80 bucks changing them in a month. Gatorskins if you want to have no flats (I use em) or something like a conti gp4000s if you want a bit quicker.

If you are slow biker, ask for a compact crank and a wide gear set like 12/25 or something. Gives you more gears for hills.

[98type_r]

I agree with almost all of what Khyron said above. If you're buying new in your price range you're probably going to see a mix of Tiagra and 105 parts. Me personally I would try to get a full Shimano 105 level drivetrain (shifters, derailleurs, maybe even brakes), I have Tiagra shifters on my cross bike and I'm not a huge fan of them. Maybe I've just gotten too used to the shifters on my road bike though.

Comfort and fit should always come first. Don't buy a bike because it's a great deal and a size too big or small. With this being your first bike any issues you might not notice on a test ride will come out on a longer ride for sure.