Buying New Road Bike, Looking for Assistance

[TDB]

Looking to buy a road bike, I’ve been riding a mountain for years but now that I’m getting more serious and beginning to train for triathlons, need a bike to match. So far in my search I have found the best looking deals on craigslist, as I am looking to spend in the neighborhood of $500. One offer I came across, a Cadillac RLE 1.8 for $475 seems to be a pretty good deal, and from ym research the model looks to include relatively good components, be lightweight, and aside from a fairly gaudy Cadillac branding from head to toe, fit my bill. If anyone can offer me input on this bike, or suggest ways to refine my search, I would be most appreciative.

[RESTONTODC]

Hi TDB,

There are a lot of posting on this forum about bike recommendation but I wouldn’t recommend you buy a bike from car company name.

Good Luck,
Rick

[CCrew]

Nothing really wrong with it (other than high price!) if you realize that you’re not buying a bike that you’ll ever resell easily, and parts for it (9 sp 105 ) may be harder and harder to get. If you like the bike and it fits well you could do worse. I’d not pay that asking price though… More like $250-$300 if in really good shape and it indeed has 105 components. If the seller tries to use that as a bargaining point be sure to point out it’s 9 speed, and 105 has been at 10 speed for a while.

RestontoDC is right that a good rule of thumb is it’s not usually good to buy a bike named after a car. At the price point you’re looking at there’s a lot of good older bikes on Craigslist so I wouldn’t limit your search.

[TDB]

The thing has since been sold, so theres that too. Newest potentials are

vintage Atala Italian 12spd – Columbus lugged, Shimano 105 – $400
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/bik/2464479439.html

and

Vilano FORZA 3.0 Aluminum Carbon Road Bike Shimano Sora
http://www.amazon.com/Vilano-FORZA-Aluminum-Carbon-Shimano/dp/B0053YUOZ4/ref=pd_sbs_sg_21

[TDB]

oh, and i forgot to include

Scott Flatbar Speedster
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/bik/2460656003.html

why are there so many. cruel cruel capitalism

[RESTONTODC]

TDB,

I saw the size of Cadillac RLE on CL is 58 and vintage Atala Italian is 53. Do you know your bike size If you don’t, I would recommend you visit the local bike shop to figure it out. You don’t have to buy it from them. You will learn a lot by visiting many bike shops. Buying from CL requires some knowledge about bike.

[Joe Chapline]

I always recommend riding a bike before buying it, so that would rule out the Amazon bike. Both of the Craigslist bikes look interesting. If it was me, I would refine my search for used bikes by focusing on bikes I could go see (and ride) easily. One of the Craigslist bikes is in Alexandria, one is in Dupont Circle. One is probably closer to you than the other.

[DaveK]

You need to figure out what type of bike you want, flat bar vs. drop bar, then figure out what size you need. Why not rent a road bike for a day or two, see if it’s really for you before you spend the money to buy one. You may find what you really want is different from what you thought. And even if you confirm that you want X or Y, then you’ll have a better idea what size.

[TDB]

how much of a hassle / cost is it to change a flatbar to drop

[DaveK]

@TDB 5154 wrote:

how much of a hassle / cost is it to change a flatbar to drop

Hassle depends on how mechanically inclined you are – it’s not difficult but it can be a little fiddly getting your derailers adjusted right once you’ve run the cables.

Cost is a different matter – you need new bars, shifters, brake levers (one and the same if you’re changing to drops), cable housing… If you can do it under $250 you’re doing well, unless you want to go with downtube or bar-end shifters.

It’s much easier to figure out what you want and buy the right bike.

[DismalScientist]

Not technically difficult. You need a new bar (maybe a stem) and new brake levers/shifters (of course, if you had shifters on the downtube, as God intended, you would only have to worry about the brake levers). Then you need to re-cable brakes and derailleurs and put on the handlebar tape and plug. Some folks would even insist on a bell.
Integrated brake/shifters can get expensive. Alternatively, you could use bar-end shifters or put them on the downtube. Since I am old school, I believe in going through the junk bins at places like Phoenix in Arlington or Bike Club in Falls Church for quality used parts.

[DismalScientist]

Here’s something on craigslist:
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/bik/2469544558.html
Schwinn 684 1990’s aluminium with 105 group for $200. The seller does not know how to hold a camera steady, but the bike has shifters on the downtube!

[TDB]

Heh thanks for looking yourself, I appreciate it, but I myself am an integrated kind of guy. Taste of the new generation and the like.

[jrenaut]

@DismalScientist 5163 wrote:

Here’s something on craigslist:
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/bik/2469544558.html
Schwinn 684 1990’s aluminium with 105 group for $200. The seller does not know how to hold a camera steady, but the bike has shifters on the downtube!

Love the giant reflector on the back.

[TDB]

Thanks again for all the advice. I perused maybe 10 local and not-so-local bike shops and found out a lot more about what i wanted / needed and met some very helpful people. In the end I stuck with the craigslist route and managed to come out with my soul intact. And a great deal on a Cannondale R700.
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/bik/2468488937.html

The gentleman went down to $350 due to the damage on the crank, which I believe can be repaired easily enough by either going in from the back side of the crank with the pedal to clean out the threads, or Ive got friends with large tap sets to re-thread the 1 or 2 jiggered threads. Aside from the mildly amusing detail of the front tire being a schrader valve and the back a presta, i am wholly pleased with the results of my search. Now, to training…. huzzah!

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