Cycling Question

[badexcuse]

Know this probably belongs in the Around Austin group, but seems more cyclist post here. Interested in getting a road bike to ride 360 and other local roads. Where's a good local shop to look? Bought my mountain bike at Buck's Bikes, but they seem limited to a couple of brands. Probably want to spend less than $2K.

 

[Hornius Emeritus]

Assuming you're not too hard to fit, you can save a large amount of money by keeping your eyes on Craigslist.

 

[midtown]

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[badexcuse]

Other than size of frame, what else do I need to know in order to make sure I'm fitted right?

 

[MilkmanDan]

Once you have the standover height right, you can start tweaking seat height (you don't want to fully extend your legs/lock your knees on the pedal stroke) and handlebar reach. Some of the reach is dictated by the length of the top tube, but there is a lot of leeway depending on stem length and angle.

I have had a number of friends buy a Felt from Jack & Adams on Barton Springs. It's tough for me to overcome the tri feel of the store, but I have always gotten good service and they have a great mechanic there.

There are some deals to be had on craigslist, but I always feel like people are way too proud of their bikes.

 

[midtown]

Buy a Trek.

If you want to buy used or over the internet you can pay some place to size you for a fee. Or go online for instructions. Frame size is obviously most important because it cant be adjusted. Stems and seat posts can. If you aren't planning on riding 7 billion miles like milkman exact sizing might not be as critical.

 

[accuratehorn]

Freewheeling Bicycles on San Gabriel is a good local shop, and they have Trek bikes, a good service department, bulletin board with used bikes posted, cycling ride notices, parts, accessories, longhorn and Texas socks-great place.
Even if you buy used, go look at new bikes and to get an idea of the proper frame size for your height. Then you might consider paying a knowledgeable shop for a "fit kit," where they put you on the bike and adjust it for you leg length, arm length, etc. They might recommend a longer stem, different seat post height, whatever. This can really prevent injury over many miles of cycling training rides.

 

[TexasRx]

You can rent bikes at Bicycle Sport Shop. If you find one you like then you might be able to buy a rented bike from them. I was there a few weeks ago and they were selling some of their rental road bikes starting at $600 for bikes that I believe retail around $1800.

 

[badexcuse]

Appreciate the feedback guys. I felt I could have driven all over for days looking into Craigslist deals, so I checked out the rental/demo deals at Bicycle Sports Shot and got a lightly used Trek Pilot 5.0 for $1,300. Hope it was a decent deal as I really like the bike.

Trek Pilot 5.0

 

[midtown]

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