I am looking into getting a "road" bike shortly. My immediate plans are to ride in the Cancer Ride mid next year. I've just gotten back into mountain biking after a long absence so I am looking for some advice. I've been commuting to work the every so often using my mountain bike so I'd like to use the new "road" bike to do this instead. I use "road" bike loosely as I am thinking that maybe a cycle-cross bike might be the way to go instead of a pure road bike. It might make a slightly better commuter and would have the options of disc brakes. Firstly is a cyclo-cross bike a better alternative to a pure road bike for someone who isn't planning on doing any epic rides at this time other then the 250km Ride for Cancer? Does it make sense for a North Vancouver commute to have disc brakes over traditional road brakes for this climate or does it matter? Would having 3 rings up front make sense for North Shore road riding? What sort of $$'s would we be talking about as I did just drop a bunch of $$ on a mtn bike earlier this year and the better half will have her say. I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance.
suggestions for newbie "roadie" bike
too soon, your handle
some cross bikes have high bb's makes them feel like $hit on the road so make sure you testride. other than that they make descent year-round commuters, worth considering
oh, and no one ever rode a bicycle in north vancouver before the advent of disc brakes
"Nobody really gives a shit that you don't like the thing that you have no firsthand experience with." Dave
I would not personally recommend a triple. Except for certain cases, there's just no need for it between the availability of compact (34/50T) cranks, wide-range cassettes and long-cage or mtb derailleurs.
If you're going to be riding (commuting) regularly in the rain, discs would be a good idea just to save on rim wear. Make this decision first, because going with discs will generally mean choosing a cyclocross (CX) or CX-style bike.
A CX bike is fine as a dual-purpose bike, if you can only have one bike. In that case, I would recommend budgeting for a light wheelset for road use. Going with discs will complicate that of course, so you'll probably have to go custom and it will not be as cheap as an off-the-shelf wheelset.
"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem
"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk
Hey boomforeel thanks for the help. Very insightful. I was sort of more looking for an answer like sanrensho mentioned. For that I appreciate it.
Another plus for (some) cross bikes is that they have braze ons making it easier to mount fenders and/or racks for commuting and winter riding.
And… you can throw on a set of knobbies and race cross :woot:
A bike that fits should be your first priority, and if you are buying from a shop then they should take the time to make sure it is set up to you. you will probably be spending a fair bit of time training on the road for the cancer ride, and fit is critical.
Pocobob make a great point about eyelets and fender mounts for all season riding.
I have a couple of cross bikes and they are both very different feeling due to wheelbase, bb drop and angles, and they are set up with the same bars and stem.
Canti brakes are not great, V-brakes are a good choice but wont work with most road group Brifters( due to a difference in cable pull). I love V's on my ss Cx bike. Disks are great but hard to find non custom wheels in 700c with 130 mm rear spacing. Salsa Vaya might be an ideal choice for what you need, but it cost a bit of dollars,
Forget 23c tires imo, too rough, due to small contact patch and I flat them more more than 25s or 28c
I would look at what I could afford and then start looking from there.
Bars, often overlooked but make the fit. Go compact, like the FSA wing compact or omega compact. I had a set of RF Cadence deep drops on for a week and had to get a set of FSA's for $45 bucks to make the bike feel that much better.
Enjoy the search, it's half the fun of getting a new biciclette.
V-brakes are a good choice but wont work with most road group Brifters( due to a difference in cable pull).
Not to derail the thread, but… Has anyone tried those adapters that are supposed to increase the cable pull so you can use V brakes with road levers?
For those whose intention is commuting plus the cancer ride or citizen speed GranFondo, we usually steer people in the direction of a decent steel bike. Better vibration damping for not much weight penalty. There are a few bikes out there that qualify in the $1000-1200 range, though not many with disc brakes. Many cross (and track) bikes these days have a road BB drop, so their road handling characteristics are not bad.
The Traitor Ruben is a possibility, though it comes 1x10 so you need to buy a front shifter and derailleur and the base price is higher. Steel touring bikes with discs exist but they are slow handling and definitely heavier.
I highly support Onegear's "bike that fits is most important" comment; if a shop is not willing to swap out at least a stem and seat before you buy the bike, you probably want to go to a shop that cares about fit to have that checked outand pray you bought the right size bike…
Not to derail the thread, but… Has anyone tried those adapters that are supposed to increase the cable pull so you can use V brakes with road levers?
I have and they work fine. I can sell you my pair of Travel Agents for cheap if you're interested.
"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem
"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk
Look at some of the more upright position bikes on the market - more comfortable for long rides like the Gran Fondo, R2CC, RSVP etc.
Play : Comox Valley Mountain Biking - www.cvmtb.com
If you're not planning to ride/race cross, you don't need a cross bike for the road. Lots of road frames come with braze ons for fenders/racks. Get a road bike that fits and you'll be good for commuting and the cancer ride … if you end up liking road riding, you'll likely upgrade in a season or two.
:canada: :england:
I've been eyeballing a couple of Devinci's as I am a fan of their mountain bikes. The idea of having eyelets does have some merrit for later commuting…
Tosca SL1 or similar
http://www.devinci.com/bikes/browse_13#13_43_159
Silverstone
http://www.devinci.com/bikes/browse_13#13_41_144
Seeing as how you haven't road ridden before I doubt if you'd notice a difference between a proper road bike and a CX bike. I'd also wager that you wouldn't notice a big difference between slightly different brake and wheel combos.
Given you haven't quite sorted out what your main use will be (pleasure riding, commuting, events) a versatile bike will serve you well. For this I would suggest a CX bike.
For the Cancer ride you can throw on a pair of 23C tires for low rolling resistance and then run your CX tires for your commuting (Van debris is a bitch).
With a budget in mind I recommend either a Kona Jake the Snake or Major Jake.
FTR: I rode ~5,000 road KMs on my CX bike before I moved to a proper road bike. I love my road bikes but don't at all regret starting out on a CX.
I've been eyeballing a couple of Devinci's as I am a fan of their mountain bikes. The idea of having eyelets does have some merrit for later commuting…
Tosca SL1 or similar
http://www.devinci.com/bikes/browse_13#13_43_159Silverstone
http://www.devinci.com/bikes/browse_13#13_41_144
I don't suspect those bikes are within $500 of each other price-wise. Both are aluminum. They probably ride fine. What's your budget and standard of quality?
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