Robocop
Moderator, *Mammoth Killer*
I have recently became interested in buying a nice road bike as the woman I am with is a pretty serious bicyclist. I was shocked to see the distances some people ride and recently watched my g/f do 150 miles for a multiple sclerosis fund raiser....good lord I can not imagine riding that far in one day but the idea of being able to maybe do so intrigues me.
I searched here but only found info on bike lights and an internet search just confused me more. From what I have been told I am not really built for road riding as the better ones tend to be very thin and lean and I am pretty much all muscle at 5-8" and 190lbs. I am really not looking to be the next Lance Armstrong either but I would like to start riding just to be able to share some of my G/F hobby with her.
Now the problem I found real quick was that one can spend some big money on bikes if they do not know what they are doing...and that would be me. Considering my heavier more muscled frame is there one type or brand better suited for me? Also if I have say 700 dollars as a limit can I even consider this figure to get me well set up to ride with other groups?
Basically I am seeking any advice for a beginner and would like to have opinions I trust rather than a bike shop who is trying to just get me to buy their bikes. I recently saw a Trek Madone that was "on sale" for 3500 dollars and this certain custom shop had very few bikes cheaper than this so again I am lost here.
Thanks for any suggestions as always and wish me luck.....
I searched here but only found info on bike lights and an internet search just confused me more. From what I have been told I am not really built for road riding as the better ones tend to be very thin and lean and I am pretty much all muscle at 5-8" and 190lbs. I am really not looking to be the next Lance Armstrong either but I would like to start riding just to be able to share some of my G/F hobby with her.
Now the problem I found real quick was that one can spend some big money on bikes if they do not know what they are doing...and that would be me. Considering my heavier more muscled frame is there one type or brand better suited for me? Also if I have say 700 dollars as a limit can I even consider this figure to get me well set up to ride with other groups?
Basically I am seeking any advice for a beginner and would like to have opinions I trust rather than a bike shop who is trying to just get me to buy their bikes. I recently saw a Trek Madone that was "on sale" for 3500 dollars and this certain custom shop had very few bikes cheaper than this so again I am lost here.
Thanks for any suggestions as always and wish me luck.....