How To Choose Your Next Road Bicycle
When looking to make a purchase many people are too concerned with the price and not the quality you get from a more expensive road bike. Price is important but it is probably more important that you get quality for the price you pay.
You must consider several options when you start looking for a new road bike.
Used-vs-New
There is no shortage of used road bikes on the market today. Craigslist is one of those places and has hundreds available for sale in every imaginable category and price range. If you finances are tight then this may be your only option. The obvious problem with purchasing a used road bike is that you don’t really know how many miles it was ridden and what problems the previous owner had with the bike. Even if the bike appears to be clean and in good shape there may still be small stress fractures that may cause a catastrophic failure.
You must visually inspect all the parts of the bike to see if you can find obvious signs of wear. Everything wears out, but it is the amount of wear and how quickly it wears out that must be taken into consideration. You must inspect the frame carefully because if there is a stress fracture in one of the welds then you might as well throw the bike away.
You can always swap out the components yourself if you have the capacity to do so. You have the choice of having your local bike shop do this for you but it will cost you considerably more. These are just a few of the things you need to be concerned about when you purchase a used bike. Imagine the kind of injuries you could get if the brakes failed while you were riding.
Mid-Range Price VS Low-Range Price
You can categorize road bikes relative to their pricing so in this article we will focus on the mid to lower-range road bikes. These bikes range in price from 200 dollars - 400 dollars for the lower priced bikes and 400 - 1200 for the mid priced bikes. 1200 dollars may seem like a lot of money to pay for a bike, but when you consider that most high end bikes sell in the 7 to 10,000 dollar range, 1200 doesn’t seem so bad.
The difference among these types of road bikes is the quality of their components including the tires, seat, derailleur, crank and frame. Basically the bikes will be as different as up and down. Although you will be probably be getting a Shimano derailleur on both bikes you will be not be getting the Shimano XTR Shadow on the low priced road bike. This holds true for most of the components on the road bike. The less expensive bicycle might be your best bet if it doesn’t matter to you. An example would be, if you couldn’t afford the more expensive Schwinn Laguna you could instead buy the less expensive Lamborghini Rapido. Both are quality road bikes and for a novice the Rapido may be just what the doctor ordered. If you can afford something in between, the Tommaso Monza is the road bike for you.
Cost Of Repair
If you factor in the cost of replacement for the cheaper components you have to ask yourself what you really saved by buying the cheaper road bike. To replace the derailleur will cost you anywhere from 100 to 200 dollars and more depending on the bike shop and the derailleur you choose to replace it with. The same holds true for most of the components on the bike. The original price of the road bike will be far exceeded by the cost to replace it’s components.
Basically speaking the cheaper you buy it for the cheaper it will be.