Road Biking: Convince Me

[MR. evil]

What do you guys think of road bike quality vs. mountain bike quality? I've always thought it makes more sense to spend more money on a mountain bike since the conditions are so much more dynamic... seems like a road bike the benefits are pretty much weight related.

IOW in a "race" type of scenario I kind of thought a difference in MT bike makes a much greater impact on the ride than on a road bike (unless you get down to the real cheapo ones)

I really don’t know if a higher end bike is more important for road or mountain. But as a self proclaimed bike snob, I can tell you that if your used to higher end mountain bikes and mountain bike components. A lower end road bike just won’t cut it for you. I just bought my first road bike, and I wanted to keep it under $1000. I tried a bunch of new bikes in that price range and the shifting performance of the Sora or Tiagra level shifters on those bikes left a lot to be desired compared to the shifting on my mtb’s. It didn’t take long to realize that I would only be interested in higher end leftover bikes or used bikes. I ended up buying a very high end used bike (carbon fiber / full Ultegra) from my shop, that a good friend of mine actually traded in towards the purchase of a new bike. I could have bought it directly from my buddy for $100 less, but by getting it through the shop I was able to get it sized / fitted to my body for a proper test ride to make sure it was the right size before I bought.

It’s a very a good thing I had this done as it turns out my body type / proportions put me on a frame one size smaller that someone my height normally would be based solely on height. I have long legs and an average torso, but my femur bone is very long in relationship to my body and leg length. This means I need my saddle higher than most my height, and less reach than someone my height and lots of other tweaks to the cockpit and can’t even remember.




Here is a pic of the bike, said I would post one a while back and forgot to.