I always say that if I could only have one bike, it would be my steel 'cross bike. It's light and nimble enough for the road. And can also accept wide knobby tires for off-road and commuting.

The problem with finding a 'cross bike is that fewer shops stock them. And if they do, usually not in a full range of sizes. Therefore, because of the different geometry from a road frame, finding a good fit tends to be a problem. The best thing is to get fitted or find a road bike frame that you're comfortable on, and then look for the same angles and proportions in a cross frame.

As far as road bikes go, Most of you're lower end frames are going to be production aluminum and probably compact geometry. Unless you're going to be racing and require stiffness and a tight rear end (on the frame that is), consider a steel frame.

I won't play favoritism toward any particular manufacturers because many are decent. Another thing to consider is once you've determined the size bike you need, you could get a used one. At your price range, you have a huge range of possibilities on Ebay. You can essentially get twice the bike used for the same price as new.

Aside from a good quality steel frame, the best way to smooth out a ride is to spend your money on a good set of tires. A high quality set of 700x23s will be as comfortable or more so, than something wider. The reason people say wider tires are more comfortable is because you can run a lower tire pressure. The downside is that lower tire pressure and wider tires make you have to work harder to maintain the same speed with skinnier tires. However, avoid racing-specific tires. They are soft, with less flat protection and will wear quite quickly with normal, everyday riding.

Good luck.

posted by 69.21.200...

• OT: road bikes, jeff, Mon, 2 May 2005 04:21:38
  • whoa, jeff, Tue, 3 May 2005 04:12:39
    • LeMond is the same as Trek, IIRC, andy , Tue, 3 May 2005 16:09:02
      • Lemond's have different frame geometry, Ivan, Tue, 3 May 2005 19:59:20
        • Trek owns everybody..., Bob M, Thu, 5 May 2005 05:42:26
          • Actually it's GIANT that's probably the largest, Ivan, Thu, 5 May 2005 14:08:24
  • Re: OT: road bikes, rob , Mon, 2 May 2005 16:20:29
  • Re: OT: road bikes, CraigChristian, Mon, 2 May 2005 13:59:35
  • how much will you ride?, GM, Mon, 2 May 2005 13:56:14
  • i did the seattle to portland a couple....., kooch, Mon, 2 May 2005 09:56:08
  • How about a Schwinn Stingray? ;-), Fred, Mon, 2 May 2005 08:53:04
  • Re: OT: road bikes, Andrew M, Mon, 2 May 2005 08:12:43
  • Lots of factors, TheKillerPenguin, Mon, 2 May 2005 08:07:40
  • do you need a road bike?, Trev, Mon, 2 May 2005 08:06:54
  • $.02 frm an ex-diehard roadie, ChuckD , Mon, 2 May 2005 07:38:54
    • Re: $.02 frm an ex-diehard roadie, Blair, Mon, 2 May 2005 09:53:29
      • Re: $.02 frm an ex-diehard roadie, GM, Mon, 2 May 2005 21:34:35
        • Re: $.02 frm an ex-diehard roadie, Blair, Tue, 3 May 2005 05:32:50
  • cro-moly, nt moore, Mon, 2 May 2005 06:44:15
    • Specialized cromoly, JJ Jax, Mon, 2 May 2005 10:53:48
    • Re: cro-moly, BIll in VA, Mon, 2 May 2005 09:14:37
    • Re: cro-moly, water dog, Mon, 2 May 2005 07:17:31 <-- Viewing This Message
    • This is very good input, Schu, Mon, 2 May 2005 06:55:30
    • one more link, nt moore, Mon, 2 May 2005 06:50:51
  • Ride a bunch of different bikes, Schu, Mon, 2 May 2005 05:30:02
  • Re: OT: road bikes, Bob M, Mon, 2 May 2005 04:33:47
    • Re: OT: road bikes, Blair, Mon, 2 May 2005 06:00:51
      • Good points, Schu, Mon, 2 May 2005 06:05:16
        • definitely true about the wheels..., Bob M, Mon, 2 May 2005 07:49:05

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