Choosing A Cycling Road Bike
By Andrew Caxton, Thu Dec 8th

How To Choose Your Road Bike, Different Level Of Riders

How to choose your road bike? Well the first question is howmuch do you want to spend and how much will you do? Theanswer to the first question is a difficult one, many peoplewhen they are younger they want to ride there bike all day andwhat to be the next winner of the Tour de France, but they cannot afford to spend much on there bike. If they get fit and winsome races and get in a good team they will be given a top classbike, but what usually happens is they have to give up and work,have a family etc. When they are older and have more money theycan afford the bike of there dreams. As to how much youdo, that depends on whether you can justify having the best bikearound and only doing a short ride on Sunday morning. Rememberyou get what you pay for.

Basic Level Bikes.

If you go to the larger sports stores or bike shops they willhave complete bikes for sale, probably a alloy frame withShimano Tiagra or Campagnolo Mirage or a mixture of cheapercomponents, this bike will be built to a price, will ride fairlywell, wont be very light and is a good place to start. To getsome thing better, start with a nice alloy frame and if you canafford it, carbon forks, then with what money you have leftchose your group-set of either Shimano or Campagnolo and thenyou can pick your saddle, handlebars, wheel rims and tires, thisis all fun, but if you are working to a budget, it can be tricky.

Mid Level, Touring and Possibly Racing.

In this range of bikes you can buy them as a complete cycle, inthe cycle shop, sports store or even in the specialist magazinesor on the web. It is more fun to choose the components for yourframe and how much you want to spend. At this level you wouldprobably be looking at Shimano 105 or Campagnolo Centaur roadbike parts and you could possibly buy some built up wheels fromShimano, Campagnolo or Mavic, but first start with the frame,there are many frames out there to choose from, get on the netand look for what you want, it will probably be alloy again,with carbon forks. Alloy seat pin, handle bars and stem and acomfortable saddle.

Top Level Bike For Racing and Pleasure.

Now it gets more difficult, your components would be CampagnoloChorus or Shimano Ultegra, unless you can afford the topcomponents of both manufacturers. Wheels again

Tour de France 2005
Lance Armstong bows out of cycling with his seventh-straight Tour de France title.
Tour de France 2004
Lance Armstrong wins his record-breaking sixth Tour de France in Paris.
2003
Lance Armstrong won the best Tour de France in years and Britain gained new world champions.
Tour de France 2003
Lance Armstrong becomes only the second rider to claim a fifth consecutive title.
2002
The year saw another Lance Armstrong Tour de France win but also sponsorship doubts.
Tour de France 2002
Armstrong's fourth, Jalabert's second but McEwen breaks Zabel's run in green.
2001
The full story
Tour de France 2001
Lance Armstrong's third win sees Laurent Jalabert take the King of the Mountains prize and Erik Zabel repeat his green jersey win.
2000
Review of the year
Tour de France 2000
Lance Armstrong repeats his 1999 success while Santiago Botero wins the King of the Mountains.
GB glory sealed by Wiggins treble

Heras claims third Vuelta
Roberto Heras win the Tour of Spain for a record-equalling third time.
Cunego wins Giro d'Italia
Damiano Cunego holds off his rivals to win the Giro d'Italia by more than two minutes.
Cooke seals Italy title
Nicole Cooke triumphs at the Giro d'Italia.
Freire seals world title
Oscar Freire wins the World Championship road race for the third time in his career.

would be possiblyMavic, Shimano or Campagnolo, deep carbon rims look Great andhave a wonderful ride, but will probably be too expensive, bestif you stick to alloy rims for high pressure tires as tubulars,even though they ride wonderfully, will be expensive and a lotof trouble. Handle bars, stem and seat pin could be alloy orcarbon, if you have the money. The frame is the heart of yourbike and you will want a good one, at this price range alloy isgoing to be the first choice with carbon forks and possibly acarbon rear triangle. If you look around you might manage tofind an all carbon frame at this price, Giant make a very wellpriced carbon frame in a compact, sloping design, there areothers but you will have to spend a lot more money.

The Top of The Shopping List.

When’re looking at a lot of money here if you want to buy aprofessional road bike. The frame will be all carbon or titaniumwith carbon forks and maybe a carbon rear triangle or alloy maintubes with carbon front or rear end. The nicest ones on themarket at the moment, in my opinion, are Colnago, De Rosa,Pinarello, Battaglin, Time, Scott, Cervelo and many more, allare available in different colours, geometries and sizes, checkout there web sites for information and try to make your choice,it’s a difficult job. This is a professional road bike so itwill have to have the best components, Shimano Dura.Ace orCampagnolo Record are your only choice at this level. Same withthe wheels, Dura-Ace or Campagnolo Bora, these can be for highpressure clincher tires or tubulars, tubulars are more troublebut do ride well, but clincher tires are very nearly as nice andmuch more practical. Handle bars, stem and seat pin will becarbon and your saddle will have a carbon base with a leathercover and sometimes with gel for a little extra comfort.

The Best Bike You Can Afford. You do only get what you pay for,so get the best bike you can afford, look around the magazinesand the web sites and don’t forget your local bike shop untilyou get that little jewel, but be careful not to make yourpartner jealous! bike reviews

About the author:Andrew Caxton contributes adding articles tohttp://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com. At his site you can findreviews on bike parts and cycling clothes.