How to Buy a Road Bike

Video Transcript

"I'm not Lance Armstrong, and I never will be, but we can all have fun riding Road bikes. I'm Mookie Maxwell from Gregg's in Seattle and we're going to go over a few tips on how to purchase your first Road bike. Like with buying any kind of bicycle, before you go into a shop, do some research, maybe think about a price range that you want to stay within. Just as a heads up, most Road bikes start around seven hundred, seven fifty, that's the entry level price, and they go up from there. You can spend as much as ten thousand if you want. Once you determine a price point, think about what you want to be using your Road bike for. Are you going to be going on Club rides? Are you going to be using it primarily for fitness? Are you going to be going on hundred mile century rides? Are you going to be racing? This all factors in to what kind of Road bike you want to buy. One of the big things to consider is what kind of riding position you want. Like we said earlier, we're not all Lance Armstrong, which means we're not all going to be racing. We want to be comfortable on the bike, which is why a lot of Road bikes these days are a little taller in the front end. You're a little more upright, you're not in this bent over low position. It's going to be easier on the back, easier on the neck, and you're going to be comfortable for more miles. Another thing to consider is what kind of frame material you want your Road bike to have. If we're talking entry level, most bikes are going to be made out of aluminum. It's easy to manufacture, it's light, it's responsive, so when you really get up to peddle, the bike wants to go. Those looking for a more comfortable ride might consider looking at a carbon fiber Road bike. Carbon Fiber's different in that it's still light, it's still very responsive, but carbon is a natural vibration dampener. So after an hour or two hours in the saddle, all those potholes, all the bumps in the road, all gets eaten up by the frame, and just like with any bike, the best thing to do is once again, go down to your local bike shop and just test ride a hand full of different bikes. That's the best way to really get a handle on how different bikes ride, what the benefits are of the different components, different price points, and you'll really get a feel for how the different frame materials ride. I'm Mookie Maxwell from Gregg's, Green Lake, and these were tips on how to buy your first Road bike."