Mrs & I need bikes, Houston MS 150, complete beginners

[slow&rusty]

I'm sure Red Beard will chime in as he lives in Houston, is a cyclist and I believe he is ridden the MS150.

Similarly, I ride 70 miles per week in Houston and ride a Cannondale Carbon (SuperSix Evo) and its comfortable and very light (13.5 lbs). I am just over 6' and on Houston's roads, the bike copes very well, typically after a long ride I hop off and never feel tired.

[masraum]

Thanks, everyone.

[flatbutt]

I've done the MS150 many times here in jersey. Beyond the bike keep in mind that 75 miles a day is no joke. They usually have rest stops every 15 miles and SAG wagons throughout the course. Since it's not a race you can use a saddle suited for comfort and maybe raise the handlebars a little. Working in the drops can be exhausting so try to avoid crouching. Also make sure your butt is well padded.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by masraum

And we certainly will not be "racing" anyone. When we ran our 10k, we weren't really racing.

I thought this excerpt from Angela's post was interesting from one of the other threads.

They are going out of business!

I called and talked to them this morning. They have nothing left in my size or I would have pulled the trigger.

[jhynesrockmtn]

In your situation I would focus on finding a good bike shop that has someone with experience who can fit you and steer you towards a bike that will perform and be comfortable on this ride and last you after if you keep riding. It will likely be a road style bike with a more relaxed geometry which has been the design trend for a few years. You can buy a good bike for under $1,000. You'll need to budget for helmet, shoes, pedals and riding clothing as well.

[CarreraDan]

Great advise so far, I would add just a few points. One do you both like cycling and feel safe riding on the road? My wife flat out refuses to ride on the road as she thinks I am nuts for doing it (most all my cycling friends have been hit at least once by cars). No point in spending a lot of money on something that isn't going to get used. If you both plan on getting into cycling look at higher end bikes that are used. I personally would go with full carbon as you don't get near the vibrations from the road with it vs aluminum. If that isn't in you budget look for carbon forks as that will help. You will want Shimano 105 or better, huge difference from Tiagra, Ultegra is a large jump from 105 on smoothness and shifting speed. Endurance bikes are great, they are a lot more comfortable for long rides. My last piece of advise is no matter what you buy, please get professionally fitted. I cannot tell you how many riders I see who are not sitting right on the bike and must be miserable riding any distance. After 30 miles you really shouldn't have any pain if the bike fits you right.

Cyclocross bikes are great too as they can handle gravel with wider tires. I actually mountain bike on easy trails with the kids riding my cross bike. For the serious stuff I have a real mtn bike too. I sold my last road bike and now have smooth tires on my cross bike (Pivot Vault) and love it on the road.

[Bill Verburg]

Here's another vote for building a relationship w/ a local bike shop. For the novice the array of choices are daunting, some good advice can be gotten online but fitting is something that has to be done face to face, fitting is more than size selection. You need to have seat, seat height, rake fore/aft position adjusted to your unique anatomy along w/ a host of other adjustments this will make or break your enjoyment of the activity.

While a $10k super bike is an absolute joy to ride it is not a necessity. At Th $1k level there will be some very nice choices but each design rides and handles a little differently, it's a real plus to be able to test ride different bikes to see what suits you and the roads you ride on.

While I love Carbon and Ti, aluminum is fine

I'd look for hyd disk brakes over mech. or rim brakes

you'll have to decide whether or not you want clip in pedals or platforms, each has it's benefits and down sides

another decision is handlebars, you can use the racier drop bars or go w/ the more upright flat bars, w/ several in between options as well, The older you get the less flexible you are and the less drop you will want to use most of the time.

I'd look for Shimano 105 components at least, but others can be fine too, you really need to operate them to see differences.

Used can be great but then you may or may not get the fit that's right for you, not only in size but also in components, You don't need or want Di2 cassettes that will cost $400 to replace amd if you ride a lot you will need to replace tires, chains cassettes regularly along w/ other random items that will eventually fail from use.

[look 171]

Here's one more if you decide to buy used. Change that chain no matter what sellers tell ya. Its not worth your nuts going up hill when it snaps. Tires and saddle and stem second. After a couple or few weeks, you will know if saddle or stem will work for you.

[zakthor]

Originally Posted by Bill Verburg

Here's another vote for building a relationship w/ a local bike shop. For the novice the array of choices are daunting, some good advice can be gotten online but fitting is something that has to be done face to face, fitting is more than size selection. You need to have seat, seat height, rake fore/aft position adjusted to your unique anatomy along w/ a host of other adjustments this will make or break your enjoyment of the activity.

While a $10k super bike is an absolute joy to ride it is not a necessity. At Th $1k level there will be some very nice choices but each design rides and handles a little differently, it's a real plus to be able to test ride different bikes to see what suits you and the roads you ride on.

While I love Carbon and Ti, aluminum is fine

I'd look for hyd disk brakes over mech. or rim brakes

you'll have to decide whether or not you want clip in pedals or platforms, each has it's benefits and down sides

another decision is handlebars, you can use the racier drop bars or go w/ the more upright flat bars, w/ several in between options as well, The older you get the less flexible you are and the less drop you will want to use most of the time.

I'd look for Shimano 105 components at least, but others can be fine too, you really need to operate them to see differences.

Used can be great but then you may or may not get the fit that's right for you, not only in size but also in components, You don't need or want Di2 cassettes that will cost $400 to replace amd if you ride a lot you will need to replace tires, chains cassettes regularly along w/ other random items that will eventually fail from use.

I agree with this.

You're sitting on a bike for a good long time so most of your search is about comfort.

You've got 3 contact points: shoes, ass, hands and you need to focus on that.

Find some gloves that fit. Make sure they aren't too tight because they will restrict blood flow to hands. I have big hands and have a heck of time finding gloves that don't restrict my fingers. Often I'll go through several pairs of the same size as the store and one pair will be looser than the others, I'll get that one. Right now I like pearl izumi gloves. ($15-25)

Find some bike shorts you like. Many different sorts of pads and even the same brands will offer different pads for different folks. I have a bunch of different brands and my favorite are the thick castelli pads. Wind resistance from clothing will be huge for such a ride. Consider buying what is called "Kit" which are one piece shorts and shirt, a tight fitting rainshell if weather is a possibility. Is very comfy to have no waistband. Probably you won't find anyone local that carries this sort of stuff so go online. Beware that bike clothing from Italy can have very weird sizing, one jacket I have is a 4xl (I wear usa xl tshirts) ($100-$250)

Saddle: This will be huge. You'll need to find a bike shop with a trainer or fit kit and the will to let you try different ones. All the good stores in seattle let you take saddles home and spend time on them but there are so many that you need to be able to quickly skip over the ones that don't work. Some amount of ass habituation is needed, you'll need to toughen your sit bones. BUT there are some seats that will RESTRICT BLOOD FLOW and that isn't something you can work through. You'll need experience to know the difference. For me the best saddle is the Specialized Phenom, the cheapest steel railed one is great. Specialized actually measures blood flow when refining their saddles and it really worked for me. ($100)

Shoes: you'll be in saddle pedaling all day. Get the stiffest comfiest shoes you can. I have crazy high arches and the Giro VR90 was the only shoe that worked for me, the laces were a savior for me. But everyone's feet are different. I swapped insoles from some trail running shoes to get more arch. After exhausting all local stores I actually purchased 5 pairs of shoes from the internet and luckily the vr90 worked for me, returned the others after wearing them around the house for 20-60 minutes. ($250-$350)

Socks: I like the pearl izumi elite tall socks ($10-15)

The above stuff is probably $500-$700. With the above I'd be happy on a $250 craigslist bike (well... with spd pedals and good tires.)

For bike... big long group ride, you need to fit your torso length. Don't worry about bike weight, 25# won't hurt you much at all. Also don't worry about shifting performance, or how well the brakes work, you aren't racing on twisty streets. Make sure the bars are high enough for you, probably you aren't flexible enough to get down low on the drops, but please avoid upright mtb bars, the extra wind resistance will kill you. An 80s road bike would be fine so long as it fits. Be sure that the bar wrap and brake hoods are comfy, but most important is that bike fits your torso. You don't know what that means so you should find a competent store to guide you in bike fit. Beware though that any cheap store like performance will be unlikely to have someone that's competent to help you.

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by look 171

Here's one more if you decide to buy used. Change that chain no matter what sellers tell ya. Its not worth your nuts going up hill when it snaps. Tires and saddle and stem second. After a couple or few weeks, you will know if saddle or stem will work for you.

And when you change the chain, you should change the rear gears, as they wear together.
You might check and see if there is a local bicycle club, should be newsletters at your local shop..

[masraum]

This keeps getting more and more expensive. hahahahah

[red-beard]

Steve,

Please give me a call. I've ridden the MS150 from Houston to Austin 10 times. I should be able to help you find some "lightly used" bikes. I'll PM my phone number.

Honestly, even the entry level road bikes are very good these days.

Which team are you riding with?

James

[masraum]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Steve,

Please give me a call. I've ridden the MS150 from Houston to Austin 10 times. I should be able to help you find some "lightly used" bikes. I'll PM my phone number.

Honestly, even the entry level road bikes are very good these days.

Which team are you riding with?

James

James, thanks. I was surprised as big as Houston is, Craigslist didn't have as many bikes as I'd have expected. We'll be riding with the JP Morgan Chase team.

[nikita76]

I have a 58cm Merlin extra-light in very good to excellent condition with inch and 1/8 inch to inch and a quarter head tube, Pinarello carbon fork and campy carbon record 10 gruppo for $1,500 if you're interested.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by nikita76

I have a 58cm Merlin extra-light in very good to excellent condition with inch and 1/8 inch to inch and a quarter head tube, Pinarello carbon fork and campy carbon record 10 gruppo for $1,500 if you're interested.

Thanks, but I think I'd prefer to go local.

[zakthor]

Originally Posted by masraum

This keeps getting more and more expensive. hahahahah

Yeah. The stuff I mentioned... either buy the right stuff now or learn the hard way and buy again later.

Another important thing I forgot: you'll need multiple outfits when training or you'll need to do laundry every single day. Don't wear the same chamois 2 days in a row without washing. And get some Bag Balm (for your bags). Lots of riding you need to take care of the skin down there. Is a cripplingly bad place to get an infected hair...

[nikita76]

No worries! After the holidays.....go to your LBS on the WORST weather day they're open.(up here in NY would be a snow storm) They'll be happy for the business of 2 road bikes in the middle of winter, on a slow sales day and would probably give you a great deal! Also, ask for any leftovers they may have.

I also agree with finding bikes with disc brakes, carbon frames and comfortable geometry like a Specialized Roubaix, Trek Emonda, etc.....and see if you're wife is more comfortable on a Women's Specific frame.(women are statistically longer legged and shorter torso and bikes made accordingly.)

With you sharing your story about your running, you may want to buy 1 level up. What I I mean by that is once you find a bike that you like, by one level up. So if you like the 105 bike buy the ultegra model and you're going to grow into the bike and keep it for a longer period of time if you do.

Good luck!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by nikita76

No worries! After the holidays.....go to your LBS on the WORST weather day they're open.(up here in NY would be a snow storm) They'll be happy for the business of 2 road bikes in the middle of winter, on a slow sales day and would probably give you a great deal! Also, ask for any leftovers they may have.

I also agree with finding bikes with disc brakes, carbon frames and comfortable geometry like a Specialized Roubaix, Trek Emonda, etc.....and see if you're wife is more comfortable on a Women's Specific frame.(women are statistically longer legged and shorter torso and bikes made accordingly.)

With you sharing your story about your running, you may want to buy 1 level up. What I I mean by that is once you find a bike that you like, by one level up. So if you like the 105 bike buy the ultegra model and you're going to grow into the bike and keep it for a longer period of time if you do.

Good luck!

That'll be a problem. The weather in Houston in Jan will probably be in the 60s and clear and sunny. We don't usually have much bad weather, but I think we'll definitely be heading to an LBS to get some help on getting the right size bike at the very least.

I always get excited and want to spend the money on quality gear, and have to temper that with not over doing it. The roads around here are big and wide, but the drivers suck, so I wonder how much the missus will want to keep this up.

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by masraum

Thanks, but I think I'd prefer to go local.

For the record, I have gotten a few bikes from Nikita and have been very happy.
How ya doing buddy?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

For the record, I have gotten a few bikes from Nikita and have been very happy.
How ya doing buddy?

It's quite a bit more than I want to spend, and since I don't have a frame of reference on these bikes, I'd like to be able to sit on the bike and try it out first.