[porterboy]

Hey everyone! First, this forum has so far been very helpful. A valuable resource really.

I am a grad student at UC Davis and I am thinking of starting to go road biking seriously. I love to cycle but I have never raced. I am more like a recreational type who like cycling for fitness. I put in about 7 hours a week. I currently have a vintage peugeot road bike, a hand me down from previous grad students primarily used for gettting around. I love it although it's ancient technology. I like the work out it gives me. Now, I want to buy a my first road bike.

I have never bought a road bike and I am seriously thinking of buying one within the week...I tried on a 05 Bianchi Veloce and a 05 Bianchi Eros from the LBS. Both felt very very nice. I dont know anything about components.The difference between the 2bicycles is 400bucks. As I 've said, I am a lowly grad student and I want to get the most out of my hard earned/saved/guarded money. I am willing to spend up to $1500. The veloce is right up there. Which one will be a better bike in the long run considering I ride primarily for recreation/fitness...maybe race in a year or so.

 

[iopturbo]

i'd go with the veloce, campy veloce is much better than the mirage group.

 

[Cory]

Must be a jillion used bikes in that town. Maybe...

I go through Davis all the time traveling from Reno to the Bay Area, and when we make the mandatory Murder Burger stop, I'm always struck by the number of bikes there. If money is really an issue, you might take a few days looking for a used bike. You can get a pretty decent new ride for $1500, but if you have the time and patience to wait and look around, I'd imagine you could get something used for half that.
There's some risk, but not much. I bought three of my last five bikes used, going back to 1993, and they're all still working for me or somebody else. A shop would probably give a candidate a quick check for you for $25 or so, if you don't feel competent to do it yourself.