Life, food, events, and community in Albuquerque, NM

Good Shops for Road/Tri Bikes?

Hi I'm looking to buy a road bike for triathlons. Since we have about 20 shops in town, which are good ones for selection of entry level bikes ($300-$700)?

I go to Co-Op for my flats and minor supplies and ABC for my mountain bike and tune-ups - but I'm willing to check out any of the shops in town.

I'm fine with used bikes as long as the fit and condition are good. Does anyone besides Co-Op have "pre-owned"?

Thanks for the info!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Benny the Icepick on April 4, 2009 at 11:20am: Two Wheel Drive has a sizeable selection of used bikes, but most road bikes are ten years old or more.

I have to admit, "entry level" for a new tri/road bike would probably be $800-1000.

To be honest, for the best deals, Craigslist is your best bet.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ayax on April 4, 2009 at 11:31am: Yes... or the bikeswap? 25th of April in ABQ.
Stay tuned for details.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Benny the Icepick on April 4, 2009 at 4:55pm: A big fat second to this. I feel ashamed that I completely spaced it. Be ready; it will be frickin' incredible.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Aly Sanchez on April 4, 2009 at 3:32pm: Keep in mind I'm looking for "better than a mountain bike." If it helps here are a few models with good reviews that can be had for my price range:

LeMond Etape
LeMond Reno
Giant OCR3
Raleigh Grand Sport
Felt ZW40
Felt Z100
Trek 1000 WSD
Fuji Bicycles Finest AL
KHS Flite 300
Specialized Allez Triple
Jamis Satellite
Ibex Bicycles Classic 3300
Jamis Satellite

I just do know which shops are likely to carry these lines/models. I've had a couple good leads via CL and EBay (for used, it opens up possibilities for tri adapted bikes) but didn't want to ignore local vendors.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ayax on April 5, 2009 at 9:10am: Aly, there is a triathlon group here on DCF. Who knows, they may know something.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Aly Sanchez on April 5, 2009 at 10:05am: Hee-hee, I'm the one that started that group. I've posed the question there as well as on the message board for NM Outlaws, a local tri group. Outlaws had some good suggestions. I think I have a game plan now. Thanks for your help.

I'm not sure whether I want to chance waiting until the swap, even though that sounds like a great event. That will only give me about a week and a half of training - and light training at that. Plus my level of knowledge on road bikes would make me hesitant about my prowess at picking out a bike at the swap - this year, at least. I think I'll go to the swap for any component changes i want to make and for some other gear I need.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sí Serrano aka psychomom on April 4, 2009 at 11:33am: I thought I saw some used bikes at Fat Tire. Can't hurt to give them a call. Good luck.

Fat Tire Cycles 421 Montano Road NE Albuquerque, NM 87107
Phone (505) 345-9005
http://www.fattirecycles.com/; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Aly Sanchez on April 9, 2009 at 1:10pm: In case anyone looks at this thread for tips about low-priced bikes, here's some additional info to add to other posts above...
- Performance Bikes (behind REI) does have several major-brand models under $700
- Sports Systems road bikes start at $1,000
- Co-op didn't have anything in my size that met budget.

I ended up getting a used tri bike off of Craigslist that fits and feels good. With my next event coming up soon, I wasn't ready to wait around for a CL bike but one happened to pop up that was perfect.

Some handy sites for this type of process:
Index of Bikes: http://www.bikepedia.com
User Reviews of Bike Models: http://www.roadbikereview.com
"Site Mash" of Craigslist posts for bikes (good for price comparison): http://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cgi?cat=cpbike
Mass Listing of Ebay Auctions: http://www.usedtriathlonbikes.com/; ▶ Reply to This