What bike for a newbie...?

tubthumped

Hey all - probably a question that you are sick of... but I'll try my luck and ask.

I'm new to roadies, I've always been a MTB rider, but I want to crank in more miles to drop more weight. I race motorbikes so obviously the lighter I am, the better!

Anyway, my only experience of riding a road bike is my old mans Felt F75 - which I thought was great. Something pretty similar would suit me down to the ground!

So what kind of bikes would people recommend that are equal to the Felt? I think I'll be looking 2nd hand hence the reason for wanting a few bikes to consider. If I have to buy new I'll probably just get the Felt as I know it's good for me - although I don't really want to spend new bike money - It's 4 sets of tyres for the race bike gone if I do! lol

Thanks for your time

fludey

Having both a felt f75 and ar4 I'm a bit biased and would say as you have ridden it go for the f75 if you can find a good second hand one. I have just sold my orbea aqua to a friend who likes it very much and it gave me 2 years of no cost good cycling ( just a chain in 2 years). Sold the orbea as it was a little on the small side for me.

night_porter

I have never ridden a Felt but if you know you like it already then it makes sense to me to stick with it.

This time of year there are some good bargains to be had too, check this one out http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-f75-2011 £300 discount seems pretty good to me!

unixnerd

Don't rule anything out. Look on ebay/gumtree for anything local that seems good value and give it a try, you may find something you like even more than the Felt!

knownothingbozo

Have a browse on the forums for info on the type of spec you will be coming across. It difficult to know what's good value if you don't don't the difference between an ultegra or a sora. Before I brought my first road bike I spent ages making sure I understood what different levels of equipment were available, the upsides and downsides of each and so on.
For example, carbon, alloy or steel? Consider the road surfaces you will be riding on as well, not all roads are created equal, as well as terrain.
Lightness is important, but lightness in different areas seems to be more important than just overall lightness - for example in the wheels.
I really am a beginner so feel like a fraud making any suggestions, I'm sure the more experienced folk on here will chip in with a dood list of suggestions.