Suggestions for an older road bike build for around $300 budget?

That is a good idea if you just want to jump on your bike and ride, without having to wear your 'riding' shoes all the time. I use those on my hybrid for that reason, sometimes you just want to ride to the store without having to change shoes.
As for SPD or SPD-SL, I use SPD, even on my road bikes, because that's what I have on my mountain bikes, and I like the idea of having one or two pairs of shoes that can 'do it all'.

Craigslist/Auctions.
But good luck, hard to find a decent road bike nowadays on Craigslist for that price, especially during the summer.
I'll sell you a project road bike for less, a green Sekine, Made In Canada!

just be careful of "vintage" bikes on craigslist...a 20 year old bike is still a 20 year old bike


@woob - thanks for the heads up about the jerseys lol probably going to do that since the forecast looks like it's going to be crap
getting stoked for the ride, we should meet up at the beer garden (assuming there is one)

I ride SPD's on my mountain bike, and see no reason to move to SPD-SL for road bike and have to get another pair of shoes.

My build is underway, picked up a Rocky Mountain Solo AC frame with carbon rear triangle, hoping the 54cm will fit ok for my 5'8" ~33" inseam. Parts should be here from CRC this week or next, and wheels will be here at the end of June. I'll just use my MTB saddle in the mean time while I figure out what a good road saddle is.

Has anyone here ordered wheels from CUSTOM HAND BUILT BICYCLE WHEELS Built By Professionals - Prowheelbuider.com

anyone have leads on a commuter bike? or have one to sell? $500 is what I'm looking for..

looks like a 2011 jamis ventura sport, pretty good deal depending on the condition which it doesnt say

JAMIS VENTURA SPORT

post your height and inseam - lots of tall man bikes on CL now

Are you set on getting custom wheels? If so, I can ask my co-worker. He got some custom wheels locally and he used to be a Cat 2 racer.

I have a couple of older mountain bikes I'm looking to sell. Strong, sturdy, throw some slicks on it and it will make a solid commuter.
But what exactly did you have in mind?

For those of you who do NOT have to be up at 5:00am to make it to RTCC on Saturday morning, CHECK OUT THE BIKE RAVE!! It's on Friday night from 9pm onward. It is a group/fun/party ride with MUSIC! Download the music track (links on the website) onto your mp3 player, deck yourself and your bike out in glowy shit and just jam out with a bunch of other cyclists!

Deets: Velopalooza | The Bike Rave!

Fuck I just heard about this today and I wish I could attend. It's like a Decentralized Dance Party on WHEELS.



@pK-diu- Yeah dude! Apparently we each get 2 free beers as a rider! We'll need to figure out a way to identify ourselves. If you see an Asian dude wearing a Team ICBC jersey on a red Cannondale, it's probably me.

Just seeing my options Mike. I'm trying to get the bike to be a climbing machine on a budget because of all the hills in my neighborhood.

god damn that sounds ridiculously epic?!

i'll just roll through the hoard yelling "WOOOOOB!" i guess i wont have any distinct articles of clothing. i'll do my best to catch you before i get sauced. i seriously don't know how they expect me to do the second stretch hungover...provide a closet hipster with beer access? recipe for success.

@prelude - i was once dropped hard on a hill by a dude riding a hybrid pulling his daughter in a trailer. since then i've realized the best upgrade for climbing are leg muscles!

I've found that the best way to destroy hills is to keep on riding them and to build up those muscles.

I've been doing time attacks on the hills in my neighbourhood. I'll ride them up and down for an hour or until I get muscle cramps. They aren't a problem anymore. :ahwow:

Ah yes. My leg muscles do get a crazy workout when going up them. I must be crazy somedays cuz I ride after a 13 hour workday. Lol

My bike is a triple and I have been only using the two rings and on some hills I stay in the big ring to build up the muscles. The mod bug has bitten me because I ordered a new saddle and seatpost over the weekend.

^
Okay I have to admit.

I cheat. I use CytoMax to beat the lactic acid burn. :okay:

If you're doing repeats now, you'll be a beast in a few months. Most people I've ridden with lack speed in the hills.

lols Craigslist Missed Connections:

http://i.imgur.com/ZDAx0.png

Ride safe and stay out of the door zone, homies.

holy crap that looks painful

if that were to happen, would icbc cover all the damages to your bike and whatever else, and all liabilities are on the car owners?

A lot of bikes are so big, 19"-20" frames!

5'5 ~ 29X30

I went to the Bike Doctor on Broadway and looked at some bikes, those Devinci ones look nice.. there was also a Norco, but it was a fixie. I'm terrified to ride a fixie at this point, but I think eventually I will want to own one. For now, I want a hybrid / commuter, something to get me around town, to my fields to play ultimate, and eventually bike daily to school from Van to New West.

Cool, I have a top-of-the-line Devinci Hybrid for sale on Craigslist right now. Search for Devinci Melbourne. I've rarely rode it, and never in the rain. Only used it for maybe 3 or 4 weeks, and it's been sitting storage ever since because I got other bikes to ride.

which routes/paths do you guys like to train with? ie. where do you do hill repeats, flat sprints, etc.

for me i like:
1) going up that strip of cambie between marine and 41st. it's not a super steep hill but i find the long-ish moderate climbs get me pretty good.
2) my buddies love doing repeats of the hill from UBC to jericho...i think they're suicidal lol i have yet to try that one

hey were you out by iona today?

Are your buddies part of the Horny Goats cycling club? I see Horny Goats jerseys every time I've been up the Spanish Banks/UBC hill. It's not that big. Cambie from Marine to 41st is much much longer, but far less steep.

I do 1/2/3/4 intervals on the Iona stretch or on River Road between No. 6 Road and Westminster Hwy or in the Glenlyon business park in Burnaby. I don't do hill repeats, but if I did, I would do them on the hills that go up from Marine Dr: Elliot, Kerr, Patterson, Gilley, etc.

Aaaanyways, RTCC tomorrow yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeuh. Time for beauty sleep. I really hope the weather doesn't crap out.