I'm not really sure about the price of a road bike, as I'm more into MTBs, but this' how I started:

First bike is a below 1k bike. Pretty decent bike actually, just that its only a 21 gear and a bit on the heavy side. But overall great for a beginner. Reason for getting a cheaper bike is cause I'm not sure if I'll like this as a hobby or not.

Then when I decided to get serious about biking, I switched to a Trek 6000. Retail price is at RM3,8xx or so. Although there's other models that are also available for below RM3k. The Trek Skye WSD that I'm looking at for my GF is about RM2,5xx or so.

But if you're going to get serious, then its not just the price of the bike to consider, but also other stuff such as good helmets, gloves, cycle computers, lights, cycling shorts, jerseys and so forth.

You'll need minimum a helmet and gloves to start off in addition to the bike. But I do recommend getting good quality ones. I'm currently on my second set of helmet + gloves cause the cheaper first ones I got had the strap coming off the helmet, and holes getting worn on palms of the gloves.

I used to scoff at the need for bike shorts, till I started getting numb butt during longer rides. But these are all things that you'll collect up slowly, instead of just whacking it all at once.

The question between bike or gym really depends too. I know for sure I'll get bored with indoor gyms, then never go back again. But cycling outside is at least something interesting, and you can always look out for new routes or places to go.

Kesas is a popular spot, they've got a motorcycle lane there.

I stay in Puchong Jaya, so its easy for me to get access to the Kesas, where I normally take the route up to the Summit, U turn then all the way down to Bukit Jalil then U-turn back up to Puchong again. roughly 27km or so.

If you're in Sunway, you can probably enter the Kesas at the Summit flyover.

Actually, an alternative to getting a 4k bike right off as a start is to look for a second hand one that's more affordable. Changing bikes later is a different thing than to upgrade the components on an existing bike.

That's why I prefer MTB compared to road bikes. Just swap the tires to the slim slick tires, and you'll be fine on the road. You may not be as fast as the roadies, but you can sure handle the uneven roads and bumps better than they can.

Plus you can go off road after swapping the tires back to the knobby ones too

tires, not the wheels, if that's what you mean.

I use 1.5' slicks for road, and 2.2' knobby for off road. just make sure that they're both the same diameter size.

Wow, 60 is real fast on a MTB. Fastest I've managed is about 52kmh on a steep downhill tarmac. But my pedals will already spin out at around 43-44kmh or so, and the rest of the speed gain is from momentum from the downhill.

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Added on December 28, 2011, 8:43 pmJust need to watch out for the valve type that the tube uses when switching between knobby and slicks.

For the 29ers, you should be able to use the 700c tires for road slicks. But you won't be able to use the slimmer ones though.

This post has been edited by malleus: Dec 28 2011, 08:43 PM

To avoid confusion between the XS, S, M sizes, look at the actual measurements itself. MTB measurement tends to be in inches, while road bikes tend to be in cm. Normally I'll say that a size S is either 15.5 inch MTB or 43cm for road bike.

I'm 165cm, and I use a size 15.5 MTB, which is a size S. If you're at 178cm, a size M is likely to be too small for you, let alone a size S. Your size should be more towards a L or sizes between 56, 57 or 58cm.

This is rather important, getting a bike that's the right sized. My first bike was a 16.5 inch (size M), and its too big for me. The result are aching shoulder and neck muscles, and the palms of my hands getting numb very often during longer rides, as I was leaning forward too far, placing too much weight on the palm of my hands, as well as having to raise my head higher up.

Another cycling buddy who's first bike was too small for him says that the problem he's had was pain in his upper arm muscles and mid back muscles during longer rides.

You can sort of use this here as a rough guide: http://www.evanscycles.com/help/bike-sizing

But at the end of the day, you'll still need to get yourself test fitted properly for the bike that you're looking at. You'll also need to get the seat position, handlebar position, brake level angles, distance between saddle and handlebars and so forth adjusted properly to fit you, in addition to the frame size.

The adjustments can be well, adjusted as you go along, but frame size cannot be. And nothing throws you off cycling more than spending money on a bike to find that the size is wrong for you. And this is not something that you'll notice right away, but you'll only experience the problems during longer rides.

This post has been edited by malleus: Dec 30 2011, 01:07 AM

Frame size is actually the most important thing to look at. Things like the group set, the weight of the bike and so forth, you can probably put up with. After all, even if the bike is heavy, you can still do long rides, as long as you train up your stamina.

But an incorrect frame size will actually effect your ability to do long rides badly, as its no longer just an issue of stamina but you'll need to put up with aching and strained muscles as well. And from my cycling buddy's experience, it would seem that a too small frame size is worse than the too big frame size that I had experienced. In a proper setup, the only thing that should get tired are your legs as that's what you use to pedal.

If the shop tries to convince you to get a frame size that's not suitable for you, then my advice is to head off to another shop. Most common sizes are the M sizes, and XS, S or L might be a bit more difficult to find. The bikes under RM1k tends to come only in a single size, which is M.

A rather rough difference is how it effects the overall weight of the bike, how smooth the shifting of the gears are, and how likely the chain is to jump off the crank or cassette when you shift too quickly (not sure if this last one effects road bikes much)

Dropbar vs flatbar, I can't really say though, as I use a MTB. But if its like the flat vs riser bars for MTBs, then its actually something that depends a lot on the individual's preferences.

cause its become a hype among yuppies?

I have 2 sets of tires for my MTB, the original Bontrager 26x2.2 which I use for off road, and Maxxis Detonator 26x1.5 for road use.

1.5 is pretty ok. You'll need to get both the tires and the tubes. I remembered paying around 150-170 (can't remember the exact amount) for mine (2x tires and tubes)

Check the valve too. You'll want to get the same valve type that your Kenda tube uses for your road tire tubes as well.

Motorbike cover is available from Jusco for about RM50 or so.

If you're wanting to get road slick tires, then you're likely to be wanting something lighter and faster that you can use on the road. So might as well get something slimmer like the 1.5. 1.95 is still kinda big.

I don't notice any difference in difficulties in handling when I first used the 1.5, but its noticeably lighter than the 2.2 knobby tires.

chances are that you'll need to get the shops to custom order for you.

I just stick my bike next to my door

Yeah, seen the 1.25 used on a MTB rim. But even on the 1.5, I've already need to swap the tubes. Not too sure about the fit of the 1.1 though

Nah.. I make sure there's enough space for the door to completely clear my bike

Only thing that I really need to watch out for is to make sure that my rabbit does not do anything funny to my bike

Their teeth can be scary, especially when they chew on things to grind it down.

But he seems to leave my bike alone these days. don't seem to care much for the taste of lubricant oil

Out of curiosity, why 1.9, and not something thinner?

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Added on January 4, 2012, 8:07 pmfamous last words from people who underestimate how destructive a bored bunny can get

been wondering about this too. suspect its the different climate effecting the dust that causes it to stick more than anything. And well, for claims on not attracting dirt, I'll believe it when I see it

This post has been edited by malleus: Jan 4 2012, 08:07 PM

they chew anything when they're bored

wait till they see this

that's how dirty it is after 3 hours of riding

You can sort of make it out on the middle chainring

close enough. it was raining like mad the night before.