Your first "REAL" road bike?

[whateveronfire]

1986 Trek Elance 310. Wish I had had the $ for the 400 and wanted the 560 in an aspirational way. Bicycles South, Decatur, Georgia. The owner of the shop bought my childhood home.

The shop closed last year after 50 years in business.

[ahsere]

I had never thought of cycling seriously and I do not remember why I walked one day into a store on Arlington Heights, MA, that had just opened and I returned a couple of days later to get my first real bike. The store main business was triathlon, so they had all those strange-looking, intimidating aero bikes, and a few road bikes, so I ended up with a carbon Quintana Roo, a road bike produced by a company that makes mostly tri bikes. It was a good bike, too much bike for me in fact; I ended up selling it a year or so later when I got a Serotta Legend. The store was not in business for long; I don't think there was a big enough tri community in the area to keep it going.

[steveoz]

A Cannondale C2 Saeco red color....it was hot! Think it had 8spd 105....

[Drmojo]

[QUOTE=BumbleBeeDave;56214]. . . on what you mean by a "real" road bike.

If an orange Schwinn Varsity counts, then that would be mine--bought it with money from my paper route delivering "Suburban Life" in LaGrange, IL. It was the first hundred dollar bill I ever held in my hand and I remember the bike was about $105 at the time. I put one of those rim generator lights on it and some "mini" fenders, because I was getting mud on me, but the full size ones looked so dorky! . . . I have no idea what landfill or garage it's in now.

If an Orange Schwinn Varsity DOESN'T count, then it would be my '84 Vitus with Campy Nuovo Record drivetrain and early DA short reach brakes. I still have that one and it's fitted out as a tri-bike

QUOTE

I grew up in Justice IL
kindergarten in Brookfield
then Downers Grove until age 18
Schwinn collegiate , then Varsity
then Huffy Scout
then Univega
then several Cannondales
a Trek 2300
Then I became a snob!
BBDave[/]

[tanghy]

Moulden brazed 853 in yellow
Campagnolo record 8 speed
32hole record hubs laced to Mavics
3ttt cockpit

I still have it and recently rebuilt it with DA7800

[tanghy]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[boywonder]

1971 Schwinn Varsity Green w/shifters on top of head tube :-(
Replaced within a year with 1972 Peugeot UO8 White , much better. ;-)

[Plum Hill]

Gitane Interclub.

[William]

BUMP!

New members, what do you consider your first "real" road bike?






W.

[colker]

Pinarello Cadore. Red and chrome.

[Fixed]

Early seventies
Cheers PEUGEOT Px10

[kohagen]

Depending on what your definition of "real" is, it could be any one of these three:

1. A Peugeot U08, bought in college, ridden for years. Not missed.

2. A Raleigh Competition. Tubular tires, which flatted on me constantly, and which I could never fix properly. It had a TA three arm crank, which contributed to the flexible flyer feeling when I stomped the pedals. Either that, or the frame itself was pretty flexy. I didn't really realize this until I got bike #3.

3. A Jim Redcay custom. Jim was from Lambertville NJ, and was buddies with Tom Kellogg, having both worked for Bill Boston and Ross. I knew this bike was good the first time I stepped on the pedals and the bike just went straight ahead, rather than side to side.

Tom Kellogg did a repair and repaint on this, at which time he reset the rear dropouts to 130 mm. I've just updated it with a Chorus 12 group, which is well suited to the hills here in southern Vermont. Photos to come.

[BlueHampsten]

My first real road bike was a Trek 5500 in pearl white with blue decals in size 56cm.

It was equipped with Ultegra 9 speed components and blue Rolf Vector Comp wheels.

I road it for a number of years and then bought another one in a different color.

I still think that the pearl white with blue decals was one of Trek's best color combinations.

[joosttx]

I believe a Trek 330 from Richardson Bike Mart.

[fords4life]

Currently refreshing me Dad's former race bike to give road bikes a try.