Quote Originally Posted by JHarris1385 View Post
Thanks trekker. I think the bike in question is in the mid thirties shipping weight if I do recall without looking. What is your opinion on this bike? I am about 10 miles out from ALOT of hills near the Ohio River. So I can see riding the hills in the future.

I am also not sure how I feel buying used or I would buy a used higher end right away.
I'm sure Billy and rickshaw know more about road bikes than I do, (more of a mountain biker at this point, as you can tell by my ID), and I would agree with their recommendations about the one in your link. I don't think it's that you wouldn't be able to get used to the bike over time, but even though price seems to be your main consideration starting out, I also agree that you would stand a good chance of finding a nicer higher-quality used bike in the same price range.

I wouldn't be too concerned about buying used. Higher-quality bikes are similar to higher-quality or specialty vehicles. The people who purchase them new are going to be more likely to take care of them and maintain them properly to protect the investment. That's not saying that's always the case though, so used "bike" shopping is also similar to used "car" shopping. If you seen an ad for one you're interested in, stop by, look it over, and take it for a test drive/ride. You'll know pretty quickly if it's one to consider, or one to just walk away from to keep searching. You're close enough to Louisville, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati that you should have no trouble whatsoever finding a nice used one on Craigslist, eBay, local newspapers, etc. Probably a lot of them listed this time of the year too.