Best bang for your buck on a $1,000 road bike?

Don't laugh but a Motobecane Nemesis is full Shimano Ultegra parts for a fraction of the price as the name brand Trek, Specialized, Fuji, and so on. The Motobecane name may not be looked upon by the "elitists" as a real bike, but hey you can't get a better setup for the price. The Motobecane Nemesis is full carbon and just LOOKS fast, as well as rides fast. Heck you could probably sell all of the Ultegra parts for more than u buy the complete bike. hehe. Well, whatever he gets, good luck. I just thought I'd throw out this idea since everyone else was talking about the Treks and Specialized "common" bikes with only decent parts. :) Have fun shopping!

I think the Trek, Specialized, Schwinn, and Jamis bikes all got good ratings for their $1,000 offerings. Often the first bike is outgrown quickly if the person likes riding. I think there is nothing wrong with picking out a $700 bike, with even lower grade components, knowing you will buy up after the first season. Check Bicycle magazine's 2007 review for details and their editor's choice for their idea of the best buys. Better components might push you toward one or another. That said, I think it takes some experience riding to notice and understand the difference. I find beginners often have trouble anticipating which gear to be in and change too late, when the advantage of a smooth shift is lost. There are several reasons to go to a good bike shop near your buddy. Fitting is important (including fine tuning the fit after a few rides), I prefer a shop that uses a fitting bike to set you up, then tells you which bikes in your price range will work for you. Maintenance is important for beginners, while they learn how to do some of it themselves, so close to home is good idea. A good bike shop also knows you will want to upgrade later, and should take more time helping you learn the ropes about bikes. If your friend will ride in hilly terrain make sure they get good hill climbing gears. Maybe a triple crank up front with a 30 tooth small gear and a rear cassette with a 26 or 27 tooth big "granny" gear. You get more bang for the tooth in the rear cassette, so a bike with a 33 crank and 27 cassette is about the same as a 30 crank and 26 cassette. Nothing discourages a beginner more than not having the muscles yet to handle the hills. Teach your buddy to get into those granny gears and go up the hills slow and easy. When riding with beginners I often shift way down with them and stay at their pace, leaving the muscle building for my training rides. Hope this helps

specialized.com i have an 04 allez and im soon to get a 07 transition

For $1000 get the TREK 1500. This is 9 speed in rear and 3 in front (3x9 = 27). Good for beginner. You may later upgrade to 10 speed in about $150. Do NOT buy any other accessories other than the bike from the dealer place. Buy all your accessories (helmet, jersey, computer) from www.performancebike.com or www.nashbar.com. www.performancebike.com is better. They accept return like Wal-Mart. Dealer will reap you off if you buy any accessories from them.

Specialized Allez series bikes are very good also check out the Giant OCR's, and the KHS Flites

For that price I'd go with the specialized allez elite... it is a great starter bike. Shimano 105 10spd., zerts inserts, BG saddle, carbon post and fork, absolutely nothing to be embarassed about this bike. A little better than its trek equiv (1500) but thats my opinion Need I say more...