Road Biking - Step 1

I own two bicycles now and both are mountain bikes. The best I have gone so far is about 20 miles on the bike, ouch! and I have never gone riding on a mountain. The newer bike is a mongoose lbac mountain bike, though it is good, I feel the seat is just not ergonomic. I was constantly standing up, hmm, may be it was not made to be seated. Friends are up for street biking, so I thought I will get into it too. I've been looking up on craigslist or ebay to find a used bike, the newer ones are atleast a grand. One friend recommended a cannondale and she said it was the best bike, so I have been looking up just for cannondale's.

Ofcourse, before you being, you need to know the correct size of the bike (bike sizing). From one of the posts on ebay: Your inseam is more important than your height. To find the proper size bike, you need your inseam measurement. This isn't your pants size but something you will actually measure. This works a lot easier if you have help. Take your shoes off, stand with your back against a wall, with your feet about 25cm (10") apart and raise a book at least an inch thick firmly against your crotch. Make a mark on the wall at the top of the book. Subtract 9" - 10" (23cm - 25cm) for a road bike and that is the frame size you need.

Here are 3 sites with good info:

• http://www.edinburgh-bicycle.co.uk/resource/size_charts.htm
• http://eriksbikeshop.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=39


• http://www.jimforeman.com/Stories/bikefit.htm


• Cannondale Geometry Chart


• New Cannondale Geometry Chart

More findings later..