Technically the Serotta is superior to any Trek aluminum or chromally bike for weight and smooth ride and construction quality (OK all you Trek owners go ahead and flame me) I have met Ben Serotta personally and he is a real bike guy that will not compromise his ability to manufacture a quality bike.

Check out their website.

Lonnie Wormley

I just have to throw my 2 cents in with Lonnie about Serottas. I purchased a Rapid Tour last April and just love it. I transitioned from a hybrid Trek 730 with upright handlebars and expected to have some trouble also with the adjustment to a true road bike with drop down bars. It was a surprisingly seamless transition; a proper bike fit makes all the difference.

I can also attest to the durability of my Serotta as I crash tested it just a month or so after I bought it; it came out much better than I did. Only $30 worth of minor adjustments to the Serotta versus over 100 stitches for me!

I plan to wear out the Serotta, if that's possible, before I'll need to buy another bike!

Good luck with your bike purchase decision; a fun problem to have.

Linda Moreland-Hooker

Certainly it's possible. Cap'n Mike's single, which doesn't see much action since we got the tandem, was custom made for him back in 1975. No, that's not a typo, the bike is 26 years old and still going strong. Coincidentally, the tandem was also custom made and is the same material - good ol' Reynolds 531.

The Other Amy [Buondonno]

...and my old orange bike, which was "bought off the rack" in 1973 and included those "cheap, Japanese Shimano components" is still going strong. I bought the best bike that I could afford at the time, and that meant that it was lugged steel. With proper care, the frames don't wear out!

It's always been lubed, waxed and stored indoors. After about 40K miles, it still has most of the original components. All of them rebuilt at least once. Only a couple of replacements. It got a "new" wheelset (old Campy highflange hubs - NOS Mavic 27" rims) and seven speed cluster a few years back.

A few of the new pieces were for adapting to my changing body. The stem is shorter, and positioned higher, than it was when I was 25. No surprise there! This season, a new saddle. It's a "short haul" bike, now. I have others, but still enjoy throwing a leg over "Old Orange".

This bike has outlasted many things in my life, is older than both of my children and is always there when I need it. I still love it...maybe more than I did 28 years ago!

Mark "love that old bike" Ramsby

Editor's note: most of the rest of the discussion about road bikes was in relation to other bike styles. These posts have been divided up and put with those other styles. Check out touring bikes, hybrids, mountain bikes, recumbents, tandems, Softrides, and women's bikes.