I'm looking to get myself a Road Bike probably around the end of the summer. I'm a semi experienced cyclist. Although all of that experience lies in BMX & MTN bike except for a brief period about 15 years ago. I had a Canadian Tire 12 speed that I killed in pretty short order.

I have only two caveats in choosing a bike: Less than $1000 Canadian and must be made in Canada or at least the US. Not just assembled, or designed but MADE in North America. I'm willing to pay the premium that this costs sometimes. In this case it will likely mean slightly lower level components I guess.

I figure this leaves me with just a handful of choices. Cannondale, Devinci, and Rocky Mountain. Any others that are made here on this continent that could be right for me?

The bike I know best at this point is the Cannondale R400. It's currently $999 at the LBS. I have a Cannondale MTN bike and think heaps of it so I'm sure I'd be happy with a Dale.

But when I go to some manufacturers Web sites to do some comparison shopping I get lost. Usually no price is listed and I have no idea how to guage how much the bike will be. Sometimes it's obvious, like I know there isn't a six13 in my future, but other times it's hard to tell which bike would be best for me.

Any advice? Bike suggestions?

Just to cover my bum I did search for the terms R400 and first bike and didn't find quite what I was looking for. Maybe I'm expecting to understand too much too fast...

Congratulations on your first road bike purchase!
Within the parameters that you have listed, the only bike that comes to mind in the surly pacer which you may be able to get for under $1k canadian. I think they are made by waterford which is right across the border in wisconsin. It is a pretty nice bike, steel. Check with your local bike shop and see if they can get one in for you. I did find one online at this address:
http://www.kenwoodcyclery.com/surly.html
kenwood cyclery :: kenwood cycling

Good luck and happy riding!

Well it doesn't have to be North American made. What I really want to stay away from is the bikes that are manufactured by the dirt poor in Asian factories. Something made in Spain, Italy or France would be fine. You know the type of bike company I'm trying to stay away from.

If my list of choices is that small I guess increasing my budget would change that. Ok...here's a loaded question: How much is too much to spend on a first Road Bike? No racing but as much riding as I can fit in.

Frames made in Taiwan are some of the best in the world (ie. Giant, Specialized, Trek) and most likely aren't being made by 6 year old children chained to their work tables.
In fact, bike manufacturing in Taiwan is costing the companies so much more these days, that cheaper stuff (ie, huffy, x-mart crap) is now being made in China. That's the kind of stuff you should be staying away from.

Most of the made entirely in canada stuff is going to be out of your price range. you won't be able to get a Marinoni or Cervelo or Guru or Argon18 for anywhere near $1000. Rocky Moutntain seems to be making road bikes again, but don't seem to have a bike spec'd with anything less than 105. But you could get a Devinci (http://www.devinci.com/english/roadbikes2004.html) Chicane for around $900, or an Apex for around $1200. Probably even less if you waited till the end of summer.

If you were to consider, bikes designed and assembled in canada, but built around Taiwanese frames you have more options:
Maybe an Opus Fidelio (http://www.opusbike.com/fidelio.htm)
or an Oryx 2100 (http://www.oryx.ca/2004/en/velos.asp?id=C55486)
or Norco CRD2 (http://www.norco.com/bikes/2004bikes/crdtwo.htm)
Brodie at one point made road bikes, but i think they gave it up a couple years ago.

I hope that helps.

Well it doesn't have to be North American made. What I really want to stay away from is the bikes that are manufactured by the dirt poor in Asian factories. Something made in Spain, Italy or France would be fine. You know the type of bike company I'm trying to stay away from.

If my list of choices is that small I guess increasing my budget would change that. Ok...here's a loaded question: How much is too much to spend on a first Road Bike? No racing but as much riding as I can fit in.

I agree with the previous post that the bike that are coming out of Taiwan are of very high quality, but I don't want to purchase one if I have a choice. Since your budget is slim you have very little choices, but if you save a bit more you will be able to pick up a low spec'd road bike built in north america.

I had a long discussion with Preston from Kestrel about this subject since their bikes are being manufactured in Taiwan, and he insisted that they get a consistently better product at a better value since moving the manufacturing. So don't sweat it if you have to purchase a Taiwaneese frame, they're well made too. They're just made there instead of here.

Just remember, be completely happy with your first road bike purchase, you will want to keep this one. Take your time and make a decision that you feel comfortable with.

That said, you can really expand your choices if you increase your budget to $1500US. I am sure you can find something cheaper, but if you have that much on hand you will be able to purchase all the accessories to go with it. Check out burley, lemond, surly, c-dale, etc.

I will not buy a Taiwanese/Chinese built bike. It has nothing to do with faith in build quality. It's a political/social choice. Of course I'm basing this choice on much more than one article but this is a good start: http://www.chrisking.com/asiamfg/index.html

I am not deviating from this decision. If a bike ends up costing me more because of my decision, then, I will wait longer for a bike. Although I'll feel silly buying too much bike for a beginner.

Are Orbea made in Spain?

Maybe an Opus Fidelio (http://www.opusbike.com/fidelio.htm)
or an Oryx 2100 (http://www.oryx.ca/2004/en/velos.asp?id=C55486)
or Norco CRD2 (http://www.norco.com/bikes/2004bikes/crdtwo.htm)
Brodie at one point made road bikes, but i think they gave it up a couple years ago.

I hope that helps.

Geez that Norco is purdy...err I noticed that the ORYX page says "Handcrafted in Canada" on it. Is it?

Geez that Norco is purdy...err I noticed that the ORYX page says "Handcrafted in Canada" on it. Is it?


that the best way to find out where the bikes are manufactured, and where the tubes come from is to email them and find out directly.
Cervelo Soloist anyone?

http://www.cervelo.com/bikes/SL105.html
Soloist 105

that the best way to find out where the bikes are manufactured, and where the tubes come from is to email them and find out directly.
Cervelo Soloist anyone?

http://www.cervelo.com/bikes/SL105.html
Soloist 105

Ok I will start contacting manufacturers about where their stuff is made.

That Soloist is gorgeous but more than I can afford. :(

Orbeas are made in Spain, and are quite nice. They have a beginner-level bike called the Aspin, I think, that's spec'd fairly nicely with Campy Mirage/Xenon. I have seen it in shops near me for about $999 American. It has an aluminum frame with carbon seat stays.
http://orbea-usa.com/Bikes.php?id=16
There are some reviews of Orbea stuff on this site.

One other thing: I looked at the Norco link, and it is a nice-looking bike, but beware. The bike's lines look very much like the lines of my Giant OCR1. Giant makes frames in Taiwan (I'm pretty sure) for an awful lot of companies, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that they made these frames for Norco. Check it out. For what it's worth, outside of it not fitting me quite right, my Giant is an excellent bike that I paid $950 for a couple of years ago and is all a first-time roadie needs.
Good luck


I will not buy a Taiwanese/Chinese built bike. It has nothing to do with faith in build quality. It's a political/social choice. Of course I'm basing this choice on much more than one article but this is a good start: http://www.chrisking.com/asiamfg/index.html

I am not deviating from this decision. If a bike ends up costing me more because of my decision, then, I will wait longer for a bike. Although I'll feel silly buying too much bike for a beginner.

Are Orbea made in Spain?

Geez that Norco is purdy...err I noticed that the ORYX page says "Handcrafted in Canada" on it. Is it?

according to their website it seems they do build them in canada. But I was under the impression that they were taiwanese frames.
http://www.oryx.ca/2004/en/images/a_propos/bloc_images/bloc_img_r3_c1.gif

I tested a Oryx 2200 when I was shopping for my new bike. It was a pretty nice ride for the asking price. Too bad it didn't fit.

Where in canada are you from? In vancouver and victoria there's a bike shop that sells house-brand bikes around Devinci-manfactured frames.

I'm not trying to sound like an ass, but even if you find a frame made in canada in your price range, most likely some of the bars/stem/tires/rims/saddle/headset.... will have been made in one of those evil Asian countries. Keep an eye on this (http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=10268) thread for details.

Ok I will start contacting manufacturers about where their stuff is made.

That Soloist is gorgeous but more than I can afford. :(

That's ok, the frame is made in Taiwan anyhow.

The Soloist 105.

I'm looking to get myself a Road Bike probably around the end of the summer. I'm a semi experienced cyclist. Although all of that experience lies in BMX & MTN bike except for a brief period about 15 years ago. I had a Canadian Tire 12 speed that I killed in pretty short order.

I have only two caveats in choosing a bike: Less than $1000 Canadian and must be made in Canada or at least the US. Not just assembled, or designed but MADE in North America. I'm willing to pay the premium that this costs sometimes. In this case it will likely mean slightly lower level components I guess.

I figure this leaves me with just a handful of choices. Cannondale, Devinci, and Rocky Mountain. Any others that are made here on this continent that could be right for me?

The bike I know best at this point is the Cannondale R400. It's currently $999 at the LBS. I have a Cannondale MTN bike and think heaps of it so I'm sure I'd be happy with a Dale.

But when I go to some manufacturers Web sites to do some comparison shopping I get lost. Usually no price is listed and I have no idea how to guage how much the bike will be. Sometimes it's obvious, like I know there isn't a six13 in my future, but other times it's hard to tell which bike would be best for me.

Any advice? Bike suggestions?

Just to cover my bum I did search for the terms R400 and first bike and didn't find quite what I was looking for. Maybe I'm expecting to understand too much too fast...

get that straight.

I recommend spending as little money as reasonable to get you on a bike that is less than 2 years old. At this point, I would bet that you don't really know what you like or what you don't like in a road bike. Only experience can teach you that. Therefore I recommend that you get a passable road bike for the time being, and invest more money in the sport when you are more informed.

In my own experience, I got a used low-end Trek for my first road bike and I'm glad that I didn't spend any more money than I did. That first year of road riding taught me a lot about what I like and dislike about bikes, and the next time I purchased a road bike I was able to make an informed decision.

I have said this on this forum before, and I'll repeat this again: get on a bike, eat your humble pie and ride with as many riders as you can, and ask questions again and again and again. Beg them to take you out riding, point out mistakes, and maybe even let you ride their bikes. Try to get a chance to ride bikes from different manufacturers with different geometryies, materials, and components. Then, and only then, should you drop a serious amount of $$$, Canadian or otherwise, on a road bike.

Finally, I would like to applaud you on your conscious decision about your bike purchase. It's a complicated matter because it's very hard to know where the bikes are made and under what conditions, and it will limit your choices, but people really should be more aware of the impact of their purchase. I would think that Taiwan does a much better job in their workers' work conditions than the PRC does at this time, and perhaps most of East Asia, but I don't live in either place! All I know is that my team has a sponsorship deal with a great artisanal manufacturer (Cyfac) who hand-builds their frames in-house.

All treks about the really low mountain bikes are made in the USA... My mountain has a huge label on the chainstay "Made in the USA" with a flag.

I don't see what is so bad about taiwaneese made bikes. They aren't even made by human hands. They are all machine welded and get everything from factories in the us or wherever the company is based or located. all the stuff they use is the same they use here in the us or in canada, france, spain, italy, just its cheaper because of labor prices.

my Kona's made in Taiwan. many many good bikes are from Taiwan
Taiwan is not China.
We, USA, fought a war with China, in Korea in the early 1950s after we defended Taiwan from Chinese invasion with our Navy's 7th Fleet in the mid-1940s
We may be trading with China now, but you never know when we may have to fight the Chinese Army again (them PLA). Hopefully, never! Since we lost that UN war in Korea (from lack of resolve) and the fact that we prefer to do business in peace.

Of course, (Hand) Made in USA bikes are 'better" -- Why? Because USA is the greatest and the most hope-filled county in the history of civilization.