Need a new bike for weekend rides, light touring. Please help a beginner!

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Hello everyone. I would like to get into cycling and I don't know where I should start as far as a bike goes. I would like to spend $600-1000, preferably on a used bike since I know I can get more for my money. The problem is, I don't know exactly what kind of cycling I will get into. Here are my interests:

Group rides
Light touring
Mini-triathlon
(I even have some crazy ideas about doing a ride across country)
Are there any kinds of bikes on the market that "do it all'?

Thanks in advance for any ideas that you come up with.

Hello everyone. I would like to get into cycling and I don't know where I should start as far as a bike goes. I would like to spend $600-1000, preferably on a used bike since I know I can get more for my money. The problem is, I don't know exactly what kind of cycling I will get into. Here are my interests:

Group rides
Light touring
Mini-triathlon
(I even have some crazy ideas about doing a ride across country)
Are there any kinds of bikes on the market that "do it all'?

Thanks in advance for any ideas that you come up with.
Steel will give you the best overall performance for what you are mainly looking to do. So look for Reynolds-Columbus type tube sets. There are lots of used one's out there and many of the vintage ones will have good tube sets that can be had for a decent price. A good new steel frame from like Waterford or Sora will run you over $1200 so see if you can get a good vintage at a good price and add your components. I was able to find a NOS Bianchi Stelvio for $500 and do a complete Campagnolo Veloce upgrade for about $750 (www.yellowjersey.org (http://www.yellowjersey.org)) so I ended up with a pretty nice all around machine for $1300.

Geometry...well...if you are looking at loading it down and riding more than 100miles a day look for a more relaxed geometry (longer wheelbase).

Your mini-tri that would depend on how competitive you want to be. Most competitive tri bikes that I have seen almost look like time-trial/road-racing hybrids. If you just want to finish you can use the bike you build if you want to compete you'll probably look for a bike specific for speed. Since you likely won't be going far (maybe 30 miles?) you'll probably want something very stiff and light so all your power will be going to the drive train. You can sacrifice some comfort for the advantage.

Hello everyone. I would like to get into cycling and I don't know where I should start as far as a bike goes. I would like to spend $600-1000, preferably on a used bike since I know I can get more for my money. The problem is, I don't know exactly what kind of cycling I will get into. Here are my interests:

Group rides
Light touring
Mini-triathlon
(I even have some crazy ideas about doing a ride across country)
Are there any kinds of bikes on the market that "do it all'?

Thanks in advance for any ideas that you come up with.

See this thread:
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t33794.html