Looking for Road bike advice from Mountain Bikers

Mikie, I too have a..... road bike.
An old Trek with only double rings and an 8 speed cassette. There might be some carbon fiber tubes on it also.
I rode twice last year, and on the second ride I somehow ended up finishing the ride with.... Gary.
That was enough, I haven't ridden it since.

 

If your still out looking and u don't mind AL as a frame material in a road bike, the Specialized Allez with 105 group set is a pretty good bike for the money. At $1500 its hard to beat the price. I've put nearly 3000 miles on my 06 version & have loved every mile of it. Only things ive replaced r spokes, tubes, & tires. It's been a great bike.

 

Agreed, however he specified he was looking at relaxed geometry bikes. The Aluminum equivalent of that would be the Secteur.

 

I have a 2010 Synapse HiMod with Rival group (compact crank), and absolutely love it. My previous road bike was stiffer and quicker handling, which was fun for short ride when I was feeling a little aggro, but it took a toll on longer rides. The Synapse is a joy - smooth and stable, yet when I want to get out of the saddle it goes. To me then Roubaix felt a bit dull, though I only got to take it on a parking lot test. I did a slightly longer test of the Volagi Liscio (didn't like it) and a Look 566 which had a nicely racey feel, yet is also billed as a comfort bike. It was fun, but I think the Synapse was the right choice for me. You're welcome to try it if you'd like.

And I rarely wish for a regular crankset - only when a friend outruns me while spinning flat out on a slight descent, and that doesn't happen often. On the other hand, with a mountain biker's mentality I like to climb on my road bike, including some steep stuff. I use every bit of the compact crank and 26 tooth cassette.

+1 on a pro fitting, as it is way more critical on a road bike, esp if you're gonna do long rides. Damon at Surf City Cyclery was a pleasure to work with, giving me some great tips on pedaling technique and stretching, along with the fitting. Highly recommended.

 

I'm not exactly sure what you plan to ride but the natural progression is to start out local and work up to a century ride or two. Then you'll find if that's what you like or maybe just the fast club rides. I'm what they call an ultracyclist. I do longer rides of 100 and 200 miles and recently did a 300. I started out on an aluminum bike and then upgraded to carbon this was and still is the best thing I've ever done as an upgrade. The Roubaix is one of my favorite bikes and they offer it at all kinds of price ranges. But I also like the Giant Defy but it's more along the lines of the Tarmac in geometry. Get the compact, you'll hardly ever have a need for regular gearing.

And I log more miles then most everyone here on the forums and I don't shave my legs, or remove the dork disc. (it broke off) and I still run mountain bike shoes as do about 25% of the other roadies. Fit in you'll be more comfortable. Buy some roadie bike shorts and a jersey or two. Join a club ride and like was said before tell them you're new to this and they'll tell you how to ride the paceline, how to signal and basically ride safe. You should go out with the slow group even though you'll probably spank them all but it'll give you valuable insight and you'll meet a whole new group of people who are 100% just like mountain bikers but they don't bother to talk shit about them like mountain bikers do about roadies.

And above all else don't forget to wave and say hi to every other person on a bike that you see, otherwise you'll get a snob,stuck-up label added to you.

 

29er hardtail.