Is the Raleigh Equipe road racing bike good?
Sorry to say that the Raleigh Equipe is in no way a racing bike. While it is a road bike, it is not meant for a serious rider. The tires are pretty wide (28mm, while a good road bike will come with 23mm tires max). The fork appears to be steel; decent to good road bikes come with carbon fiber. But most of all, the shifters are very inexpensive units that mount on top of the handle bars. If you want to go fast and use the drops on the bars (the lower hand position behind the brake levers), you need to get integrated shift-levers (where the shifters and brake levers are one assembly). Even if you think you are going to ride regularly and maybe one day get into competitive riding, I would recommend getting something nicer than this bike. If you pick up something for the 300-500 pound range, you may have a decent bike to get started with. If you get serious about riding, be prepared to break the 1000 pound mark for a good bike upon which you can be a competitive cyclist. And as for road bi
