Used Road Bike..HELP!

As long as it's not a dept. store bike, brand is pretty irrelevant. Do you have a friend that knows bikes that you could bring along? If you don't have much bike knowledge, it's pretty difficult to tell what's a good deal and what's not (much less what fits and what doesn't).

If you're going to head to your local "Play it Again Sports" store (or something similar), then BRING SOME ONE WITH YOU WHO KNOWS BIKES. Not just some one who knows a brand, but some one who knows what to look for in a used bike -- crash evidence and the like.

bikesdirect.com or ebay.com

At the very least, read this: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

I would agree with the above posters on getting along a friend who knows road-bikes well...

I recently went to help my friend choose a bike (and I consider myself a relative newbie) and was surprised with how much I could help her with (or how little she knew)... In fact, the store was selling her a bike that was too large for her simply because they didnt have a smaller one in stock - I insisted that they get the smaller size in and she tried it next week and it fit perfect...

So, please get someone to go with you - you will never know about the right size, any damage to frame, etc...

All the best

Avinash

You would also be fine doing your first sprint on your MTB - plenty of us start that way. After your first, you'll probably be hooked like most of us are, and then you can take you time and shop for a decent road bike that fits your body and your budget. If you rush into a purchase now just to have something when you do your sprint in a few weeks, you may wish you'd been able to look around a little more.