Harry and I did an on-line chat last night and there was a lot of talk about bikes (for which our appetites are bottomless, luckily). Anyhow, one of the question of the night was "How much do you have to pay to get a decent road bike?"

Harry said there was a sweet spot at $600 and another at $1200. I thought that was low. I hope Harry’s right because there was one, hugely appealing girl on line who says she cannot afford more. So what does anyone think? Give us some suggestions…name names etc. My view is that you need, say, Shimano 105 gearing before you have an okay bike. I also think an old girl or old chap (over 40) ought to have some either carbon fiber or titanium for a comfortable ride. True? Or is steel still plenty good? ("Steel is real," they say.) We are not talking here about an entry-level "combi" bike with fattish tires (not a bad idea for some) but a real road bike. What do you thnk?