Looking for first road bike under 1000.?

I am 6'4" 210 in pretty good shape. I have mountian biked as long as I can remember but would like to get a road bike for long distance bike trails. I dont know anything about road bikes or what I should be looking for specifically. Any suggestions will help. thanks

You can get a good road bike for the price you've stated. The way to start is to go to your local bike shop, let them fit you, and then test ride the bike. Go to as many bike shops as you can and test ride as many bikes as possible. The bike business is very competitive. Any two bikes at the same price are very likely to be equivalent values. The important thing is how the bike fits and feels when you ride it. Ignore brand names, marketing hype, and fancy brochures. You can't ride them. Pay attention to component groups, but don't get hung up on them. At your price range, they all work reliably and well. One bike will fit you and feel better than the others. Buy that bike regardless of the name on it. It is the one you will enjoy and use the most.

HTH

Since you say you are totally new to the road scene, then you need professional help. There is no substitute for visiting several bike shops as mentioned earlier. I also recommend visiting during the week if you can to avoid the weekend surges; I was in a shop last saturday to buy some supplies and it was a madhouse. I even overheard the salespeople saying they had a 4-hr waiting time in the mechanics shop. I'd also recommend some patience; its normal to get all geeked up after seeing and test riding new bikes. Make a short list after you ride several and check out the pros/cons of each and let things settle for a couple/few days before you dish out your presumeably hard-earned cash. Ask about warranties; some places extend the usual MFG lifetime frame warranties to some of all of the parts, too.

Buy a used bike. You will get more for your money. Most of the people I know who deal in used bikes use Craig's list..

other sources include

police auctions
pawn shops
local ebay auctions
bulletin boards at bike shops
shops that deal in used bikes.

Spend a bit of the money you saved getting it tuned up.

Since you didn't say, "I wanna race", stay away from wheels with low spoke counts. These are not as repairable.

consider also space for fenders.

I have the schwinn SS road bike that dude mentioned above. It's pretty hot. Good stuff for under a grand. Although if you're looking at the $1000 price range I'm sure you can find better. Still though, I swear by my schwinn SS

For a first road bike look at

1. Schwinn SS Road Bike
2. DiamondBack Podium DBR
or check these out

http://www.aroadbike4u.com/best__1000_bi...

Trek and Specialized now have road bikes in the $700 range now.