Budget for a first road bike

NewburyRider

I dug out my old mountain bike last year and started riding again and have got back into it. I'm currently training for a sprint triathlon and plan to do more (and longer). I also fancy building up to trying some 50 - 100 mile rides (sportives maybe), but most of my riding in a normal week involves rides of 7-15 miles. I also want to be able to do some short tours - but in the summer and travelling v. light (i.e. not panniers). So I'm in the market for my first road bike but don't know what to spend or focus on. On the one hand something like a Giant SCR 2 (œ500) looks like a good allrounder to me, but suppose I blew the bank and spent œ1200 on a carbon racer - would I feel the benefit of all the extra expense and would it be comfortable and adaptable for the various things I want to do?

DavidTQ

Theres some bargains out there on the giant SCR bikes at the moment as they are clearing out ready for the 08 range. Dont pay the RRP. You can get the SCR1 for œ600 getting lighter wheels better gears and brakes etc. www.winstanleysbikes.com are selling scr's cheap at the moment as are http://cyclestore.co.uk theres a few others out there as well. Well worth making sure that they have the frame size you want in stock before ordering, as Giant have discontinued the range and are out of stock of some of the bikes in more popular sizes already. Remember to check Giants site for frame sizing info the SCR is a compact frame and sizing is a little different to normal frames.

NewburyRider

Thanks for the tips...so do I take it that you think I'd be better off with a more modest purchase in the œ500 range than going up to the œ1200 range?

DavidTQ

Im afraid Ive not ridden the expensive stuff, I believe planet x are recommended a lot for carbon bikes at good prices. The SCR is a nice bike to ride, I found it fitted me really well and felt better to ride than my current hybrid.

photojonny

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by NewburyRider</i>

Thanks for the tips...so do I take it that you think I'd be better off with a more modest purchase in the œ500 range than going up to the œ1200 range?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

That depends on a number of things:

1) Can you really afford to spend œ1200?
2) Is it likely that this is a fad that might fade away, or are you sure you will stick with cycling?

The advice most people give is buy the best bike you can afford, because upgrading it later will be more costly.

The biggest thing people find with a carbon bike is that is soaks up more vibration from the road, and is therefore more comfortable.

There are also some very good value full carbon bikes available for œ999, which might be a reasonable compromise?:

Planet X: http://tinyurl.com/frove

Focus: http://tinyurl.com/2l5hja

You would probably do best to go and test ride a œ600 aluminium bike, and a œ1200 full carbon, and if you think the difference is significant enough, and you have the money, go for the carbon.

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where there's two wheels, there's a way....