Road Bike Advice
doyler78
Posts: 1,951
I am not going to purchase immediately. Being a cautious sort of person when it comes to spending my money I am now starting to consider buying a road bike next year (yes next year). What I am essentially looking for is some advice about what the different types of road bike there are out there and what style of riding they suit and please explain any terms you use. For instance I see a lot of bikes as sportive type bikes. Means nothing to me, are you just expected to know these things? :oops:
Anyway I commute anything from 2 days to 4 days (rarely 5) per week during the months during which their is light in which to commute. I have lots of pitch black roads to travel on and I wouldn't be prepared to cycle those during the winter without lights up to the job. Problem is they are are too far beyond what my wages could afford comfortably. Anyway that isn't explaining what I am looking for.
As I said I commute and have done for 3 1/2 years now and have seen improvements in my speed and fitness levels and my ability to reocver. My commute is 14 miles to work, 3 miles to gym and then 18 miles home from gym. I use a Sirrus Comp which has a triple chainring on the front (52, 42, 30) and 12-23 (9) on the back. This is a flat bar hybrid with a road setup. I really, really enjoy riding however on windy days I do yearn for the relief that a lower, more stretched, riding position seems to give (at least if what I read on here and other forums is right). At present I am unable to ride with cleats as I have foot, knee and hops problems cause by inflexibiity in my left leg which physio is starting to sort so my plan is that by the time I buy the bike I will riding clipless. If not I will just have to go with toe clips until such times as I get myself sorted.
Traditional if I wanted to do a longer ride I would just vary my route home however I just wanted to go on more rides starting from home and head out in different directions which I couldn't really do on my commute. Towards the end of the summer I started doing circular routes on Saturday's or Sunday's which started off modestly at 25 miles then bult up to just over 63 miles (100k) which was my longest ride. I realise this isn't anything huge however I have been very pleased with how I have progressed as I though nearly 4 hours (3h53) to be precise which was an average speed of 16.2 mph which I thought wasn't bad for a flat bar and not clipped in as it was only a couple mph off my average speed on my commute which is considerably shorter. I was suprised how much I enjoyed just getting out there are riding. Although I could eat for Ireland during it. If memory serves me right I had 1 sachet of psp22, 1 1/2 sachets of go (the other 1/2 finished off as soon as I got of the bike), 2 go bars, 6 jacobs fig rolls, about 6 wine gums and about 750ml of plain water :shock:
Anyway really enjoyed doing these longer rides and this is what I really want the road bike for. To do longer rides, up to about 100 miles seem a nice target. I am not too hot on long slow hills however love short sharp ones. Just blast my way which I know is only a wasteful use of energy but hey that's my fun although by the time I get to the end my legs don't quite function as well even on the short ones but I guess that's the same for most.
I don't plan on joining any cycling clubs so just me and the road. What sort of bike should I be looking at with a max of £1,000 and what is about this that makes it a good option and what class of road bike would this fall into so that I can get a feel what the different options are and why they are suitable for certain styles of riding.
Thanks
Anyway I commute anything from 2 days to 4 days (rarely 5) per week during the months during which their is light in which to commute. I have lots of pitch black roads to travel on and I wouldn't be prepared to cycle those during the winter without lights up to the job. Problem is they are are too far beyond what my wages could afford comfortably. Anyway that isn't explaining what I am looking for.
As I said I commute and have done for 3 1/2 years now and have seen improvements in my speed and fitness levels and my ability to reocver. My commute is 14 miles to work, 3 miles to gym and then 18 miles home from gym. I use a Sirrus Comp which has a triple chainring on the front (52, 42, 30) and 12-23 (9) on the back. This is a flat bar hybrid with a road setup. I really, really enjoy riding however on windy days I do yearn for the relief that a lower, more stretched, riding position seems to give (at least if what I read on here and other forums is right). At present I am unable to ride with cleats as I have foot, knee and hops problems cause by inflexibiity in my left leg which physio is starting to sort so my plan is that by the time I buy the bike I will riding clipless. If not I will just have to go with toe clips until such times as I get myself sorted.
Traditional if I wanted to do a longer ride I would just vary my route home however I just wanted to go on more rides starting from home and head out in different directions which I couldn't really do on my commute. Towards the end of the summer I started doing circular routes on Saturday's or Sunday's which started off modestly at 25 miles then bult up to just over 63 miles (100k) which was my longest ride. I realise this isn't anything huge however I have been very pleased with how I have progressed as I though nearly 4 hours (3h53) to be precise which was an average speed of 16.2 mph which I thought wasn't bad for a flat bar and not clipped in as it was only a couple mph off my average speed on my commute which is considerably shorter. I was suprised how much I enjoyed just getting out there are riding. Although I could eat for Ireland during it. If memory serves me right I had 1 sachet of psp22, 1 1/2 sachets of go (the other 1/2 finished off as soon as I got of the bike), 2 go bars, 6 jacobs fig rolls, about 6 wine gums and about 750ml of plain water :shock:
Anyway really enjoyed doing these longer rides and this is what I really want the road bike for. To do longer rides, up to about 100 miles seem a nice target. I am not too hot on long slow hills however love short sharp ones. Just blast my way which I know is only a wasteful use of energy but hey that's my fun although by the time I get to the end my legs don't quite function as well even on the short ones but I guess that's the same for most.
I don't plan on joining any cycling clubs so just me and the road. What sort of bike should I be looking at with a max of £1,000 and what is about this that makes it a good option and what class of road bike would this fall into so that I can get a feel what the different options are and why they are suitable for certain styles of riding.
Thanks
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Comments
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Regarding lights, how about the Dinotte range, which seem to have dropped in price - at 100 quid, they seem like good value to me - Plus you can use standard batteries if you wish.
Not as good as some of the truly expensive options, but very bright.
Sounds like you're after a Sportive bike, built for distance without the frills of mudguard and carrier mounts, but a forgiving carbon frame.
Why not just stick drops on your Sirrus and pocket the cash for train fares and overnight accom. to extend your riding range?0
