Hi from a noobie and advice needed

Mr Bojangles

Hi all,

I've been lurking here for a while and trying to digest all the info available to me regarding purchasing a road bike- more of that in a minute.

I've been commuting to work on an MTB for the last few months, varying distances between 10 and 25 mile round trips, over what I think are quite hilly routes.. Most of the hills I can do on the middle ring although 1 long climb sees me down to the granny ring :oops:

Years ago (20 actually!) I was a bit of a roadie and now I'm hankering after a new road bike. I'm not under any illusions of winning races, but a nice quality bike with a frame thats worthy of upgrading as parts wear out is the order of the day. This has to be a long term ownership deal, I won't be buying a new ride every year.I've looked at the Giant and Specialized offerings as well as Cannondale and others. Budget will be up to £750 max for the bike. Problem is I like steel frames and there's not much available that I can find at least! I am capable of building a bike from parts (engineering background and access to most tools via a mate), but building from scratch seems an expensive way to go

My challenge to myself is to get fit enough to complete the Cat And Fiddle Challenge in 2008 with a group of work colleagues (that gives me a year)

Oh and another thing- years ago we used to sit on a bike, fiddle with the seat height/fore and aft position and bar height and ride. Now we need a computer program to tell us if it's OK or not. Marketing hype or the best use of technology since the electric bread slicer?

Thanks for reading my ramblings

alfablue

Steel bikes at that price are rare, but how about this Dawes Audax 2006 from Spa Cycles at £595 - the spec (mostly Shimano 105) is excellent at this price, and the frame should be a good one (Reynolds 631), or the Dawes Audax Supreme for £695. Between the two models they have all the sizes.

I have an older (531) DAwes Audax and it is a lovely ride.

Mr Bojangles

Actually, I've been looking at these Dawes models. If I was buying with my head then these would be near, if not top of my list as an off the shelf bike. Buying with my heart would see me on something a little more sporty, but I'm getting to the age where I'm built for comfort, not for speed (not to mention the old injuries from crashing one too many motorbikes!). For the extra £100 the supreme looks good, especially with that discount. I had also been contemplating doing a (shortish!) Audax or two next year as well so this looks like a good buy.

Thanks, Kurt

Barbes

Ok - budget £750. I always say that and then go 25% over so assuming you can too I'd get a Van Nicholas Euros Ti frame (c.£550) if you like steel. Then equip that with some end of line 2007 groupset - say Veloce or Tiagra and maybe Khamsin wheels. Then upgrade as and when budget allows.

Have a look on http://www.vannicholas.com/ and see what their bike builder can come up with.

alfablue

Hi Kurt

I understand about what your heart is telling you. Steel bikes are really in short supply, and they are even rarer at sub £1000. The only other candidate I can think of (which is a bit more sporty) is the Condor Acciaio, but it starts at £999 with Mirage. If you go above this price then a custom frame build could become a possibility.

I think the Audax is fairly sporty, but also adds comfort and clearance for mudguards and a rack, so it can be very much an all rounder. With upgraded wheels (I have Open Pro's) I don't think you would be compromising performance too much, and of course, for longer rides comfort will increase your performance over a more hardcore bike.

A Ti bike is a good idea and may offer the ride of steel. I have a Ti bike too, but I always feel more at home on the Audax, though the actual feel of the bike will depend a lot on frame design, so it is not just the material.

custom-freak

hello i don't blame you for going for a steel frame, the dawes looks like it will fit the bill very well, i have the galaxy in 531 and when i remove the guards and rack and swap on the thinner tyres its fairly nippy ( although thats a relative thing) i would advise against that ti van nick option, the 200 you would have left would never finish the bike, the whole thing would hit 1000 before you know it, one option might be a second hand steel bike and then upgrade the components as and when, a 200 quid steel bike would get you straight out on the road and then you could take advantage of good groupset and wheel offers when they come round, i think that acorn_user built his steel machine up at about the price you are mentioning and it is a bit of a beauty with a full centaur groupset and i think 7 or 6 series reynolds steel

good luck with you choice and don't forget to post your decision and a pic of the bike so we can make cooing noises
Cf

OnTow

Poss. over budget at 800 notes - the Condor Fratello.
I've got one, and love it.
They size you up the old fashioned way by sitting you on a jig and playing around until you feel comfortable.
The Frat. is an Audax/commuter geometry, which means you get mudguards and carrier lugs. The Acciao is the more racing style steeley from Condor, without such clearances.
I liked mine so much, I went back for a second bike!


Roberts do some nice stuff, and get some good reviews, but they seem to be nearer and over the thousand mark.

As for BikeFit and the other electronic systems, there are people who love it and people who hate it. Seemed to work for my wife.... do you remember those Clarks foot measuring machines from the 1980s?

baudman

Mr Bojangles.... Why are you asking about bikes? I thought you danced??? [Sorry]

As far as 'bike fit' goes - a bike that actually fits you is another world. So yes, I think all the effort they go to is certainly worth it.

BeaconRuth

Mr Bojangles wrote:

Oh and another thing- years ago we used to sit on a bike, fiddle with the seat height/fore and aft position and bar height and ride. Now we need a computer program to tell us if it's OK or not. Marketing hype or the best use of technology since the electric bread slicer?

You don't need a computer program, especially not if you've got past experience of sorting out your own riding position and experienced friends/colleagues to help you. However, if you haven't got experience or experienced friends, then it can be helpful - or maybe if you're optimising your position for racing or you have unexplained discomfort while riding. I suspect, given your past history as a roadie, you should just get out your allen keys and fiddle!

Ruth

mea00csf

i had the bikefit done but only because i'd never ridden a road bike before. Sitting on a bike and deciding if it felt ok wasn't a particularly good option as i had no idea what it should feel like! I'm sure without it i would have ended up with a bike one size smaller than what i'm on now.

But if you have experience i'd say you probably don't need anything like that. For optimising position, sorting out painful niggles you're probably better with the more expensive jig sizing with someone who know lots about riding and biomechanics.

Bikefit....perfect starting point for beginners i'd say

acorn_user

Only just saw this thread. I did indeed bring it all together for less than your budget.

I bought a Graham Weigh 853 Millenium frame from a local shop. Added a Look HSC3 fork for one hundred pounds courtesy of All Terrain Cycles. I got a pair of second hand proper wheels from ebay (made by Spa cycles). Then I bagged the finished kit from the Steels cycles bargain bin and custom-freaks cupboards. The Centaur groupset came from Total Cycling.

If I had not been pushed to max by my labgroup, the total cost would have been under 600 pounds, including two bottles of bourbon. As it was, it was just over. It helps if you can build it yourself, but a friendly local shop will help or do the build for you. There are lots of second cheap frames around.

07 MIrage costs around 240 pounds. That's a great deal...