first road bike please HEEELLLP

kaz285
kaz285 Posts: 17
edited November 2007 in Road beginners
Hi im getting myself all confused ive got a hybrid and want a road bike now. Ive never riden one though, I can get a Saracem Morzine converted to a triple for £365 or a Giant SCR 2 (08) for £465. The problem is I keep wondering if im wasting my money buying a bottom end version and should I go for the full carbon one on wiggle Focus Cayo for £849.

Your help really would be appreciated.

Comments

  • cj504
    cj504 Posts: 110
    I'd go for the best you can afford. If you get the giant everytime you ride you'l be wondering how much better the focus would be...might take your mind off how much your legs hurt though 8)
    Thresholds, 60-80%, HRM's...I'll just go for a ride
  • Mog Uk
    Mog Uk Posts: 964
    What will you be using the bike for ?

    The trouble with road bikes, or any bike come to think of it is there is always something slightly better for £100 more, you start looking at £500 bikes, then £600 and so on and so forth....

    Set yourself a maximum budget that you can afford and stick to it... some good deals at the moment with 07 bikes being sold off, the Cayo being one of them....
    Manchester Wheelers' Club
  • Down the Road
    Down the Road Posts: 949
    Go to your local bike shop. Talk to the staff. Ask for a test ride and buy what you like the look of.

    If you are not sure don't buy on the net as you are guessing.

    If not sure in first store go to another
    Racing is life - everything else is just waiting
  • benny2891
    benny2891 Posts: 68
    Don't forget all the extras you might need in your budget. Shoes, pedals, maybe mudguards if you are planning to ride in the wet, or a computer, or lights if you are planning on riding in the dark, lights, etc. That is if you don't have this stuff on the hybrid that you could transfer over.

    I don't necessarily subscribe to the buy the best you can afford mantra (not just for cycling either). There is a law of diminishing returns when it comes to value for £££. I'm not well enough versed enough on the particularities of bikes to make specific comparisons, but is the Focus twice as good as the Giant? Maybe it is... But if your needs are way below the spec of the bike, isn't really wasted money ? Another way to look it at is spend as little as possible for a bike that will meet all your needs, exactly -- with some room to grow.

    I'd agree with what's been said above. As this is your first road bike, get to a good LBS and see what they have to say. It's said a lot on this forum, the most important bit of any bike is how well it fits you. Get that part wrong, and all the carbon in the world probably won't make you like your bike. After 30 miles, and your back / wrists / knees / whatever are killing you...
  • feel
    feel Posts: 800
    See if you have an LBS that will let you try a few. The staff in EVANS (if you have one near you) are usually very knowledgable and they do allow test rides. I agree with Benny that you have to remember there will be a lot of other things to buy , but at least these can be added a bit at a time, whereas it would not make financial sense to try and upgrade bits of a cheaper bike.
    We are born with the dead:
    See, they return, and bring us with them.
  • benny2891
    benny2891 Posts: 68
    feel wrote:
    whereas it would not make financial sense to try and upgrade bits of a cheaper bike.

    I think I may have misspoke. When I said,
    Another way to look it at is spend as little as possible for a bike that will meet all your needs, exactly -- with some room to grow.

    What I meant was get bike that was good enough to last you at least a little while for your abilities on the bike to grow into.

    That said, I'm not convinced that upgrades don't make sense, provided the frame is sound. Spread over a span of years upgrading bits either as they wear out or are outgrown could be a good way of spreading the cost of a higher spec bike over a longer period, with the added benefit of getting some miles under your belt before you decide what kind of "upgrades" you want.

    Either that, or I am trying to make myself feel better for getting an SCR3 instead of something more "bling".

    Nah. :wink:
  • feel
    feel Posts: 800
    That said, I'm not convinced that upgrades don't make sense, provided the frame is sound. Spread over a span of years upgrading bits either as they wear out

    agree it makes sense if you wear them out first. Only problem is you could go blind lusting for them for all that time :wink:
    We are born with the dead:
    See, they return, and bring us with them.
  • benny2891
    benny2891 Posts: 68
    Only problem is you could go blind lusting for them for all that time Wink

    True.

    Of course the wait can always be shortened by riding more, and wearing those parts out faster :)
  • xhacker
    xhacker Posts: 69
    Evans are what? Knowledgable?

    We have one in Gateshead and I've never met a bigger bunch of dimwits in all my days!!

    My mate asked if he should go for a size 54 or 56. An opinion would have done. The 'Evans expert looks at him carefully on either bike paused for a minute and said 'I think you're in between' and then walked off!! Never to return.

    They're worse than Halfords by some distance I would say!

    benny2891 gives sound advice IMHO. I've just bought a Scott for £850 and I'm not sure whether it's too good for me but I went for the best value and obviously the ride was quite nice but I bet a Giant would have done me?
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    feel wrote:
    See if you have an LBS that will let you try a few. The staff in EVANS (if you have one near you) are usually very knowledgable and they do allow test rides. I agree with Benny that you have to remember there will be a lot of other things to buy , but at least these can be added a bit at a time, whereas it would not make financial sense to try and upgrade bits of a cheaper bike.

    Are you mad? I wouldn't touch Evans with a Sh1tty stick, IME they are worse than useless and cannot be trusted to build up bikes safely at all as a friend of mine found out with potentially disastrous consequences.

    Kaz - as others have said set a budget and find a decent LBS that will size you up properly and let you test ride a few options. I would advise against buying your first road bike online. Now is a good time to buy anyway as 2007 models should be discounted. Consider what you will be using the bike for - commuting, training, short rides, long distance, a mix of all etc, a good lbs should ask these questions anyway. As others have said don't forget to budget for extras, clipless pedals are a must IMHO as are padded shorts.

    Enjoy, buying a new bike should be a great experience.
  • feel
    feel Posts: 800
    jashburnham wrote:
    feel wrote:
    The staff in EVANS (if you have one near you) are usually very knowledgable and they do allow test rides. .

    Are you mad? I wouldn't touch Evans with a Sh1tty stick, IME they are worse than useless .

    Oh dear seemed to have touched a raw nerve. Not surprisingly, i've not been in every Evans in the country, but in the two i have been in - Waterloo, SE london and Nottingham i was impressed by the friendliness and knowledge of the people that served me and they do have a very wide range of bikes for the potential new buyer to look at. Mind not surprised aboot geordie dimwits in Gatesheed, they divent nar nowt :lol: (Mackems rule :wink: )
    We are born with the dead:
    See, they return, and bring us with them.
  • xhacker
    xhacker Posts: 69
    I'd rather spend the whole day trying to get sense out of the vacant looking goons in Evans than spend a minute with a Mackem!

    Anyhoo, I don't think the fine people of Gateshead would consider themselves Geordie or Mackem.

    Having said that, the staff in Good Evans strike me as being from outta space anyway!
  • feel
    feel Posts: 800
    xhacker wrote:
    I'd rather spend the whole day trying to get sense out of the vacant looking goons in Evans than spend a minute with a Mackem!

    Anyhoo, I don't think the fine people of Gateshead would consider themselves Geordie or Mackem.

    Having said that, the staff in Good Evans strike me as being from outta space anyway!

    :lol::lol:
    We are born with the dead:
    See, they return, and bring us with them.
  • Rich Hcp
    Rich Hcp Posts: 1,355
    You need to go to your LBS, discuss what you want, the types of ride, distance etc.

    Then see what they advise.

    It's tempting to go for the carbon bling, but you may be better off with a mid range bike with a decent frame and good components that can be upgraded as they wear
    Richard

    Giving it Large
  • verve132
    verve132 Posts: 15
    i have a focas cayo and have had nothing but joy!!! no problems keeping up with friends with bikes that cost twice the price..just changed the bar tape and saddle,just try get a bike with the same spec for the same money.
  • Sea_Green_Incorruptible
    Sea_Green_Incorruptible Posts: 431
    But make sure you try before you buy. I've just bought a new road bike, primarily for a fast but quite punishing commute). Had had my eye on a LeMonde for months before - and convinced myself that it was THE bike for me. Until I test-rode the damn thing that is, when I just didn't get on with it at all.

    In the end I spent a couple of days going round lots of cycle shops trying all the various options at my price point (awesome time had!) and ended up settling on an Orbea (which I love love love). In fact there were higher speced bikes around for the same money but NOTHING felt as good for me once I actually started pushing the pedals round...

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