best bike for £300

romore
romore Posts: 26
edited June 2008 in Road beginners
ive got £300 to spend what is the best bike i can get for that money.

Comments

  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    In order to get the best value for money with £300 you need to be buying second hand. Have a look on Ebay or in your local free ads.
  • grantus
    grantus Posts: 690
    If it's got to be new then I'd say a Carrera from Halfords however I'd second the other guy's opinion about second hand buys.

    I got my Schwinn Fastback Sport off ebay for £140 and it's excellent and was hardly used by the previous owner
    www.westlothianclarion.co.uk
  • romore
    romore Posts: 26
    i found this in a local paper but cant find any info on it , does anyone know what this bike is like?

    here is the ad

    peugeot-alu chrono 4000, 61cm, 16 speed road bike, shimano s. t. i gears, mavic wheels, good cond, very responsive, £160 ovno.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Two things strike me about the ad:

    Peugeot bikes haven't been sold for quite a while now, so it isn't exactly new.

    61cm sounds quite big to me (but I am a bit of a shortarse) How tall are you and what's your inside leg (crotch to floor measurement)?
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    You were looking at a 50cm on ebay now you are looking at a 61cm, I don't think you know what size you are looking for mate - 50cm is very small and 61cm very big.

    http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CC ... ATOR_INTRO

    Try that fit calculator above to work out what size you need to be looking for.
    I like bikes...

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  • romore
    romore Posts: 26
    yea ok forget that one.

    i'm about 5.9 .

    was in the bike shop today and the guy reccomended a 56 cm frame that was a speacilized bike.

    he said they vary from make to make
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    romore wrote:
    yea ok forget that one.

    i'm about 5.9 .

    was in the bike shop today and the guy reccomended a 56 cm frame that was a speacilized bike.

    he said they vary from make to make

    obviously I don't know how your 5.9 is made up (long legs, short body - long body short legs?) - but at 5.8 I couldn't fit a 56 - I have a 54 but I could live with a 52.

    the seatheight is adjustable - it's the reach that is the awkward figure to judge. Have a seat on a 54 too see how you get on.
  • Ricardo H
    Ricardo H Posts: 167
    i'm 5' 11" an a 54 is fine for me. If you go on e bay look out for DH cyclesport. I brought an ex team bike from the guy for £350 and it's brilliant. Dolan frame, carbon forks and a mix of campags mid range components.
    Lots of local bike shops are setting up there own ebay shops, and there are loads of bargins to get your hands on
  • romore
    romore Posts: 26
    ok what about this i was looking at these in a bike shop for £280 and that was meant to be a sale price.

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VIKING-MILANO-53C ... .c0.m14#iw
  • ma123
    ma123 Posts: 87
    Hi have a look at the Ribble website I bought an Alu road bike with Campag Mirage groupset with a deda finishing kit and o.k wheels for £399 which for value you just cant beat, also have a look at Decathlon.
  • romore
    romore Posts: 26
    yea i have been looking on the decathalon site,

    are their bikes good?
  • romore
    romore Posts: 26
    i think i'm going to get the b twin sport 2

    http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/sport-2-16v-42393911/

    they seem to have a good garantee and i can go and try them out for size.

    has anyone come across these before? any good?
  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 12,027
    I've heard pretty good things about the Decathlon bikes, 2 of my friends have their bikes, granted they are hybrids and not road bikes, but they were both a lot of bike for the money, and neither have had any problems with them.

    Incidentally, the 50cm bike you were looking at on ebay, I thought was a compact frame, in which case it would be more in line with a conventional 54/55cm frame, which for your height (Don't thnk you have posted your inside leg measurement?) might be ok.

    I am 5ft 10", but have a 34" inside leg, and I ride a 56, though I expect I could have managed on a 54 with a longer stem.

    Cheers

    Dan
    Felt F70 05 (Turbo)
    Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
    Scott CR1 SL 12
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  • richk
    richk Posts: 564
    I've got a Decathlon Sport 2 & am happy with it as a first road bike (I too had a budget of £300). Has done all I'm wanting - 5 mile commute, 100 km club run & even did my first TT on it last night.
    There is no secret ingredient...
  • CrookedCucumber
    CrookedCucumber Posts: 324
    Even if you've `only' got £300 to spend, I'd still recommend going to a decent, independent bike sure and seeing what you can haggle. After all, what have you got to lose apart from half an hour?

    In my local shop there's not a lot in the showroom for £300, to be sure; but they all kinds of stuff tucked away.
  • romore
    romore Posts: 26
    just been and bought a b twin sport 2.

    got my first 7.6 mile ride to work tomorrow and i'm really looking forward to it. :lol:
  • nkirussell
    nkirussell Posts: 16
    I got a decathlon sport 2 last year, put new shimano wheels and a shimano compact chainset with hollowtech BB after a few months, total cost about £300 the two additions made a big difference and gave more qaulity feel. I was very happy with it. I have upgraded this year but now my wife rides this bike and loves it.
  • Mettan
    Mettan Posts: 2,103
    nkirussell wrote:
    I got a decathlon sport 2 last year, put new shimano wheels and a shimano compact chainset with hollowtech BB after a few months, total cost about £300 the two additions made a big difference and gave more qaulity feel. I was very happy with it.

    I did the same with my budget Roadie - chucked on a pair of R 550's & Rubino Pros, and a 4550 HT2 Compact and a few other bits - it made it a bit lighter and a smoother runner.

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