£500 budget for a road bike - advice please

porkloins

hi, i've been riding XC on my specialized rockhopper for 12 months now, but i'm finding i ride more on the road than off road. I thought i would be a good idea to get a road bike so i can have the best of both worlds

as i've never owned a road bike i thought you lot might be able to help me out with the best bike for the task. i live on the yorkshire wolds, so most of the riding i'll be doing is fairly hilly B roads. i do 3 or 4 15 to 20 mile rides a week on my hardtail, i'm not mega fit but i'm just aiming to cover a few more miles and maintain a resonable level of fitness and fight the flab a bit.

i'm not after a full on race bike, so i'm guessing a sports bike is what i'll be looking for? the allez seems to be mentioned a lot, as i already have a specialized bike i'd certainly be confident buying another. could someone explain to me the pros and cons of having drop bars over flat bars?

thanks in advance

ollie 1

I would personally recommend the Claud Butler Roubaix. I've got the '07 model which Evans still have a few of at the bargain price of £349.99. It's pretty light and the gears are good for either leisurely cycling at about 10 mph or going quickly. My only complaint would be that the gears really aren't good for steep climbs. The lowest gear is still pretty high. As for everything else, the brakes are good, it's a good riding position (personal preference though) and the gears change nice and smoothly. If there's anything specific you'd like to know about it, just PM me.

As for drops over straight bars, it really is personal preference. It was really odd using drops for the first time after only ever owned MTBs but they are pretty easy to get used to. The most important thing to remember is, people who have drops don't use them all the time. I only use mine 50% of the time

Pros:
Forces you into a more aerodynamic riding position, thus making it easier to cycle
Some people find it more comfortable
Easier to sprint if you use the top of the drops

Cons.
Can give you back and shoulder ache at first (well I got it.)
Hard to climb hills (however, you can always move your hands onto the top)

Hope this helped.

Rich Hcp

I have an Allez Sport, never had back ache, just leg ache from all those miles!

The cons for drop bars:

Your hands are not always close to the brakes, although this has not caused any problems

Pros:

Multi hand position, means you can shift around and stay comfy

I have a MTB and the roadie.

I ride whichever I feel like!

The roadie is so much faster, I sometimes commute 7 miles to work, I knocked 8 minutes of my MTB time, first time out!

I always say a roadie is like driving a Lotus, light and fast, but don't go off road!

A MTB is like Land Rover Defender, dependable off road, go where you want. You can take a Landie on the road, but it'll be slow, uncomfortable and use lots of energy!

meanwhile

porkloins wrote:

i'm not after a full on race bike, so i'm guessing a sports bike is what i'll be looking for? the allez seems to be mentioned a lot, as i already have a specialized bike i'd certainly be confident buying another.

Be warned: Specs road designs can be very "taut". With thin tyres they pass on every buzz. Not nice.

could someone explain to me the pros and cons of having drop bars over flat bars?

Good things about drops: more positions, so you get a cruise and very fast. Hand orientation reduces stress on long rides. Down on drops you cut into head winds easier.

Bad things: normal position is up on the hoods - not good for hard braking compared to flats. All positions are less good for hard steering and handling pot holes. Drop bikes are harder to fit to a rider. A lot of riders never get used to them, although trying "comfort" designs like Nitto Noodles and gel bar tape can help. Possibly poor "look around" compared to flats, depending on your flexibility.

Oh, and rather than a "sports" bike you might want to look for a performance hybrid. These let you run wider tyres (much more comfortable and better grip, good ones like Sports Contacts don't really slow you down) and have mountain bike brake systems. They can be changed to drop handles using Dia Compe 287V brake levers.

porkloins

thanks for the info so far, i think i'm still leaning towards drops. the main reason being is that as i already have a mountain bike i'd rather my second bike be as different as possible.

what performance hybrids could you recommend me to look at meanwhile?

ollie 1, the Claud Butler Roubaix looks a nice bike m8 worth a look i thnk! if not, my m8 is also after getting slightly cheaper roadie so i'll point him in that direction

i'm going to look at an allez 18 compact tomorrow, the guy in the shop told me that the triples are only really required for complete novices and the compacts have outsold the triples by a long chalk. it's £449 which seems a good price too

any help is gratefully received!

mivecboy

Trek 1.5 ? Had a look at one of these tonight. Construction looks top notch, really nice looking bike.

mivecboy

Felt Z90 - http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2008
Cube Aerial 2008 - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=23689

I am starting to confuse myself with more research lol
Anyone have opinions on these ?

ollie 1

The Cube Aerial is the better of those two bike in my opinion. Have you been into a store and had a proper look at any that you've been considering so far?

mivecboy

I went to Evans Cycles tonight and looked at 3 bikes.

Trek 1.5 £600
Pinnacle 1.0 £449 or Pinnacle 2.0 £599
Specialized Allez £499

To be honest, the weight of the Pinnacle 1.0 and Trek was about the same, and the groupset was better on the Pinnacle 2.0 than the Trek, but the Trek looked nice. Havent been for a ride on Trek yet as they didnt have my size.

The finish of the Trek was nicer. I wont be joining a club or doing long long rides so this will be an occasional bike. The Trek is lovely in the flesh but i can help thinking the Pinnacle is £150 cheaper, and I havent heard of Cube before.

porkloins

so what did you think to the allez?

paulorg

,

i think i'm still leaning towards drops. the main reason being is that as i already have a mountain bike i'd rather my second bike be as different as possible.

As a fairly commited commuter I bought what was euphemistically called a flat barred racer and while the bike is great I always wished I'd bought a drop, as far as it is possible to look manly in lycra shorts I just don't feel a flat bar makes for a manly bike, I'd go for a drop.

i'm going to look at an allez 18 compact tomorrow, the guy in the shop told me that the triples are only really required for complete novices and the compacts have outsold the triples by a long chalk. it's £449 which seems a good price too

I'm not familiar with the term Yorkshire Wolds, where is that exactly? If the hills are anything like those around Halifax you won't need a triple for 99% of them but when you hit the 1% that are almost vertical you'll wish you had the granny ring, don't be afraid of having one cos you don't have to use it but if your ride takes in any beasts you might be glad of it.

mivecboy

porkloins wrote:

so what did you think to the allez?

Didnt really stand out to be honest. For a dedicated cycling forum it might be a bit shallow to go on looks, but I've always been a big fan of the oversized tubes on the Treks and the build quailty and finish looked very good indeed.

For me being a more occasional rider, thats part of it. I bought a £1300 GT Zascar Race about 3 years ago which isnt that much money compared to some people on here. Having a nice looking bike somehow gives me more incentive to take it out. I'm not alone on that surely ?

plee001

im try to find out which is better scott aspect 55 the 45 and the giant yukon ther nearly the same price cos i'm just starting out and i know form mbuk that the yukon is a good bike for the price but theres a scott dealer right beside me

mivecboy

Arent these mountain bikes ? We're talking road bikes here.
I did ask about the Scott S60 tonight too but the chap at Evans said dont bother with entry level Scott as the frames arent that great until you reach the more expensive carbon ones.

porkloins

yeah the scotts do look nice, i do like the look of the S60 too, but they don't seem to get much of a mention when it comes to chosing one to buy. that must count for something?

paulorg wrote:

I'm not familiar with the term Yorkshire Wolds, where is that exactly? If the hills are anything like those around Halifax you won't need a triple for 99% of them but when you hit the 1% that are almost vertical you'll wish you had the granny ring, don't be afraid of having one cos you don't have to use it but if your ride takes in any beasts you might be glad of it.

I live in a small village between york and bridlington, it's not massively hilly where i am, lets say it's 'generously undulating'. i've never had cause to use the granny ring on my mountain bike, not even at dalby forest....so i think it would be wasted on a road bike?

mivecboy

The steepest thing I'll be taclking is probably Ditching Beacon. For all of you that have done the London to Brighton you'll know that. My next choice will also be double or triple.

Are the final ratios of each mostly the same with just a greater variety in between ?

paulorg

porkloins wrote:

I live in a small village between york and bridlington, it's not massively hilly where i am, lets say it's 'generously undulating'. i've never had cause to use the granny ring on my mountain bike, not even at dalby forest....so i think it would be wasted on a road bike?

Probably not worth it then, if you can do it on an MTB which will be quite a bit heavier than any road bike you care to mention you'll not need it

meanwhile

porkloins wrote:

thanks for the info so far, i think i'm still leaning towards drops. the main reason being is that as i already have a mountain bike i'd rather my second bike be as different as possible.

That makes excellent sense. Zinn's "Cycling Primer" book is supposed to be excellent on bike fit. I'd study it like mad before buying my first serious drop handler bike and/or got to a shop that has a real bike fitting service.

what performance hybrids could you recommend me to look at meanwhile?

For £500, I'm not sure. For £700-900 I know quite a few bikes, because that's the range I'll probably buy in later this year. However, for £300ish you could get an Edinburgh Bike Co-op Revolution Courier Disc, which is a hell of a lot of bike for the money. It's 8 speed, but you could possibly get EBC to fit a triple at the front for some extra dosh. Comes in 26 or 700C flavour. I almost bought one of these instead of a used Specialized Sirrus and wish I had.

ollie 1

mivecboy wrote:

The steepest thing I'll be taclking is probably Ditching Beacon. For all of you that have done the London to Brighton you'll know that. My next choice will also be double or triple.

I did the London to Brighton on my Claud Butler Roubaix and got up Ditchling with a double on it. It's absolutely fine really. You certainly don't need a triple. The smaller on the CB Roubaix is still big so if i managed on that, you will easily manage on the bikes you're looking at.

mivecboy

I dont know what the resitance is to CB bikes. I went into Sydney Street Cycles in Brighton and Evans Cycles and mentioned the CB Roubaix and both places were quite dismissive. Strange.

ollie 1

I'm not surprised really. The resistance is huge. But I still managed it. It depends on will power to be honest. I wouldn't recommend it for lots of big climbs but from the sound of things, he'll only be doing the occasional big one so a CB would do.

mivecboy

OK, just to throw this into the mix, Giant SCR 2 ? 50 quid cheaper than the Trek, looks as nice too ?
Or just found this
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... b48s6p1373

100 quid cheaper than the Trek and better specced ?

porkloins

mivecboy wrote:

Or just found this
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... b48s6p1373

100 quid cheaper than the Trek and better specced ?

nice find m8, just in time for me to print it out as i'm heading off to the bike shop now to look at a 2008 allez double right now.

i'll let you know how i get on....i may well be coming back with a new bike

mivecboy

Please let me know. I am still very very tempted by the look of the Trek. or the very popular Giant SCR2.

Trek is more money but looks really really nice. Spesh looks like better groupset, and Giant seems to be the peoples choice but i cant find one locally to test drive unless anyone knows a Sussex Giant dealer.

I am really torn.

alfablue

mivecboy wrote:

The steepest thing I'll be taclking is probably Ditching Beacon. For all of you that have done the London to Brighton you'll know that. My next choice will also be double or triple.

Are the final ratios of each mostly the same with just a greater variety in between ?

No, the triple gets you lower ratio's, I couldn't cycle up my street without the granny ring. A triple adds little weight, and unless you are pretty fit and or don't do hills I think they are worth having for mere mortals like me.

The Trek's do look good, and the frame is very good quality and pretty light.

bendertherobot

My Focus Variado Expert in the classifieds? £450?

weedy1

Ribble have good value for money bikes on as specials. Handy if you live near as you can get sized in the shop if not its mail order madness !

porkloins

i just got back from the shop, bought myself a 2008 specialized compact. very nice bike imo. build quality is very good , as you'd expect from specialized. i've only had a quick test ride, very strange riding position at first, but after a few hundred meters i was beginning to feel more comfortable. I got the bike and quite a few accessories for £490. Hoping to have a ride out this afternoon once i've mowed the lawn....will report back later!

mivecboy

Test driving a Giant SCR2 tomorrow... Will report back also :-) £490 for 2008 model.

andy_wrx

Spesh Allez
Giant SCR
Trek 1.series
- all are very good bikes for that sort of money, they're the equivalent roadbikes from the big manufacturers, all are good just different in little details.
None is a bad bike, none is 'better' than the others - they're just different.

It's like saying is a Focus better than an Astra or a 307 ?
All are excellent cars, really good value and will do you fine.
Pick which one you prefer.
None is a Range Rover or a Lotus Exige...but none is an 80's Lada either.

Some people will prefer one over the other, other people will have a different opinion
- but they're all fine. You won't go wrong with any.

Pick which one you prefer based on something as silly as what colour it is, or on what the shop are like and what sort of deal they'll do you.

mivecboy

Trek - Beautiful finish and styling
Giant - I have found a dealer that has one in my size and will offer me a discount
Spesh - Good brand

Lol not easy