Road or X, decided and ordered my 1st road bike!

Bengdogg

Hi!

Im looking at getting back into road riding after a long break from it. i regually mountain bike and when i used to road ride as a youngster t was on mtb's so i have never owned a proper road bike, anyway, i have a few bikes in mind but am struggling on the decision of should i get a road bike or a cyclo cross bike as the cross bike would allow me to hop onto fire roads and canal tracks etc whilst also having the option to have slc tyres on should i want to do a dedicatesd road run or club ride. Part of me pulls towards the road bike as it would be a little bt lghter and i have my mtbs for track stuff. but i thinking that a cross bike would be a better all rounder should i feel the urge to take a quick shortcut on my travels

Hope you guys can help!

Thanks!

Barrie_G

I was in the same position as you earlier this year, and bought a felt F1X cross bike, to be honest it's never seen anything off road other than paved cycle paths and I'm constantly wishing that I'd just bought a road bike in the first place. So I have a bike that's not best suited to the type of riding I'm doing and trying to sort out how to get a road bike without losing a fortune on a bike that's just a few months old.

Get the road bike, unless you are CERTAIN that you will need some off road capability from it.

Bengdogg

Tbh what you say makes perfect sense, i have mtbs for off road and tracks etc so i think it is gonna be a road bike

Thanks for that you made a conundrum into sense!

Barrie_G

Glad to have been of assistance

Bengdogg

Hmm now the burning question is what to buy.

Im looking at around £800 the focus varidaro expert catches my eye as its on offer at wiggle and in my size (im just over 6'2" 34" inside leg) but i think i would like to test ride what i am going to buy before i jump in. Im in Rugeley in the midlands and do most of my stuff through swinnertons at rugeley but i am fairly sure they only test ride mtbs and also i want the hottest deal around when it comes to spending my cash, swinnetons are treck and giant dealers and looked at the trek 1.5 i think it was £800 and a giant scr1 or something, the thing is the components fallway below what the focus bikes have for the same money so i dont know which way to go tbh, i would travel out for a dayas long as it wasnt stupidly far if it meant getting a test ride and the right deal on a new steed.

Bengdogg

Well after ringing sveral companies this morning and local bike shops i realise im flogging a dead hrse when it comes to test rides, i do try and support my lbs but i will not buy a bike before i rode it, i did that with my giant trance and even though i really like it i feel i should of bought an anthem or at least tried each out.

Wiggle do the focus bikes and the cluebro, Focus Variado Expert & of course cayo all catch my eye & seem to get good revew although i can't find revews on the culebro. I notice they do a 7 day no quibble test ride so i will probably just go for one of them as 7 days to decide will definatly help, i notice the 09 trek 1.7 is slightly lower spec than this years and the giant defy which replaces the scr also has some lower spec kit.

Over all it seems that local bike shops need to step up thier game a bit to keep customers happy.

CanterburyTailwind

Hi Bengdogg - sorry you got the brush off from the LBSs: it does seem crazy that they won't even let you ride up and down the road, or around a car park on the bikes. Sure, they're alot of money, and you might make off with one, but if they asked for some kind of deposit then that should be enough.
I've never bought a bike on Wiggle, but have always had good customer service from them, so imagine there shouldn't be a problem with returning the Focus if it's not right. However, if you've not tried other bikes, it's knowing what to compare it with...
Is there an LBS further afield from you that would let you try some bikes? They do vary quite alot: eg Downland Cycles here in Canterbury are very helpful, friendly and let you try a range of bikes.

Bengdogg

its not so much a brush off as they havent got them in stock as they are a small independant , i can get one in a few weeks if i want but thats to buy, ive been offered a ride on a lad who works theres trek but im about a foot taller than him so its not really gonna be right for me.Ive always had good service from them and like them a lot but its just a lot of money to commit for something that may not be right for me. I am willing to pay for a demo bike if i have to as its better to spend 20-30£ to be sure its ok.

Bengdogg

Ok after deliberating and stuff, i went to my usualy lbs looking to buy a trek 1.7 but they didnt seem to want to sell me one or even check availability on this years models, so i took a drive down to Mammoth cycles at milford and after being shown whats what and having stuff explained i put down a deposit on the 09 Allez in't with a compact drive. http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=33693 will fetch it next week some time as i think it will be ready on monday or tuesday. Excited as hell!!!!!