Best WSD road bike for around £500 ?

vickiepsych

Hi everyone, I'm fairly new to road biking and want to buy a roadbike for around £500. I'm considering a WSD bike as I want something fairly compact due to a neck injury and I've got fairly long legs and short arms. Im also currently riding a mens road bike which is a bit too long - I've changed the stem but LBS told me that doing anything else to shorten the reach will make it really twitchy :shock:

I'm considering getting a Specialized Dolce, ( I've got a Specialized MTB which I love) - the most basic one is about £550. Just want some advice really - do you think this is the best buy for £500ish ?

Thanks everyone

Anonymous

I would normally say just stick with mens bikes but as you have your neck issue that's not an option.

I don't think you can go wrong with Specialized, Trek or Bianchi but I would strongly suggest keeping an eye out for deals on last years models, you should be able to pick up a better model for the same money...

Here for example -

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/specialized-dolce-elite-ladies-road-bike-id40123.html

psychle

I always think it's a good idea to create a list of the features you want/need on a bike when shopping. We did this when shopping this year for my girlfriends first road bike. We wanted drop bars, a triple chainring, mudguard clearance and a womens specific design. This narrowed the field down to one - a Trek 1.2W for £500.
We would have been happy to spend more and we liked the Specialized Dolce but mudguard clearance was non-existent. It was a similar story with the Giant range.

Our list of requirements made the choice quite easy and she's very happy with the Trek.

micken

15% off at Edinburgh cycles this weekend and they do some nice WSD like the Giant Avail 3W that would come under budget or the 2.5W that would come in at a higher price.

psychle's advice is good, a friend of mine has used a Trek 1.2W as her winter bike (with mudguards) and is very happy with it.

Good hunting

vickiepsych

Thanks for the advice. I checked out JE James yesterday but unfortunately they've sold out of the 08 Dolce Elite which wouldve been a bit of a bargain. I stupidly thought that Edinburgh Cycles were only in Edinburgh :oops: and yes they've got some good offers on. Mudguards are a definate so I'II bare that in mind. Need to make a decision soon - getting a bit obsessive!

micken

If you want mudguards the Trek 1.2W is a good buy.

Candi

I'm in a similar scenario.
The Trek 1.2 WSD is nice, but I am pretty keen on the Giant Avail (WSD) 3, I've been told this has mudguard clearance aswell, does anyone know if this is incorrect?

However I have a cycle to work scheme voucher for £500 only and am starting to realise I may not be able to get the Giant Avail (WSD) 3 as it is about £50 over the £500 mark. I'm going to go into Halfords in an attempt to sweet talk them but if this doesn't work I think I am going to end up with the Giant Defy 4 (no WSD) just to fit into budget.

Candi

fraz167

I am sure you will be able to add to the voucher to get the bike you want.

Mrs Fraz167 has a 1.2 WSD with Mudguards....and seems to like it more then her full carbon Trek 5000 wsd!!

psychle

The Giant bikes we looked at did have mudguard clearance but only for mudguards which are specifically designed for them. They looked very thin and fragile and the clearance is very tight, I wasn't convinced by them.

julietp

Another vote for trek 1.2 - even if you don't need mudguard clearance!