Help wanted in choosing beginner bike please

markmax

Hi there - first posting, second bike.... currently own a Giant Boulder for family treks but would like to take up road biking for fitness and a view to racing so this would be a very early beginner's bike that I am looking for but with the following in mind:-

Being a woman, would like to go for some comfort if possible;
Prefer the drop handle bars;
Have heard that I should go for carbon forks for easier riding;
Have a limited budget of £250 to £500 but would prefer to spend no more than £400 so I can buy any additional gear needed

I bought a Giant Boulder because of the good reviews (in that they generally manufacture good bikes) and I have heard of their OCRs - which are quite old now - am I right? I thought they now have TCRs and DEFYs, the latter being more of a comfortable road bike.

Can anyone give any thoughts on the DEFY range?
Can anyone also give their opinion on what other entry level road bike I could look to buy?

By the way, if it helps, I'm 5'5", small frame, weighing 8 stones. Does any of this matter?!

Thank you for your opinions. I've tried looking myself (nearly bought the Raleigh Airlite 100 - but held back after doing some research, which only led me to think there is so much out there, I'm bound to make the wrong decision without a little advice - which then in turn, led me here so thanks for anyone's advice).

guilliano

Giant also do a womens version of the Defy, called the Avail. They have a shorter top tube and stem so are more suited to a "typical" woman's build. Unfortunately they start at £575 so a little above your budget, but most stores will do interest free credit for an amount of over £250 so you could spread part of the cost, or see if your employers will do the cycle to work scheme..... huge savings to be had there

markmax

Thanks for that information. I was just looking at the Avail. It seems to have replaced the OCR W. I suppose they are that new that they won't be on the second hand market yet either.

I am assuming the Avail is more comfortable than the Defy, purely because it's frame is more suited to a woman's physique?

With the recession going on, there is bound to be a bargain to be had. I suppose I could always fork out the £500 and forget the gear for a while, with it Summer coming up.

guilliano

I'd try both. Some women have a longer body than others and therefore suit a man's bike better. Also have a look for a second hand SCR W (the Defy/Avail replaced these). The OCR was more racy, the old equivalent of the TCR. Also worth looking (if you don't mind 2nd hand) for things like a Trek 1.5/7 or Spesh Allez

Anonymous

The best thing to do is take a couple of days trying the bikes out at your LBS...

You may actually find a bike you never considered to be the best for you.

markmax

I'm kind of stuck on Giant bikes because they have very good reviews, I own one already and also, I'm a sucker if I go into a shop. I get so excited that I end up buying whatever they want to sell me in the end because I must go out with a bike there and then! :oops: Also, I'm a 29 inch leg so, I may be better off trying both types of Giant bikes.

I was just looking at the back catalogues and noticed the SCRs for 2008. I think the OCRs are too racey for me.

I used to do cross country running for Somerset but it's so bad on the knees and I've enjoyed cycling on a leisurely basis with a Raleigh Pioneer Classic ( :oops: I'm so enjoying my Giant Boulder after that, I can tell you!!), cycling 30 to 50 miles a day but miss the competitive edge that I got with the running.

So although I want a road bike, I still want one for comfort but that will also see me through races - would love to get into that but I appreciate I am just a beginner so the advice is all useful.

If there are any other specific bikes to try out, whatever make, that you think would suit, I am all ears.

Also, whilst I like computers, anyone recommend a good magazine I could sit down and read, bearing in mind what I wish to achieve in cycling? Some seem too professional to be of any use to me.

guilliano

Bicycle buyer, cycling weekly, cycling plus..... all good sources of info. As Napoleon suggests, the LBS is a good place to go, but also worth contacting a local club. Have a look at the reviews of road bikes on this site too..... they have reviewed the Giant Defy 4 (£475) so they certainly aren't only interested in elite bikes

markmax

Guilliano - have looked at the reviews. None for the 2009 Giant bikes I am interested in at the moment, but the Defy 4, I looked under "bikes and gear" and then this bike, but it says there are no reviews for this one. Am I looking int he right place? It's under the tab "bikes and gear". Tried other webistes for reviews but all they say is "be the first to write a review...."

I don't think my LBS would stock women's Giant bikes. I would probably get to look at the Defys and so forth but these would not be gender specific. I can always ring and try to find out if they stock them first, before going there and being swayed by the offer of a nice bike begging me to ride it.....

Thanks for the guidance on the magazines.

markmax

Guilliano - so you got yourself a Defy now then? What's it like? Looks a lot nicer than the first bike you started out on

guilliano

Yeah.... I decided to come over to the dark side after a few years on a MTB. I have to say I love the defy bikes. I had a SCR briefly, but it didn't get used as much as it deserved. Decided to go for a Defy Advanced this time and I love it. The geometry suits me perfectly (long legs, shortish body) and it just sits there begging me to ride it..... and when I do it begs to be ridden harder and faster. I've ridden an alloy Defy and they are superb feeling bikes which I can't recommend highly enough..... plus they use the same frame all the way through the range so it's worth upgrading as parts wear out. See if you can test ride a Defy 4...... if you have a decent LBS they might swap the stem to a shorter one to suit if needed

markos1963

This months Cycling+ has a group test of lower cost road bikes which gives a good comparison of sub £400 bikes. For women they recommend the Revolution(Edinburgh Bike Co Op) Cadenza. It looks good value for the money.