Help a Beginner

Nakker

Hi Folks,

I have recently caught the road bike bug.
Having rode mountain bikes for the past 10 to 15 years, I am looking at spending £500-£600 on my first road bike.
My search has narrowed to two bikes at the mo, though I am open to other suggestions. The bikes in question are,

1-TREK 1.5 @ £675 (a little over budget)
2-BH R1 RACE 1 105 @ £599.

The TREK takes my fancy as it is a nice looking bike and TREK offer a lifetime warranty on the frame, whilst the BH appears to have better kit (Shimano 105 as appose to the Sora/Tiagra set on the TREK) I am a little apprehensive as I have not heard of BH before.

Any advice on which one to go for would be most appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Naive Nick[/b]

sampras38

Nakker wrote:

Hi Folks,

I have recently caught the road bike bug.
Having rode mountain bikes for the past 10 to 15 years, I am looking at spending £500-£600 on my first road bike.
My search has narrowed to two bikes at the mo, though I am open to other suggestions. The bikes in question are,

1-TREK 1.5 @ £675 (a little over budget)
2-BH R1 RACE 1 105 @ £599.

The TREK takes my fancy as it is a nice looking bike and TREK offer a lifetime warranty on the frame, whilst the BH appears to have better kit (Shimano 105 as appose to the Sora/Tiagra set on the TREK) I am a little apprehensive as I have not heard of BH before.

Any advice on which one to go for would be most appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Naive Nick[/b]

A friend of mine has just bought a Trek 1.5 with a compact as his 2nd road bike, and so far he loves it. I quite like the green/white colours too.

pianoman

At the time I got my first road bike (the Giant OCR 2 2006) it was such as shame that my nearest Trek dealer was 20 miles away. The irony is this: now I have a Trek dealer just down the road from where I live, but I've moved on.......to the Van Nicholas Chinook (check out the Van Nicholas Frames thread for more on that)

I don't think the BH bikes have as many good write-ups as the Trek, so if you can stretch to that then get it.

Don't forget though, all the other things you'll need to budget for, including shoes, pedals and cleats, together with pump and spares.

jaredpace

I've always ridden Treks, before I moved onto Colnago's. 8)
Having a Trek 9.8 (which is raced most weekends), Project One Fuel (for Chamonix etc), 1000 SL (winter hack) and Madone 5.9 (currently on turbo trainer) I may be a bit biased towards the brand.
You will find the reason the groupset on the Trek is not as good as the BH is because the money has been spent providing you with a better frame, so Trek have to sacrifice somewhere. Remember, the groupset and finishing kit will no doubt go through a change at some point, as you fancy new bling bits
Out of the two bikes you have chosen, it's the Trek for me everytime.
Hope that's of some help to you.

Anonymous

Nowt wrong with BH but it has to be the Trek!

NA323232

I've had a trek 1.5 for over a year now and have been pleased with it. It's a reliable ride, and only recently have I had to get a few minor things sorted out. I think it's ideal as a starter road bike as its very versatile - on long distance weekend rides it's been comfortable and also it's nice and responsive on the shorter, faster rides when you're pushing a bit harder. I think its fairly light for this sort of price range too. From time to time there is a mysterious click coming from down in the cranks/bb area on each revolution but i think it's probably just my bike to be honest. It goes away anyway! Ideal starter road bike i would say!

handsome devil

I tried Treks, Specialized, etc before I chose a Giant SCR Ltd in '07. The Trek felt too long for me in a Medium (I am 5' 10") but the Giant felt just right. I think the SCR has been replaced by the Defy but they really are very good bikes for the money. As ever, try before you buy. Try and get at least Tiagra all the way through if you can as it`s almost as good as 105.

Essex Man

Get out for a ride on them and see what you think. Trek, Specialized, Giant - you get very similar bikes for the money, you won't get a duff bike.

As for the groupset, Sora is fine, so long as you are OK with where the shifters are. Changes up and down smoothly.

clu

If you can, go out for a test ride Lots of bikes may look the same (such as the design and geometry of the frame) and other parts (such as stem length) but they feel and handle completely differently. A bike that fits and rides well for one person may not be right for the next.

For me personally I'd go for the Trek. Looking around my lbs at the weekend, the 1.5 and 1.7 really did catch my eye. Although I'm not looking to replace any of my trust steeds just yet.