£259.99 worth the money?

Rich101

I don't want to get into a debate about halfrauds, I have my own opinions on that but i'd love peoples opinions on this:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_712161_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

I'm looking to get a cheap first road bike, everything i've looked at that was half decent is around the £450+ range and would require some serious saving. Any opinions?

redddraggon

Looks a bargain for £260

pete600

Have you thought about getting a 2nd had bike?
I have just got a 5 year old Bianchi with carbon forks and 105 group set. For 200 quid in good condition

Just a thought

STEFANOS4784

I'd agree that it seems a bargain..........

Rich101

Definately have thought about 2nd hand, looked on ebay for a couple of weeks and local papers etc but nothing has caught my eye, been the correct size or been local enough to justify the effort. My options really are to buy something cheap now like this that i can enjoy this year or to spend a year saving for something better.

Part of my head tells me to go and blow £600 on something nice but the more logical part tells me to buy something like this keep it for 2-3 years or so to see:

1. If i actually use it as much as i think
2. To see if something nice and basic is all i need before i spend a lot of money

If i really did get into it and only spent £260, in a couple of years invesing in something of a far higher spec wouldn't concern me at all.

Wappygixer

This is probably slightly better with a full Shimano groupset instead of Sunrace http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/sport-1-45-48-51-63-69568559/#INFO-DETAIL
It depends if you have a store near you or not.

keef66

It is good VFM, as is the BTwin at Decathlon, and your strategy is sound. Scares the hell out of me when people come on here saying "first road bike, £1000 to spend, which one?"

£260 is a better starting budget, and if you do get into it, you'll have a much better idea what you want from your next bike.

The other thing to consider is that if you do find you enjoy it you'll invariably spend quite a bit on kit and clothing to improve the experience / stay alive / keep the bike working properly. In no particular order:

Decent pair of cycling shorts with a comfy insert
Helmet
Pump, spare tube, puncture repair stuff
Cycling gloves
Clipless pedals / shoes
Water bottles / cages
Decent lock
Basic tools, lubricants
Lights
Computer

daniel_b

Looks pretty reasonable for the money, and I think if you sell it in a year or two on ebay, you will probably get most of your money back.

A couple of years ago when i was looking for a cheap bike for my gf, I saw a few of the all yellow versions of these go for around £160-£200, which I thought was a bit much, but might be good news for you :-)

I got lucky in the end, and managed to bag an ex demo Trek 1000 for £300, when most of those were going for silly money also, I think that was because they timed the auction end badly, mid morning on a weekday, guess a few prospective bidders were unable to get on ebay at that time.

Dan

Smokin Joe

It weighs over 25lb.

Buy cheap, buy twice.

Frank the tank

Smokin Joe wrote:

It weighs over 25lb.

Buy cheap, buy twice.

While I agree with your sentiments to a point, the original poster's budget would appear to be the mid 200 quid mark. Not everyone has loads of disposable wealth and the chap my well be itching to get out and ride. I don't know!!!

Smokin Joe

Frank the tank wrote:

Smokin Joe wrote:

It weighs over 25lb.

Buy cheap, buy twice.

While I agree with your sentiments to a point, the original poster's budget would appear to be the mid 200 quid mark. Not everyone has loads of disposable wealth and the chap my well be itching to get out and ride. I don't know!!!

Second hand would be a better bet. The wheels will be shite and those Innova tyres probably ride like wood but without the grip. To manufacture and sell a bike at that price and make a profit is only possible by cutting corners. my bet is that after 2000 miles so many bits will be shagged it will be worthless/

Frank the tank

Smokin Joe wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

Smokin Joe wrote:

It weighs over 25lb.

Buy cheap, buy twice.

While I agree with your sentiments to a point, the original poster's budget would appear to be the mid 200 quid mark. Not everyone has loads of disposable wealth and the chap my well be itching to get out and ride. I don't know!!!

Second hand would be a better bet. The wheels will be shite and those Innova tyres probably ride like wood but without the grip. To manufacture and sell a bike at that price and make a profit is only possible by cutting corners. my bet is that after 2000 miles so many bits will be shagged it will be worthless/

Fair points well made Joe. The decision is his!!

diamondbacker

I hope it is as I've just boought one (awaiting delivery). Compared to other bikes of this price (£259) and many more expensive ones it seemes a bit of a steal especially as it my first road bike and should give and indication of whether I want to take road cycling even further.

Rich101

I have a horrible confession to make :twisted:

I considered my options weighed up all the options and put more effort into this than i would like to admit. I conceeded to my evil side that perhaps is well represented by some of the previous posters. I decided in the end to get a boardman comp for the massive (by my standards) price of £659.99 + some significant money spent at evans to get pedals (which don't come with the boardaman) and spd shoes.

I spent about an hour measuring myself and then went to my local halfords and sat on their large version of the comp which seemed to fit really well. I'm 5'11" with an ape like top half btw.

I eventually snapped after my car cost me £512 to repair so somewhere in my twisted mind the thought of spending so much on a bike made sense :shock:

I want to thank everyone here for there opinions and apolagise to those who gave good advice on opting for the lower cost option. I saw the Carrera in halfords and one thing i will tell you is i definatly did not get anywhere near £400 more value for my money even if the boardman is the best bike ever made. The Carrera looks great and in my opinion is the cheapest real road bike you can buy bar none.

For anyone intersted in either bike i have to recommend http://www.quidco.com/ who will give you 'essentially' 6% off any bike ordered fully online (cost an extra £20 for delivery) and 1% off those reserved for store pickup.

Diamnondbacker if you genuinely regret this i will eat my bike whole. Were i actually limited to the budget i said then the bike i saw was everything you could want unless you really get into it as a sport. I really would love to see both your pics and your opinions on it, i promise to do the same.

diamondbacker

Hehe! Yeah, I'll let you know how it goes. I think you'll love that Boardman. They seem to be getting hugely positive reviews.

If I had the budget I wouldn't have hesitated to get one, but for me I think (hope?) I got the best bike in budget which was £300 or £350 max. Kids and wife to feed etc etc

jteighty

Rich101 wrote:

I have a horrible confession to make :twisted:

I considered my options weighed up all the options and put more effort into this than i would like to admit. I conceeded to my evil side that perhaps is well represented by some of the previous posters. I decided in the end to get a boardman comp for the massive (by my standards) price of £659.99 + some significant money spent at evans to get pedals (which don't come with the boardaman) and spd shoes.

I spent about an hour measuring myself and then went to my local halfords and sat on their large version of the comp which seemed to fit really well. I'm 5'11" with an ape like top half btw.

I eventually snapped after my car cost me £512 to repair so somewhere in my twisted mind the thought of spending so much on a bike made sense :shock:

I want to thank everyone here for there opinions and apolagise to those who gave good advice on opting for the lower cost option. I saw the Carrera in halfords and one thing i will tell you is i definatly did not get anywhere near £400 more value for my money even if the boardman is the best bike ever made. The Carrera looks great and in my opinion is the cheapest real road bike you can buy bar none.

For anyone intersted in either bike i have to recommend http://www.quidco.com/ who will give you 'essentially' 6% off any bike ordered fully online (cost an extra £20 for delivery) and 1% off those reserved for store pickup.

Diamnondbacker if you genuinely regret this i will eat my bike whole. Were i actually limited to the budget i said then the bike i saw was everything you could want unless you really get into it as a sport. I really would love to see both your pics and your opinions on it, i promise to do the same.

I'm off to repair my house deposit and petition my MP for bikes to be made a Class A drug!

It's quite funny as that is exactly what happened to me. I wanted a cheap road bike and ended up getting the boardman road comp for more than I intended to spend. I can tell you that I don't regret my decision, It's a very good bike and I really enjoy riding it.

paul_or

As far as I can see, the carrera should not be discounted (as in dismissed, as opposed to reduced in price, which this one plainly is!!) - the CyclingPlus group test a few months ago of entry level bikes was, if I remember correctly, won by a carrera which had the distinction of being considerably better value than its competitors. Can't recall if it was this exact model tho'.

Obviously you get what you pay for, and my personal view would be to wait another couple of months and get a 'proper' 09 road bike in the sales, the logic being that the frame would be of a far higher quality and thus the bike would justify upgrading as opposed to being redundant from day 1.

But that presupposes of course that the reader in question intends to get into 'serious' cycling, and of course it's very easy to assume that high-end kit is the only possible option, which it isn't!

Downwardi

Hi
I have seen the Sport 2 on Sale for £260.
Spec is :
Campag Race, Xenon 10.

Any idea's if this is any good for a beginner or shall I look around E bay or the classifieds for a used bike ??

It will be a 2nd bike for nice weather commuting and nice weather rides.

diamondbacker

I got out for my first ride on it today and I'm quite impressed. Obviously being a newbie I don't really have much to compare it to though.

I just went at a nice relaxed pace and enjoyed it apart from the bumpy/terrible state of the roads - I guess I'll get used to that. I did read somewhere that with the steel forks (rather than carbon) you do tend to get a bit more 'buzz' through your wrists and elbows.

There was one comedy moment where I went up a hill and was going to stop to admire the view but forgot my feet were strapped in being the first time I've ever worn them. I of course fell right over. Luckily there were no spectators!

However, I think I'll be wearing some gloves or finding a different route next time.

Anyway, pics

The bike



Me and the bike (looking a bit tubby - bike should help me get that sorted!)

prawny

I had a look at one of those, they churn them out this time every year, I'm going to squirrel some pennies away for next year, would be a perfect commuter. I actually prefer those shifters to Soras a much better button design.

OJ Hanmer

I'm in a similar situation to you. Looking at buying my first road bike, also had an eye on this Carrera. But also had the option of buying an Allez Specialized 18 gear. Anybody got any opinions on this?

Rich101

Nice bike Diamondbacker

Hope you are happy with it.

What size did you get in the end, the 54 or 58?

farmer_giles

I bought one of these 3 weeks ago. Did the London to Southend ride on it. Like the OP first time I've ridden a road bike, but wanted something for commuting as it was getting a bit depressing slogging away on a full Susser with 2.3 tyres...

I agree with the comments about it being heavy, but for commuting its fine. Would change the forks to carbon though... my new bike has carbon forks and its much more comfortable.

Wrong forum.... but as its a topic on the TDF..
Last week - it got nicked from a petrol station "hucklecote road" Gloucester, whilst I popped in for to get a drink. A White citro van apparantly (from looking at cctv) had followed me into the petrol station, and one of the passengers got out of the van and rode my bike off. I was gutted.. so if anybody in the Gloucester area sees a young lad riding one of those things... drop us a PM, I've bought a replacement bike but would like to see the 2 guys punished at least!

diamondbacker

That's terrible. Unfortuately I live up in the North East so unlikely I'll come across it. Hopefully they'll get hit by a car when they are riding your bike (or the police catch them - but I know what I'd prefer) :twisted:

I went for the 54 frame. I'm 5'10 and I reckon it just about fits me. If I was a couple of inches taller I'd probably go for the 58.

I don't find the bike too heavy really - it seems about the same weight (it's 11.4kg I think) as many of the bikes tested in last months Cycling plus that ranged from £320 - £450ish and coming from a MTB it seems light as a feather compared to that. I think carbon forks would be my first upgrade although I'm not in much of a hurry to do that to be honest.

gabriel959

I mean it is going to sound a bit like I told you so but you really should look your bikes even going for a quick trip to the shops - even if it is a £2 lock!

zoomcp

what are the Sunrace shifters like? at first glance they look like Shimanos but on closer inspection they have two little levers and the brake lever does not pivot; look a bit awkward and if you are going to end up replacing them with Shim might as well just buy a better bike in the first place.

The thing that does annoy me a about Halfords is that many of their cheaper bikes have a few eye catching components like shifters and chainset but a lot of it is rubbish that will need replacing.

MKk

ive got one of the TDF's aswell pretty cheap for a starter bike! Only done about 30 miles on it so far but the shifters seem to work fine. the double lever thing works pretty well. The longer lever of the two moves the chain up a sprocket (or 3 if you push it right across) and the short one which can be a little stiff moves the cahin down. The lever for the front gear can be a little tricky needing a good 2/3 clicks to get the chain to move up. But for the money you cant complain I certainly wont be upgrading them anytime soon.