First road bike

Anthony.Rooryck
Posts: 8
Hi,
I recently got back into cycling but would like to move from my mountain bike onto a road bike. The budget I had in mind was £500 but having looked online and at my local Evans store, I understand better what I'm looking at but it has not made the decision making process any easier! I came out of the Evans store wanting a Bianchi via Nirone 7 but at £640 it's a bit over budget. They also have a Fuji Newest 2.0 with mixed Tiagra and Sora groupset at a reduced £550 or a Scott Speedster S50 at £600 again with mixed Tiagra and Sora. The Bianchi has Sora throughout and having been informed that having the whole bike on the same groupset is a definite plus, I am now still confused as to what is the best value buy given that Tiagra is superior to Sora.
Any advice please?
I recently got back into cycling but would like to move from my mountain bike onto a road bike. The budget I had in mind was £500 but having looked online and at my local Evans store, I understand better what I'm looking at but it has not made the decision making process any easier! I came out of the Evans store wanting a Bianchi via Nirone 7 but at £640 it's a bit over budget. They also have a Fuji Newest 2.0 with mixed Tiagra and Sora groupset at a reduced £550 or a Scott Speedster S50 at £600 again with mixed Tiagra and Sora. The Bianchi has Sora throughout and having been informed that having the whole bike on the same groupset is a definite plus, I am now still confused as to what is the best value buy given that Tiagra is superior to Sora.
Any advice please?
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Comments
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Is there any way of saving the extra for that Bianchi?
If you really liked that then for a little extra wait you will have something you really want rather than a compromise that leaves you feeling hollow inside. Everytime you look at the 'compromise bike' you will be wishing it was that Bianchi. You will feel pangs of guilt and lay awake at night, wishing that you had waited for the money for the Bianchi. Not even the cool side of the pillow will help you get back to sleep.
Just IMO of course...0 -
Cheers! I was pretty sure that somebody would come up with that reply! Having looked around, the Bianchi seems great value for money and of course it's a brand that's been around in the racing world forever, so reputation preceeds it too. It's a case of mental re-adjustment I think to stump up the extra £140 :-))0
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I don't agree that having mixed component levels is a problem - I ride a mix of Tiagra and Ultegra, and it's better than when I just had Tiagra.
The Bianchi probably has the best frame, which is a good long term investment, but if you really get into it you might find that this bike becomes your winter hack bike when you get a new carbon wonderbike, so having the Bianchi won't be so important. And if you don't get into it then I'm sure any of them will do fine.
'09 Enigma Eclipse with SRAM.
'10 Tifosi CK7 Audax Classic with assorted bits for the wet weather
'08 Boardman Hybrid Comp for the very wet weather.0 -
Thanks for the info. I did kind of get the feeling that there cannot be anything wrong with having mixed sets, in fact it surely must be a positive if half is a better spec. The trouble is I had a budget of £500 in mind but then got side tracked and seduced by the Bianchi. After a couple nights' sleep I keep coming back to the thought that something like the Fuji with quite a decent spec would do me absolutely fine and would not give any less satisfaction than the Bianchi other than the label being perhaps less desirable. It's a first road bike and will be be streets ahead of riding a MTB in any case plus if then I do really get into it, I'd probably move to a carbon bike so I cannot help but feel that spending more now will alter very little because I don't see myself ending up with a garage full of bikes so I would end up selling to buy another! I guess what I'm looking for is value for money and enjoyment which means perhaps looking at less illustrious brands but without missing out a decent package.
Fair comment?0 -
IMHO I'd personally go for the Bianchi - partly for the kudos of the name, but primarily for the higher quality frame.
Essentially, you're looking at:
Better frame, with slightly lower spec groupset
or
Cheaper frame, with slighly higher spec groupset.
If you keep the Bianchi long-term, you can upgrade & replace components as they wear out. Or, if you decide to sell your initial bike to go for the Carbon Wonder at a later date, which would get a better second-hand price, a Fuji or a Bianchi? 8)Cycling weakly0 -
skyd0g wrote:Or, if you decide to sell your initial bike
What? I understand the individual words, but that sentence makes no sense
'09 Enigma Eclipse with SRAM.
'10 Tifosi CK7 Audax Classic with assorted bits for the wet weather
'08 Boardman Hybrid Comp for the very wet weather.0 -
skyd0g wrote:Or, if you decide to sell your initial bike
What? I understand the individual words, but that sentence makes no sense
'09 Enigma Eclipse with SRAM.
'10 Tifosi CK7 Audax Classic with assorted bits for the wet weather
'08 Boardman Hybrid Comp for the very wet weather.0 -
verloren wrote:skyd0g wrote:Or, if you decide to sell your initial bike
What? I understand the individual words, but that sentence makes no sense
If, at a later date, you decide to sell whichever bike you choose to buy now...
...which would have the better re-sale value? Fuji or Bianchi?
Capice?Cycling weakly0 -
You mean you can sell bikes? You won't tell my wife that will you?
'09 Enigma Eclipse with SRAM.
'10 Tifosi CK7 Audax Classic with assorted bits for the wet weather
'08 Boardman Hybrid Comp for the very wet weather.0 -
I am a noob buying his first bike of similar price too and i shortlisted the merida 880 and the allez and i found the allez more comfortable and used that to finalise my decision so i would say to try them both and see if there is a big difference if not it looks like you prefer the bianchi so just do that and call it an early xmas pressie :P0
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could you not put the 500 down as deposit and have the remainder on 0% interest finance. It'd be less than £15 a month over 2 years surely thats the way forward. Then your happy and we're happy that you got the Bianchi that you really wantedBianchi. There are no alternatives only compromises!
I RIDE A KONA CADABRA -would you like to come and have a play with my magic link?0 -
Got my first road bike a month ago - a 2010 Allez Elite. So far so very good!0
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Thanks for the input everyone. I was told the Allez was difficult to get hold of and the local Evans store is under instructions to not even try ordering any as lead times are unknown and they don't want to mess customers around.
Anyway, trying them out will be the first step I think but at this stage the appeal still lies with the Bianchi0 -
Why not try ringing arround as you may be able to pick up the Via Nirone for something closer to £500. The season is drawing to a close soon and the 2010 bikes will be out so you may be able to grab a bargain if you ask nicely for a discount.
Evans won't discount but a local bike shop might.
If sucessful you'll then have a lovely bike at a reduced price !!
Good luck
D
P.S. I rode a Via Nirone last weekend and it was very nice massively more comfortable than my Carrera and handled better too. Just a shame I couldn't get one in Celeste so I didn't bother. Dohh0