Hello and help

jamestux

Hi I'm new to the forum,

I used to do a lot of cycling 10 or 12 years ago but over the last 7 or 8 years I really let things go. Having lost 4st this year and brought my MTB back out of retirement I am really enjoying cycling again. The issue is that I am living in a different place and it's not very MTB friendly territory so I am looking to get a road bike again.

My LBS is happy to do a deal for me on a Dawes Giro 400, that I took for a test ride and it fits very well (I used to ride Dawes road bikes before) and it actually felt really smooth and felt like a lot of fun but I am wondering if there is anything else that I should be looking at - this seems to be pretty much entry level these days so I don't want to go for anything lower. Hopefully they will give my MTB an overhaul for me too

I went to Halfords to go and look at the Chris Boardman bikes but they were incredibly unhelpful, didn't seem to know anything about the bikes and then tried to hard sell me with "last one left don't know when they will be back" etc etc and just wanted to talk maintenance agreements with me, the bike was also assembled really badly, so much so that the forks were just rattling around and overall it's pretty much turned me off no matter how good they may be once you get over the initial service hurdle!

Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

tmg

I'd have a think about what budget you have for the bike and then have a look around for what you can get for the money, don't just buy the first thing you sit on.

jamestux

Point taken, I may end up with that one, but should look around too and come back to it if it's the best.

Ideally I would like to keep to £500 or less but this doesn't look practical! (Especially when you add in decent pedals and new shoes etc) so the budget is kind of fluid - I would not buy anything at the moment if it's going to cost much more than £700 to get something that I would be happy with.

The reason I am asking what else I should be looking at is because the only shops local to here are the 2 I went to so I am looking to see if there are any must see brands/bikes that people have experience of, if so I will look for relatively local dealers for those too.

Thanks again for making me add clarification!

EDIT - More info...

I expect to be doing about 10 miles a day commuting and plan to work up to 40/50 mile trips at the weekends - and possibly to be used as an entry bike to get into triathlon

softlad

Halfords' Carrera Vanquish is a good value bike for around £450. The hard part (as you have found out) will be finding one that hasn't been assembled by a monkey. Likewise the boardmans are good bikes if you can find them.

Dawes Giro 400 is way overpriced for the spec, IMO...

sicknote

It might also help if people know which part of the country you are, so they might be able to point to a halfords that you could get abike from if you wanted.

jamestux

Thanks Softlad,

This is the kind of advice I was looking for, maybe I had better find a better almost local Halfords to go and get a look at the bikes and have more confidence, or get it mail order and assemble it myself I guess.

jamestux

I didn't want to do that incase it was just a bad day at the Halford's I went to Sicknote

I have just moved to Basingstoke, I know Stonehenge Cycles in Salisbury who have always been pretty good with mountain bike stuff and I still go past there every other week to pick up/drop off my son with his mum. So any recommendatoins along the A303/M3 up to there would be useful I guess.

sicknote

Good luck mate

Just wish I had the money to spend as I would be looking at a Boardman comp as a friend has one and is very happy with it.

Will have to stick what I have for now

jamestux

Hi Sicknote,

What do you have at the moment? I'm expecting the bike to pay for itself over the next few months by cycling from Waterloo to the office, it's a few quid a day so it won't take that long to be sorted and the other bonus is that I will keep motivated to keep losing weight and getting fitter.

snig

the funny thing about your visit to halfords and their "hard sell" was that it is true the c boardman bikes are very good and very hard to get hold off at the minute so I bet he was telling the truth about that! never thought I'd be sticking up for halfords! O and the halford maintainance plans too are very good for the money,that if you manage to find a halfords with a half desent bike mechanic.

jamestux

snig wrote:

the funny thing about your visit to halfords and their "hard sell" was that it is true the c boardman bikes are very good and very hard to get hold off at the minute so I bet he was telling the truth about that!never thought I'd be sticking up for halfords! O and the halford maintainance plans too are very good for the money,that if you manage to find a halfords with a half desent bike mechanic.

I don't dispute that at all, and the maintenance plans looked good value too if they could deliver what they promised, BUT I don't mean the forks were a little bit loose, if you put the brakes on you could move the bike a few inches forward and backward, it was horrific! It also took 3 people 20 minutes to actually give me the price of a bike that they actually had in stock in the store and they couldn't tell me the difference between the different models... I am sure that this is not a typical experience but it is pretty off putting!

Maybe the Reading one will be better...

sicknote

James

I have an old Carrea Ltd tour ed that has Campag Strata with Velcoe ergo upgrade on it and 531 steel frame.

Have to say to it much better than the last roar bike I was on ( about 20 years ago and had been riding a hybrid up until about 10 years ago )

I am happy with it and should be doing London to Cambridge on it, should be fun and did it last year on next to no training, still not sure how in over 30c :shock:

snig

like I said I dont normally have anything good to say about halfords but I thought it best to point out the things I did,just incase you had managed to find a good halfords but by the sounds of it you haven't,but remember that if you do like the look of the c boardmans you can bypass halfords altogether and order online,chris boardman himself has been on this forum saying he is trying to fix "some" halford problems and so he has setup the online ordering and says on his visit to the online warehouse there are a good bunch of lads doing the builds!

jamestux

Sicknote - that sounds like it's still good - I remember aspiring to a raleigh mountain bike with Reynolds 531 steel tubing!

Snig - just checked, it's still done through Halfords - they seem to be using the same groupset as bikes in the price bracket above - is that right? I've looked at the LBS I do know and they seem to have a pretty Bianchi that's pretty much in budget...

http://www.stonehengecycles.com/product/4683/09_bianchi_via_nirone_sora

By the looks of things the Boardman has similar frame and forks with better components and a few quid less, I have a pair of MTB SPDs that I can use too so the look pedals on the Bianchi are not really worth anything to me as they would require new shoes too!

I guess I am being impatient as I want to play with it next weekend which is probably not going to happen!

Going to bed now thanks very much for everyone's help so far!

antfly

jamestux wrote:

snig wrote:

the funny thing about your visit to halfords and their "hard sell" was that it is true the c boardman bikes are very good and very hard to get hold off at the minute so I bet he was telling the truth about that!never thought I'd be sticking up for halfords! O and the halford maintainance plans too are very good for the money,that if you manage to find a halfords with a half desent bike mechanic.

I don't dispute that at all, and the maintenance plans looked good value too if they could deliver what they promised, BUT I don't mean the forks were a little bit loose, if you put the brakes on you could move the bike a few inches forward and backward, it was horrific! It also took 3 people 20 minutes to actually give me the price of a bike that they actually had in stock in the store and they couldn't tell me the difference between the different models... I am sure that this is not a typical experience but it is pretty off putting!

Maybe the Reading one will be better...

That sounds like the headset needs tightening, it`s easily fixed. You could always take it to another shop to check over if you don`t trust Halfords or don`t want to do it yourself.

nicky_7751

Hi James, you could try North Hants Bikes in Whitchurch, they sell Felt & Orbea bikes and have a couple of bikes in the price range you are looking at. www.northhantsbikes.co.uk

sicknote

James

Dont get me wrong it is still good, just you know what it is like when you would like a new shiney toy

Happy right now and its far quicker than the hybrid

Barkiesnake

Hi James,

The Giant ranges are worth a look if you can find a local stockist. I ride a defy and it is very comfy and smooth but if you prefer a flat bar then the FCR range are also very good.

Quick check on their website shows dealers in Reading, Newbury, Winersh, Bracknell and Tadbury which i think are all near to you.

Hornetto

Hi James,

I'm also from Basingstoke. Was it the Halfords off the Brighton Hill roundabout you went to? They do appear to be pretty clueless in there from my experience.

Have you had a look in Action Bikes at the top of town? I've only bought accessories in there but they seemed friendly enough and might be able to help you out.

Alternatively I've heard good things about a shop called Pedal On in Tadley. Not been there myself but colleagues at work have used them and say they know what they're doing!

Cheers
H

StevePn

jamestux wrote:

I

I have just moved to Basingstoke, I know Stonehenge Cycles in Salisbury who have always been pretty good with mountain bike stuff and I still go past there every other week to pick up/drop off my son with his mum. So any recommendatoins along the A303/M3 up to there would be useful I guess.

Hi
I live in Salisbury and Stonehenge are good, also try http://www.primera-bournemouth.co.uk/home.aspx.
Steve

alfablue

I think the Dawes is poor value, there are better specced bikes for the price. I think there was a test of 5 entry level bikes in Cycling Plus last months, the Carrera Vanquish won, it was the cheapest and best specced, and the only one that had appropriate gearing for a beginner.

snig

yes the c boardmans online is still under the halfords name but if you buy online the bike will be built by someone who knows what they are doing rather than a halfords shop employee,like I said chris said himself he has seen the online setup and was happy with it.

jamestux

Hornetto wrote:

Hi James,

I'm also from Basingstoke. Was it the Halfords off the Brighton Hill roundabout you went to? They do appear to be pretty clueless in there from my experience.

Have you had a look in Action Bikes at the top of town? I've only bought accessories in there but they seemed friendly enough and might be able to help you out.
H

Yep that was the Halfords!

And it was action bikes that I saw the Giro - I think I got my better SPDs, helmet and some other accessories there a decade or so ago when I had a short stay in Basingstoke before

jamestux

snig wrote:

yes the c boardmans online is still under the halfords name but if you buy online the bike will be built by someone who knows what they are doing rather than a halfords shop employee,like I said chris said himself he has seen the online setup and was happy with it.

Good info - thanks Snig

jamestux

alfablue wrote:

I think the Dawes is poor value, there are better specced bikes for the price. I think there was a test of 5 entry level bikes in Cycling Plus last months, the Carrera Vanquish won, it was the cheapest and best specced, and the only one that had appropriate gearing for a beginner.

Definitely look underspecced/overpriced looking at some of the other recommendations - I think I am going to give it a miss actually....

jamestux

antfly wrote:

That sounds like the headset needs tightening, it`s easily fixed. You could always take it to another shop to check over if you don`t trust Halfords or don`t want to do it yourself.

Yeah like I said in my post it was the sum of a lot of little issues - it was a lot more than just tightening it needed, I think someone had found a new way to install headsets with less pieces... I know it's not a big job, I've swapped forks before, it's just not confidence inspiring!

jamestux

To everyone else, thanks very much for your advice and information - I have arranged to go to Stonehenge Cycles on Friday to actually try a few bikes out and have a bit of a play to see how they fit - I'm picking my son up anyway so it's on the way

I'll keep you all posted after the visit!

jamestux

Thanks for your help everyone - as promised here's my update!

I went to Stonehenge cycles and tried a few different brands and bikes (Felt a couple of Bianchis and a few different size and types of specialised) and instantly felt at home on one of the Bianchis so it's now waiting for my son to be collected on Sunday to be used for a decent length ride Sunday afternoon/evening!

I used the trainer in the store too and it just felt perfect.

I didn't like the feel of the Sora set and so paid the extra for the Xenon instead (it's the Via Nirone Xenon if anyone is interested - in Celeste as it was the only colour option!) I also got a decent set of shoes to go with the Look pedals, I was thinking of switching to SPDs but my MTB shoes are a good 9 or 10 years old anyway!

I know I could have got more for less money with the Boardman - but after weighing it up in my head the Bianchi seemed to be the one for me!

John.T

Celeste is the only colour option for a real Bianchi. And it should have Campag. I say that although I use Shimano.

jamestux

Nice collection of bikes John!

I have to leave it outside (OK my balcony is about 30 feet off the road) and I can't help thinking that having a bike that looks like a Bianchi is going to make my flat more of a target