Beginner - big decision, the first bike...

road_runner12

Hi all, looking to get into road biking. Looking at approximately £600 as my budget. Went down my local bike shop and was recommended either the Giant Defy 3 or the Trek 1.2.

Just wondering what people's opinions were on those bikes or they thought there were better bikes out ther for the money?

Also, is it worth looking for a 2009 model, eg. Defy 3 2009? Is there a significant difference between the '09 and '10 models?


(Have posted this topic elsewhere on the forum - thought I'd get a better response here.)

Anonymous

Here is a synopsis of what you will do-

1 - Have a ride on them and see which you prefer. 2 - Buy it and ride it some more. 3 - After three months think "Right, this is great, need new bike." 4 - Post new thread entitled "What road bike for £2000" 5 - Quietly think to yourself "Damn. Why did I spend 600 on my first bike? That's just false economy. I may as well have bought a cheap second hand one first to see if I liked it then I wouldn't have wasted money on it now I'm upgrading to a Trek Madone..."

Scrumple

Or go and buy a Chopper.

solsurf

Here is a synopsis of what you will do-

1 - Have a ride on them and see which you prefer.

2 - Buy it and ride it some more.

3 - After three months think "Right, this is great, need new bike."

4 - Post new thread entitled "What road bike for £2000"

5 - Quietly think to yourself "Damn. Why did I spend 600 on my first bike? That's just false economy. I may as well have bought a cheap second hand one first to see if I liked it then I wouldn't have wasted money on it now I'm upgrading to a Trek Madone..."

Yep, this is exactly what will happen, you'll think if only! and then you have to explain to the wife why you need a new bike so soon this is by far the hardest hill to climb. I had to guarantee that no one would overtake me on the way to work, otherwise I had to give my Felt z35 back. [/quote]

Scrumple

When I bought my first bike (PX SL Carbon) the guy there said "get a titanium".

I told him to forget it as it was too much... £600 more. Silly.

Now I have a titanium bike worth much, much more.

Get it right first time, or go buy a skateboard and it it out of your system. Then move up to roller skates. Cheaper.

rogerthecat

Not the answer you were looking for I would gather, however words of wisdom non the less; You will no doubt end up with more than one bike anyway, it's all a matter of time.

tlw1

goold advice

Maybe spend the £600 on a 2nd hand bike & that will keep you happier for longer?

Scrumple

In retrospect, I'd only ever buy 2nd hand or through tax reduction scheme 1st time.
You need to know what you want before you shell out big.

And you need to ride to know.

And it may be a fad.

kingrollo

Get yourself to decathlon store - they do nice bikes for that sort of money.

Or you could buy my second hand Pinarello

rake

i would think buy an ok bike for winter and see how you get on.got my carrera as new/old stock for £220 and using it now. then upgrade and you have a winter bike as well.specialy as its winter now. just remember its a lot more enjoyable comfortable and faster in spring/summer and dont be put off early.its more effort to get out now but once your warmed up after a few miles it fun.

road_runner12

Thank you all for your comments so far.

Have had me thinking a bit more. Scrumple, I've acted on your advice on the tax reduction scheme. Also been told by the guy at my LBS that the company I work for offers an automatic 10% reduction before the scheme kicks in. So my budget can increase slightly.

For my 1st bike I don't want to go over budget. This bike will purely be to get my fitness up and to start stretching myself. Would look to sell this in a few years and upgrade, or keep as a second bike.

So a new question folks, what bike for up to £850?

PS - My LBS stocks Giant, Trek & Wilier.

Anonymous

Now you have a budget, you need to read through the similarly entitled 'what road bike for £1000?' threads on the Buying Advice Forum.

Then go to your LBS, ride the bikes that are in your budget and choose the one you like best for whatever reason you choose to like it for!

zummerzet-lou

Going back to your initial question - differences between 2009 and 2010 models tend to just be the frame colour.

Occasionally manufacturers change the spec, but this is not the norm.

I've just picked up a 2009 giant, for half the price of the 2010 one ... and litterally the only difference is the colour ... that's what I call a bargain!

The most important thing is to spend the time and make sure the bike fits you - the shop should let you ride the bike. If not, walk away. You know what you need from a bike, and from hindsight - it's better to spend as much as YOU can afford, and usually a few weeks/months later you'll be wishing you'd chosen a better spec!

Lou

sportbilly1976

NapoleonD wrote:

Here is a synopsis of what you will do-

5 - Quietly think to yourself "Damn. Why did I spend 600 on my first bike? That's just false economy. I may as well have bought a cheap second hand one first to see if I liked it then I wouldn't have wasted money on it now I'm upgrading to a Trek Madone..."

That all depends if you have £2k to spend on a bike...some people on here genuinely do have a budget of £600-800...myself included, without magical sofas with £1k+ behind them.

sampras38

solsurf wrote:

Here is a synopsis of what you will do-

1 - Have a ride on them and see which you prefer.

2 - Buy it and ride it some more.

3 - After three months think "Right, this is great, need new bike."

4 - Post new thread entitled "What road bike for £2000"

5 - Quietly think to yourself "Damn. Why did I spend 600 on my first bike? That's just false economy. I may as well have bought a cheap second hand one first to see if I liked it then I wouldn't have wasted money on it now I'm upgrading to a Trek Madone..."

Yep, this is exactly what will happen, you'll think if only! and then you have to explain to the wife why you need a new bike so soon this is by far the hardest hill to climb. I had to guarantee that no one would overtake me on the way to work, otherwise I had to give my Felt z35 back.

[/quote]

This..and I did exactly the same.

Bought a 1.2, then a couple of months later the deal of the century came up and I picked up a Scott CR1 pro carbon. Now use the Trek as a winter/indoor bike.

MikeWW

As long as they fit the bikes you have highlighted will be absolutely fine
£600 is plenty to spend on your first bike and will not limit you in any way despite some of the above posts.
The differences from one main brand to another are subtle and its as much what you like the look of and feel comfortable with.
It won't be the bile that holds you back-guaranteed and spending £2k does not make you fast

fungus_the_muffin_man

sportbilly1976 wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Here is a synopsis of what you will do-

5 - Quietly think to yourself "Damn. Why did I spend 600 on my first bike? That's just false economy. I may as well have bought a cheap second hand one first to see if I liked it then I wouldn't have wasted money on it now I'm upgrading to a Trek Madone..."

That all depends if you have £2k to spend on a bike...some people on here genuinely do have a budget of £600-800...myself included, without magical sofas with £1k+ behind them.

Or you put the 600-800 down as deposit and then get a nice little 12/24 mth 0% interest free and get the better bike whilst only paying a small extra monthly amount.

Anonymous

sportbilly1976 wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Here is a synopsis of what you will do-

5 - Quietly think to yourself "Damn. Why did I spend 600 on my first bike? That's just false economy. I may as well have bought a cheap second hand one first to see if I liked it then I wouldn't have wasted money on it now I'm upgrading to a Trek Madone..."

That all depends if you have £2k to spend on a bike...some people on here genuinely do have a budget of £600-800...myself included, without magical sofas with £1k+ behind them.

I'd dread to think how fast you'd be on a light bike with aero wheels!

:shock:

sportbilly1976

Fungus,

I'm currently looking at the £600ish range for a new C2W purchase.....

Nap - As I've only commuted since mid-August, I'm going to need a couple of months to get back to my previous level...which isnt good as I was considering going in for a few races next year...

rake

il quote the mandatory boardman line. the comp is in that range and mega value.

road_runner12

rake wrote:

il quote the mandatory boardman line. the comp is in that range and mega value.

How does that bike compare in terms of value for money? I ask this because I can get the Giant Defy 3 for £560 and the Defy 2 for £740. Which one would represent the best value for money after discounts?

rake

the comp is £650 without c2w. looked at the defy 2&3 and they both have sora mechs .the comp has tiagra levers and 105 rear mech which is a step up and its 19.5 lb a bit lighter than the defy 2.

road_runner12

Pretty sure Defy 2 has Tiagra components.

By the way, anyone had any experience with Wilier bikes? Not sure if they're in my price range though.

The only thing with the Boardman bikes is that poor reviews about setup issues with Halfords. I'd have to budget in the extra cost of an immediate service to make sure it's safe.

PS - thank you all for the info so far, much appreciated

road_runner12

Bit of advice needed.

Contacted my employers regarding the cycle 2 work scheme. They told me all the terms and conditions, the potential discount and how it worked. They also stated that they had to advertise it as a hire agreement rather than a hire purchase agreement - basically they couldn't guarantee that the bike would be mine at the end of the scheme. They told me they couldn't advertise it as a hire purchase scheme otherwise the tax people wouldn't approve their scheme. However he did tell me that it would be very unlikely that they would take it back and that it would just be offered to me with one additional salary sacrifice payment.

Has got me wondering though - how much of a risk is it when potentially I could have nothing at the end.

Anybody got any advice on this? Be much appreciated...

road_runner12

Bit of advice needed.

Contacted my employers regarding the cycle 2 work scheme. They told me all the terms and conditions, the potential discount and how it worked. They also stated that they had to advertise it as a hire agreement rather than a hire purchase agreement - basically they couldn't guarantee that the bike would be mine at the end of the scheme. They told me they couldn't advertise it as a hire purchase scheme otherwise the tax people wouldn't approve their scheme. However he did tell me that it would be very unlikely that they would take it back and that it would just be offered to me with one additional salary sacrifice payment.

Has got me wondering though - how much of a risk is it when potentially I could have nothing at the end.

Anybody got any advice on this? Be much appreciated...

Anonymous

Mines the same. Hope I don't have to give my bike back as I got wheels with it!!

rake

better to buy outright. got mine £200 quid discount someone bouht new never rode sold to me 3 week later.pleanty on the bay.

Anonymous

NapoleonD wrote:

Here is a synopsis of what you will do-

1 - Have a ride on them and see which you prefer. 2 - Buy it and ride it some more. 3 - After three months think "Right, this is great, need new bike." 4 - Post new thread entitled "What road bike for £2000" 5 - Quietly think to yourself "Damn. Why did I spend 600 on my first bike? That's just false economy. I may as well have bought a cheap second hand one first to see if I liked it then I wouldn't have wasted money on it now I'm upgrading to a Trek Madone..."

Yeah, but then he will have a winter bike and a decent summer/event bike. Everyone's a winner.

sportbilly1976

road_runner12 wrote:

Bit of advice needed.

Contacted my employers regarding the cycle 2 work scheme. They told me all the terms and conditions, the potential discount and how it worked. They also stated that they had to advertise it as a hire agreement rather than a hire purchase agreement - basically they couldn't guarantee that the bike would be mine at the end of the scheme. They told me they couldn't advertise it as a hire purchase scheme otherwise the tax people wouldn't approve their scheme. However he did tell me that it would be very unlikely that they would take it back and that it would just be offered to me with one additional salary sacrifice payment.

Has got me wondering though - how much of a risk is it when potentially I could have nothing at the end.

Anybody got any advice on this? Be much appreciated...

Road Runner - I administer our scheme at work & so went thorugh all the phone calls with the C2W team.

They do need to advertise it as such because otherwise it will be seen as a taxable benefit (as so appear on your P11D and you'd end up paying more tax!). At the end of the 12 month period you will be contacted by the C2W operator asking for a nominal sum payment to transfer ownership across from them to you. (this typically is in the region of 5% of the purchase price - but dont quote me on it as it is not a number that will get confirmed officially)

The C2W operators make thier money at both ends - they take a "commission" from the bike shop when you buy the bike and they take the 5% from you at the end - thats it.


hope this helps.....

Rich Hcp

road_runner12 wrote:

Bit of advice needed.

Contacted my employers regarding the cycle 2 work scheme. They told me all the terms and conditions, the potential discount and how it worked. They also stated that they had to advertise it as a hire agreement rather than a hire purchase agreement - basically they couldn't guarantee that the bike would be mine at the end of the scheme. They told me they couldn't advertise it as a hire purchase scheme otherwise the tax people wouldn't approve their scheme. However he did tell me that it would be very unlikely that they would take it back and that it would just be offered to me with one additional salary sacrifice payment.

Has got me wondering though - how much of a risk is it when potentially I could have nothing at the end.

Anybody got any advice on this? Be much appreciated...

I bought my MTB on the scheme.

You pay a fee at the end, I think it was £50 to "buy" the bike from the company.

There was a choice of not paying and giving the bike back, but no one ever takes that option. Its just to legalise the transaction for tax purposes.

I've never heard of any company insisting the bike is given up at the end of the term.

The only slight difficulty is if you leave the employ of the company. I believe you have to pay the balance. But that is exceptional circumstances

sportbilly1976

if you leave the company then any outstanding balance is taken from your final salary payment as effectively your previous employer has the debit sat on their balance sheet, but doesnt "own" the asset.