New roadie - bike for £500ish?

macs

I am new to road riding but have been an MTBer for well over 10 years.

I am thinking about a new road bike for training rides etc. I have around £500 to spend. What is out there that i should be looking at?

BTwin do what looks to be good at £500 with carbon forks and seatstays and sora kit throughout, or should i be trying to spend a bit more on something like the Boardman Comp at £700? Or should i be looking elsewhere altogether?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

billwillis

EDIT- wrong page. sorry

thesquireofbanwell

Have a look at the Orbea Aqua T23@ £549ish.
The frame/forks are the same as the top of the range models, only the
componetry is less well specced.
As an alternative a Focus with a free 30 day trial from Wiggle but a few more £s
Good hunting!

soul1

If you're on cycle to work then fair do's whatever you spend the bike will cost you a lot less.

If not and your budget is £500 I would buy second hand. FInd a £1000 bike that has been well looked after, maybe a year old, and it will cost you £500..

I'm just about to get my first roadie through cycle to work so sticking to new, as my £1000 bike will actually cost me £500. I was temtped with second hand though, there was various £1500-£2k bikes kicking around on ebay and others for less than half the new price.. ultimately would cost me more though so decided to stick with new...

Lillywhite

Soul1 wrote:

If not and your budget is £500 I would buy second hand. FInd a £1000 bike that has been well looked after, maybe a year old, and it will cost you £500..

I agree, second hand is by far the best option for a budget of £500.

ALaPlage

+1 for second hand if you can splash the cash.

Just bought my Wife a Kona Lisa RD bike off Ebay. Aluminium Frame with Carbon Forks, Mavic Aksium wheels, Shimano 105/Ultegra gears, Tektra brakes and 105 shifters. New price £1100 - I paid £500. Seller said bike ridden once and condition supports that. If you are patient using Ebay or CW classifieds then you can get a great bargain.

My own bike was sourced via Cycling Weekly Classifieds - new cost over £3000 and I paid £1300 for a Trek Madone 5.9 with full Ultegra SL groupset and Bontrager Race X Lite wheels. Frame was 3 yr old but not used and all componetry was brand new.

I had a Boardman and this was a great starter bike - great value for £700. It got me hooked on road biking but within a year I was buying a lighter and better specced bike. If you can find the bike/spec you desire within your budget then go second hand.