Want to buy a road bike (300ish tops)

LaurenceGough

Hi guys,

Well, I've always wanted a proper one... Time to get myself a road bike. I have many years of cycling experience with mountain bikes but I also ride a mountain bike with road tires every day to work (very heavy and with icky dual suspension :shock: ).

Lightness is what I'm after, for the hills. But price comes first, don't have much spare money at all, as much as I would love to spend more 300 pounds is the most I can afford .

New or used I don't mind. Looked on eBay but not much seems to be around the Reading area.

Any advice would be great, thanks!

Cheers,

Laurence

road.warrior

Hi, around 300 isn't alot for a road bike, your guna be struggling getting something new. Just keep looking second hand would be my advise. Take a look in the classifieds on here. I bought a road bike for that price a few months back and its still going well. just keep looking!

LaurenceGough

Thanks Road Warrior, that's true I know but all I can afford, anything more than that and I would worry also about it being nicked too much!


I posted a wanted ad here on these forums, thanks for the tip!

Cheers

carrotcruncher

carrera tdf on offer presently at 299.99 ....

rake

keep your eye on ebay for a boardman comp, they seem to have attracted lots of want to be cyclists who cant be arsed, bag yourself a nearly new bargain.

carrock

Technex wrote:

Hi guys,

Well, I've always wanted a proper one... Time to get myself a road bike. I have many years of cycling experience with mountain bikes but I also ride a mountain bike with road tires every day to work (very heavy and with icky dual suspension :shock: ).

Lightness is what I'm after, for the hills. But price comes first, don't have much spare money at all, as much as I would love to spend more 300 pounds is the most I can afford .

New or used I don't mind. Looked on eBay but not much seems to be around the Reading area.

Any advice would be great, thanks!


Cheers,

Laurence

Would it be worth selling your mtb to raise extra cash, or look for someone who wants to go the other way, ie road to mtb, and doing a swapsie plus cash if necessary.

Always buy the best bike you can afford, even if it means selling your wife/children into slavery

PBo

decathlon near you? the sport range seems decent value. someone's mentioned the carrera tdf already from halfords.

Monty Dog

For best value, look at second-hand - new bikes at that price point use low-rent components and don't even provide a good platform for upgrades. £300 should get you a £600+ bike that's 2-3 years old. LFGSS Forum is also a good source for reasonably priced bikes.

leejdavies

OR why not try the cycle to work scheme that way you can get a bike that's around £5-600. Maybe a few more options at that price range but will be within your price range. I'm sure Trek, Specialized et al will have something at the £500 price point and it'll easily work out as less than £300.

If possible it is definitely worth looking into…

LaurenceGough

Thank you all for your replies.

Can't do the cycle to work scheme as I'm on a year's contract with my current workplace and the agency I'm with don't offer it but give a MAP allowance instead (Mobile Advantage Plan)? Never heard of it but I don't think it will give me anywhere near the savings of a cycle to work plan, oh well.

Can't really sell the mountain bike, it would help but I use it every weekend for fun, not really worth selling it.

Looked on eBay for a boardman comp and all way too expensive, lovely looking bike but I have a feeling it's out of my price range .

Carrera TDF and the Carrera Virtuaso (50 quid more) seem like the best choices for me - buying new. Not sure which is better.

LaurenceGough

Reserved the Carrera TDF, went in store and really quite liked it. Just can't wait to ride it really, a road bike finally!

Love the narrow tires and awesome racing pose, just being able to ride a bike made for the road is great for a change!

KevGuinness

Technex wrote:

Reserved the Carrera TDF, went in store and really quite liked it. Just can't wait to ride it really, a road bike finally!

Love the narrow tires and awesome racing pose, just being able to ride a bike made for the road is great for a change!

Same bike I got at the tail end of last summer, enjoying riding it, just wish I was a bit faster at it
Bike is good,solid and has ran with pretty much no problems for me, starting to really get into it this summer now my winter colds have gone and the sun has made an appearance. You have picked a cracking week to get the bike, weather will let you ride it till your legs cant turn anymore

spaniamania

Second hand is the way to go!
Get measured up and look for an Allez on the bay

LaurenceGough

Well guys, had a few trips on it now . I do love it, Halfords didn't set-up the gears that well but other than that no problems, gave it a good look over too. The in-line barrel adjusters don't seem to be working so it's a bit of a pain to adjust the gears but all ok now.

Front gears are a bit of a pain, three positions are there to choose from but only from low to high, if you want to drop from the highest you have to go right to the lowest, hard to explain but can cause chain rubbing for a few seconds until you change.

The strap pedals are a bit crappy too but the price of the clipless shoes and pedals is 100 quid upwards, and then I have to carry along the extra weight of safety shoes for work.

It feels like I'm kind of tip-toeing when I cycle a bit odd as I'm used to whacking the power down while my feet are flat.

Got some Mudguards on the way from Crud, very lightweight so I don't mind too much. Got a bit of a wet censored and back on a wet day!

Feels like a rocket compared to what I was riding before on the road. Really love it to bits, the whole road bike thing I should have got ages ago. Best things are the dropped handle bars and the lighter weight.

Got to 35mph on a slight downhill section, I wasn't even pushing it like I would have had to on the mtn bike to get to that speed.