Road Beginner

TwistedSpirit

Next thursday I will be purchasing, http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710 - my first road bike -
as I have been told by a former employee of Halfords that at the special offer price I won't get better for my money.

I have a Helmet and Gloves from my mtb

Is there anything else you would recommend i purchase?

Thanks

MICHAELCYCLES

The kit on the bike is very much the budget end as far as road bikes go but then again £300 is a budget price too.
I wouldn't say its a fantastic deal but I don't know where else you would get a brand new road bike for that sort of money.

skyd0g

Welcome to the dark side. 8)
If you have SPDs from your MTB, you could transplant them. Additional recommended purchase padded bib shorts and a pair of glasses (unless you already have some).

danowat

Pretty low end kit on it, but for under £300, you can't really expect much!.

TwistedSpirit

MICHAELCYCLES wrote:

The kit on the bike is very much the budget end as far as road bikes go but then again £300 is a budget price too.
I wouldn't say its a fantastic deal but I don't know where else you would get a brand new road bike for that sort of money.

My Fiancée would kill me if I bought the bike I wanted. Thought it would be best to get settled into road riding first then maybe save up for a better bike after the wedding.
Also i managed to get them to knock another 10% off.

For the under £300 mark the only other bike i saw was http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-9447.aspx

Welcome to the dark side.
If you have SPDs from your MTB, you could transplant them. Additional recommended purchase padded bib shorts and a pair of glasses (unless you already have some).

I will need to purchase some shorts and shoes. Also I will have to remember to take the peak off my helmet? Oh and i need to got get some more contact lenses so i can buy some glasses!

lucan

If you think you'll be allowed to save up for a better bike after the wedding I think you've underestimated the power of her wedding ring.

It might be more realistic to promise yourself the bike of your dreams after the divorce.

Or is that just me?

TwistedSpirit

Well maybe if the new bike brings her the promise of a well toned muscular gentleman being in her life (hopefully me) then she might be ok with it!

She originally said no to this bike but i promised i would stop smoking if i got the bike!

I want this bike to produce a new me or is that asking a little too much?

anto164

For £300, i'd definately look for a 2nd hand bike which is a few years old. you SHOULD be able to get a better specced bike for £300.

CarleyB

not sure how tall you are but just spotted this

http://www.preloved.co.uk/fuseaction-ad ... e0877.html

skyd0g

For glasses - check out Bolle Safety Contour glasses on fleabay - only iro £6 a pair.

TwistedSpirit

anto164 wrote:

For £300, i'd definitely look for a 2nd hand bike which is a few years old. you SHOULD be able to get a better specced bike for £300.

There was a 4 year old Giant SCR3 on onceridden.com for £200
You reckon that would be a better buy?

TwistedSpirit

CarleyB wrote:

not sure how tall you are but just spotted this

http://www.preloved.co.uk/fuseaction-ad ... e0877.html

I am about 6' tall so i have been told i need a 58cm frame. That Allez is slightly small!

CarleyB

i have a giant scr 3 and its a fab bike. they were 500 quid new so yeh definately better.

nochekmate

TwistedSpirit wrote:

For the under £300 mark the only other bike i saw was http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-9447.aspx

Don't do it - at 14.5Kg it'll be a poor experience and more likely to put you off road biking rather than than enjoying it.

Look secondhand - occasionally at £300 somebody on this site will offer something that is considerably better than your new options.

TwistedSpirit

CarleyB wrote:

i have a giant scr 3 and its a fab bike. they were 500 quid new so yeh definitely better.

Yeah but the carrera should be £450 so for £270 its not a bad price?
Plus it will cost me £70 in petrol to pick up the £200 Giant...

That is why I am in the beginners forum so I don't have to make these choices!

CarleyB

BUT

getting second hand you'll get a better bike. Better gears, carbon fork etc and it will be lighter.

nochekmate

Your £300 puts you in Giant SCR territory or indeed Specialized Allez - I've also seen Trek 1.2s advertised on eBay at that price. Any of these would be significantly better than your new otpions and there are usually quite a few around at this price point as many riders look to upgrade.

Don't get involved with bidding on eBay (where you risk paying over the odds) just look out for the Buy It Now prices.

I nearly bought a Trek 1.2 recently that was advertised at £300 BIN but for the fact that it was too far away and the buyer was offering collection only. I would have been able to resell this at approx £400 through bidding (profit then put towards my own bike/cycling requirements). The seller has since raised his price anyway!

unixnerd

For £300, i'd definitely look for a 2nd hand bike which is a few years old. you SHOULD be able to get a better specced bike for £300.

+1

I got a 1200 quid Cannondale that had barely been used for 400.

Whatever you get I hope you enjoy it :-)

TwistedSpirit

unixnerd wrote:

For £300, i'd definitely look for a 2nd hand bike which is a few years old. you SHOULD be able to get a better specced bike for £300.

+1

I got a 1200 quid Cannondale that had barely been used for 400.

Whatever you get I hope you enjoy it :-)

Yeah but its all luck of the draw =/

jugglingphil

For £300, i'd definitely look for a 2nd hand bike which is a few years old. you SHOULD be able to get a better specced bike for £300.

+1
I bought a second hand road bike for £300 of ebay last year. Ride it as my commuter every day and love it. If your not sure what to get then stick with the larger makes (trek, specialized, giant, etc) although the internet will enable you to do a fair bit of research on bikes your not sure about.

At 6' tall you may not necessarily be a 58. Go and sit on a few bikes, 56 - 57 - 58. I'm 6' 1" and ride a 56, but that doesn't mean that you will be.

Super Domestique

If you are like me and want to stick with buying a new bike, then you could also look at the raleigh airlite 100 to compare with the carrera. It has the carbon fork the carrera is lacking plus iirc has slightly better spec in other areas too (might have been rear mech or something at least). Seen them online discounted to around the £350 mark (rrp£500).

Might be worth a look imho.

Super Domestique

Duplicate post sorry, not sure what happened there!

TwistedSpirit

Ok I have made a decision!

I have found a Giant SCR 3 on onceridden.com for £200.
It is a 55.5cm frame so slightly smaller!
Only catch is it is 250 miles away from me. (Luckily only 10 from in-laws) so i will have to beg them to pick it up for me!

CarleyB

go and sit on a giant in your lbs and see what the sizing is like

The_Beast

I see quite a few responses saying well the missus would go mad if I spent that much or similar and not just on this forum either.

Grow some and take charge, too many women get their own way today, I don't get dictated to by anyone, she understands.

Ben6899

The_Beast wrote:

I see quite a few responses saying well the missus would go mad if I spent that much or similar and not just on this forum either.

Grow some and take charge, too many women get their own way today, I don't get dictated to by anyone, she understands.

"Grrrr. I'm a man! Cook me some steak and bring me my beer. Bitch!"

TwistedSpirit

The_Beast wrote:

Grow some and take charge, too many women get their own way today, I don't get dictated to by anyone, she understands.

Seeing as though the deposit on the wedding is already paid I would quite like to survive until then!

thedirge

TwistedSpirit wrote:

The_Beast wrote:

Grow some and take charge, too many women get their own way today, I don't get dictated to by anyone, she understands.

Seeing as though the deposit on the wedding is already paid I would quite like to survive until then!

If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen, take your top off and then get back in the kitchen and cook my fucking dinner.

rdt

TwistedSpirit wrote:

The_Beast wrote:

Grow some and take charge, too many women get their own way today, I don't get dictated to by anyone, she understands.

Seeing as though the deposit on the wedding is already paid I would quite like to survive until then!

Weddings seem to cost some people a fortune. And divorces aren't cheap either. Worse, they often come as a 2-for-1 package :shock:

All that money which could otherwise go on a stable of bikes!




(best of luck with the hitching!)

_jon_

On Sunday I was looking for a commuting bike on ebay for my sister. Got distracted by road racing bike (I've only every owned mountain/hybrid bikes) and that evening I was a proud owner of a trek 1000 sl road bike costing £300 (bike cost £500 new in 2007) which apparently had only been used a couple of times.

I think the frame is a bit big for me but that can be adjusted. Much better in terms of weight and spec than anything you'd get new for the same money.

The_Beast

TwistedSpirit wrote:

The_Beast wrote:

Grow some and take charge, too many women get their own way today, I don't get dictated to by anyone, she understands.

Seeing as though the deposit on the wedding is already paid I would quite like to survive until then!

The weddings booked mate, she is going to be too busy organising various other expenses to notice an extra bit on the side, i.e. the bike.