First cheap road bike on a student budget

petev86

hi, I'm looking at getting my first road bike mainly just to get from A to B quick and a little bit of getting fit and try out a new sport (i normally kayak)

As I'm a student though my top end budget is pretty much 400 and research is saying this limits me to ebay shops it would appear!

Looking on E-bay though it would appear to pretty much come down to either a raleigh 100: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RALEIGH-100-ROAD- ... 800ef5d067

or a Viking Torino: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Torino-56cm-1 ... 1e5c794830

edit: i suppose another option would be http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2010-Roma-59cm-16 ... 1e5c60b632 but this seems to use proprietory stuff in place of shimano and some mates have advised avoiding this where possible??

but whilst I can find a reasonable amount on the Raleigh and their reputation I can't seem to find anything on Viking bikes (not even their own website!) and comments on here about the Viking are from about 2008

So was just wondering if people had any comments on those two bikes and on viking in general and if those two aren''t that great then any other ideas. I'm loathe to spend loads at the moment whilst without a job and not realy sure if I'll like the sport.

Cheers

Pete

tailwindhome

Had a chat with the LBS guy last week and he was saying that some of the historical brands, and he named Viking, have gone bust over the years. Trading companies then pick up the brand name as a label to stick on cheap bikes.

For 400 notes I'd try the Classifieds on here for a second hand one or there was a review of Halford Carrera TDF (£300) on the front news page of this site

unixnerd

Ay your budget you'd do better to get a used bike. A lot of folk buy a bike with good intentions of getting fit and then leave the bike in the shed for years. I got a barely used Cannondale for 400 quid, it was 1200 new!

Look on ebay and gumtree and have your wits about you. If you see something you fancy put a link on here and I'm sure folk will only be too happy to offer advice. Try to get one with Shimano Tiagra or 105 and a 9 speed rear cassette. 8 gears at the back are OK but you may find annoyingly large gaps between them.

A lot of university towns have coops or charities that offer reclaimed bikes at silly prices for students, ask around. Also, try joining a university bike club, a member may have a good used bike for sale or be able to help in finding one.

a.palmer

Definitely go 2nd hand. I got the trek in my signature for £350 which is an amazing price. You will get so much more for your money

night_porter

Here is that link mentioned earlier

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/h ... cial-26886

Or for £350

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... o-09-34691

I think the Raleigh is just as good if not better (it has carbon forks) but Viking make BSO's I would steer clear of them.

Just a point to mention Kayaking (upper body strength) and cycling (lower body strength) should make very good bedfellows.

Rich Hcp

I'd go with the Raleigh, unless it doesn't fit you.

The reason I say go for a new bike is that you won't spend anything replacing worn out bits, which you may on a used bike.

petev86

awesome thanks for the advice!

yeah i guessed the sports would go well together, plus means something to do when the rivers are dry!

Mike400

OR for £260:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12712110