£250 budget - 22 mile daily commute - what bike to buy?

Suffolkwheels

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice please!

I do a bit of mountain biking round the local forest for a bit of fitness for me and my spaniel. I'm now uber-keen to get on the road. I've had a basic Dawes racer in the past but didn't get on too well with it - the valves on the tyres were a nightmare and I seemed to get frequent punctures.

I've had a go on a Dawes Discovery hybrid and was impressed with its slightly more rugged feel vs the racer but it clearly lacked the speed and ease over distance.

I now want to get semi serious on the road to get 'properly' fit. I'm planning on commuting to work (22 mile round trip) and/or go for regular 10-20 mile rides. I don't know the first thing about upgrading/fixing etc (yet).

I'm concerned that a 'true' road racing bike will puncture easily on the local roads but I do seem to see plenty of other people on them in the area. But, I really want a 'true' road racing bike for speed and low road resistance; I'll need to get to work fast!

My budget is really limited; around £250 tops. In this range, I have seen the following:

Raleigh equipe (brand new) on ebay for £190
Raleigh equipe (quite old) on ebay for £51 with 1 day to go
BTwin Sport 1 currently £92 on ebay with 3 days to go (seller thinks it will go for around £175)
BTwin Sport 1 new for £270
BTwin Fitness 1 new for £250
Dawes Impulse for £120 on ebay
Fausto Coppi Stelvio on ebay currently £57 with 5 days to go
Cannondale R1000 Sport CAAD 5 2005 for £200 with 1 day to go

So, if anyone can advise on the bike above and/or following questions, I'd really appreciate it:

- How 'rugged' are true road racing bikes; can they withstand drains/rough tarmac/manhole covers etc?

- Can you reccomend the cheapest online bike retailer?

- Am I going to get anything decent for this budget?!

- I'm quite interested in the cycle to work scheme thing so this is a possibility to make my budget go further

Big thank you in advance

hopper1

If you go 2nd hand, and are looking for a 51cm frame, I have an Orbea Asphalt for sale.
Been idle in my garage for over a year...

unixnerd

2nd hand is your best bet.

Some road tyres are more puncture resistant than others, I'm sure others will happily advise you which to go for :-)

Cannondale R1000 Sport CAAD 5 2005 for £200 with 1 day to go

I have the R800 CAAD5 and it's been a superb bike, I paid 400 for mine and it had hardly been used by the previous owner. It's very light and very comfortable. Accelerates and climbs wonderfully. I think the Tour de France team used that frame for a few seasons. Nobody makes better aluminium frames than Cannondale, you won't even be able to see the welds on it! Very neat job.

Had a look at "yours" on ebay. Mostly Ultegra kit which is excellent (my R800 is Shimano 105, one step down). It's been well used but it's an excellent bike worth spending money on bits as they wear out. Ultegra kit lasts very well if looked after.

Suffolkwheels

Hi Hopper,

Thanks for your offer, unfortunately I'm 5'9'' so I think a 51cm frame would be a bit on the small side - according to a size guide i found online, I need 56-57cm...do correct me if I'm wrong though as I'm interested!

Thanks too unixnerd, really appreciate your views. I'll keep a close eye on the auction, although I suspect it'll end up going for a lot more

fizz

Suffolkwheels wrote:

I need 56-57cm...do correct me if I'm wrong though as I'm interested!

That sounds about right as a rough guide.

I'd agree with the others 2nd hand is your best bet, but watch out for ebay items going for silly prices.

I'd suggest the other place to look is in the classified sections of the cycling magazines, you might find something in there to.

Or if you can find a few quid more then Halford have this on offer, the finishing kit is budget but theres no reason why that means that it wont do you want you want it to and you can always upgrade bits and pieces later on. But that is a slippery slope and a whole other thread subject !

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710

Suffolkwheels

Hi fizz thanks for your post and for the Halfords offer tip - they've only got frames up to 54cm unfortunately. I'll check out a couple of mags tomorrow.

These guys seem to have quite a few new bikes at low prices but I guess the spec is all a bit basic!

I am a bit worried about getting a better quality second hand bike as my mechanical/upgrade skills are non existant. http://www.tredz.co.uk/productlist.aspx ... 0&SortBy=2

I kinda want to get the bike and start riding straight away!

unixnerd

I am a bit worried about getting a better quality second hand bike as my mechanical/upgrade skills are non existant.

You should get a book on basic maintenance and repairs. It's not hard :-) As for tools Lidl did a surprisingly good toolkit for 15 quid recently that covered almost everything. If you have to go to a bike shop for every little repair or adjustment it'll soon cost a fair bit.

Suffolkwheels

Another good point, cheers UN. I'll get down to LIDL and see if they still have 'em in.

Suffolkwheels

OK, after some more hunting, I've whittled the list down to the following (on ebay):

Cannondale R1000 Sport CAAD 5 2005 58cm 27 Speed Racer currently £200 2 days to go

54cm Ribble road bike full Tiagra compact groupset currently £155 9 days to go

Fausto Coppi Stelvio £56 5 days to go

Dawes Impulse £120 2 days to go

BTwin Sport 1 currently £92 on ebay with 3 days to go (seller thinks it will go for around £175)


As I'm 5'9 - 5'10ish, would a 58cm frame be too big?

Buckled_Rims

If you don't have hills you might want to consider a Single speeder like a Langster. Ultra reliable, light and fast. No gears to worry about and you'll be fitter much faster.

Frame sizes are manufacturer specific. It depends on whether it's a compact frame. I'd say you'll probably get away with a medium size which might be 54cm or 51cm depending on manufacturer

58cm size is probably more suited to a 6' rider, but if you have long legs it might be fine.

unixnerd

I'm 5'6" (on a good day!) and my CAAD5 is a 54cm. I don't think a 58 would be too big for you.

Stand over height isn't the issue, it's how far you reach for the handlebars. If you find it's a little long you can fit a shorter stem cheaply.

Suffolkwheels

Hi everyone,

Thanks again for all of your advice. I've had another day of investigating. I'm going to push my boss to sign up for the cycle to work scheme and if he caves in, I'm thinking of going for the Giant Rapid 3 for £550. I went into a bike shop today and got their advice - the rapid 3 got their total reccomendation for my needs and it looks absolutely awesome.

What do you guys think? Can I get any better new bike for £550? I'm losing faith a bit with the 2nd hand bike son ebay, they all end up going for loads more than I'd want to pay for a 2nd hand bike (plus I cna get a new bike sized to me).

Cheers

Suffolkwheels

Hi all

Fair point about the busy season for bikes - trouble is I really want to get kitted out asap.

I've had a chat with a colleague and he's quite certain the cycle to work thing will never get approved at our place, so now, my options are:

Buy a Giant Rapid 3 for £550 with interest free credit for 6 months

Boardman comp hybrid 2009 currently £155 with a dya to go

Specialized Sirrus Sport hybrid (with Shimano R500 rims fitted and Vittoria Zaffiro Tyres) currently £101 with 3 days to go

The rest of the 2nd hand bikes are now pretty old or out of my price range.

Any thoughts?

Cheers:)

rodgers73

At least the Giant would come with some sort of warranty/guarantee compared to ebay purchases...

dnrc

unixnerd wrote:

2nd hand is your best bet.

Some road tyres are more puncture resistant than others, I'm sure others will happily advise you which to go for :-)

Cannondale R1000 Sport CAAD 5 2005 for £200 with 1 day to go

I have the R800 CAAD5 and it's been a superb bike, I paid 400 for mine and it had hardly been used by the previous owner. It's very light and very comfortable. Accelerates and climbs wonderfully. I think the Tour de France team used that frame for a few seasons. Nobody makes better aluminium frames than Cannondale, you won't even be able to see the welds on it! Very neat job.

Had a look at "yours" on ebay. Mostly Ultegra kit which is excellent (my R800 is Shimano 105, one step down). It's been well used but it's an excellent bike worth spending money on bits as they wear out. Ultegra kit lasts very well if looked after.

I know it's not exactly relevant but after a day or so on ebay i won this very bike for £310 a little earlier.

From what i could see it's the perfect size for me, Is local (i live in norwich) and seems to be a decent amount of kit for the money.

I hope to collect it tomorrow and although as you say it has had a fair bit of use, I reckon a full strip and rebuild and maybe another £100 or so on bits and pieces and i should have a pretty decent bike for reasonable money.

And all i hear about cannondale frames is good.

Suffolkwheels

Congrats on winning that Cannondale mate - looks like an awesome piece of kit!!

Unfortunately for me it was just outta my price range. Plus I'd probably ruin it in trying to tune it and all that malarky.

My mind is now set on a new Giant Rapid 3 - my local shop offers 6 months interest free credit plus a free 1st service and a 12 month warranty on any labour (on top of any Giant warranty). This is way above what I'd originally planned to spend but given the free credit and my usual lack of regard for my personal financial health, I shall take it!

Thanks again for everyone's input on this, frickin love this forum already!