My First ever road bike for LEJOG (May 11)

mr fandango

Well I have spent the last 3-4 weeks reading reviews trying bikes and testing friends bikes and am in need of a bit more or wide spread advice. I will be attempting LEJOG in May 2011 in the 10 day mark time span in a team of 6-7 with a support van. I have been measured and 58cm frame bikes hits the mark being about 6ft hight. I’m just keen to get out there and get training.

Some people are telling me get a second hand bike for £450 some are telling me to buy new so my big question is just what to do???

The bike needs to be decent enough for the job in hand and the upcoming training! So my heart says buy new and buy once as a 2nd hand bike might need lots changing to get it ready for a big ride and prices could even out or am I wrong?

I have some dam supportive parents who always tell me to get out there and they are helping me out with a donation of £500 towards my bike. The rest of the money is coming from me as I was already thinking of spending about £1000. That gives me a healthy budget. So far the only Bike that has really dragged me in is the Focus Cayo Team Replica 2010 £1,400 from wiggle. (I’m liking the SRAM's not going to lie) my question here is am I going over kill on my first road bike or setting myself up nicely for my future ride?

All help advice and comment will be appreciated

Thanks in advance

P.s yes this is my first post so hello to ALL at Bike Radar

Pretre

Welcome to the forum

A lot depends on if you think you're going to carry on cycling after the event & if you can afford to spend the cash if you're not sure as £1,400 is a lot to spend on a first road bike.

One thing to think about is that we're getting towards the end of the year & so most of ypur training is going to be over the winter & bikes aren't huge fans of rain & road salt, so if you buy something up to your full budget you will need to spend more cash on maintaining it & also do you really want to take a pretty expensive brand new bike out in the UK winter, which you will have to do to get used to riding it before May next year?

NB - don't forget to budget for cycling clothes (shorts, jerseys, etc), shoes, basic tools, a helmet (if you want, personal choice,etc. :roll: ), etc., which you will need to have even before you start your training

Whatever you choose to do, good luck with the ride & I expect to see you back here in about a year or so asking which £3,500 frame you should buy

mr fandango

Thank you for the warm welcome and the advice.

This is not going to be a one off ride and I will be keeping it up way after this ride is over. Been a long time mountain biker but need a new challenge and a sport that I can keep up i.e. with traveling to work the new GREEN way! lol :P

You are right in the fact of bad weather and winter and is a factor to consider as for budget for all the extras I have taken that in to consideration sorry should have said and that is a separate budget that is accounted for and yes a helmet will def be worn at all time I like my brains on the inside

As for next year’s bike we will have to see about a work bonus for the £3,500 bike lol

Thanks again for the advice and encouragement

Pretre

No worries

mr fandango wrote:

yes a helmet will def be worn at all time I like my brains on the inside

One thing to note about road riding - don't ever mention your opinion on helmet usage to anyone (not even close family) - way worse than politics or religion!

unixnerd

You might get lucky and find a good used one, mine had barely been used before the guy decided that cycling wasn't for him. He then left it in the garage untouched for three years before sticking it on ebay. Just like new and 1/3rd new price :-)

Whatever you buy be sure it'll take mudgaurds in the winter, you can get ones that don't need mounting points on the frame and will fit almost anything. But you need enough clearance between the wheel and the frame.

mr fandango

Pretre wrote:

No worries

mr fandango wrote:

yes a helmet will def be worn at all time I like my brains on the inside

One thing to note about road riding - don't ever mention your opinion on helmet usage to anyone (not even close family) - way worse than politics or religion!

lol love it will take that advice. no more helmet comment lol

Wheelie Bin

Giant Defy 2. Super-comfy bike with a long-ish wheelbase, rack mounts and 28c tyres (25c's are pretty comfy though). £825.00 I think.

The Focus is nice, but it doesn't look equipped for the long haul with luggage. (Mind you, when I do it I'll travel super-light, with a credit card and a 25 litre back-pack... no panniers.)

Top tip: Get some miles in on it if it's new, then take it for it's first service BEFORE your LEJOG - that way, you'll get all the stretches out of the cables and everything will be tight again for the long one.

Pretre

Wheelie Bin wrote:

Giant Defy 2. Super-comfy bike with rack mounts and 28c tyres (25c's are pretty comfy though). £825.00 I think.

Top tip: Get some miles in on it if it's new, then take it for it's first service BEFORE your LEJOG - that way, you'll get all the stretches out of the cables and everything will be tight again for the long one.

No issues with the bike choice (that price level is not something Ive looked at for a few years) but why would the OP want a rack? :? They said they would have vehicle support IIRC...

I do have issues with the "take for a first service before the LEJOG" comment - the event is not for 9 months so it should have had a first service after about a month & at least one other service by the time of the event.

KennyD

mr fandango wrote:

Well I have spent the last 3-4 weeks reading reviews trying bikes and testing friends bikes and am in need of a bit more or wide spread advice. I will be attempting LEJOG in May 2011 in the 10 day mark time span in a team of 6-7 with a support van. I have been measured and 58cm frame bikes hits the mark being about 6ft hight. I’m just keen to get out there and get training.

Some people are telling me get a second hand bike for £450 some are telling me to buy new so my big question is just what to do???

The bike needs to be decent enough for the job in hand and the upcoming training! So my heart says buy new and buy once as a 2nd hand bike might need lots changing to get it ready for a big ride and prices could even out or am I wrong?

I have some dam supportive parents who always tell me to get out there and they are helping me out with a donation of £500 towards my bike. The rest of the money is coming from me as I was already thinking of spending about £1000. That gives me a healthy budget. So far the only Bike that has really dragged me in is the Focus Cayo Team Replica 2010 £1,400 from wiggle. (I’m liking the SRAM's not going to lie) my question here is am I going over kill on my first road bike or setting myself up nicely for my future ride?

All help advice and comment will be appreciated

Thanks in advance

P.s yes this is my first post so hello to ALL at Bike Radar

KennyD

mr fandango wrote:

Well I have spent the last 3-4 weeks reading reviews trying bikes and testing friends bikes and am in need of a bit more or wide spread advice. I will be attempting LEJOG in May 2011 in the 10 day mark time span in a team of 6-7 with a support van. I have been measured and 58cm frame bikes hits the mark being about 6ft hight. I’m just keen to get out there and get training.

Some people are telling me get a second hand bike for £450 some are telling me to buy new so my big question is just what to do???

The bike needs to be decent enough for the job in hand and the upcoming training! So my heart says buy new and buy once as a 2nd hand bike might need lots changing to get it ready for a big ride and prices could even out or am I wrong?

I have some dam supportive parents who always tell me to get out there and they are helping me out with a donation of £500 towards my bike. The rest of the money is coming from me as I was already thinking of spending about £1000. That gives me a healthy budget. So far the only Bike that has really dragged me in is the Focus Cayo Team Replica 2010 £1,400 from wiggle. (I’m liking the SRAM's not going to lie) my question here is am I going over kill on my first road bike or setting myself up nicely for my future ride?

All help advice and comment will be appreciated

Thanks in advance

P.s yes this is my first post so hello to ALL at Bike Radar

KennyD

I think that you are selecting a good bike at a good price. I started with my Cannondale Synapse as my first road bike at about the same price (£1500). Thing is, you enjoy it more on a good bike and this alone makes you want to ride more and more. Buying a much lower price bike could be a waste of money if you never feel like riding it again. Just bought a Focus Mares Xcross from Wiggle.. 25% off so I will use it as a winter bike, good spec on Focus bikes without a doubt.

Go for it and put it into perspective, you can spend thousands on a road bike so £1500 will get you a good bike at a good spec for exactly the type of riding you mention.

Also my first BR mail.

Regards

KennyD

notsoblue

Welcome to the forum!

In 10 days with a support team of 6-7 in a van? If thats the case, then I'd aim to do it in a quicker time! And as for the bike, get one that's nice and light that you can spend all day on.

Make sure you train on hills before the ride, or Cornwall is going to knacker you