how much for bike and puntures

mmmcheese

hello i've been looking at gettting into road bike cycling and the moment i ride 6 or 7 miles a day on a mountin bike to get from place to place. just had some questions

1. how much should i spend on a bike?
all im looking for is somthing i can start doing 10/15 mile rides twice a month and build up if im enjoying it.
ive never rode on a road bike want to spend as little as possible as road riding might not be for me. the seats on those things look very painful

2. how often do you get puntures on a road bike

and is there anything else i should know.

thanks for any help

father_jack

1) How long is a piece of string. Some seats are painful, some aren't. Depends on the person. I like Brooks Team Pro/Swallow.

2) Maybe once every six months. Again depends on bad luck...how often you ride, and where you ride. And what tyres you have, or maybe if the inners are goo filled.

mmmcheese

a piece of string is double half of its length

cougie

TBH theres no real difference in comfort between my MTB and road bike.

I usually puncture far more on the MTB than I do on the road bike.

And road cycling is a lot like riding a MTB on the road, except a bit faster.

Get slick tyres ? That would be a lot cheaper.

Buckled_Rims

1. get a second hand bike to start of with. Either sell or convert it to a winter bike if you decide road bikes are for you.

1a. Bike saddles are just as good as MTB. My Cyclocross bikes saddle is very comfortable below 50 miles. My other road bike is OK but needs upgrading.

2. Depends on tyres. Standard tyres you get with a new cheap bike can be crap. I live near glass alley and nail lane so I expect a puncture every 3 months. Some who live where the council actually send a sweeper out might never puncture even on a 23mm crap tyre.

mmmcheese

cougie wrote:

TBH theres no real difference in comfort between my MTB and road bike.

I usually puncture far more on the MTB than I do on the road bike.

And road cycling is a lot like riding a MTB on the road, except a bit faster.

Get slick tyres ? That would be a lot cheaper.

i was thinking a road bike would be lighter and faster meaning i could go further with less effot or is there not alot of diffrence?


where is the best place to start looking for a 2nd hand bike?

Dancing Bear

Buckled_Rims wrote:

1. get a second hand bike to start of with. Either sell or convert it to a winter bike if you decide road bikes are for you.

1a. Bike saddles are just as good as MTB. My Cyclocross bikes saddle is very comfortable below 50 miles. My other road bike is OK but needs upgrading.

2. Depends on tyres. Standard tyres you get with a new cheap bike can be crap. I live near glass alley and nail lane so I expect a puncture every 3 months. Some who live where the council actually send a sweeper out might never puncture even on a 23mm crap tyre.

to the OP.

not sure I agree with this, you are not new to cycling, just road cycling, and if you buy secondhand, wont you inevitably want to upgrade bits, and or the whole bike itself soonish? At the moment there are some cracking deals on brand new 2010 bikes now the 20111's are here or around the corner. Its a balance between what you think i value, and for me I have 2 newish bikes, I know every mile they have been, every incident they have had etc...


Punctures 3 so far this year - one at least by riding into a pothole, and a second by riding the wrong tyres for the wet conditions

father_jack

i was thinking a road bike would be lighter and faster meaning i could go further with less effot or is there not alot of diffrence?

Correct. On my MTB a 13 mile ride is knackering, I'm really tired at the end of it. On the road or tourer I'm not tired in the slightest, and I could head back home, and probably back and forth another couple of times without a problem.

fastbatard

This was my first road bike and I highly recommend it. Bargain for £270.
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/sport-1-54-57-69567468/

Buckled_Rims

fastbatard wrote:

This was my first road bike and I highly recommend it. Bargain for £270.
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/sport-1-54-57-69567468/

That looks good value for a brand new price.

Lagavulin

Not sure if you have one near you but the Edinburgh Bike Co Op sale is on at the minute and they've the Giant Defy and Specialized's Allez and Secteurs starting from £399.99.