Which Road Bike to buy on Budget?

littleking02

I have decided to buy a road bike, that i will be using mostly for races but every now and then will be to commute to work or uni. I know there are millions out there for some crazy money but I need something no more than £500. So I did some research and came up with 3 bikes from the Evans cycling. In no particular order

1 http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...=Raleigh%20200

2. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...ecialized%2016

3. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...ery=Trek%201.1

According to the Evans employ he said I should go for the Trek 1.1 (3rd). But I would like to get you ideas in which one I should go for? Even if there are other bikes in your opinion that are good for races under the 500 mark.

Thank you

p.s. I am starting with road race around max of 40 miles.

Finlab6

Your links have been shortened so dont work

littleking02

oh sorry

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... lized%2016

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/ral ... eigh%20200

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... Trek%201.1

Suffolkwheels

Dunno why but links still dont work for me...

I'm just gonna throw this into the mix too: http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2010

littleking02

no sure why but the 1st bike is Raleigh Airlite 200 2010
2nd Specialized Allez 16 2010

3rd Trek 1.1 Compact 2010

keef66

They work for me.

Don't think you'll go far wrong with any of them!

Raleigh has the slightly better groupset. None of the wheels look particularly inspiring

I'd reccommend test riding them all if you can, and go for the one you like the feel and look of best

littleking02

Do you think I should increase my budget from 500? or is that fine to get a decent bike for a season or two?

smeev

Hi,

I can totally recomend the spesh allez. Had mine for a year now & has not put a foot wrong. Pick a bike which has a good frame, you can upgrade the groupset as you go along like i have done. The groupset on the spesh is 2300 i think, which is the lowest end of the range. Mine runs on 105 now which i have upgraded through the year.

its like a bug, once you start you can stop.

LJAR

Personally I would shop around for a 2nd hand bike. You will get more for your money, so take a look on ebay. There are always plenty of bikes that people bought, decided they didn't like and sold on.

Budget for a helmet, shoes and pedals if you don't already have them. (you may need pump, kit for when you puncture, some bib shorts etc as well)

If this is to be your first road bike, I would recommend getting something that can fit mudguards for the winter.

masterchef

i have a trek 1.1 and it is an awesome bike, great for sprinting, coasting, climbing and just riding:D i got my trek for £390 new but i would easily pay the £500 for it brand new!