Begginers road bike <£200

dannyshocker

I have had a mountain bike for 3 years and go on it maybe once or twice a month. However, commuting to and from college is a drag as it doesn't go very fast and by having a go on a road bike over the summer and seeing I can go >30mph with ease, I now want a road bike!

However, I am a total newbie, have no clue about what road bike to buy and how good a bike I can get. I would say I only really want to spend c.£150 but maybe £200 at a push! Is this enough to get a base level road bike? It would be for cycling to and from college (about 6miles away) and maybe a 15-20mile cycle on every other weekend

Cheers for any help given!

mattward1979

For that budget you would be looking at Second hand. To really get a half decent spec on a new Road bike, you need to shell out £500-£600, as the big hitters in the component department really start to shine here on a budget.

Check Ebay for any of the usual suspects such as Specialized, Trek etc, and if possible, have a Road bike savvy friend go with you to check over the components before you part with cash!

Another thought could be checking your LBS for any crazy special deals they have, but I would be suprised to see anything of real quality for that budget.

Sorry its not better news, but you will really love a GOOD road bike, and could just as easily Hate a cheap substitute!

Pretre

mattward1979 wrote:

For that budget you would be looking at Second hand. To really get a half decent spec on a new Road bike, you need to shell out £500-£600, as the big hitters in the component department really start to shine here on a budget.

Check Ebay for any of the usual suspects such as Specialized, Trek etc, and if possible, have a Road bike savvy friend go with you to check over the components before you part with cash!

Another thought could be checking your LBS for any crazy special deals they have, but I would be suprised to see anything of real quality for that budget.

Sorry its not better news, but you will really love a GOOD road bike, and could just as easily Hate a cheap substitute!

+1.
The consumer mag Which? did a test of <£300 road bikes a few months ago & found that all of them weent from poorly made up to & including downright dangerous. Simple fact is that you need to spend £500+ to get a new road bike & £300+ to get a new hybrid (which may actually suit your commute better - it does for mine).

danowat

More than 30mph with ease? :shock:

father_jack

I can go >30mph with ease, I now want a road bike!

Hrun

Pretre wrote:

mattward1979 wrote:

For that budget you would be looking at Second hand. To really get a half decent spec on a new Road bike, you need to shell out £500-£600, as the big hitters in the component department really start to shine here on a budget.

Check Ebay for any of the usual suspects such as Specialized, Trek etc, and if possible, have a Road bike savvy friend go with you to check over the components before you part with cash!

Another thought could be checking your LBS for any crazy special deals they have, but I would be suprised to see anything of real quality for that budget.

Sorry its not better news, but you will really love a GOOD road bike, and could just as easily Hate a cheap substitute!

+1.
The consumer mag Which? did a test of <£300 road bikes a few months ago & found that all of them weent from poorly made up to & including downright dangerous. Simple fact is that you need to spend £500+ to get a new road bike & £300+ to get a new hybrid (which may actually suit your commute better - it does for mine).

My £299 Carrera TDF seems to be working ok so far?

masterchef

danowat wrote:

More than 30mph with ease? :shock:

lol thats what im thinking mate, i can hit 35mph most times sprinting on a gd day iv hit 40 once but u cant do it when ever u want lmao i wish!

dannyshocker

hahaa I meant when sprinting. i couldn't reach 20mph average with my current fitness!

chrishd883

At the £200 mark you could get a racing bike from Halfords - bottom of the range Halfords at that, but it will give you a taste of road bikes.

But I would echo comments above - SH - but only if you know a bit about bikes and you can see what you might be buying.

Alternatively save up! The "big names" start at £500+.

Cycling + did review the Guess RB1 a few years ago and awarded it the best bike under £500 - I think you can get this on the net for circa £450 nowadays.

Or a 'last year' model - which would still cost £400+

danowat

dannyshocker wrote:

hahaa I meant when sprinting. i couldn't reach 20mph average with my current fitness!

Fair enough, but sprinting is far from "with ease", its pushing as hard as you can!!!

I don't know how much a Carrera Vanquish is these days, but I raced in a crit with one, and he was going great guns.

father_jack

Let me know when you can "sprint" at 30mph on a MTB for 20+ miles lol. Sprints are useless, any half unfit person can sprint. If you can manage 17mph for 16 miles on a hardtail with knobblies, I'd say that would be good going.