Begginers road bike <£200

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!
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!
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Posts
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).
Trax T700 with Lew Racing Pro VT-1 ;-)
10m tt pb:23:42.
25m tt pb: 1h 2min( only done 2)
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+
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.
Trax T700 with Lew Racing Pro VT-1 ;-)