Beginner - Road bike, mainly for commuting.

paulbox

Hi, I've been mountain biking for many years and last summer converted my old mtb in to a commuter. However, 23 miles each way on this wasn't much fun and it became a bit of a chore. I'm now considering buying a road bike, to commute on mainly, but I might also take up a bit of weekend road riding. I'm a big guy, 6'4" and 18st, so need to lose a few ( :oops: ) pounds.

I have access to a cycle to work scheme which is not restricted to any particular shop but is limited is £1k.

Comfort - I found the roads to be terrible riding a mtb with decent front suspension, how is this on a road bike?

Right bike - Would I be better off with a cyclo cross or other kind of bike?

Budget - I'm thinking that the sensible thing would be to buy a £300 bike and see how I get on, but I might not get on well because I'm on a £300 bike... I've been reading up and understand that Carbon forks make a big difference in terms of ride comfort, I assume that these only come on bikes above a certain budget. I don't mind spending £1k if I am going to see the benefits and it is going to increase my enjoyment, but don't really want to have a £1k bike just waving at me from the corner of the garage for the next 10 years.

Group Set - What should I be looking for, Shim 105 seems to be common on lower end bikes, is that ok? I'm quite surprised at the different gearing set ups, thought triple chain rings where only on mtb's, what would be best for a beginner? I'm think 2x9 or 2x10.

Size - Obviously I'll get a better idea when I sit on something, I ride an XL mountain bike, but how extended should my legs be when pedaling?

Wheels - Being a heavy guy I'm assuming that I need to be sensible about the strengh of the wheels, any pointers here?

My intention is to go and try out a few bikes, but it would be good to get some pointers on what I should be looking for from the outset.

Sorry for all the Q's but many thanks in advance for your advice!

Cheers, Paul.

Canny Jock

A CX bike would be a good option - I say this because generally for commuting you might like proper mudguards, which a lot of CX bikes will take, they generally have fairly tough wheels and will take much wider tyres, which will be helpful as they will cushion the ride and protect you from the worst of the potholes.

I had a Specialized Tricross for a while and it was a great commuter for the above reasons, and not too heavy.

Shimano 105 is absolutely fine for this kind of bike, as is Tiagra to be honest which is one lower in the Shimano range.

Carbon forks can be a help but aren't essential, I think some may have weight limits as well so this is worth checking.

I had a Tricross Comp, RRP about £1,300, but you could either go for a cheaper option or get one second hand for about £600. It might be worth looking at a Genesis Croix de Fer, which is a great looking bike but a bit heavier, although it has a big advantage in having disk brakes which work much better than rim brakes in the wet. Also check if it can take guards, the Tricross definitely can.

fastbatard

+1 for the tricross. I've just got the 2011 sport model as a replacement for my Allez. The tricross is much better suited to commuting in my opinion with it's wider tyres and full mudguards fitted. It handles the pot holes a lot more comfortably than the Allez too! I was riding a road bike at 17st so I don't think you'll have any probs there. It's amazing how quick the weight comes off when you're cycling regularly anyway (3st in my case)
I would go straight in and spend the grand especially with the mileage you're doing and having access to C2W scheme.

lardboy

I run a Croix De Fer with 28mm tyres and find it perfectly comfortable. The CdF is steel framed all over (used to have a carbon fork on the 09), and soaks up the bumps fine. I used to ride a Tricross singlespeed, which felt a little less forgiving , possibly due to the aluminium frame with carbon fork.

Both take guards and a rack absolutely fine (bit more fettling needed for the CdF, due to discs), and are great to ride. If you're from a MTB background, you'll love the discs, but the CdF is significantly heavier than the Tricross. Admittedly this an unfair comparison due to singlespeed vs geard differences.

The Tricross Sport and the CdF are the same £1,000, so I'd get the cheque drawn up, then go into Evans and test ride both of them. The groupsets are the same, except for the rear mechs and the brake differences. The CdF is a prettier bike, has the bonus of discs, but is a bit of a tank. The Tricross will be lighter, and might feel sprightlier to ride.

paulbox

Cheers guys, this has given me something to think about. Will have to try Both road & CX bikes to see what I feel most comfortable on. I'm not far from Spesh's Ruislip store so will try and get along there over the weekend.

Anybody have any experience of the Giant TCX bikes? I like the look of them but they don't do an XL, all models stop at L (57.5cm). Strange as their TCR range does go up to XL.

Looking at bikes on the interweb is a dangerous business, I've fallen in love with a sexy looking composite framed Giant road bike, silly money though (for me)... :roll:

sungod

a cx bike is great for commuting, works fine with skinny road tyres, bags of room to fit guards such as crud roadracers

imho get one with disk brakes, these are far more consistent/effective in bad weather

don't need hydraulics, mechanical ones like avid bb5 or bb7 are fine

my marin had bb5 brakes, set up correctly they give easy one finger braking fron the hoods

the fixie inc pure blood cx bike looks lovely...

http://www.bikemagic.com/gear-news/fixi ... /8607.html

twotyred

If you are riding it on the road get a road bike that takes proper mudguards. No need for a cross bike to get clearance for mudguards. Most cross bikes don't have eyelets for proper mudguards.

Try one of these

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12739339