Raod bike advice

jaffamuffin

Hi all

Been a MTB user for a number of years and my bike was stolen last year and since then been considering a road bike for fitness/weight loss and some commuting (10 miles each way) and leisure rides.

I went to a shop last year and looked around and saw Defy2, Allez and Sectuer seemed to be the bikes to go for.

I think I'm suffering analysis paralysis

I also see these bikes are on sale just now so I may be able to grab a bargain, but we'll see.

Are these all much-a-muchness (and the Trek 1.1/1.2 )? basically whatever one I like the most ?

The gear setups on these bikes shimano 2300 / tiagra etc What difference does it actually make? I read a lot of people saying go far the blah blah cos it's better, or pay more = better etc.. but nothing quantifiable - what exactly is better? Is it build quality? In what way do they fail? (are they likely to fail) s/urely they all do the same thing at the end of the day?


When I was reading around about this I also saw some people saying the Boardman bike has actually quite good components and is actually a very good frame, with good bearing in the wheels and things - (shame about the shop etc) - seems a bit of a better buy than a specialzed/trek?

Then I saw Ribble and pretty much everything I read says they are amazing value for money, can spec to a budget and the frames are great - so should I be forgetting about the 'budget/low end' machines and look to a ribble?


My other consideration is that it's still a bit cold and damp here, some grit on the roads so I'd definitely be be looking to fit mudguards but I see there are excellent addons, but what about tyres, should I go for a wide tyre? (how wide?)

should I worry about dirt and stuff on these machines I know some people have a winter bike and a summer bike - perhaps get the cheapest allez and progress on to a better bike next year and perhaps have a better idea of what I would want?

the problem as well is I also need to get a helmet / lights / shorts maybe spd shoes so I need to budget for that as well.

How important is weight in the bike? should I be worries about a 19lb bike or a 20lb bike?

I'm about 12 stone so do I need to worry about wheels?


And finally I also see the 'langster' has nice reviews and it interests me as a efficient , strong commuting machine - is it viable alternative to a 'race' bike?

Im visiting some bike shops at the weekend to hopefully get a shot on some machines and see what is good for me.

Ps does the evans at braehead let you take the bikes for a test ride about the place? I know dales does and the assistant in dales was very helpful last time I was there.

thanks for reading.

chris_bass

My girlfriend just moved from a hybrid bike to the trek 1.2, 2010 model got a good deal on it as it is last years model! she really likes it and it rides really well. early days yet, this is the first week she has commuted on it but going well so far!

i think the best advice is to just go and sit on a few and ride them, whichever feels the nicest is the one for you! you'll soon know if its wrong anyway! if it comes down to two or three go for the one with the nicest paint job

The Rookie

WOW lots of questions....

to answer a few...

Boardman, you won't beat the spec at the price point, every bike they make knocks the specs of the others into a cocked hat, HOWEVER a friend just bought a new tri- bike and went for a Ribble as he could get the carbon frame by despeccing the rest to what he could afford, planning to upgrade later.

First off you need to decide what YOU want for YOUR commute, flat or drops, relaxed or racy, guards (full on on eyelets, 'adapted' on racer guards) and rack or not, how wide a tyre do you want (for comfort versus speed) once you have done that it makes choosing the right bike a lot easier.

19 or 20lb - forget it, its a non-issue, and at 12 stone you don't need to worry about wheels.

Simon

kelsen

jaffamuffin wrote:

Hi all

Been a MTB user for a number of years and my bike was stolen last year and since then been considering a road bike for fitness/weight loss and some commuting (10 miles each way) and leisure rides.

I went to a shop last year and looked around and saw Defy2, Allez and Sectuer seemed to be the bikes to go for.

I think I'm suffering analysis paralysis

I also see these bikes are on sale just now so I may be able to grab a bargain, but we'll see.

Are these all much-a-muchness (and the Trek 1.1/1.2 )? basically whatever one I like the most ?

Assuming they're all similar price and groupset then yes, go for the one you like. The geometry of each one might make a difference, but the only way you'd be able to tell is ride them.

jaffamuffin wrote:

The gear setups on these bikes shimano 2300 / tiagra etc What difference does it actually make? I read a lot of people saying go far the blah blah cos it's better, or pay more = better etc.. but nothing quantifiable - what exactly is better? Is it build quality? In what way do they fail? (are they likely to fail) s/urely they all do the same thing at the end of the day?

Even the base level 2300 groupset is pretty good IMO (I have this on my commuting bike and Ultegra on my weekend bike). What you will notice is the degree of 'clunkiness' between this and higher up groupsets, but they all will do the job at the end of the day. What you have to factor in is how much it costs to replace components when they wear. A Tiagra component is a lot cheaper than a 105 one.

jaffamuffin wrote:

When I was reading around about this I also saw some people saying the Boardman bike has actually quite good components and is actually a very good frame, with good bearing in the wheels and things - (shame about the shop etc) - seems a bit of a better buy than a specialzed/trek?

Then I saw Ribble and pretty much everything I read says they are amazing value for money, can spec to a budget and the frames are great - so should I be forgetting about the 'budget/low end' machines and look to a ribble?

Depends what you intend to do with it. If it's purely a commuter, then the earlier bikes you mention are just fine. If you want to do longer rides at the weekend and maybe do club runs then you'll end up wanting a nicer bike. The ideal solution would be to get one bike for each purpose! But with a limited budget, it's better to have a good frame with lower spec components which you can upgrade later on.

jaffamuffin wrote:

My other consideration is that it's still a bit cold and damp here, some grit on the roads so I'd definitely be be looking to fit mudguards but I see there are excellent addons, but what about tyres, should I go for a wide tyre? (how wide?)

should I worry about dirt and stuff on these machines I know some people have a winter bike and a summer bike - perhaps get the cheapest allez and progress on to a better bike next year and perhaps have a better idea of what I would want?

SKS chromoplastics (if the bike has fittings) or SKS Raceblades (if not) are standard answers. If you want a bit more comfort I would say get 28mm tyres. Between 23mm and 25mm, there's very little difference from my experience.

jaffamuffin wrote:

the problem as well is I also need to get a helmet / lights / shorts maybe spd shoes so I need to budget for that as well.

If you're gonna be a proper roadie then yes. Some for practical reasons, some for aesthetics! You could probably re-use a lot of your MTB gear to save money. If you already have clipless pedals on your MTB, then you could swap them onto the road bike.

jaffamuffin wrote:

How important is weight in the bike? should I be worries about a 19lb bike or a 20lb bike?

I'm about 12 stone so do I need to worry about wheels?

At this stage and given your weight, I would say no to both. More important is your own fitness and MTFUness.

jaffamuffin wrote:

And finally I also see the 'langster' has nice reviews and it interests me as a efficient , strong commuting machine - is it viable alternative to a 'race' bike?

IIRC that's a singlespeed based on the Tricross which is a cyclocross bike. You're better off getting the Tricross if you're going down that route. Gears are always good to have if you only have one bike! A CX bike is a very good choice as a do-it-all bike as many here (including me) will testify

jaffamuffin wrote:

Im visiting some bike shops at the weekend to hopefully get a shot on some machines and see what is good for me.

Ps does the evans at braehead let you take the bikes for a test ride about the place? I know dales does and the assistant in dales was very helpful last time I was there.

thanks for reading.

Evans website says you can so no reason why not. Also pop into Tiso in Couper Street (near Dales). There's a guy there, tall with specs, in the bike dept who's very knowledgeable and helpful.

Rooner

Have you looked at Edinburgh Cycles? I was after my first road bike, managed to get their Revolution Continental Pro (with Shimano 105 gearing) for £600 ish, its gone back up now but might be discounted again soon?

I think they aren't a trendy make, but does that matter? Great bike, amazingly quick after the clunky old MTB I was on, and I think very good value (esp if you can get one for around the £600 mark). I absolutely love it, probably wouldn't ever commute by MTB ever again

jaffamuffin

Thanks for all the replies. I went to evans and Dales, and they've pretty much sold out of the sale bikes, particulary in my size. I need a 53/54 or a 51 cannondale frame. I also went to halfords to see if I could get a look at the boardman, but they didn't have anything either.

I went into Tiso I didn't realise it was an Alpine bikes branch inside that place and spoke to a guy called Chris who was extremely helpful and took loads of time to show me round the bikes and pointed out a bunch of stuff.

I'm pretty much looking at the Cannondale, probably the CAAD8, when the 51cm 2011 frames come into stock anytime now. The quality of the frame seems to be a league above the likes of the specialized and the treks, and will probably spec it with the tiagra shifters, price dependant. I can always upgrade the gear, but I'd much rather have a better frame. I dont mind waiting a couple of weeks or more anyway as the weather here is terrible currently.

Stuey01

Why not get the 2010 at a hefty discount?

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/caad-8-sora-triple-2010-road-bike-ec020234?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle

jaffamuffin

was too good a deal to pass (i think) so I ordered that sora caad 8 from evans . Thanks for all your helpful posts.

cyclingpast

I bought a Defy 4 in October then had to replace it in January after a hefty collision. Got the 2010 model defy 3 which has Sora rather than 2300, and so far I've found Sora to be much better.