Is a £1000 Budget needless for a road beginner?

Caiser

Hi, I'm new to the forum.
I've had an interest in cycling for years and used to be marginally into mountain biking before coming to university (3years ago). I'd like to start cycling again, but this time on the road (something I've had very little experience with). I've been saving up for a while now and have decided to spend the money on a decent road bike. The budget started off small, but as I read more and more into the specs of different bikes I found myself getting more and more enthusiastic. I'm now willing to spend around £1000- £1200. I've been looking at the Boardman and Planet X bikes in particular, and at buying second hand on ebay/forums. I'm just wondering if this is a bit of a silly budget for a beginner and whether I should realistically go for something a little less high tec to start on. My fitness will also need building as I'm pretty unfit at the moment with 3 years of university drinking and junk food

Thanks in advance.

sheffsimon

Caiser wrote:

Hi, I'm new to the forum.
I've had an interest in cycling for years and used to be marginally into mountain biking before coming to university (3years ago). I'd like to start cycling again, but this time on the road (something I've had very little experience with). I've been saving up for a while now and have decided to spend the money on a decent road bike. The budget started off small, but as I read more and more into the specs of different bikes I found myself getting more and more enthusiastic. I'm now willing to spend around £1000- £1200. I've been looking at the Boardman and Planet X bikes in particular, and at buying second hand on ebay/forums. I'm just wondering if this is a bit of a silly budget for a beginner and whether I should realistically go for something a little less high tec to start on. My fitness will also need building as I'm pretty unfit at the moment with 3 years of university drinking and junk food

Thanks in advance.

Buy something 2nd hand, maybe £300-£400 and see if you stick with it. You will get something decent for that, and if you dont like it you can sell it on for not much, if any, loss.

mattshrops

have you got a road bike already?
if not as SheffSimon says and if you get the bug this can become your winter bike later on when you squander everything you have on some carbon 8)

mroli

Nah - if you can afford it and want to spend the money, get yourself a £1000 bike. At that price you will get yourself something that it is likely you will never do justice and you will love it. The one thing I would say is that you need to keep probably £100+ for "extras" such as helmets, pedals, shoes, lights etc etc as well... :twisted:

Caiser

Thanks for the feedback. I've got a really old steel raleigh road bike (it used to be my dads) but the gears are knackerd. I haven't ridin it properly in over a year but I've thoroughly enjoyed riding it in the past, which is a sign that maybe I'll stick with it. I know if I buy a bike I'll quickly want to upgrade it and buy more carbon, which I why I think it may be cheaper in the long run to start with a better bike. I think second hand is a good shout, I'll keep my eyes on ebay

bompington

I would say the wisest thing has to be the second hand route. But wisdom isn't everything and mroli isn't really wrong!

Caiser

I've already got all the extras (helmet, shoes, lycra) from my mountain biking days which will save me some money I guess.

rick_chasey

Depends how much cash you have.

rolf_f

Caiser wrote:

Thanks for the feedback. I've got a really old steel raleigh road bike (it used to be my dads) but the gears are knackerd.

'The gears are knackered' is not an excuse! Ebay and a budget of £50 or so will almost certainly fix the entire bike (if it actually needs any fixing rather than simple adjusting) and give you enough understanding of bike mechanics to look after an expensive bike properly. There's almost nothing that can't be fixed on that sort of bike for next to nothing.

Mr Dog

If you spend a grand and jack it.. you'll be gutted. However if you spend a few hundred and really get the bug you'll feel short changed by your decision. It depends upon how bad you want it! For that much frog skin you can get a nice bike.

Be warned if the bug bites, you too will be getting out the kitchen scales and spending ££££ just to shave a few grams.

Only you know the answer to your question.. can you resist the shiny shiny??

Caiser

Hah, my flatmate at the moment is seriously into his biking and is constantly broke because of it. We live in Sheffield, 10 minutes away from the Peak district, it'll be good to take advantage of those hills. Guess this is really a case of head vs. heart. I know what I want, I'm just trying to justify it

The steel Raleigh is about 25 years old, thanks for the advice and I might consider fixing it up but I really want a more modern machine.

rick_chasey

Caiser wrote:

Hah, my flatmate at the moment is seriously into his biking and constantly broke because of it. We live in Sheffield, 10 minutes away from the Peak district, it'll be good to take advantage of those hills.

Indeed. From experience it's pretty special living round there for cycling.

It's about as good as it gets, apart from the road condition and weather.

Monkeypump

If you can afford it, spend the cash and get the best bike you can. Just take your time selecting which bike, and make sure you test ride as many as possible.

I did exactly that, and haven't regretted it for a second.

morstar

Even if you spend the grand and did jack it in, you would recover a large part of the cost on ebay. You'd be a couple of hundred quid out of pocket at the most and realistically you could spend that on any hobby in the few months it took to find whether or not you enjoyed it.
If the grand is affordable to you then go for it. If not, 500-600 buys a much better bike than some would have you believe.

cougie

Seeing as you have some previous in bikes - go for second hand - you should know what size and fit to go for. Youll get a decent bike.
Ride that for a few months and see how you go.

If youre still enjoying it - then Boardman or Planet X could be your next step up - and your second hand bike is your winter bike. (so bear that in mind when buying - a bit of mudguard clearance is a good thing)

navrig

SheffSimon wrote:

Buy something 2nd hand, maybe £300-£400 and see if you stick with it. You will get something decent for that, and if you dont like it you can sell it on for not much, if any, loss.

+1 and think to yourself "If I don't stick at this then at least it's not meeting paying for the new bike depreciation."

paulbox

I don't think the OP really wants to hear about the sensible 2nd hand option...

Therefore I say "go for it!" buy the best bike you can afford...

And enjoy!

Hinzy9

Rick Chasey wrote:

Caiser wrote:

Hah, my flatmate at the moment is seriously into his biking and constantly broke because of it. We live in Sheffield, 10 minutes away from the Peak district, it'll be good to take advantage of those hills.

Indeed. From experience it's pretty special living round there for cycling.

It's about as good as it gets, apart from the road condition and weather.

+1

Although starting every ride with 250 meter climb from Dore can be a bit annoying sometimes.........

rogerthecat

You have a sensible budget, the boardman and planet x are good options also have a look at Ribble Bike builder.

rick_chasey

Hinzy9 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Caiser wrote:

Hah, my flatmate at the moment is seriously into his biking and constantly broke because of it. We live in Sheffield, 10 minutes away from the Peak district, it'll be good to take advantage of those hills.

Indeed. From experience it's pretty special living round there for cycling.

It's about as good as it gets, apart from the road condition and weather.

+1

Although starting every ride with 250 meter climb from Dore can be a bit annoying sometimes.........

I consider that a luxury problem. (especially when you consider I grew up in the Fens)

springtide9

Easy question...

If £1000 is a lot of money (and a stretch)... go for something cheaper (either s'hand or new). If not, then a lovely fast new bike is always a good way to start.

The only thing I'd say is to remember that you can easily add on a few hundred pounds getting the basic equipment:

- helmet
- shoes
- overshoes (I find 'summer shoes' with overshoes and wool socks are enough in the winter)
- socks & underwear (I love my padded pants!)
- shorts/leggings/bibs
- baselayer(s),
- jersey
- jacket

You can keep costs down for looking out for the cheaper options for the clothing, but even the cheaper options soon add up. You can also use clothing from other outdoor activities - but generally there is an advantage with the cycling specific clothing.
There are threads about cheaper clothing options in this forum - so a search is worthwhile.

Caiser

Thanks again for the input, I've been saving for up a while specifically to get a nice bike, so I think I'll end up taking the plunge into my pocket and treat myself. I've heard only good things about the plant x bikes, mostly along the line of "a huge amount of bang for your buck", so I think this is what I'll settle for. A bit off topic, but has anyone riden planet X or had any experience with their bikes?

springtide9

Caiser wrote:

Thanks again for the input, I've been saving for up a while specifically to get a nice bike, so I think I'll end up taking the plunge into my pocket and treat myself. I've heard only good things about the plant x bikes, mostly along the line of "a huge amount of bang for your buck", so I think this is what I'll settle for. A bit off topic, but has anyone riden planet X or had any experience with their bikes?

The clue might be in my signature

The PX is my first road bike, so hard to comment on how it compares. Seems pretty good to me.

Review on BR: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 958?_brc=0

There are some comments about the front end flexing as well as being unstable at speed.
I asked around about this before buying as well as now some personal experience -
I'm 82kg and I can't say that I've had any issues with the front end in terms of flexing and/or stability, but to be far I haven't tried beating any 'land speed' records etc (just over the 40mph mark - which was plenty fast enough!)

thiscocks

Rolf F wrote:

Caiser wrote:

Thanks for the feedback. I've got a really old steel raleigh road bike (it used to be my dads) but the gears are knackerd.

'The gears are knackered' is not an excuse! Ebay and a budget of £50 or so will almost certainly fix the entire bike (if it actually needs any fixing rather than simple adjusting) and give you enough understanding of bike mechanics to look after an expensive bike properly. There's almost nothing that can't be fixed on that sort of bike for next to nothing.

+1

Get the steel back on the road, get your fitness up on that and see how it goes. No reason you couldn't spend your money doing that bike up if it is the right size for you. Get a re-spray, some nice gears (campagnolo obviously!), some nice handbuilt wheels and it will last you a lifetime. Plus you will look 20X cooler than the rider who just bought his from the shop.

Edit- just read you decided on the Planet X. Good bikes. However you could ride your old bike to determine what size frame would be best for you...

Caiser

thiscocks wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Caiser wrote:

Thanks for the feedback. I've got a really old steel raleigh road bike (it used to be my dads) but the gears are knackerd.

'The gears are knackered' is not an excuse! Ebay and a budget of £50 or so will almost certainly fix the entire bike (if it actually needs any fixing rather than simple adjusting) and give you enough understanding of bike mechanics to look after an expensive bike properly. There's almost nothing that can't be fixed on that sort of bike for next to nothing.

+1

Get the steel back on the road, get your fitness up on that and see how it goes. No reason you couldn't spend your money doing that bike up if it is the right size for you. Get a re-spray, some nice gears (campagnolo obviously!), some nice handbuilt wheels and it will last you a lifetime. Plus you will look 20X cooler than the rider who just bought his from the shop.

Edit- just read you decided on the Planet X. Good bikes. However you could ride your old bike to determine what size frame would be best for you...

I might still try and get the steel bike back on the road. If anything, it'll be a nice present for my dad, he'd love to see it revitalised. However, the gear levers are on the bottom tube. Would they have to remain there or could I transfer them to the handle bar somehow?

I'll be going for the XL frame size with a longer stem and wider handlebars, this is the largest size they do, I'm 6'4".

Avezius

I was in a similar position a year ago, but went for the gentle intro to cycling.

I fancied getting into road cycling with my colleagues but didnt want to spend much money if I didnt get one very well with it. I have plenty of other expensive hobbies & past times!!! (VW splitty, Surfer, tropical reef keeper plus 2 youngs kids).

In the end (rightly or wrongly), I looked specifically for a cyclocross bike - on the basis of it being road-able & a little more robust too (I was scared of the skinny tyres). I had a max budget of a couple of hundred quid & ended up picking up an ali framed bike with 105 groupset. Have since taken it off road on 35mm knoblies, but mostly on-road with 28mm slicks.

Grabbed a cheapo helmet from lbs & picked up some dhb shorts (cheapies) from wiggle. My other purchases were more strategic ones once I was hooked on cycling - SPD pedals & Specialized shoes. Ice since picked up a GPS tracker, cycle computer plus some cheapo "SPEG" clothing online.

Now a year on, I'm waiting for this years C2W scheme @ work - pretty set on a Ribble Gran Fondo carbon bike! Would usually be out of my price range even with C2W but aiming to sell my current bike back on ebay & cycle in from outside the city to save £3.50 per day parking.

Jobus donus!
8)