first bike dilemas

pease

Having been a mtb rider since a child, i've found myself using it mainly on roads over the last year of so. So the decision has been made to step into the world of proper road bikes.

Im 6foot 1, and with a very limited budget of £200 (ill get some proper pedals etc over the coming months) I's stumped as to what to go for. I've see a few 'Viking' bikes on ebay but looking at the spec they don't sould like a bike worth the money.

Obviously I'm looking at second hand, with a 58-60cm frame, so any ideas? I'm in Woking, Surrey but willing to drive a distance for the right bike.

Thanks
Marc

navrig

At £200 you will struggle to get something and will be faced with the low end of the quality range or something needing lots of work.

Probably the best thing to do is do a bit more background reading to understand the how manufacturers grade their kit (Sora, Tiagara etc) and then when you do see something you at least know where it started life on the quality scale. You'll also get to know the brands which are normally well respected and reasonable or good quality.

Stick to reasonable brand names and avoid the cheap uncommon names with kit which is not branded.

If you can wait and save a bit more money you will get a much better deal if you can stretch to about £400 and then look for a 2nd hand but newish bike with Sora kit or something a bit older with Tiagara.

Obviously I have referred to Shimana. That's because I've always use Shimano.

pease

Thanks for the points Narv, having re-thought i think a budget of £300 is achieveable at a push. I'd like a bike in the next week or so as im doing the local bikeathon in mid-may!

any further pointers? Anybody got a winter bike they'd like to see go to a good home?

ALaPlage

Not sure if this is an option you have thought of or one that is of interest but could get you into a much higher spec bike. Guy at work has signed up with some mates for a charity sportive in July thinking he would be ok on his MTB. After a couple of weekend training rides and being left for dead by his buddies on road bikes he had enough and had to get a road bike. Like you on limited funds and explored lots of options including EBAY, local paper etc and came to conclusion you dont get much for your money and he would have to lay out £500 ish for a second hand bike of reasonable spec and weight.

However saw some ads in Cycling Plus for new bikes on interest free credit. With a deposit within his £250 budget and monthly payments under £50 he has treated himself to a Bianchi Infinito with 105 kit. The way he looks at it is the bike is costing him less than £12 a week and as he commutes to work it is a cheap transport cost as well as he gets the buzz of riding a new road bike.

Credit is not everyones bag I know but sounds like a low outgoings way of running a new bike.

Good luck with the search.

ALaPlage

Something like this might be an option too - Although Halfords get a bad press on the forum I have had a few friends/colleagues who started out on a Carrera and all rate them highly. Good finish and well made and Shimano 2300 kit is like Sora and works well.

[urlhttp://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Carrera-TDF-SE-Road-pro-/270740487581?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3f0963fd9d#ht_505wt_1141[/url]

Super Domestique

The TDF is on test in the current cycling plus mag so I am told. I got one last year for my dad, now my sons which is a long story, but it was on sale for 300 back then and we haggled a bit and paid about 250 iirc. So worth going instore if you like that one.

unixnerd

I'd pay about 300 for a used Specialized Allez or a Cannondale on ebay / gumtree. Not hard to find and you'll see a lot of them are barely used (good intentions gone to pot).

pease

thanks for your help guys, i snapped up an XL Allez in silver for a good price last night.

only two minor niggles that i need to sort out. Firstly one of the welded nuts for mounting bottle cages has pulled loose , possibly due to it being cross threaded, is this a known defect or am i just stuck with it?

Secondly the front mech needs adjusting as it rubs on the chain when on the big cog.


Now i need to find helmet, gloves, Lycra and some shoes/peddles. Any suggestions?