New Road Bike

stewpacey

Hi All

First post so please be kind.

Looking at getting a new road bike. Trek, Specialized, Boardman? Does anybody have an opinion on which I should go for?

Cheers

derosa

Try as many as you can in your price range and buy the one that fits you best. Don't get too hung up about buying a "name"

Secteur

When I got mine, I canvassed about 50 different opinions.

I then went to the shop and bought one that wasn't suggested by any of the 50 opinions I sought!

Best advice - go to a *few* good bike shops, have a chat & and feel of the bikes, and get the one that you think looks visually the best for your budget (looks are everything!)

Bar Shaker

Look at the spec of each of your choices. It's a terribly false economy to think you can upgrade gears or wheels after a while and it works out much cheaper to buy the best spec bike you can, from the start.

You can easily spend £1700 over 6 months on a bike you could have bought for £1200 new.

Don't get hung up on brand names. You would be amazed at how few factories are making the vast majority of the choice of bikes, from all manufacturers. With a budget of £750 or more, there is no such thing as a bad bike these days.

nochekmate

derosa wrote:

Try as many as you can in your price range and buy the one that fits you best. Don't get too hung up about buying a "name"

Given the name of derosa, I like that one!

Cube offer some of the best spec on bikes for a given budget at the moment.

One Man And His Bike

/throws Fuji bikes into the ring for serious consideration

derosa

nochekmate wrote:

derosa wrote:

Try as many as you can in your price range and buy the one that fits you best. Don't get too hung up about buying a "name"

Given the name of derosa, I like that one!

Yep, but then again I've been buying road bikes for 30+ years. 25 of those years before I could afford a DeRosa and by then I had enough experience to know what I wanted

stewpacey

Thanks for this.

On another note pedals.

Do I look at SPD pedals or full cleated pedals. I will only be doing longer routes not too much start stopping. I hope!

Tonymufc

stewpacey wrote:

Thanks for this.

On another note pedals.

Do I look at SPD pedals or full cleated pedals. I will only be doing longer routes not too much start stopping. I hope!

Not a big fan of SPD's on a road bike. Just don't think they cut it when you want to put the power down. Seated or stood up. Spd's should be left to the mtb'ers.

Kona21

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/

Only downside being its mail order only. But very hard to beat on value for money.

Or planet x

Peddle Up!

Kona21 wrote:

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/

Only downside being its mail order only. But very hard to beat on value for money.

Or planet x

Nice bikes. Loved their byline that internal cable routine "prevented vortices". So that's what's been slowing me down.

martincashman

Buy the lightest bike you can afford.... everyone becomes obsessed with this after a while and believe the only reason that the next rider is faster is because they have a lighter bike, and eventually they end up making an expensive upgrade to a new bike. Whether it makes a difference or not is immaterial as if you believe it does, then you won't be happy.

Dmak

martincashman wrote:

Buy the lightest bike you can afford.... everyone becomes obsessed with this after a while and believe the only reason that the next rider is faster is because they have a lighter bike, and eventually they end up making an expensive upgrade to a new bike. Whether it makes a difference or not is immaterial as if you believe it does, then you won't be happy.

No.

Dmak

Look at the Ribble website. I bought a specialized, I love it don't get me wrong but with Ribble I could have got a bit more for the same price. The only thing I find wrong with my bike is that the geometry could be a touch more aggressive. I have an Allez Sport 2011.

Don't be obsessed with the weight of the bike. The quality of the frame, it's durability and rigidity are far more important factors. Any extra weight will only make you a stronger cyclist. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of riders here who ride steel and would drop plenty of the carbon riders here.

Make sure you get the right size, this is most important.

Don't be sucked in by the marketing crap that comes with the overpriced expensive components. Any difference is negligible, the stuff is just bling unless you race really hard.

So in short; Get a good strong frame, good value components and make sure it fits you well.