advice on first road bike what to look for

warren30
warren30 Posts: 71
edited June 2011 in Road beginners
hi guys I'm looking in to purchasing my first road bike,general road use fitness,I'm 5ft 9,been to couple local bike shops in Cornwall had a browse,some were helpful some not so seemed I needed spend more money, I only want to spend around 500 pound could stretch bit more if worth it, or good secondhand bike, makes they stock are specialised giant trek canondale or halfords carrera or boardman,what bike would you guys recommend anyfing to look for particular,or has anyone a secondhand bike in Cornwall for sale. any advice will be appreciated

Comments

  • ptr_
    ptr_ Posts: 126
    My housemate was in a similar boat recently, buying his first road bike with a budget of £500. We found that to get something actually ridable for that price you had to go second hand. I picked up a 2010 Trek 1.5 in almost brand new condition for £500 off eBay, only upgrade we made were better tyres.

    One thing that is nice to try and find at this price range is STI style shifters, so Shimano Tiagra or above. It makes shifting in the drops a lot easier and the Sora shifters have been my housemates only complaint.

    To be honest though, don't worry - it can be very confusing at first but as long as you buy a recognised name and have read a few reviews before purchase you'll walk away with a solid first bike to clock up some miles on. Good luck :wink:
  • duckson
    duckson Posts: 961
    Bought a 2nd hand Boardman Team Carbon (with SRAM Rival) from ebay yesterday, excellent bike it seems and they get good reviews. One of these should come just a little above budget.

    I got a medium as i'm 5ft 9in, 30in inside leg, seems ok size wise but i'll see more when i ride it properly.....at the most it may need a shorter stem.
    Cheers, Stu
  • Stiff_Orange
    Stiff_Orange Posts: 218
    What to look for??

    2 wheels is the best number, there are bikes out there with 1 or 3 wheels, but these tend to be highly unstable (the former) or far too stable (the later) and slow into the corners.....

    OK but seriously. Here is what I would do. Go to your local bike shops (avoid saturday morning) and try as many bikes as you can for size, fit and feel, even if they are way out of you budget try them.
    Then hit ebay. A lot of people buy road bikes (sometimes through cycle to work) thinking they will use them and then find pedaling too hard, leave them in the shed for 6 months and eventually put them on ebay. Who cares if they are last years model? (Put something like Specialized Allez into ebay and there are dozens.)
    If you've already done the sizing in the local shops you should know what you're looking for. Also look outside what you think you price band might be, and don't let bike age phase you. I was in you position last year, and was looking at getting a spesh Allez or a Bianchi. In the end I bid on and won a 2006 Spesh Tarmac (carbon frame) with 105 groupset/brakes in classic spesh red/white and in perfect condition for just under £500. And I love it.

    There are still bargins to be had on ebay if you look hard enough. Good luck
  • warren30
    warren30 Posts: 71
    hi guys thanks for the top advice,think there is more to purchasing a road bike then mountain bike,or I knew more on mountain bike,I don't won't to be ripped of or buy wrong,hi dickson I seen a boardman team carbon secondhand in my lbs they want £800 for it few scratches on it so left it there I fought that was two much, have the team mountainbike love it got it for great price,I will look on eBay shame nothing local would like try it out.
  • ptr_
    ptr_ Posts: 126
    Stiff_Orange wrote:
    Also look outside what you think you price band might be, and don't let bike age phase you. I was in you position last year, and was looking at getting a spesh Allez or a Bianchi. In the end I bid on and won a 2006 Spesh Tarmac (carbon frame) with 105 groupset/brakes in classic spesh red/white and in perfect condition for just under £500. And I love it.
    Excellent advice.

    I ride a 2003 Specialized Allez Comp frame with pretty much everything else from a 2006 Trek 1500 SLR that was in a crash bought cheap (frame was cracked but everything else fine). I now ride an Ultegra specced aluminium frame bike that comes in at under 9kg... total cost was around £400. You'd have to spend a lot more than 400 notes to get that brand new!
  • navrig
    navrig Posts: 1,352
    If you are confident about sizing and are physically flexible so geometry is not critical then you can get a new bike which is ideal as a first bike. You won't be able to ride it first - then again you wont be able to ride something from Ebay.

    The Ribble Winter Audax comes in at about £580 + delivery + pedals and has Tiagara groupset.

    I had one as a first bike and it was excellent - bullet proof but basic.

    http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/specialed ... ERC&bike=1

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