buying first road bike

mike-j-26
mike-j-26 Posts: 10
edited July 2011 in Road beginners
Hello there,

This is my first post. I'm looking for my first road bike. I'm 6.4 and in reasonably good shape saw the carrera vanquish in halfords which I liked and there is one local to me on eBay for 310. Any recomendations I have a budget of about 350. Many thanks Mike

Comments

  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    Halfords are doing the TDF for £299.99 atm, decent enough starting machine
  • Keith1983
    Keith1983 Posts: 575
    £350 will get you something decent off ebay! Just make sure you have a ride on it and check it for damage. Also try and get a good idea if they are genuine and it's not stolen.
  • mike-j-26
    mike-j-26 Posts: 10
    Ok thanks looked at the tdf and prefered the vanquish. Looking on eBay there are just so many.
  • haunted82
    haunted82 Posts: 25
    i got a specialised allez sport on here for 330 delivered, minted it was, stick with it something will pop up. dont buy cheap - you will only regret it
  • mike ives
    mike ives Posts: 319
    Specialized Allez always seem to get good reviews. What about the second hand market as advertised in Cycling Weekly.

    Happy riding.
  • haunted82
    haunted82 Posts: 25
    just took mine out for a sprint. amazing. good luck
  • CRAIGO5000
    CRAIGO5000 Posts: 697
    Allez here too. It's an excellent first bike imo.

    Try and get a good older model with better components like Tiagra/Sora as standard and carbon forks.
    Ribble Stealth/SRAM Force
    2007 Specialized Allez (Double) FCN - 3
  • mike-j-26
    mike-j-26 Posts: 10
    Right!
    Just got the Mrs on board think iv got a bit more to spend now. Looked at the allez it is a nice bike also looked at the cannondale caad8. Anyone recommend one or the other. Cheers for help
  • jayrider
    jayrider Posts: 3
    If you want a new bike, and are on a budget, I highly recommend the B'twin Triban 3 (available from Decathlon stores only, though.)

    It has much of the same spec as the ubiquitous Specialized Allez, for over 200 quid less.

    I bought one on Sunday after much research ... my Allez owning friends were impressed when I road into work today. The B'twin looks good in the flesh (the web images do not do it justice) and, while I am no expert, it rides very well from my perspective.

    Just a thought ...
  • ShutUpLegs
    ShutUpLegs Posts: 3,522
    mike-j-26 wrote:
    Right!
    Just got the Mrs on board think iv got a bit more to spend now.

    I think there is a tandem cannondale on the classifieds :?:
  • pauldavid
    pauldavid Posts: 392
    I thought he meant something else when he said the mrs was onboard :oops: :oops:

    Thought it was funny he was still typing

    The wife always makes me shut the laptop down before we do the penetration thing :shock: :shock:
  • mike-j-26
    mike-j-26 Posts: 10
    Getting the bike to get away from the Mrs. Not take her with me ha ha
  • asturel131
    asturel131 Posts: 8
    Carrera is a great bike to start on, never heard anyone who owns one have a bad word to say about them. A lot of people say buy used on ebay because there are plenty of "bargains" to be had but i dont see it personally, it seems at the moment people want ridiculous amounts of money for used bikes. I saw some guy selling a Carrera bike as "new" for £275, selling as "new" because he had "only done about 400 miles on it"!!!

    Unless you are pretty confident at spotting and fixing potential problems I would avoid ebay personally. If you go for the Carrera then you can always sell it on for a decent price in a years time to go towards something a little more pricey. Carrera Virtuoso got an amazing review on bike radar and the Vanquish is a step up from that.

    Just my opinion anyways mate, good luck whatever you decide!!
  • Ronnieg
    Ronnieg Posts: 26
    Are you any nearer making a choice?

    The carrera's are a great buy. Have a virtuoso myself from a few years ago.

    The new models have just been launched in Halfords this week.
    SAme names but the bikes look different and great colour schemes.
    Good spec and the prices are around what you want.


    Or


    They still have the 2010 virtuoso and vanquish models at dicounted prices to clear.


    i agree.. the ebay thing can be a bit of a nightmare now with people virtually wanting their money back after a year of use.

    Let us know how you got on.
    I look at my bike and I think.....wow! you are gorgeous (Boardman Urban Pro.........)
  • Paul057
    Paul057 Posts: 167
    I shelled out £200 on ebay for an 'as new' Carrera TDF for my first road bike about a month back. I'm totally clueless as to spotting faults etc, but i guess i got lucky; although it wasn't set up brilliantly, after spending £45 in my lbs on a service and some replacement parts it works great. My only mistake was that i bought a frame that is too small for me. I'm managing on it but i can't wait for my work to open the cycle scheme window and i'm going for a Ribble sportive racing with a couple of upgrades from the basic package.

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