Road bikes on a budget

cje

Hello

I'm relatively new to cycling, having bought an Apollo MTB earlier in the year. It's a cheap bit of kit and doesn't get the pulse racing, but it's done me okay so far, and I'm doing about 60 miles p/w.

Now, I'm keen to get myself a road bike for weekends, having tried out a relative's vintage peugeot and enjoyed it. The only trouble is, I've got a budget of about £200. A new bike is out of the question but where would I find a half-decent 2nd hand bike and what models should I be looking for?

Would be grateful for any advice.

Cheers

CJE

tc345

Get on to ebay and look out for anything from some of the big brands, as long as they have been looked after they are all pretty equivalent and a good place to start. You will probably have to have a little bit of patience as many will go for more than you are willing to pay. However stick with it and you will eventually get something. My advice, as with all ebay stuff, only bid in the last few seconds.

You could get something like a Trek 1000 for around that price, it may be a few years old and not look too flashy but it will work and get you going. The frames are often worthy of upgrades as and when you can afford them too. Of course do some research of candidate bikes for old reviews etc and for what to expect.

mattrixdesign2

You should get a decent enough bike for £200 second hand, but its worth knowing what to look out for in terms of wear and tear / condition. It could start getting expensive as soon as bits fall off.

Obviously you could try Ebay, Gumtree, or forum Classifieds.

If you were looking for new then may a budget if £350 could get you a Carrera or similar, 2011 going out as 2012 coming in so you may find a bargain, there is also Decathlon.

I got a Spesh Allez 16 in the Xmas sale last year for £380 which was a good price IMO. Still way over your budget, but I big saving from the RRP.

Things like Spesh Alez/Trek etc are pretty common, but decent enough bikes so I would keep an eye out for them second hand. Maybe worth investigating some older "classics" types, but I wouldn't have a clue on that.

garnett

I came back here after a while away to see if my 6 year old Trek 1400 could be upgraded cheaply, and I found that, in my opinion, not much has changed in terms of specs.

I hope others will chime in if I'm wrong.

An aluminium frame, carbon forks, and shimano 105 is still about £1100 new. I think they might have an extra cog on the rear cassette.

My bike's probably worth about £300 now.

So I'd say look for something like a Trek 1200, 5 years old in good nick, and you'll have a very good bike for the money.

trooperk

Second hand like everyone said, I went down the EBay route but luck of the draw and can take time, I pick up this low mileage Valour in March for £110 and upgraded the forks and seatpost with carbon for comfort and change a few more things (most are 2nd hand from EBay) all under £220 and about weight 21LB.
Use for 8 mile commute most days and well happy with the bike without spending a fortune.

night_porter

It is true to say that there are lots of road bikes on ebay and some of them go for less than £200 but unless you know what you are doing you could end up buying something pretty awful.

The best advice would be to choose a manufacturer that builds capable starter bikes and just look at those. The 3 main manufacturers Trek, Specialized and Giant all make very good starter bikes but (surprise, surprise) everyone wants one of these so the prices are usually higher than £200. A simple rule with ebay is if it looks too cheap then something is not right as plenty of people would have bid if it was okay.

Having said all of that trooperk has shown you a range of bikes that are well made but slightly less desirable to the masses. Carrera road bikes are mainly disliked because of the Halfords link but are excellent bikes for the money and second hand they make a lot of sense.

I won't mention any names in case I upset some others but there quite a lot of bike shaped objects (BSO's) on ebay that could be made lighter by converting them to Russian tank steel with gearing that wouldn't look out of place on a combine harvester.

Good luck with your search and let's hope you get something reasonable like trooperk has.

cyberknight

ebay or bike forum sales, i gota virtuoso new off a member here who wanted a bigger bike for a bargain price.

If you can stretch to £300 you can get a brand new bike with a carbon fork , 2300 shifters from decathlon.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/triban-3-173178017/

I did get this for £120 off ebay and for the price it was a great bike ( sold now to make room in the stable for a newer bike ).That was obviously without rack, lights, gaurds etc.

Carrera TDF, got a good review in C+ a few months ago .Solid bike for the money .

cje

Cheers for the advice all.

I've been looking at a few second-hand Carrera's online. Seen a few I like and placed a bid on one. I'll report back if I manage to win it. The reviews of Carrera roadbikes on here seem to suggest that they're good solid entry-level roadbikes, which is all I'm after at this stage really.

slowlanejane

Good luck! Dont be despondent if it doesn't happen - takes a while. Stick to your budget, alot of 2ndhand bikes from top mfr's go overpriced on ebay in my opinion. Also, from Sep / Oct the 2012 stock comes out and the remaining 2011 stock gets reduced in shops, this has a knock-on in the 2nd hand market. I got a glorious bargain Specialized by keeping my eyes peeled long enough. From the classified forum here tho, after untold unsuccessful ebays.

cje

Quick update. I picked up a barely used Carrera Virtuoso on Ebay for £240. A little bit over budget, but it should make for a bargain first road bike. Cheers for all your help, once again.