Another 'First Bike' topic...

bluemoon17

Apologies for yet another new topic asking for advice about a first bike, but it is that time of year!
I've been cycling on a hybrid for the past 6 months or so and have quickly been taken over by the cycling bug, and I've decided to invest my first road bike.
Have been browsing this site for a month or two now, and have done a bit of research. I only have a budget of approximately £620 (not much I know), but for my level of experience, ability and what I'm going to use it for I think this will get me all the bike I need (for now ).

I've narrowed it down to:

Specialized Allez 16 2012 http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/allez-compact-2012-road-bike-ec030703

Giant Defy 5 2012 http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/defy.5.compact/9317/49826/

and the Ribble 7005 Race http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikebuilder.asp?action=GenerateConstructor&part=BB12RIB7005RACE&sub=conf_BBRA&bike=1

I'm guessing due to my lack of experience of road bikes, I probably won't be able to tell much difference between the three bikes and I will be happy with which ever one I buy. But could anybody with any experience of the bikes provide some input, or list some pro's and con's? Would really be appreciated!
Thanks very much.

gareth1234

depending on your height,size etc.
this might be worth a look to you, the spec on this one is above what you get on the 3 you've linked to.

viewtopic.php?f=40049&t=12815001&p=17367152#p17367152

bluemoon17

Thanks very much! How are Boardmans rated? I haven't read a lot about them, just people complaining about Halfords...

ForumNewbie

The main differences you may notice between these 3 bikes is the gearing, assuming you will be climbing some hills. If you are not yet that fit and used to hybrid gearing, of these 3 bikes the Giant Defy 5 looks like the best bet as its lowest gear is 34*28 which should enable you to get up most hills. However you may even want to consider a bike with a triple chainset rather than a compact chainset, which will give you even lower gears. There are plenty of bikes with triples in your price range.

A lot of people on here will advise against triple chainsets, but there is nothing wrong with them if you want a wide range of gears.

cyberknight

The defy has a alloy fork so it will be a heavier bike than the allez which always gets good reviews , the ribble is excellent value and was highly rated .
My personal choice would be a boardman as i have one myself and they are well made, highly equipped for the money and currently on offer at £599 for the race and has the highest level spec of those listed.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710
As for halfords , yes they can have a bit of a bad rep with low end stuff but i have read they do not let the entry level staff near the boardmans

If you are shopping around now you can pick up a 2011 model assuming you can get the right size very cheap .

eg ..
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... &vid=13181

I nearly bought a cannondale but opted for the boardman road comp through C2W as it offered the most bang for my buck at full RRP which is how the scheme worked.

bluemoon17

ForumNewbie wrote:

The main differences you may notice between these 3 bikes is the gearing, assuming you will be climbing some hills. If you are not yet that fit and used to hybrid gearing, of these 3 bikes the Giant Defy 5 looks like the best bet as its lowest gear is 34*28 which should enable you to get up most hills. However you may even want to consider a bike with a triple chainset rather than a compact chainset, which will give you even lower gears. There are plenty of bikes with triples in your price range.

A lot of people on here will advise against triple chainsets, but there is nothing wrong with them if you want a wide range of gears.

I spend most of the year in North Wales so will be doing quite a lot of hill climbing! I like to think I'm reasonably fit, and my Dad (who has been cycling for quite a while now) seems to think that I would only need a compact chainset, but then he doesn't cycle in North Wales! Thanks for your input.

cyberknight wrote:

The defy has a alloy fork so it will be a heavier bike than the allez which always gets good reviews , the ribble is excellent value and was highly rated .
My personal choice would be a boardman as i have one myself and they are well made, highly equipped for the money and currently on offer at £599 for the race and has the highest level spec of those listed.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710
As for halfords , yes they can have a bit of a bad rep with low end stuff but i have read they do not let the entry level staff near the boardmans

If you are shopping around now you can pick up a 2011 model assuming you can get the right size very cheap .

eg ..
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... &vid=13181

I nearly bought a cannondale but opted for the boardman road comp through C2W as it offered the most bang for my buck at full RRP which is how the scheme worked.

If I do go for the Ribble, when I order it online will it come completely unassembled? If so, how much is the running rate to get it assembled at an LBS?
And I will go in and have a look at a few Boardmans, thanks for the input!

cyberknight

Best to contact ribble with regards to the amount of assembly required but most bikes are a case of pedals and put handlebars straight so as long as you can wield a spanner and an allen key its a quick job.

bluemoon17

cyberknight wrote:

Best to contact ribble with regards to the amount of assembly required but most bikes are a case of pedals and put handlebars straight so as long as you can wield a spanner and an allen key its a quick job.

Cheers, the Ribble is the one I am leaning towards the most. It's higher specced than the Allez and Defy, and in my opinion better looking than the Boardman (yes, I know not a great reason not to like a bike but it matters!)

cyberknight

Bluemoon17 wrote:

cyberknight wrote:

Best to contact ribble with regards to the amount of assembly required but most bikes are a case of pedals and put handlebars straight so as long as you can wield a spanner and an allen key its a quick job.

Cheers, the Ribble is the one I am leaning towards the most. It's higher specced than the Allez and Defy, and in my opinion better looking than the Boardman (yes, I know not a great reason not to like a bike but it matters!)

Lol go with what you like but make sure you get the right size !! I prefer to try a bike for size before i spend any money as geometries vary dependent on brand and what the frame is designed for , whatever you go for i hope it gives you many miles of pleasure and leads you on the road of n=n+1 ( what i am up to 3 not including a full suss i got for free )

CRAIGO5000

Your story sounds like mine from a year ago. Started on a Trek hybrid for daily commuting and now im riding an Allez road bike.

Mine cost me £300 from ebay and had only done 270 miles from new. It had been left hung up in the garage ever since and it was the 2007 model with now slightly better components than what the Allez's are equipped with today. Mine is also a compact and the lowest gear is very low imo. I've tackled the odd really steep hill with it and did hit the lowest gear but it was all I needed - there were guys riding on MTB/hybrids's with much lower gearing and I was keeping up just fine. Plus triples on road bikes just look wrong

I'd seriously pick up a bargain second hand - I paid half the going rate for a better equipped bike.

Put it this way, If I had a grand to spend I wouldn't be looking to buy brand new because I know I'd get a stonking second hand bike for that amount of cash.

Good luck with the hunt!

bluemoon17

CRAIGO5000 wrote:

Your story sounds like mine from a year ago. Started on a Trek hybrid for daily commuting and now im riding an Allez road bike.

Mine cost me £300 from ebay and had only done 270 miles from new. It had been left hung up in the garage ever since and it was the 2007 model with now slightly better components than what the Allez's are equipped with today. Mine is also a compact and the lowest gear is very low imo. I've tackled the odd really steep hill with it and did hit the lowest gear but it was all I needed - there were guys riding on MTB/hybrids's with much lower gearing and I was keeping up just fine. Plus triples on road bikes just look wrong

I'd seriously pick up a bargain second hand - I paid half the going rate for a better equipped bike.

Put it this way, If I had a grand to spend I wouldn't be looking to buy brand new because I know I'd get a stonking second hand bike for that amount of cash.

Good luck with the hunt!

Thanks for the input. How have you found the Allez? Any issues with it? And do you have any advice in regards to buying items off ebay? Cheers!

ForumNewbie

Good luck with the Ribble, Bluemoon17. Looking at the spec you have picked for the Ribble, it looks like you may be going for a 12-23t sprocket. Even with compact chainset at the front that will mean that your lowest gear will be a 34*23, which is a higher lowest gear than a standard double chainset with for example a 39*27 lowest gear. Accordingly that gearing will be very tough on the big hills even if you are pretty fit.

I would just bear that in mind and consider even a 12-25t sprocket if that is an option.

bluemoon17

ForumNewbie wrote:

Good luck with the Ribble, Bluemoon17. Looking at the spec you have picked for the Ribble, it looks like you may be going for a 12-23t sprocket. Even with compact chainset at the front that will mean that your lowest gear will be a 34*23, which is a higher lowest gear than a standard double chainset with for example a 39*27 lowest gear. Accordingly that gearing will be very tough on the big hills even if you are pretty fit.

I would just bear that in mind and consider even a 12-25t sprocket if that is an option.

A 12-25t sprocket is an option, your input is appreciated. I'm still learning a lot about the technical side of bikes, so any advice is welcome! This is the issue I have with buying the Ribble, there's so much customisation that I don't really know what I'm doing! Where as the Specialized/Boardman comes as standard. I went to Evans today to have a sit on a Specialized, but they only had a 58cm in. It felt good and comfortable, but my arms felt too stretched out and I didn't feel entirely comfortable. Will have to go back when they have a 56cm in to try that, but I'm just trying to get a feel for as many bikes as I can.

EarlyGo

Hi Bluemoon,

Just thought that I'd mention that you can get the Allez as a triple for £539 at Evans. This would give you a 30 x 26 bottom gear and has the advantage of having closer ratios between all the other gears. I was a fairly unfit 40 something when I started and the 30 x 26 got me up every hill and I live in the north of Scotland! The only penalty is the 250g extra you carry around due to the additional front ring. Keep in mind that when you start out, you don't want the depressing experience of having to push your lovely new bike up all the big hills and that like most of us you'll probably be looking to upgrade to another bike after a year or so anyhow, so you're not going to be 'stuck' with a triple forever. IMHO people that live in flat areas wouldn't be seen dead on a triple whereas people in the hills appreciate the flexibility of a triple from day one!

I agree with you that the Ribble offers the best bang for your buck, but as others have said the bike must fit you comfortably. With all the variables (frame size & geometry, stem length, handlebar width, crank length, seat post length) you need to know what will fit you. Which unless you get a professional fitting is probably going to be guess work. Also a good knowledge of components helps on the Ribble bike builder, again you might need someone to assist. Ribble are great if you know what you need or can make it to their store.

I can recommend Specialized for their build quality, reliability and longevity. On the down side, they don't make the lightest bikes (£ for pound) and you do pay a premium for the Specialized name. The Giant Defy is also a nice bike. A wise man once told me to buy a bike that was a) comfortable and b) that I liked the look of. . . he was definitely right!

Regards,

EarlyGo

bluemoon17

EarlyGo wrote:

Hi Bluemoon,

Just thought that I'd mention that you can get the Allez as a triple for £539 at Evans. This would give you a 30 x 26 bottom gear and has the advantage of having closer ratios between all the other gears. I was a fairly unfit 40 something when I started and the 30 x 26 got me up every hill and I live in the north of Scotland! The only penalty is the 250g extra you carry around due to the additional front ring. Keep in mind that when you start out, you don't want the depressing experience of having to push your lovely new bike up all the big hills and that like most of us you'll probably be looking to upgrade to another bike after a year or so anyhow, so you're not going to be 'stuck' with a triple forever. IMHO people that live in flat areas wouldn't be seen dead on a triple whereas people in the hills appreciate the flexibility of a triple from day one!

I agree with you that the Ribble offers the best bang for your buck, but as others have said the bike must fit you comfortably. With all the variables (frame size & geometry, stem length, handlebar width, crank length, seat post length) you need to know what will fit you. Which unless you get a professional fitting is probably going to be guess work. Also a good knowledge of components helps on the Ribble bike builder, again you might need someone to assist. Ribble are great if you know what you need or can make it to their store.

I can recommend Specialized for their build quality, reliability and longevity. On the down side, they don't make the lightest bikes (£ for pound) and you do pay a premium for the Specialized name. The Giant Defy is also a nice bike. A wise man once told me to buy a bike that was a) comfortable and b) that I liked the look of. . . he was definitely right!

Regards,

EarlyGo

Thanks very much EarlyGo!

I think I prefer the Ribble, but for the reasons you mentioned the Specialized seems like the sensible option. It's the bike I liked the most of the ones I've tried, it's easiest to get hold of, and as there is an Evans opposite my workplace, should any problems arise I can always pop in for a chat.
The main things I'm looking for are reliability and longevity, so it's good to know that you can recommend them.
Also, I think the Allez looks the best!
I will have a word with a few of the lads who cycle in my neck of the woods and see what they thing about the triple, I train with them three nights a week so they have as good an idea of my level of fitness as anyone.

Thanks again for the reply!

bluemoon17

Just to add another bike into the mix, I've been looking at the Cannondale CAAD 8 Sora 2011: http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m7b0s6p3678

I had a sit on this years model in Evans the other day, and the 56cm felt excellent. Two things I'm worried about: The first is buying online, and the second is keeping a white bike clean! Could anybody offer me some reassurance on either issue? Thanks.

matt818

I've never had any problems with white bikes, I usually give them the once over with the powerwash after returning from a ride. I've bought a few bikes over the web before and not had any problems regarding shipping etc. I just looked over the bike I wanted in my local bike retailer then purchased online. Check out buyabike they've usually got some good deals on old 2011/2012 stock, i've had a bike from them and couldn't fault them.

ForumNewbie

Bluemoon17 wrote:

Just to add another bike into the mix, I've been looking at the Cannondale CAAD 8 Sora 2011: http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m7b0s6p3678

I had a sit on this years model in Evans the other day, and the 56cm felt excellent. Two things I'm worried about: The first is buying online, and the second is keeping a white bike clean! Could anybody offer me some reassurance on either issue? Thanks.

I personally wouldn't buy a bike online, because you can't easily take it back to a local shop to fix initial problems - of which there have been with recent bikes I have bought.

eebygum

Hey bluemoon,

I am in the same situation as yourself, I know almost nothing about road bikes and am looking to buy my first.

I have done a bit of surfing to get a grip on groupsets and frames etc and was looking to go for a Ribble Audax with a couple of upgrades. the bike suits what I want from it and I liked the look, the price and the reviews. I had checked out sizing guides and was happy to go for a 56cm frame (I am 5'9" 32" inside leg).

By chance I happened to be in lancs this week, close to where Ribble are based so I popped in to have a look. With the benefit of hindsight I am really glad I did. They were extremely helpful and spent over an hour with me sizing a bike and explaining the components and how they differ (I knew nothing about the difference between Campag and Shimano shifters for example.)

The end result is that the Audax was the wrong bike for what I wanted, instead I was more comfortable with a Ribble Sportive 7005, with a medium (52cm) frame and a 100mm stem.

My conclusions are; that as a beginner I needed to get good advice in a shop because the frame geometries vary massively, getting your bum on the saddle is critical, and that I would highly rate Ribble for their customer service on the shop floor.

Hope that helps, good luck

bluemoon17

Thanks very much for the reply!

As it turns out, I have recently purchased the Specialized Allez mentioned in my first post. I tried out a few bikes and it really was just a case of it feeling better than the rest! I have to say that all the members of staff I spoke to at Harry Halls Cycles in Manchester were fantastic, much better than the staff I encountered at Evans Cycles. They really explained everything I inquired about, put to rest and worries I had and were just excellent all round. Wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again, and I can't recommend them enough.

Again, thanks for the reply!

Headhuunter

I've had a Ribble 7005 Race since May 2010, I use it as my "2nd bike" or commuter and it's been brilliant. I've got the full Tiagra groupset version.... I paid 570 quid but I think the price has increased since then. As mentioned in the Cycling+ review of the audax frame, the Race frame has a 1990s horizontal geometry unlike the nimbler sloping style which is more common today, however it is highly specced and I have ridden it both around town and on 50 odd mile training rides....