which road bike? first time buyer

k3vinjam3s

i currently commute on a hardtail mtb and do 20 mile rides for fitness on the same bike. as i dont go off road and would like to up my mileage ive decided to try a road bike. my budget is between £500 and £700. im not to clever with all the in and outs with road bikes so would like advice on which bikes in this price range would be a good buy. im 6'2" and a very broad 18.5 stones. my riding style is quite powerful so would like a double chainset rather than triple. hopefully someone with more experience can advise me well. thank you.

Headhuunter

I bought a Ribble 7005 Race bike a couple of years ago which I use as my winter bike/commuter.... Have a look at the special edition bikes on the Ribble Cycles website. The Ribble winter framed bike did well in reviews recently in Cycling +... Otherwise the Specialized Allez series does well, that was going to be my 2nd choice....

m00nd0g

The Allez is a great bike.
I did have some problems with spokes snapping.
I understand this was a fault with the wheels used some years ago.
Probably has been rectified now.
However it did give me the excuse to upgrade the wheels:)

k3vinjam3s

I've been looking at the boardman in halfords for £650 and a cube peleton? For a bit more. Prefer the look of the cube as the boardman in the flesh was a bit dull in comparison. Has anyone any experience with these?

BruceG

Specialized Allez. I may be a little biased as I run two Spesh bikes, one of which is an Allez. I dont think you would be disappointed. However make a shortlist and go have a try and see which one "fits you" the best.

k3vinjam3s

Thanks for all the advice. Was looking around for more expensive bikes (600-700) and found the Forme Vision Road Bike 2011 on chain reaction cycles for £500. Has similar components to the other bikes and a lot cheaper. Is this a good deal?

Headhuunter

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Thanks for all the advice. Was looking around for more expensive bikes (600-700) and found the Forme Vision Road Bike 2011 on chain reaction cycles for £500. Has similar components to the other bikes and a lot cheaper. Is this a good deal?

Not a bad buy however the componentry on the Ribble is better - full Tiagra groupset whereas the Forme is only partly Tiagra. Not sure how the frame compares...

k3vinjam3s

Headhuunter wrote:

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Thanks for all the advice. Was looking around for more expensive bikes (600-700) and found the Forme Vision Road Bike 2011 on chain reaction cycles for £500. Has similar components to the other bikes and a lot cheaper. Is this a good deal?

Not a bad buy however the componentry on the Ribble is better - full Tiagra groupset whereas the Forme is only partly Tiagra. Not sure how the frame compares...

Been on the ribble site and find it difficult to get a price of the bike I'd like as I'm insure of all turf different extra components and their merits etc.

Headhuunter

Just go to the Ribble website, go to the special edition bikes tab on the right and pick either the special edition road bikes or the audax special edition road bikes. The audax one is the one that came top of a review by Cycling+/Bikeradar...

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... r-12-45501

You then simply check which spec you want - Campag, Shimano or SRAM. Unless you want to add specific components (which raises the price) then just head for the checkout to buy the bike. Personally I just went for the basic set up, you can upgrade later.

The only downside is that there is generally a wait for these bikes as they're popular and also Ribble customer services isn't the best, however since I've had it the bike's been fine

ianbar

i bought my first bike last year it was a form rapide from my lbs, i ended up loving it...till some w@*%£r came and stole it! but as a first bike think it was good, i now have a 2012 cannon dale caad8 which is about £900. even though it hasn't won my heart as much yet it is clearly a way way better bike so i would push your budget as much as you can.

k3vinjam3s

so after looking around the net ive found all the bikes in my price range that i like. these are the bikes im interested in and the best deals on them now. which of these arent recommended and are recommended by you guys?

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 7b4s6p3594

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... b65s6p3680

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-f95-2012/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-z95-2012/

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... tedKingdom

any help would be greatly appreciated as im getting more confused by the day!!!!

springtide9

Looked at the links you posted and would still go for the Ribble as per previous posts.

In the BR Ribble Review, it stated: "Quite simply the best value sub‑£750 bike on the market"

As for chainsets, would go for a Compact (50/34) with something like a 12-26 cassette. You might opt for a slightly larger rear cassette if you live in a hilly area. You can always swap out the rear cassette later if needed. Comparing with your MTB, 34/26T is the equiv of the largest front (42T) and largest rear (32T) in terms of gear ratios, but obviously the skinny tires make it easier.

Whether you go for Campag, SRAM of Shimano is a personal preference.

ianbar

the cannondale you have there is the 2011 model of mine and wouldn't think it be a bad bike at all, i certainly would get it over the forme in fact all the other 4 there. rubble do get a very good write up so i would look a little more into what the other poster has put on about them too.

Headhuunter

Of all the bikes you have listed I would choose the Ribble, the Cannondale CAAD8 or the Giant Defy 1. The Ribble has done well in reviews but the other 2 are also fantastic bikes and because they're 2011 models you're getting a good price. Of those 3, the Ribble offers the best spec but the frame is slightly more "old fashioned", it was designed in the 90s and has horizontal frame geometry. The Giant and Cannondale have well respected frames but component spec is lower. Best thing to would be to try these 3 out if poss and decide how they feel...

k3vinjam3s

trying these out is quite difficult as local suppliers dont stock these bikes. ive decided to take the plunge with no road bike experience so want the bike that provides the easiest transition from mtb to road. i like both the defy and the caad very much. im unsure of the ribbles as im unsure of which components are better suited for me regarding chainsets etc. i live in teesside and will do most my mileage on my local country lanes which have some steep climbs but nothing ive had to go really low on gears on my mtb. so from this im assuming a triple isnt needed. although with me not using a road bike before am i right in assuming the above?

Headhuunter

k3vinjam3s wrote:

trying these out is quite difficult as local suppliers dont stock these bikes. ive decided to take the plunge with no road bike experience so want the bike that provides the easiest transition from mtb to road. i like both the defy and the caad very much. im unsure of the ribbles as im unsure of which components are better suited for me regarding chainsets etc. i live in teesside and will do most my mileage on my local country lanes which have some steep climbs but nothing ive had to go really low on gears on my mtb. so from this im assuming a triple isnt needed. although with me not using a road bike before am i right in assuming the above?

If you're getting the Ribble and are new to road biking, choose the compact chainset and may be 12-25 or 13-25 cassette, otherwise you don't need to make any changes. I think the CAAD and the Defy come with compact chainsets anyway. If you can't choose then look up reviews online etc...

ianbar

just too add I'm 6'3" and 16 stone so not too small either. mines a 61 frame. my semi pro cousin was very impressed with the caad said it was a really good bike when he looked over it. he said it was massive (he quite a lot shorter than me) but was still so light for a bike that big. in my limited experience you wouldn't go far wrong with a giant either my lbs sticks them and there a good bike.

k3vinjam3s

im edging towards the caad 8 now. the frame size available is only the 58 cm frame. is this big enough for my size at 6'2"?

the_fuggler

k3vinjam3s wrote:

im edging towards the caad 8 now. the frame size available is only the 58 cm frame. is this big enough for my size at 6'2"?

Roughly right (obviously best to swing your leg over one). I'm 5' 10" and 32" leg and I ride a 54cm Cannondale...

...and I'm a massive Cannondale fan - you'll enjoy the CAAD8 I'm sure. If I had to look at anything else, the Giant Defy looks excellent and receives some very good reviews.

Actually, probably the most important thing to remember is that whatever you buy at this range, you will get a good bike that will put a smile on your face when you ride it.

Headhuunter

k3vinjam3s wrote:

im edging towards the caad 8 now. the frame size available is only the 58 cm frame. is this big enough for my size at 6'2"?

I think it's hard to judge whether 58cm is the right size. It depends on the geometry of the frame, I'm 6'2-6'3 and my Ribble has a 58cm frame which is fine but my Focus has a 62cm ish frame (not exactly sure) because it has sloping geometry. If you really can't try the bike before buying then phone the retailer or manufacturer for advice...

k3vinjam3s

after all the help here ive decided on and ordered a giant defy 1 2011. thanks for all the advice.