First Bike

dormer88

Hi guys,

Am moving over from an MTB to a road bike and am looking for some advice. I have around £300 to spend pending the sale of my MTB. Am i better getting a new (tdf halfords) bike or looking on ebay for something like a allez or a trek 2nd hand?

Cheers

Mikelancs

Not being a expert on roadies (yet) id say look for a good quality second hand model it will probably last a lot longer than entry level Halfords Bike.

lc1981

I was also going to suggest second-hand at £300 but having looked on the Halfords site, the Carrera TDF is heavily discounted to get it to that price. I think I'd still look for something used though, if for no other reason than for a better groupset.

dormer88

Cheers guys. What entry level bike would you suggest? I literally have no idea in terms of what bike to pursue

biscuit959

This thing usually gets pretty good feedback/support on here: http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-id_8167038.html

But otherwise probably a good idea to look second hand. If you do though - just remember to get something in your size - i.e. don't buy something thats not quite your size just because its a bargain.

dormer88

Must admit, have looked at them and the reviews are good! Better than the tdf would you say! Im around 5'11 so what sort of size bike would you suggest?

finlayson99

biscuit959 wrote:

This thing usually gets pretty good feedback/support on here: http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-id_8167038.html

+1 for this

Try one if you can you will be surprised at how good it is for the price.

I used to be a bit of a snob when it came to buying bikes but I an trully impressed by the Triban 3 for the price.

lc1981

dormer88 wrote:

Im around 5'11 so what sort of size bike would you suggest?

One of the problems is that sizes vary between manufacturers. A good starting point would be the size guides on a website such as Evans, though.

snowjho

dormer88 wrote:

Must admit, have looked at them and the reviews are good! Better than the tdf would you say! Im around 5'11 so what sort of size bike would you suggest?

I just bought Btwin triban 3 in size 57cm. I'm 5ft 11. It felt great doing 2 laps of richmond park yesterday. I did spend 30 mins or so riding up and down the aisle of decathlon last weekend tho!

drewduncan

I've got the Triban 3 as well and think it's a really good bike as well.

woodywmb

The Triban 3 gets a great write-up in Cycling Active, out on Wednesday. The spec is as you would think, basic Shimano 2300 shifters and non-brand bits etc, but it has a carbon fork. "It's probably the best bike, on a pound-for-pound basis, available anywhere, " says the reviewer. Weighs 22lb. Costs £299.99.
Good starter bike and ideal winter hack when you eventually upgrade.

ad_snow

Does it come in any other colour than red?

sumosprintstar

The TDF is a great bike for the money and Halfords are likely to take more money off or throw in some accessories if you ask.

snowjho

ad_snow wrote:

Does it come in any other colour than red?

Nope. Its a nice red tho. The triban 5 is white and comes with sora. Its £499

dormer88

So you would go with the triban over the Tdf? Must admit the red is abit out there but I just want to see if I enjoy riding a road bike! So I think either of those bikes will be what I go for! If I can shift my MTB!

snowjho

dormer88 wrote:

So you would go with the triban over the Tdf? Must admit the red is abit out there but I just want to see if I enjoy riding a road bike! So I think either of those bikes will be what I go for! If I can shift my MTB!

I prefer the triban red to the tdf yellow. Im not sure the tdf has a carbon fork. Ive always been advised to base your purchase on components. Another bonus is that the triban is a kilo lighter according to official spec. Im not sure the tdf has full 2300 groupset. Turns out my triban 3 has sora front mech. Its also got a triple which for my MTB familiar legs is a plus ATM. I reckon i will go double eventually. Im a big fan of the service and warrenties of decathlon.

woodywmb

Tough one this. I think the Halfords bike looks better and, though this may be a consideration, I think you have to do more analysis.
For instance, is there a Decathlon close at hand? You need to return for a service after six weeks. (The warranty is invalidated if you don't). There are Halfords branches everywhere.
The Triban has three chainrings (50/39/30) while the Carrera has two (50/36) - so no granny wheel to help you up the big French cols! The cassette on the Triban is 12-25 whilethe Carrera's is 12-26. Triban weighs 22lbs, Carrera weighs 25.5 (a big consideration - that's the equivalent of two bags of sugar extra) The Triban fork is carbon, the Carrera fork is steel, which can be sore on the hands as well as heavy.
The rest is comparable.
Anothing thing, if this is of interest. Think of the perception your non-biking mates get when they ask what kind of machine you eventually decided on.
"Oh, nothing special ... just a Triban 3" (Sounds like the East German banger - the Trabant, one of the world's 50 worst ever cars)
"Oh, nothing special ... just a Carrera TDF, as in Tour de France (The world's richest and highest profile cycle event)
So - it's make your mind up time. You pays your money, you takes your choice. ENJOY!

dormer88

The Triban does seem to gain better reviews overall but I take all your points woody. The local decathlon to me is about an hour away. Fine when your buying a bike but having to go back up there for a service might be a small hassle. Im new to all things road so I really have no idea. I guess the carbon fork is a huge plus and the chainrings.

snowjho

Woodywmb wrote:

For instance, is there a Decathlon close at hand? You need to return for a service after six weeks. (The warranty is invalidated if you don't)

Have you got any documentation to show this? I've bought 2 bikes from them and they never mentioned this.

ad_snow

snowjho wrote:

ad_snow wrote:

Does it come in any other colour than red?

Nope. Its a nice red tho. The triban 5 is white and comes with sora. Its £499

I know its a nice red but I generally stay away from Red because I am... :oops: :oops: ginger.

Is the white one worth the extra £200?

snowjho

ad_snow wrote:

snowjho wrote:

ad_snow wrote:

Does it come in any other colour than red?

Nope. Its a nice red tho. The triban 5 is white and comes with sora. Its £499

I know its a nice red but I generally stay away from Red because I am... :oops: :oops: ginger.

Is the white one worth the extra £200?

I would say it is worth it. Its lighter. It always best to buy the best bike you can afford. Its better value for money if you buy the upgrades upfront. It will always cost more later. Its got tiagra/sora groupset and carbon seat stays and fork. Its still cheaper than Specialized/Trek/Giant entry models that come will shimano 2300 components.

I didn't buy it as I only had a budget of £300. I made a point of not trying one out because I didn't want to be tempted. But then I preferred the red to the white.

simon_masterson

This kind of opinion isn't often very popular, but I think you should find a good, old 531 (or similar; steel) bike on eBay. You should be able to get a really good (and light) steed for a good price and if you treat it right, it will do many more years to come.
I admit that I don't like the disposable culture that we live in for environmental (and ethical, given the place of manufacture) reasons, but nevertheless I do find it hard to believe that some of these ultra-cheap Halfords alloy jobbies can be that great, let alone providing a good, long service life.

HOWEVER, getting such a bike does carry the advantage of bike fitting services, which are undeniably advantageous.

dormer88

I must admit I have looked at 2nd hand bikes but at the same time you never quite know how they have been treated etc. I must admit I am edging towards the Triban for the simple fact of the 2 year warranty and the above comments from posters. Being my first road bike it will be the best I've had no matter how I look at it. Would you suggest adding clip in pedels rather than the standard toe clips that come with the bike?

finlayson99

I used the standard pedals for the first couple of weeks that I had the Triban 3 and then changed them for some Shimano M520 SPDs as I have these on my MTB and having to work to a budget it has allowed me to use my MTB shoes rather than get new ones.
The standard pedals are fine but the SPDs really do make a difference and were only about £20 from Chain Reaction.

dormer88

After reading the cycling active review I think my decision is finally made! Time to get rid of the MTB now!