Hi guys, looking for a first road bike....

Bronson1982
Bronson1982 Posts: 4
edited July 2012 in Road beginners
Hey,

first of all, thanks to anyone who gives good advice in here.

my dilemna, i need to get cycling, as i like it and ive got lbs to lose.

so i want to try a road bike (always had mountain bikes before, but never done any decent distances....)

i want to keep the first bike cheap to make sure i like using a road bike, get into the cycling and enjoy it. if i do, ill be buying a better one later.

budget wise is £250-400 for first bike.

any good sites to check, good recommentdations?

also, these are the ones ive found and like so far.... thoughts?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710

http://www.cheapestbikesuk.com/bikes/ro ... d-bike-178

http://www.ashcycles.com/site/bikes/roa ... elite-2011

Comments

  • m00nd0g
    m00nd0g Posts: 176
    Cant you have a look on ebay for an Allez?
    Same money better bike.
    Wont need to buy a new bike later on just upgrade the wheels:)
  • Swos
    Swos Posts: 27
    A lot of guys on here recommend this bike for £299 especially as it has carbon forks. Might be worth looking around for bikes on sale as the 2012 bikes are starting to drop in price. All 3 of the bikes you have chosen are very basic to be honest and can be quite heavy.

    http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-id_8167038.html
  • BlakeysFC
    BlakeysFC Posts: 233
    They just reviewed the B'Twin Triban 3 in Cycling Active this month and gave it 92% which is pretty damn good.

    It also got their recommendation in the £300-£900 group test, so I'd say the B'Twin Triban 3 is a very good buy for the money.

    I've also heard good things about the Claud Butler Criterium too
  • nochekmate
    nochekmate Posts: 3,460
    m00nd0g wrote:
    Cant you have a look on ebay for an Allez?
    Same money better bike.
    Wont need to buy a new bike later on just upgrade the wheels:)

    This is the best idea at that budget. If you find that the road bike is not for you, you'll then lose nothing on resale either (assuming you get it at a good price).

    In fact if you are around 6ft and can up your budget a touch to £500, I have a very nice Giant TCR Alliance (£1400 new) that I will be moving on shortly - it's in immaculate condition as I am a bit of a bike tart! PM me if interested.
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    m00nd0g wrote:
    Cant you have a look on ebay for an Allez?
    Same money better bike.
    Wont need to buy a new bike later on just upgrade the wheels:)

    Yepp, best idea. The only problem is that they are sought after so you may need to be patient to get what you want in the right area but they do come up fairly regularly. I got this lovely thing only a couple of months ago for just over £300, but I had been following the scene for a good while:

    Allez.jpg

    It came with newish Aksiums (now saved for turbo/winter) which are decent starter for ten's in anyone's book. Luckily I had the RS80s/tyres already and a spare FSA stem. So, it just needed a few running components (chain/brakepads/cassette) and it is now a very decent ride...but the best thing is that, given the purchase price, I have no qualms about ragging it in bad weather/winter (as in 2 weeks ago).
  • Bronson1982
    Bronson1982 Posts: 4
    hey guys, thanks for the replies, im currently looking through ebay and found (what i think) are good deals. only problem i have, is as a new biker i wont know whats good or not, so i think id still be more inclined to buy new. however, some of the specialized allez ones look appealing. (hate ebay, you can never trust people these days)

    anyway, as i would be new to the road bike game, would the ones ive linked above still seem decent for a first bike?
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    Bronson1982 wrote:
    hey guys, thanks for the replies, im currently looking through ebay and found (what i think) are good deals. only problem i have, is as a new biker i wont know whats good or not, so i think id still be more inclined to buy new. however, some of the specialized allez ones look appealing. (hate ebay, you can never trust people these days)

    anyway, as i would be new to the road bike game, would the ones ive linked above still seem decent for a first bike?

    well, for a start, some of the bikes appear to be limited sizes (which is fair given they are 2011 models) but the sizes vary (52 v 56) :? They are all basic, offering Shimano 2300 which is the bottom rung of decency (below Sora) but I have no experience of that, perhaps others can help there?

    The Halfords job appears to come with a standard double (52/39) which might be a bit tough for a beginner but it depends on your ability and terrain (I have a couple of bikes with standard doubles, 53/39, and they work for me in the Cotswolds but the cassette you match will make a big difference and you can always go compact but that sounds like far too much hassle for a first buy).

    No clear weights shown to judge apart from the 12kg Carrera, which is on the heavy side but not stupidly so. All in all, my humble opinion is that they all look ok but would be a considerable step down from something like the Allez (with Tiagra/105/Ultegra) that I have shown...but I am not a beginner (although I learn something new about cycling every day) so perhaps I cannot judge them fairly? The best thing about buying a decent 2nd hand bike is that you can sell it if you get bored with cycling with no great loss whereas a brand new Carrera may lose a lot of value the day you walk it out of the bike shop.
  • Bronson1982
    Bronson1982 Posts: 4
    yeah, hear what youre saying bobbinogs, im just thinking if i could be one of those unlucky people who get a bad 2nd hand bike because i dont know what to check up on :(

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