Advice on a first road bike

WheelieBad

Hi all,

I took up triathlon last September upon starting university but for one reason or another, never got around to looking into getting my first road bike. I've started looking things up over the last month or so, but it seems the more researching I do the more confused I get...so was just wondering if I could get some tips to help me stay on the right track. Warning, there's loads of questions

I've got a budget of around the £800 mark, but willing to go up to a max of 1k if something really takes my fancy. The other limiting factor is that I am new to road bikes so I'm limited to the bikes available in the stores in the Belfast area (anybody have any recommendations? There's the obvious one of CRC but I'm not familiar with others) as I don't think I'd have the eye (or experience with fits) to pick a suitable bike straight from a picture on the internet.

At this price range my conclusion from reading was basically to forget CF frames as a good aluminium frame is better than a bottom range CF one, would this be correct? That said, even the aluminium bikes are improved by having CF forks so that would be a bonus I suppose.

Here's the bikes I've narrowed it down to so far, have I missed any I should have a look at? and do I have some that I should steer clear of?

Boardman Road Team
£1000, although with the various discount codes etc going around I think I worked it buyable at £850.
I hear Halfords hasn't had too great of a reputation in certain stores in the past, has anybody had any run ins with the Belfast branch?
Reviews seem to point at Boardman bikes being best value at this sort of price but people say it's a very aggressive frame. Is this likely to cause problems to a fit younger person (such as myself :oops: ) when in the saddle for a couple of hours or is the position only really going to be an issue with the older folk?!

Corratec Dolomiti 105 Compact 2012
£840. Aluminium frame, carbon fork, weighs 8.9kg. BikeRadar's review seemed pretty impressed with it too.

BeOne Mistral Sport Road Bike 2012
There doesn't seem to be much about BeOne bikes on the net? Is this because they are a smaller company or because their bikes aren't very good? BikeRadar reviewed the Storm from 2009 and liked it but I can't seem to find any reviews on later models?
All the BeOne bikes seem to have a triple chainset, is it really necessary? or is it something that is only really required for the Alps and such things? is there any disadvantage of having that option there? And can a triple be switched to double and vice versa if need be?


Vitus Bikes Decium Road Bike 2012
Seems a good spec for that price I think? Although there doesn't seem to be many reviews of it floating around so I'll see if I can get a good test ride not that I'll be able to tell much...

I read a review that was heaping praise on the Vitus Zenium 2011 although unaware if CRC are still selling this older model.

Thanks for any advice, and I am sorry if I am covering old ground that I missed, I'm sure forums like these are getting overloaded with questions following Sky's success and the Olympics.

martylaa

Have a look at the Cannondale Caad 8 it comes with 105 spec and has been reduced down to £800 now, it's a very nice bike, I was about to pull the trigger on it today but managed to find my 1st choice a Giant Defy 1 2012.

stoneb09

Hello buddy,

I am in the same position as you in terms of looking for a sub 1k bike to be used at university and have come across pretty much exactly the same selection as you.

I personally think I will end up going for the Boardman Team but will wait until it come down to £809 in the sale and get 10% off using our N.U.S cards bringing the total price of the bike down to a mere £730! At this price I really don't think it can be beaten. In terms of Halfords stores, I think it really depends on which store you go for, some stores are really helpful and some stores really don't have a clue, employing 16 year old girls/lads who are on minimum wage who couldn't give a shit about building a customer's bike to the right spec (Over torquing bolts, mis-indexing gears etc)...

I was also looking at the Cube range of bikes as they also have a great spec and would allow me to buy it from the local Leisure Lakes in Lancaster (where I'm at uni) but not sure it warrants the extra £270 which could be wisely spent on accessories (and beer).

I have yet to sit on the above bikes though so I'm going to hold out until I have tried them for comfort and general feel before I commit to buy.

Go into your local halfords and CRC and speak to them, sit on a few bikes in your budget and see which one you like best!

WheelieBad

martylaa wrote:

Have a look at the Cannondale Caad 8 it comes with 105 spec and has been reduced down to £800 now, it's a very nice bike, I was about to pull the trigger on it today but managed to find my 1st choice a Giant Defy 1 2012.

How are you managing to get that deal?! My LBS with Cannondale's has Tiagra at £100 more of your price with 105s! (according to the website anyway).

Yeah, the Defy 1 (and 2) is a bike I've been looking at too. I'm not really sure I can justify the extra £200 for the Defy 1 as I'm not really bothered by Tiagra/105. But both have the same frame so should have the same quality of ride, yeah?

stoneb09 wrote:

Hello buddy,

I am in the same position as you in terms of looking for a sub 1k bike to be used at university and have come across pretty much exactly the same selection as you.

I personally think I will end up going for the Boardman Team but will wait until it come down to £809 in the sale and get 10% off using our N.U.S cards bringing the total price of the bike down to a mere £730! At this price I really don't think it can be beaten. In terms of Halfords stores, I think it really depends on which store you go for, some stores are really helpful and some stores really don't have a clue, employing 16 year old girls/lads who are on minimum wage who couldn't give a shoot about building a customer's bike to the right spec (Over torquing bolts, mis-indexing gears etc)...

I was also looking at the Cube range of bikes as they also have a great spec and would allow me to buy it from the local Leisure Lakes in Lancaster (where I'm at uni) but not sure it warrants the extra £270 which could be wisely spent on accessories (and beer).

I have yet to sit on the above bikes though so I'm going to hold out until I have tried them for comfort and general feel before I commit to buy.

Go into your local halfords and CRC and speak to them, sit on a few bikes in your budget and see which one you like best!

Hi, you wouldn't happen to know if there is going to be a Halfords sale soon? I know by my luck I would start the day after I buy something there lol. Being a British Cycling member gets you 10% off a Halfords too, but can you add that discount and the NUS together?

According to Cube, CRC are the only ones to sell Cubes anywhere near me but their website only has the one cube which is over my budget anyways

I've had a nosey into Halfords and sat on the Team. Seems pretty comfortable although it wasn't a proper fitting, just looking at the one on display. It's a lovely looking bike and just seems like such great value...Haven't built up the courage to talk to anyone in CRC yet! Don't want to look like a complete numpty..

The Specialized Allez Elite has caught my eye too and BikeRadareUS seemed to like it so I cant go too far wrong with it I suppose!


Summary; Looking help deciding between Giant Defy 1/2, Boardman Road Team, and Specialized Allez Elite.

Thanks.

El Zomba

For what it's worth, I wouldn't go for the Allez because they tend to be a poor spec for the money. That said, if you can find one at a discounted price and you like the fit, why not?

Have a look on Ribble's website. You can get a lot of bang for your buck on their bikes. For even more options, you can get yourself a Pro Carbon from Planet X if you can stretch to a grand. Of course, the downside is that you don't get to try before you buy, but don't be affraid to give them a call; better a silly question than a silly mistake!