Brand new or used for first road bike

paulmon

Hi folks,

I've been putting in the miles this year on my Boardman HT R and i've now decided to take the plunge and buy my first roady but I'm drving myself insane over what to buy. A friend recommended the Colnago CLX 3.0 Black which is currently in the sale at Wiggle for £1620 when you add the pizza express voucher code this comes down to £1475 which to me seems like a good deal on a bike that retails for £2400+

However I've also been offered a 2010 Bianchi Nirone 105 equipped bike in A1 condition for £675. The problem I'm having is deciding to take the less expensive option and see how I get on or dive in with the Colnago which I would see as a keeper. I've sat on both but not ridden either. There are loads of other bikes on e-bay as well such as Giant Defy/TCR, Boarman Carbon/etc, etc.

My sensible side says get the Bianchi but my heart tells me to buy the Colnago (primarily based on the huge discount on offer).

Any advice is appreciated as I'm driving myself and those around me to distraction.

Regards
Paul

nochekmate

If you buy the Nirone, you'll always be wishing you'd bought the Colnago.

Decent intro bikes the Nirone (and not usually with 105) but I wouldn't consider £675 to be an absolute bargain. Colnago always one of the most sought after brands (bit miffed because I was interested in a CX-1 that was on eBay this week - Campag Record/Super Record and Shamal wheelset so top spec - went for more than my snipe bid )

Although a different budget to the Nirone, most likely to be worth it (never ridden the CLX 3.0)

ShutUpLegs

There are plenty of good bikes around the £700 mark, with autumn/ winter coming up will you actually ride the more expensive bike when the weather is really shite?

I'd buy the cheaper bike, ride it the next 6 months and trade in for something nicer next March if you're still keen.

nochekmate

ShutUpLegs wrote:

There are plenty of good bikes around the £700 mark, with autumn/ winter coming up will you actually ride the more expensive bike when the weather is really shite?

I'd buy the cheaper bike, ride it the next 6 months and trade in for something nicer next March if you're still keen.

Decent advice too - there's a case either way. If you look after the Bianchi well until March you'll probably get your £675 back too as the price is competitive.

rolf_f

ShutUpLegs wrote:

There are plenty of good bikes around the £700 mark, with autumn/ winter coming up will you actually ride the more expensive bike when the weather is really shite?

I'd buy the cheaper bike, ride it the next 6 months and trade in for something nicer next March if you're still keen.

And there's also always plenty of offers about for the expensive stuff. Chances are, if you ride the Bianchi through winter, you might find you have developed a particular taste to own a particular posh bike that you aren't aware of now. And also riding the Bianchi might give you some particular feel for the geometry you want your next bike to have.

paulmon

nochekmate wrote:

If you buy the Nirone, you'll always be wishing you'd bought the Colnago.

That is the concern. It's a bit like buying the Honda instead of the Ducati.

ShutUpLegs wrote:

There are plenty of good bikes around the £700 mark, with autumn/ winter coming up will you actually ride the more expensive bike when the weather is really shite?

I'd buy the cheaper bike, ride it the next 6 months and trade in for something nicer next March if you're still keen.

I wasn't expecting to ride the expensive bike through winter, except on nice days. I would probably stick with the Boardman for that. The reasoning with buying expensive bike now is the same theory as buying Christmas cards in January and ski gear in May. If I wait until March to buy a better bike then I probably won't be able to afford a £2400 bike.

That said what you suggest does make an awful lot of sense.

nochekmate wrote:

ShutUpLegs wrote:

There are plenty of good bikes around the £700 mark, with autumn/ winter coming up will you actually ride the more expensive bike when the weather is really shite?

I'd buy the cheaper bike, ride it the next 6 months and trade in for something nicer next March if you're still keen.

Decent advice too - there's a case either way. If you look after the Bianchi well until March you'll probably get your £675 back too as the price is competitive.

That did cross my mind.

Rolf F wrote:

ShutUpLegs wrote:

There are plenty of good bikes around the £700 mark, with autumn/ winter coming up will you actually ride the more expensive bike when the weather is really shite?

I'd buy the cheaper bike, ride it the next 6 months and trade in for something nicer next March if you're still keen.

And there's also always plenty of offers about for the expensive stuff. Chances are, if you ride the Bianchi through winter, you might find you have developed a particular taste to own a particular posh bike that you aren't aware of now. And also riding the Bianchi might give you some particular feel for the geometry you want your next bike to have.

This makes a lot of sense and I was concerned that I may have been throwing myself right in at the deep end without really finding out what I like and don't like about a bike.

Thanks for the response. Mind may win over heart this time. Which would be a first for me....

Cheers
Paul

paulmon

Well I had very little success buying a second hand bike so I decided to buy brand new. The problem was I procrastinated that much that when I finally went to pull the trigger on the Colnago Wiggle had sold out of my size so it was back to the drawing board.

After much tooing and frowing I purchased a CAAD 10 - 105. I was tempted by the Supersix 105 but I felt that the 10 would be something I could grow into and upgrade over time.

The white bar tape is probably the first thing I will want to change becuase it already has marks on it and I've only taken the bike from my car to the garage.

I've not had chance to go out yet as the weather has been pretty shocking.