A complete Newbie! Bike Question

andy1989

Hi guys,

I am a complete newbie to road bikes and have been thinking about getting into it for a while now. I popped into Evans Cycles the other day and had a look and asked a few questions with regards to a beginners bike. I'd like to spend around £650-£900 on a bike of fairly good quality and that has a good spec on it. I have been drawn to the Specialized Allez Sport for £725 and the Allez Elite for £900. Both have Aluminium frames and Carbon Forks. I am obviously new to this sort of stuff so when it comes to brakes, gears and wheels I'm pretty baffled and don't know what I am looking at....

Could anyone lend me a helping hand into what they think of these bikes or if you have one, what is your review of it? Is there any other better bikes out there for the same price or less?

Thanks for your help.
Andy

simona75

Hello, you can't go far wrong with an Allez but you really have to ride it to see if it's right for you. Evans are normally pretty good for test rides. At this time of year it's always worth looking at what 2012 models they have left as you could get a big discount.

simon_masterson

Don't concern yourself too heavily with specs. A £50 old banger from eBay is good enough for a beginner. If it has drop bars and it fits you, it is basically worthy. There is no need to worry about brakes or wheels (one of mine cost about £30), and though it's worthwhile opting for 10 speed rather than 9 (more upgrade choice; some people don't like the Sora levers), it's hardly something to worry about, and it's not like a bike of that price is actually worth the upgrade or likely to last, so it doesn't matter what's on it.

I wouldn't spend over about £700 (there isn't £200 of difference between a £700 bike and a £900 bike), and you have nothing to lose in buying a Carrera for £400 if it means that you can spend money on the other things that you will need.

richie1973

Hi there,
Newbi gere too, i did a lot of homework before getting my bike. I honestly think i got a great deal! check out below

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gt-gtr-series-2-2012/

i looks amazing a rides ace. if you visit www.wiggle you will find lots of 2012 stuff going cheap as the 2013 stuff just being released. Like another poster said "carrera" why not, good starting point and you get decent kit for your money. plus you may find that the extras you need soon start adding up, i did!

Good luck, hope you find something to suit.

grechzoo

if you buy from evans MAKE SURE to go to their website, look at who they price match with, and check ALL of those sites for the bike you want, if you fidna cheaper price in stock, thats what evans will charge.

this applies heavily to the 2012 bikes. most 2013 bikes will have the same price at every store

fast as fupp

Simon Masterson wrote:

Don't concern yourself too heavily with specs. A £50 old banger from eBay is good enough for a beginner. If it has drop bars and it fits you, it is basically worthy. There is no need to worry about brakes or wheels (one of mine cost about £30), and though it's worthwhile opting for 10 speed rather than 9 (more upgrade choice; some people don't like the Sora levers), it's hardly something to worry about, and it's not like a bike of that price is actually worth the upgrade or likely to last, so it doesn't matter what's on it.

I wouldn't spend over about £700 (there isn't £200 of difference between a £700 bike and a £900 bike), and you have nothing to lose in buying a Carrera for £400 if it means that you can spend money on the other things that you will need.

are you Norbert Colon?

farrina

... and for the unenligthened amongst us (including me!) more here about Norbert http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Norbert-Colon

andy1989

Thanks for the replies,

Thanks Simona75, I did have a test ride on a Allez Sport at another local bike shop, and it felt good and was nice to ride. Other than comfort and feel what else should I be looking for? I will probably go back down there and have another test ride though. I have had a look at the 2012 Allez but they aren't stocking them anymore on there website. would you recommend the Allez then Simona as a start out, entry-level bike? I obviously don't want to spend thousands but I want one that is better then the cheapest out there that comes with a good set of specs and that.

Thanks Simon Masterson, I know what you mean but I'm not sure if I'd feel completely comfortable riding a £50 bike off ebay if you know what i mean. I think the only differences I noticed on the Allez Sport and the Elite were the brakes and gear speeds.

Hi Richie1973, yea I am confused with what each bike has. I.e Sora brakes or Tiagra brakes. I am sure I will work it out I am going to have a researching session online soon and get an idea at what I am looking at. Yea I will have a look on wiggles and see what I can find. With regards to extras and bits this is why I am trying to find a reasonably priced entry-level bike with some good specs on to start with and then I can upgrade when I need to.

Thanks grechzoo, yea I did see on the website that they price match so I am going to have a look shortly and see if the prices differ. Evans have it up for £725 at the moment and said they could give me some money off but not if I do finance...its 0% finance at the moment and I don't have all the money in the world lol and with everything I need that was how I was thinking of paying....

t4tomo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupset
gears / groupsets explained.

As you go up they get more expensive, the levers are a bit nicer, they shift a bit better, upto a point (105) and then get a bit lighter for increasingly large amounts of money (see Dura ace for example).

10 gears isn't necessarily better than 9 on your cassette, you'll probably have same range 12-25 (these are the number of teeth on the biggest and smallest rear cogs) just somewhere you have a larger step bewteen 2 gears on 9 speed. 10 speed gives you the "advantage" of being able to buy one of the more expensive ranges when you replace worn out parts.

My advice would be if you are going at cheaperr end of the market and looking at shimano 2300 gears, better for that to be £300-400 on a carrera or decathlon triban where you aren't spending that much, than spend double the amount on a similar specialized etc. you can always get a better bike if you really get the road cycling bug or an elderly relative dies.
OR spend your £400 on a better second hand bike, that has 10 speed Tiagra or better and then you can spend the other £300 in future years repalcing worn out cassettes, chains and bottom brackets as and when.

simona75

I would always recommend an Allez if it feels right to ride. It was my first road bike and I still use it as my winter bike. If you're comfortable paying £700-900 on your first bike then do it, no worse feeling than wondering what you could have had! As others have said just make sure you have kept enough money spare for helmet, clothes, gloves. Within weeks you will also probably wanting clipless pedals, cycling shoes and possibly a new saddle. That could easily come to another £200-300.

kentphil

make sure you get a bike that's the right size for you. Its false economy to get a bargain bike if your uncomfortable on it.

Sprool

some good bargains at Ribble bikes worth checking out too despite some negativity about waiting times.
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bbd/road- ... BRA&bike=1

jae-so

+1 for ribble, got my winter trainer from there, special edition with Tiagra for about £650, good price for Tiagra

BlakeysFC

andy1989 wrote:

Hi guys,

I am a complete newbie to road bikes and have been thinking about getting into it for a while now. I popped into Evans Cycles the other day and had a look and asked a few questions with regards to a beginners bike. I'd like to spend around £650-£900 on a bike of fairly good quality and that has a good spec on it. I have been drawn to the Specialized Allez Sport for £725 and the Allez Elite for £900. Both have Aluminium frames and Carbon Forks. I am obviously new to this sort of stuff so when it comes to brakes, gears and wheels I'm pretty baffled and don't know what I am looking at....

Could anyone lend me a helping hand into what they think of these bikes or if you have one, what is your review of it? Is there any other better bikes out there for the same price or less?

Thanks for your help.
Andy

Specialized make decent bikes, and are extremely popular.

If you're willing to look at different brands there are good savings to be had on 2012 Giant Defy 2's going on at the moment from £450-£650 I've seen in places.

For £900 you could get a 2012/2013 Defy 1 (the bike I have) which has got extremely good reviews and is highly highly recommended by myself and others on this forum, and is one of the best bikes money can buy for under £1k.

richyharv

I have just placed an order for "Merlin Malt RS" from Merlin cycles. Its also is my first road bike and i found it hard to beat spec wise. It has the same frame as the Sensa Romagna that has got excellent reviews of late. Worth a look and also doing 10% discount at the mo. Link below if it works :?

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/bikes/road-bikes/merlin-road-bikes/merlin-malt-rs-road-bike.html

simon_masterson

fast as fupp wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

Don't concern yourself too heavily with specs. A £50 old banger from eBay is good enough for a beginner. If it has drop bars and it fits you, it is basically worthy. There is no need to worry about brakes or wheels (one of mine cost about £30), and though it's worthwhile opting for 10 speed rather than 9 (more upgrade choice; some people don't like the Sora levers), it's hardly something to worry about, and it's not like a bike of that price is actually worth the upgrade or likely to last, so it doesn't matter what's on it.

I wouldn't spend over about £700 (there isn't £200 of difference between a £700 bike and a £900 bike), and you have nothing to lose in buying a Carrera for £400 if it means that you can spend money on the other things that you will need.

are you Norbert Colon?

If having some perspective and insight makes me appear stingy, so be it.

But I'm not actually suggesting that you [the OP] should buy a £50 eBay bargain (though just last week I picked out a lovely old racer for my brother, which finished at £70); the point is that the specification matters little to the beginner. Any bike that a beginner can buy will spoil them; what is available for little money now would have been unthinkable even a couple of decades ago.

So therefore, the only reasonable logic is that the beginner should largely forget about what components are on the bike, and focus on the fit and comfort. Simply try some bikes and buy the one you like best, and if you don't have the funds to buy a £700 bike and all of the tools, clothing and other paraphernalia that you will need, buy a £400 Carrera from Halfords (or buy secondhand, which might be a good idea anyway). Both a £700 Specialized and a £400 Carrera will depreciate (not important if you aren't a seller, of course), neither will last forever, neither really warrants high-end component upgrades, both you will likely deem inadequate if you get the bug and feel the inclination to ride a high-spec bike, and perhaps most importantly there isn't £300 of difference between the Carrera and the Specialized.

In fewer words, go and try some bikes. If the one you like best is the Specialized, all well and good. Great company, great kit; ubiquitous for good reason.