Advice on comfortable road bike for a beginner please!

NeilDdiamond

Hi all,

I am riding in a charity bike ride next summer and I am looking at getting my first road bike to accomplish the task!

The ride will be 90 miles a day for 7 days. Quite a bit for a newb like myself! Therefore I am looking at comfortable rides to help me out a bit.

I am looking at a couple of bikes. The Specialized Secteur 2013 and either the Cannondale Synapse 8 2300 or Synapse 7 Sora.

Does anyone have any preferences or should I be looking elsewhere. My budget is £650-700.

I guess the only other point I would like help with is the whole specialist comfort thing over speed. Is it such a big deal?

I would really appreciate any help and/or advice!

Best,

Neil.

Mikey41

From personal experience, the Giant Defy series of bikes are a very comfortable ride. You would be able to bag a Defy 3 or possibly a Defy 2 (discounted 2012 model) for your money. (pretty much the only difference between them is gearing and shifters)

Comfort vs speed... well IMO, my Giant has comfort AND speed, I don't think it's a case of comfortable bikes being slow unless you end up at the Touring bikes which are heavier.

There are things you can adjust to improve comfort if you need, flipping the stem for example, but you are best getting a test ride on a few bikes to find out first hand if they are comfortable for you.

hipshot

Yes, test rides would be a good idea. All of those relaxed geometry bikes have the potential to be what you are looking for to be honest. An audax bike might be worth looking at too, you can get one with campag veloce (an improvement on Sora) under your budget.

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Tifosi-CK7-Audax-Classic-Veloce-2011-Road-Bike_31313.htm?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=Froogle02

Getting the right size and getting the bike perfectly set up for you is actually more important than manufacturer/model in my opinion, and you will definitely thank yourself for learning how to adjust brakes, gearing etc and do basic on-the-bike maintenence, assuming you can't already.

630 miles in a week is impressive, good luck.

Drumlin

hipshot wrote:

Getting the right size and getting the bike perfectly set up for you is actually more important than manufacturer/model in my opinion

Ditto. I suggest you visit a good shop where they have a bike fitting rig, that will give you a good starting point.

Another aid to comfort is to fit mudguards.

simon_masterson

Mikey41 wrote:

Touring bikes which are heavier.

And that makes them slower, does it?

But honestly, though the issue of comfort is somewhat overstated, nevertheless race-oriented bikes are designed to be stiff. There is a reason why there are bikes specifically made for audax, for example. I for one would not want to do what you've described on a typical alloy or carbon racing machine; if nothing else I would want larger tyres, luggage capacity and full mudguards.

I think therefore I would look into an audax bike, a touring bike, or a 'sportive' bike. You should be able to get something for that money. An old steel road bike (I'm something of a fan) would also be a great choice if you get a good one.

NeilDdiamond

Thanks everyone.

I am planning a journey to my local bike shop this week for a fitting. The only issue for me is that I am trying to part exchange my hybrid bike with them. They only really stock Specialized and Cannondale road bikes hence my choice of bikes to choose from.

I could however chance my hand on ebay with it and try looking elsewhere with the advice you have all offered.

Thanks again and I will post again my findings this week!

Neil

NeilDdiamond

Sorry, should have mentioned the part-ex thing

The Tifosi is a lovely looking option. My homework starts again!

dugliss

Why don`t you put the hybrid in the classifieds on here and see if you get any interest? FWIW I recently bought a Giant Defy 2 and reckon it would be ideal for what you`re looking for