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New or Used road/racing bike

simma94simma94 Posts: 4
edited April 2013 in Road buying advice
Is it worth getting a used Raleigh, as I've heard they are pretty good, but having to probably recondition the brakes, chains etc or getting a new racing bike for around £200-400

I have been looking at these:

Raleigh Pursuit Racing Used - http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/ralei ... /111785086

and for the newer bikes, ones such as these - http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... A550027011

Thank you for your help

Posts

  • lc1981lc1981 Posts: 820
    I would be wary of buying a bike on Amazon for a start! Much better to go to a proper bike shop. From a look at that link, many of the bikes Amazon sell are brands such as Viking, which don't have a great reputation. If you don't want to spend much, you may well be better off going second-hand.

    As for the Raleigh, that one looks pretty nice but it's quite old-fashioned (downtube gear shifters, etc.) so it would depend on whether that bothers you. You might get on better with modern STI-style shifters if you're new to road cycling. You say "I've heard they are pretty good", but I think it's fair to say that the quality of Raleigh bikes has varied a lot over the years, and probably still does. They make bikes that are raced by professionals, right down to cheap and nasty bikes that sell in Argos.
  • simma94simma94 Posts: 4
    Thank you so much for the quick response you've got some great advice, so how would you change gears on that raleigh I've linked up top it seems fairly different to most other road bikes
  • lc1981lc1981 Posts: 820
    simma94 wrote:
    Thank you so much for the quick response you've got some great advice, so how would you change gears on that raleigh I've linked up top it seems fairly different to most other road bikes

    I'm not sure you could convert it because the frame probably predates STI shifters, and hence might not have the right cable stops. If I were you, I'd take a look at the sales section of this forum to find something more modern. I'm sure you could find something in your price range.
  • lc1981lc1981 Posts: 820
    Hang on, when you said change gears, you meant exactly that, didn't you? I thought you meant upgrading the equipment on the bike. You'd change gears using those levers on the downtube. There are some pictures here. The vast majority of road bikes now use combined brake and shift levers such as Shimano STI.
  • simma94simma94 Posts: 4
    Yes sorry about that double entendre, okay so you would have to take your hands of the handlebars basically... seems slightly inconvenient for Manchester city center haha. Okay thank you so much for your advice, I'll keep looking around second hand ones but if not I'll go for a reasonably priced new one - might be posting later begging for advice on my choices! Thanks again
  • lc1981lc1981 Posts: 820
    I forgot to mention the B’Twin Triban 3, which recently got a really good review in Cycling Active. You can read the review (part of a group test) via the links here. It sounds like a genuine bargain at £300.
  • jack221jack221 Posts: 2
    Bargains are out there if you know where to look / have some help :wink:
    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/56cm-Carbon-Racing-Bike-/111044348092?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item19dac248bc
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