Hello, im looking for some advice

DarioL

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some advice. I am new to cycling and am interested in buying a good bike (I don't have a large budget) and some nice riding cloths. Can you please recommend whether I can buy it all online or is going to a store better?

Thank you in advance!
Dario

zippy483

For the bike go somewhere you can try one out for size etc, Local bike shop (LBS), Evans, Decathlon there are lots of places, if you do go into your LBS and find something you like, buy it from there and develop a relationship with the lads or lasses in the shop.

Clothing the Dhb stuff form Wiggle.com is pretty well received with decent quality at a good price, and measurement charts are fairly accurate aswell

tetley10

I'm new to it. I went to my local bike shop to get my bike. I researched prices for the bikes online and then got the shop to match the price not sure of all shops do this though. I got my shoes, pedals and lights from the shop.
The clothing I got online.

smoggysteve

Go online and research what you want. The more information you have the less likely you are going to be shoved onto a bike that you doesn't fit you. I would as mentioned above but from your LBS but be sure you get what you want, no what they want to get rid of. This is probably the ideal time to first time buy as the deals you can get on a 2012 bike are excellent if you look. And never be afraid to get a second opinion from elsewhere. Especially when it comes to sizing. A badly fitting bike can cause back and knee pain and before you know it you are sacking off cycling cos the bikes wrong. And that would be a big shame.

danlikesbikes

As others have said do your research & get an idea of what is out there for your budget. Then go to a LBS and try out some bikes & get their advice also.

Clothes you have lots of choice really, you will probably get the better deals online, though as its Jan most shops should have good sales on.

unixnerd

I'd never buy clothing or shoes online as it's too easy to get the wrong size. Bike shops can often do a deal to come near online prices and if you become a regular customer or join a local bike club they'll often do a 10%ish discount on most things. You may also find end of line bikes / last years model or ex-demo bikes at a good price.

DarioL

Thank you all for the great advice.
The thing is, that after I conducted research I got even more confused but I figured it out eventually. I ended up getting TREK which turned out to be a good bargain. As for cloths, there are so many brands to chose from. I educated myself on the fact that these cloths are made of different materials (i.e Lycra) and I went with design.

You were mostly right, it was a good decision to get the bike at a shop where I could try different styles, make sure the handle bar and seat were comfortable etc. But I ended up purchasing my cloths online at funkycyclewear, they seemed to have the nicest designs and advanced technology.

Do you know of any riding groups in Tucson, AZ?

Bullet1

DarioL wrote:

Do you know of any riding groups in Tucson, AZ?

Try looking online - within seconds I found the below
http://cactuscycling.org/

DarioL

Hmmm thanks but I was kind of thinking about a more personal riding group and not necessarly something I find on google...I am a bit old fashioned and prefer to go with a group someone actually knows...

MattyyP

DarioL wrote:

Hmmm thanks but I was kind of thinking about a more personal riding group and not necessarly something I find on google...I am a bit old fashioned and prefer to go with a group someone actually knows...

I doubt they'll bite...

renevat

Hi Dario, not sure how far you have got with your research but as a newbie I can wholeheartedly recommend Decathlon and the Triban 3, althought the 5 is getting lots of attention as well. The guys there are very helpful and the ones I have dealt with were very knowledgable. They also have an extensive range of clothing and accessories at very reasonable prices which helped me get started without breaking the bank I had to drive to Birmingham to get my bike so bought some clothing there but it was worth it. Good luck

HeatherMillsLeg

DarioL wrote:

Thank you all for the great advice.
The thing is, that after I conducted research I got even more confused but I figured it out eventually. I ended up getting TREK which turned out to be a good bargain. As for cloths, there are so many brands to chose from. I educated myself on the fact that these cloths are made of different materials (i.e Lycra) and I went with design.

You were mostly right, it was a good decision to get the bike at a shop where I could try different styles, make sure the handle bar and seat were comfortable etc. But I ended up purchasing my cloths online at funkycyclewear, they seemed to have the nicest designs and advanced technology.

Do you know of any riding groups in Tucson, AZ?

Isn't Lance Armstrong down that way?

I have heard he has quite a bit of spare time at the moment...

Just don't be offended if he calls you fat - he was only joking!

mogwai88

Hi Dario, I bought my bike online last summer, and to be honest Im kinda regretting not going to a LBS. I ended up getting the wrong size. Since its main purpose at the time was to commute the 8 mile journey to work this wasn't too much of a problem but now I'm putting in further miles at the weekend its started to become a bit of a nuisance. Im now saving for a nice looking Felt bike Ive seen in the window of my LBS