Poll: how much did you spend on your first adult road bike?

schweiz

I got my first 'adult sized' road bike aged 13 in 1990 following an accident where I ended up under the wheels of a Seat Marbella when the dozy cow driving was to busy gas bagging with her mum and turned right at a junction without looking/seeing me. I (well my dad) paid £120 (£235 adjusted for inflation) for an Apollo road bike from Halfords. It had a bio pace chainset, a yellow lycra saddle cover, indexed gears (downtube), concealed brake cables and I thought I was tbe bee's knees! Last I heard of it, it was still being ridden by an ex-workmate of my dads.

That was replaced by a Gary Fisher Aquila mountain bike in 1994. Fully rigid, STX throughout, gripshift and what I still consider to be the best colour of any of my bikes....British racing green with gold decals. It's now back at my parents and would have cost a whopping £575 (£920) which when I was on £2.30/hour (£3.68) doing my Saturday/Holiday job at Blacks was a crazy amount! I think I got it for around £475 as the Freewheel shop was next to Blacks on Deansgate and they did me a deal. IIRC the SPDs and Shoes set me back about another £150 (£240). Bog standard SPD's were 60 or 70 quid!

My first road bike that I purchased myself was a secondhand BMC Streetfire SSX in 2007. It cost CHF 1490 (£650/£735). Ultegra 6500 Triple. I still remember by first 'pass'. It was the Brünigpass which climbs to a 'whopping' 1007 m. I had to get off to drink as I couldn't pedal and drink at the same time on the steeper sections. Now the Brünig is just an annoying lump on the way to bigger and better climbs!

If you consider that I managed to build my new BMC Racemaster for less than CHF 4000 (£2860) last winter, that's about 3 times the inflation adjusted cost of the Gary Fisher yet I earn quite a bit more than £11/hour. My dad was right...I was crazy spending that much!

Pross

Less than £200 for me but that was in 1989 out of my first pay packet - a Raleigh Banana team replica. I joined a club shortly afterwards and soon realised that despite it having dropped bars and 12 gears it wasn't really a racing bike, it had a cro moly frame, stainless steel wheels, appalling brakes and weighed probably around 15kgs. When I started racing a few months later I bought a second hand British Eagle Vitus with some nice Campag bits for £200 and then a set of new wheels to go on it for about £100. I raced this for a year or so and then treated myself to a 'custom built' (off the peg frame painted to my choice of colour) 653 from Ribble built up with Ultegra 600 groupset, Mavic Mach 2 wheels, Cinelli stem and post and Rolls saddle which cost £800 in 1991 and which was my main bike until 2009 (now my winter bike / commuter).

sancho_uk

After a lot of umming and arring i finally took the plunge and purchased my first "Road Bike", after years of Mountain Bking.

I started with a budget of £700 and was determined not to spend more, but almost everything i looked at i was thinking about little bits and pieces to upgrade it straight away. (Which from MTB experience costs you a lot more in the long run).

So to cut a long story short i was an idiot and bought a "Focus Cayo 2.0 Ultegra 2012" for £1199. It should be with me on Monday which i am rather excited about. Just wish i was a little better at sticking to my supposed budget

Lord Jimmy 7th

Mine was a 2nd hand trek 1200sl. Bought for just under £300
Was a bit large but served me for a few years until I got a carbon bike. Also did my first time trial on it

MattC59

About £1200 on a Trek 1.9 in 2009. It's been a great bike.

I'd probably not have spent so much if I'd not been cycling for for most of my life and was 99.99% sure that I was going to love it. It's now got mud guards on and is my foul weather bike.

CiB

I have a vague recollection of writing three post-dated cheques that came to about £180 way back when in 1984 for a Dawes racing bike. Apart from it being red I remember nothing at all about it, other than selling it 6 years later for about £70 to a student.

chigman

Just bought my first road bike on 2/1/13 for £2,500 smackers. Canyon ultimate cf slx 7.0. Cant frigging wait. 8)

Steve

blackhands

£29 in 1956 (that's £66 in today's money. It was an F C Parkes with Campag gears - I did everything on it - raced, club runs, touring, going to school.

MARK311069

I have just sent 1k on my first road bike a moda rubato done 21 miles on it and fell of on ice and have broken my hip, the wife is not amused

Muffintop

*With Much Smuggness* I spent £35 buying a Dawes tourer second hand in 2010. Then about a week before the Etape 'we' spent £650 on a Specialised Dolce 5 months later as the Dawes back deraileur sheared itself off the frame and wrapped its way around the back wheel. Have since fixed the Dawes and now use it as my trash bike.

stueys

Lets not do the 'how much did you spend on your road bike once you'd caught the bug' poll

prando

2 years ago a carrera virtuosa at circa £300. Have subsequently changed tyres (£70) mudguards (£35) Pedals (£40) Still going strong. I keep looking enviously at others, quite like Giant, but at the moment will keep my cash in the bank.