Looking for my first road bike! Which one?
gonzogon30
Posts: 8
To the road cycling community!
I'm a keen mountain biker but as I live in the flatlands of the east midlands, mountains are in short supply! As a result I'm looking at buying a road bike to increase fitness (and reduce the post xmas waistline increase!).
Where do I start?
I've got around £300 - £500 to spend on the bike, but haven't a clue which brand, components, size I should be looking for.
Guessing size is a try before you buy situation but after that any advice will be gratefully received!
Cheers
I'm a keen mountain biker but as I live in the flatlands of the east midlands, mountains are in short supply! As a result I'm looking at buying a road bike to increase fitness (and reduce the post xmas waistline increase!).
Where do I start?
I've got around £300 - £500 to spend on the bike, but haven't a clue which brand, components, size I should be looking for.
Guessing size is a try before you buy situation but after that any advice will be gratefully received!
Cheers
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Comments
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Presuming that you're looking at buy new rather than second hand, you might want to have a look at this recent Cycling Weekly group test, this Road.cc feature on bikes under £500 (though I would avoid the Vitesse!) and this BikeRadar feature on bikes around the £500 mark. Don't forget to budget for extras that you might need such as clipless pedals. Test rides are a good idea, and that combined with the possibility of a proper bike-fit session are good reasons to buy from a shop rather than online. It's also worth checking out second-hand options too. There might be some post-Christmas bargains to be had.0
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gonzogon30 wrote:To the road cycling community!
I'm a keen mountain biker but as I live in the flatlands of the east midlands, mountains are in short supply! As a result I'm looking at buying a road bike to increase fitness (and reduce the post xmas waistline increase!).
Where do I start?
I've got around £300 - £500 to spend on the bike, but haven't a clue which brand, components, size I should be looking for.
Guessing size is a try before you buy situation but after that any advice will be gratefully received!
Cheers
I got into road cycling at the start of October and I picked up a Triban 3 from Decathlon for £300. Google a review of it if you want to read up about it... from what I have learned it is more or less always touted as the best bike under £500. I have not got anything to compare it to as it is my first bike, but I am more than happy with it so far. It's quite light and has a carbon fork which is a bit of a bonus. I've made a few upgrades to it since then, but nothing major.
Just be aware if you have not got any of the gear be prepared to spend a lot more on it than the bike itself. I think I have spent in excess of £500 since October on gear!
You can look on various guides online for an idea of what size bike you may need, but yeah, you need to go and sit on one to see if it right for you - there are a large variation in body sizes/lenghts etc!
All the best.0 -
Yep, the Triban is included in some of the group tests I linked to.0
