completely new-bought bike. is it worth the money?

speedescu
speedescu Posts: 3
edited March 2013 in Road beginners
Hi everyone

I'm literally just starting out in the world of road cycling.

Went to decathlon at the weekend to look at the tribal 3 as a starter bike: http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-red ... 74036.html

I'd read the reviews which were good and the staff were really helpful but went away for a think as after reading some posts on here a fair few people said it would be worth trying to get a good second hand bike where you get more kit for your cash. In a bit of a mad minute I bought this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271170256137? ... 1423.l2649

I'm now a bit concerned I've made a bad purchase.

Any advance would be great (hopefully good news?)

Thanks :)

Comments

  • pride4ever
    pride4ever Posts: 510
    Oh boy!
    the deeper the section the deeper the pleasure.
  • Sprool
    Sprool Posts: 1,022
    cant comment on the ebay item, the triban 3 gets a lot of good reviews as a cost-effective decent quality starter bike and it has the benefit of being able to go back to decent tech support at the shop for advice about fitting, repairs, maintenance and spares. With ebay purchase you are on your own with no comeback. In light of your inexperience, with this area, I'd suggest maybe the safer Triban route might have been more prudent.
  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    Hello & welcome to BR.

    Don't know anything about the bike myself, but know lots of other users rave about it for the money.

    Have just linked into a search for you so you can see what others have said - search.php?keywords=Triban+3&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sr=posts&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • Sprool
    Sprool Posts: 1,022
    you probably really didnt want to hear all this did you?
  • Mikey41
    Mikey41 Posts: 690
    speedescu wrote:
    I'm literally just starting out in the world of road cycling.
    ..
    ..

    I'm now a bit concerned I've made a bad purchase.
    Ummm, I really have no idea about what you've bought. It's been put together from leftovers of various ages by the looks of it. At least it was only a couple of hundred. It might ride really well, as long as all of that lot works properly together. It's an unknown.

    If you hate it, you'd likely get your money back (or most of it) for it by re-selling it.

    The Triban on the other hand is a bargain for a new bike. For what it has, any other manufacturer would be selling it for £500 no problem at all.

    Good luck with your purchase, let us know how it goes!
    Giant Defy 2 (2012)
    Giant Defy Advanced 2 (2013)
    Giant Revel 1 Ltd (2013)
    Strava
  • Buckie2k5
    Buckie2k5 Posts: 600
    i had a triban3, great bike and will serve you well. Also you have a full warranty that you wounldnt have had on a used bike on ebay.

    Just get out there and enjoy it. btw if u get bored and want to upgrade i sold mine 5 months later for £250 so its really a no lose situation.
  • g00se
    g00se Posts: 2,221
    Personally, I wouldn't have gone for that one off of ebay without riding it (and being able to compare it to something).

    Saying that, it MAY be a peach to ride and a bargain but it's a risk to buy something put together like that from bits. The description does read like a second hand car salesman...

    These are the issues:

    Frame - the description is wrong. The text about the RRP etc is from here: http://www.wilsoncycles.co.uk/shop/prod ... prod=00052 but that's from a modern build on a classic steel frame design. Your bike is aluminium. So it's the same company but probably of lesser value.

    It's a 1 inch headset - so its an old frame probably early 2000s.
    Groupset is mixed and dated. Square taper bottom bracket and single pivot brake calipers (!?!?). Worth checking the condition.
    Carbon bars seem nice but a bit unnecessary. Old school shape too - most modern setups have compact bars with horizontal tops.
    The wheels are very basic - despite what's said about the hubs. Good tyres though - if not too warn.

    It all depends how it rides - if it rides well, then it's worth the money. If it's a mess, then you should be able to recover a fair amount of the money reselling or pxing it.

    By the way - single pivot brakes were superceeded by dual pivots a while back (apart from some funky rear brake options where single pivots are used to limit the effectiveness compared to the front to help stop rear-wheel lock). If the braking is bad, you can get decent, cheap dual-pivots to make it a bit safer - but I think those 105 calipers may be decent even for single-pivots - so worth checking out and comparing with modern brakes.


    Saying all this though - the seller does have very good feedback which is reassuring.
  • dowtcha
    dowtcha Posts: 442
    The chainset is a double 53-39, I hope you live some where flat. A compact 50-34 is better if you have weak legs like me.
  • Buckie2k5
    Buckie2k5 Posts: 600
    Dowtcha wrote:
    The chainset is a double 53-39, I hope you live some where flat. A compact 50-34 is better if you have weak legs like me.


    do you mean on the triban? the triban is a triple.
  • whitestar1
    whitestar1 Posts: 530
    Sprool wrote:
    cant comment on the ebay item, the triban 3 gets a lot of good reviews as a cost-effective decent quality starter bike and it has the benefit of being able to go back to decent tech support at the shop for advice about fitting, repairs, maintenance and spares. With ebay purchase you are on your own with no comeback. In light of your inexperience, with this area, I'd suggest maybe the safer Triban route might have been more prudent.

    I agree 100% newbies should always make sure that they source their first bike from a reliable source, I would even go so far as say Halfords - God forgive me! than off ebay or second hand. It's all about when you get in trouble who you going to call? For me £300 is a lot of money first bike was at Decathlon for £500 and that was 2 years ago and never had a problem with them when there was a problem. Believe me when I say there will be problems, has someone who knew absolutely noting about bikes they were my life line and I am still riding my bike today.
    Ride Safe! Keep Safe!
    Specialized Roubaix Comp 2017
    Cube Agree Pro 2014
    Triban 7 2013
    RockRider 8.0 2011
    http://www.whitestar1.co.uk
  • dowtcha
    dowtcha Posts: 442
    Buckie2k5 wrote:
    Dowtcha wrote:
    The chainset is a double 53-39, I hope you live some where flat. A compact 50-34 is better if you have weak legs like me.


    do you mean on the triban? the triban is a triple.
    I mean the bike he bought on ebay. The triban gearing is great for a beginner..
  • speedescu
    speedescu Posts: 3
    Hi everyone

    Thanks for all your comments - although not what I was hoping to hear I'm glad you've all been nice and objective rather than judgemental :)
    It was a naive purchase and I've definitely learnt a bit of a harsh lesson.

    Thanks
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    It might be fine. The main thing is - does it fit you ? If not - then put it back on eBay.
    And I'd sort out the saddle angle first.
  • gethinceri
    gethinceri Posts: 1,640
    Don't worry about any of it speedescu , you've spent a couple of hundred quid to see if you get into cycling, just look at it that way. If the bike is safe and fits you then you've won. My bike cost me £325 off ebay and I consider it money very well spent, it has proved to me that i can get an enjoyable pastime that will benefit my health. I'm already looking for my next bike (after 4 months) and that'll cost me a couple of grand but I don't regret a speculative purchase from ebay.

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