After a roadbike for around £350 - Collected!

daniel_b

Hello all,

not for me, but my bro is after a bike for his gf as a present - she has ridden my gf's 52cm Trek, so we know that is about the size she will need.

Any recommendations please?

It's been a good 6 years since I have been looking for a bike to buy really, so am not sure what are the current good buys - at that time Trek 1000's were a bit of a bargain, and I landed this one (ex demo) for £300.

She won't need a WSD, standard mens will do fine.

Any amazing deals on, or second hand models I should be looking at?
If we were to look at a Giant, any idea if an Small would equate to a 52cm frame?

Cheers

Dan

EKE_38BPM

With that budget I'd either go 2nd hand or head down to Decathlon. If I put more thought into it I'd research new, but a barely used 2nd hand will be better value for money.

DrLex

EKE_38BPM wrote:

With that budget I'd either go 2nd hand or head down to Decathlon. If I put more thought into it I'd research new, but a barely used 2nd hand will be better value for money.

The frequency with which recommendations for Decathalon's Triban 3 come up on cycling fora makes me think it's the best choice unless you can't find one in your size.

rubertoe

Another advocate for the triban if your going down the new route and can find one in the right size. The guy who sits next to me has one for commuting and he has nothing but good things to say about it.

iPete

For geared roadies, I think there are only two real options buying new:
Decathlon Triban 3 or Halfords Carrera

http://www.btwin.com/en/sport-road-bike ... n-3-a.html

daniel_b

Awesome stuff, thankyou gents, had been looking at the Carrera Virtuoso, allegedly reduced from £550 to £380, but with discounts I could bag it for £304.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_810601_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

Stupidly had entirely forgotten about Decathlon bikes, and Reading is only 20 miles from us - do you still think the slightly cheaper £280 V £304 Triban 3 is a better bike than the Virtuoso?

Cheers

Dan

SteppenHerring

I've got a 49cm Allez 16 that my son's grown out of. Has an FSA compact chainset instead of the normal 53/39.

The Rookie

Daniel B wrote:

Carrera Virtuoso, allegedly reduced from £550 to £380

Never a £550 bike, ever, but good value for money at £380 (better still at £304!)

rubertoe

The Beginner wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

Carrera Virtuoso, allegedly reduced from £550 to £380

Never a £550 bike, ever, but good value for money at £380 (better still at £304!)

I had a Virtuoso as my first proper adult bike and i loved it, it couldnt be faulted for the money really £<300, although the wheels were rubbish.

I do think that one of the tribans comes with similar spec, but with better wheels (I may be wrong) and a carbon fork.

Fireblade96

I've got a Carrera Virtuoso too, I needed a cheap bike I could leave in Ireland for when I'm visiting family and it does that job fine. it has clearance for full mudguards (important for a bike in Ireland!), and would be fine for a beginner.

I find the gears tend to need fairly regular tweaking to keep them shifting smoothly, but no other problems to report.

Don't pay more than £350, they're always on sale, and always "reduced from £500ish".

daniel_b

Thanks all, spoke to my bro tonight, and he plans for his gf to be able to ride this bike where they live in Italy - thing is they live in a mountain resort, so he thinks the triple on the Triban would make more sense.

Wonder what prices are like at local Decathlon stores in Italy, that could be more sensible of course.

daniel_b

Just noticed that the Triban 3 posted above is a 3A and seems to have a non carbon fork - looks like the Triban 3 was the one to get: http://www.btwin.com/en/sport-road-bikes/3858-triban-3.html as it has the carbon fork, but sadly looks to be in very short, or pretty much non existent supply, at least online.

Italian website looks the same re stock, and with the exchange rate it weights in at around £330 anyway, so still cheaper here.

I wonder if that means thay are out of stock of the Triban 3 until much later this year - anyone know how their supplies work, or when a new model might be due out?
Will call my local branch tomorrow - but blimey, £300 with a carbon fork in 2012\13, that's a serious deal I would wager.

apreading

Several Triban 3 Reds in the Reading store a couple of days ago. The stock online doesnt always show all the stock they have in the store though, so dont rule it out if the website says not in stock - give them a call.

daniel_b

Thanks AP - will call them later today, seems that the online price is £314 delivered, where as it's £329 in store though, so conceivably saving £15 by not going instore, IF I can find it in stock.

Blandiblub

I'm not 100% on this but the guy I spoke to in Decathlon seemed to suggest the new white Triban 3 was not a replacement for the red 3, more of a new model with a bit cheaper spec but, er, for the same price. He said that 'it's more of a Triban 1, if you like'.

Dunno whether that suggests the red 3 will continue to be stocked but that's what I came away feeling.

I was in there for a new 5 so wasn't paying that much attention to the 3 talk.

daniel_b

That was what I read on an online post elsewhere too, whilst trawling, that the 3A seems to be a poor cousin to the highly rated 3 (And £20 cheaper), nice to hear it confirmed though

All set on trying to bag a 3 now.

EKE_38BPM

The is/was a guy on here who was a manager in a Decathlon store who may be able to advise, check stock etc.

His user namer is GSXXER or something like that. He rides a motorbike, hence the username.

daniel_b

EKE_38BPM wrote:

The is/was a guy on here who was a manager in a Decathlon store who may be able to advise, check stock etc.

His user namer is GSXXER or something like that. He rides a motorbike, hence the username.

The forum does amazing things again!

Cheers for that, I will drop him a line should I get no joy when I call them at lunchtime - I knew it was a fine idea to post on here 8)

Blandiblub

Annoyingly, I noticed last night that their website showed the 5 as in stock (two green circles to indicate stock levels) but when you click on the product page, there's nothing in stock.

I'm not ready to buy just yet so it doesn't matter but it's comforting if the website behaves.

daniel_b

Ok, so rang up at lunchtime, spoke to a very helpful chap called Edd - said they had none in stock at the mo, but that they were ordering a couple in in the size I was after.
He said they only have 28 in the warehouse (Not sure if that is just the size I am after or all sizes) that serves us and the north of France I think he said, and he also confirmed that the Triban 3 (Replacement for Triban 3 Red) is not as good a bike and has been downgraded, hence the red is the one to get if you can.
So far so good, just need to find out from my brother if he definitely wants me to go ahead, and will ring back later this week to see if they have a more accurate delivery date.
He also said that as long as it hadn't been used out and about, if the size was wrong we could get a refund - also confirmed the prince would be the same as on the website, so not £30 more as it seemed to suggest.

Thanks for all the help guys, will update as and when I lay my hands on one

Dan007

Carrera do a few that seem ok, and decathlon.

daniel_b

Picked it up this afternoon, very impressive little machine, and much more red than the bike as pictured on the website.

Tiagra front derailleur, and a really light bike - especially for £299.99 - signed up for a decathlon card as well, so that gives me £5 off my next purchase.

Superb VFM I would say, easily a genuine £500 in reality.

Thanks all, superb result