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about to buy my first road bike

anthony23cottonanthony23cotton Posts: 3
edited July 2013 in Road buying advice
Hi im about to buy my first road bike but im a bit confused and unsure on what to buy and was looking for some advice.. I only have limited funds and cant stretch beyond £250 which having looked doesnt get me alot.. but is there any makes or brands that should be avoided.. ive seen a road bike in tesco for £130 but that sounds to cheap.. help

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  • cat_with_no_tailcat_with_no_tail Posts: 12,981
    Save a bit longer and get the Triban 3 from Decathalon for £300.
    http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-roa ... 39800.html

    Failing that, the Fit 3 from the same place will be the best buy for your budget @ £249 (or £220 in store): http://www.decathlon.co.uk/fit-3-road-b ... 39797.html

    Avoid anything from Supermarkets or catalogues like you would avoid gonorrhea. Also, Halfords don't have anything worth buying at that price either so avoid them too.
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  • Camcycle1974Camcycle1974 Posts: 1,356
    anthony23cotton wrote:
    Hi im about to buy my first road bike but im a bit confused and unsure on what to buy and was looking for some advice.. I only have limited funds and cant stretch beyond £250 which having looked doesnt get me alot.. but is there any makes or brands that should be avoided.. ive seen a road bike in tesco for £130 but that sounds to cheap.. help

    Look on Ebay and get a 2nd hand Defy or similar. Nothing new worth buying at that price.
  • markhewitt1978markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    £250 isn't enough for a road bike. Second hand you're still going to be struggling.
  • oxomanoxoman Posts: 11,188
    It looks like 2nd hand is your best option with that budget in mind. Only buy if you know someone who is experienced and knows what their looking at. Best option is save a bit more up for a triban or similar or try 0% percent finance on something better. Have to agree with the replys above, look on the classifieds on here you never know. I was lucky i picked a 2008 Dawes Giro 300 up for £120 a couple of years ago and have done a few thousand miles on it since, currently my wet weather and winter bike. Give people an idea of your location and you might find somebody with something that will do you to start with. Tesco / Argos bikes would put you off riding a bike for life, they are cheap and nasty like something you would get from poundland and breaks after 5 minutes. Good luck and welcome to the forum.
    Too many bikes according to Mrs O.
  • sloppyschleckondssloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    markhewitt1978 wrote:
    £250 isn't enough for a road bike. Second hand you're still going to be struggling.

    Think I paid £75 for my first road bike. I was 11.
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • markhewitt1978markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    I certainly didn't have £75 pocket money to spend when I was 11!
  • gozzygozzy Posts: 640
    markhewitt1978 wrote:
    £250 isn't enough for a road bike. Second hand you're still going to be struggling.

    That depends, I got a 2nd hand Giant SCR2 for £180 on ebay 3 years ago, they still go for more than that now on there.
  • markhewitt1978markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    Of course it depends, I just meant you'd struggle to get anything good for that price tag, but it's by no means impossible!
  • supermurph09supermurph09 Posts: 2,471
    Do you have any form of cycle scheme at work? If not, get them to register. Opens up a world of possibilities.
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  • anthony23cottonanthony23cotton Posts: 3
    Thanks for all your advice ive now upped my budget to £500 max (altho if my girlfriend finds out she'll kill me lol) ive looked at the trek series 1 and the scott speedster 60.. they were the cheapest 2 bikes in my local bike shop at £499 and £550 is there anything else at that price range that I should look at?
  • markhewitt1978markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    If you are looking at the Trek 1.1 make sure you get the 2014 model as it has the newer Claris groupset and a carbon fork.
  • dwaynemaxidwaynemaxi Posts: 22
    Hi buddy,

    I see u have up'd ur budget, exactly the same as I did lol. I've just received my 1st road bike from Merlin, link below...
    http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/bikes/road-bikes/merlin-road-bikes/merlin-s2200-road-bike.html

    I'm very happy with the bike so far, obviously still early days but I think most ppl would agree the components are decent enough for a entry bike :-)
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