Entry level road bike

benchallinor

I know this question has probably been asked 100 times before, but I'm going to ask it again!

I've always been a MTBer, but I'm now looking for an entry level road bike. I've found a few (seemingly) decent options for around £300, so I don't really want to spend more than this in case it turns out to be a fad!

Options are as follows:

Triban 3 (£300, new)
Carrera TDF (£250, new)
Trek 1200 (£250, second hand) (someone at work is selling this, so could be bartered down)
Or other second hand bikes around the £300 mark...

Any opinions/suggestions would be appreciated.

Alitogata

Triban 3. I have test ride it and it is one of the best value for money options. A friend of mine used it as a commuter for the whole winter in Holland, commuting 60 km every day, and brought it from Amsterdam to Athens full loaded with bags and panniers. Perfect for commuting, more than perfect for travelling.

zx6man

I got a tdf for 250 a few years back.

3 reasons
Didn't know about the triban :-) ,
but prefer the yellow to the red of the triban, and also didn't want a triple.

benchallinor

Cheers for the replies. It looks like the red Triban is no longer available and the new version is white without the carbon forks. Haven't had chance to see if any of the other spec has been changed.

I've just thrown a spanner in the works by realising that if I get a bike through our cycle to work scheme, I could get say a £500 bike for £340 with the tax relief.

So for this price, what's best? Giant Defy 5 2013 is £499 at my local bike shop...

markhewitt1978

benchallinor wrote:

Cheers for the replies. It looks like the red Triban is no longer available and the new version is white without the carbon forks. Haven't had chance to see if any of the other spec has been changed.

I've just thrown a spanner in the works by realising that if I get a bike through our cycle to work scheme, I could get say a £500 bike for £340 with the tax relief.

So for this price, what's best? Giant Defy 5 2013 is £499 at my local bike shop...

Alu fork. For £550 you can have a Trek 1.1 2014 with Claris groupset and carbon fork for £550. Slight catch being that it isn't available, yet.

supermurph09

The limit on cycle to work is £1,000. There's an even bigger spanner for you!

benchallinor

Supermurph09 wrote:

The limit on cycle to work is £1,000. There's an even bigger spanner for you!

True, but the limit set by my wife is £300! Also, the scheme doesn't reopen until 1 September, can I wait that long?!

markhewitt1978

benchallinor wrote:

Supermurph09 wrote:

The limit on cycle to work is £1,000. There's an even bigger spanner for you!

True, but the limit set by my wife is £300! Also, the scheme doesn't reopen until 1 September, can I wait that long?!

With respect to your good lady wife, perhaps she doesn't understand how much bikes -- especially road bikes, actually cost? I know because I had the same issue to start out with, you think you'd be able to get something reasonable for £300, whereas in reality you're talking more like £500 for a reasonable hybrid and upwards of £750 for a reasonable road bike.

benchallinor

markhewitt1978 wrote:

benchallinor wrote:

Supermurph09 wrote:

The limit on cycle to work is £1,000. There's an even bigger spanner for you!

True, but the limit set by my wife is £300! Also, the scheme doesn't reopen until 1 September, can I wait that long?!

With respect to your good lady wife, perhaps she doesn't understand how much bikes -- especially road bikes, actually cost? I know because I had the same issue to start out with, you think you'd be able to get something reasonable for £300, whereas in reality you're talking more like £500 for a reasonable hybrid and upwards of £750 for a reasonable road bike.

I know what you're saying, but as I am completely new to road bikes it's difficult to justify spending a lot on something I might not take to. The options I've got around £300 all seem quite reasonable for my needs.

supermurph09

What you need to consider is the accessories and gear you will need. Pedals, helmet, shoes, bib shorts, jersey, waterproof, trackpump, spare tubes, levers, glasses, gloves, base layers. Not trying to put you off here!

I'd use the cyclescheme, get yourself the Triban to test the water with and all the essential gear, enjoy riding it from September to March, then start looking for your carbon dream machine. It will happen.....................

zx6man

benchallinor wrote:

Cheers for the replies. It looks like the red Triban is no longer available and the new version is white without the carbon forks. Haven't had chance to see if any of the other spec has been changed.

I've just thrown a spanner in the works by realising that if I get a bike through our cycle to work scheme, I could get say a £500 bike for £340 with the tax relief.

So for this price, what's best? Giant Defy 5 2013 is £499 at my local bike shop...

Both sheffield and bolton had some triban 3 so worth phoning to check

benchallinor

Supermurph09 wrote:

What you need to consider is the accessories and gear you will need. Pedals, helmet, shoes, bib shorts, jersey, waterproof, trackpump, spare tubes, levers, glasses, gloves, base layers. Not trying to put you off here!

I'd use the cyclescheme, get yourself the Triban to test the water with and all the essential gear, enjoy riding it from September to March, then start looking for your carbon dream machine. It will happen.....................

The gear doesn't put me off, used to that through years of MTBing.

Kind of limited with the Cyclescheme to independent shops. Fortunately there's a few local ones, so Giant, Specialized, Raleigh and Trek are all covered.

trek_dan

If budget is genuinely very tight look out for something second hand, bikes 'collection only' on Ebay can be bargains, I got a perfectly acceptable Raleigh Airlite for £90, sold it on through this forum for £140 when I didn't need it anymore. If you find road cycling to your liking then you might aswell go for the cycle to work scheme, pay for it monthly and take the full £1000 to get some decent gear aswell. The wife will never know..

markhewitt1978

benchallinor wrote:

I know what you're saying, but as I am completely new to road bikes it's difficult to justify spending a lot on something I might not take to. The options I've got around £300 all seem quite reasonable for my needs.

I know, not trying to put you off at all. Just that you have to be realistic about what you are going to get for that price.

I started this time last year with a £350 hybrid. In February it was hit by a car, I was sat (lying!) at the side of the road with a smile on my face thinking - road bike here I come!

benchallinor

trek_dan wrote:

If budget is genuinely very tight look out for something second hand, bikes 'collection only' on Ebay can be bargains, I got a perfectly acceptable Raleigh Airlite for £90, sold it on through this forum for £140 when I didn't need it anymore. If you find road cycling to your liking then you might aswell go for the cycle to work scheme, pay for it monthly and take the full £1000 to get some decent gear aswell. The wife will never know..

I like your thinking. Maybe I'll keep looking for a good second hand buy on ebay. Then next year get something decent through cyclescheme.

markhewitt1978

benchallinor wrote:

I like your thinking. Maybe I'll keep looking for a good second hand buy on ebay. Then next year get something decent through cyclescheme.

Sounds like a reasonable and sensible plan. Just set up your wifes expecations first. That this will be your 'first' bike and you're using it to get fit and see if you like cycling, with a view to buying something new next year.

Otherwise she'll be like "well there's nothing wrong with the bike you've got!"