If you had to choose?!?

jamie 'jammy dodger'

Predicament....

Purchase either Decathlon triban 3 or carrera virtuoso with my own money?

Wait a few months and purchase Giant defy 5 with C2W scheme,then purchase upgrades,better gear/clothing with my own money?

The bikes mentioned are ones that caught my eye and spec seemed good for a road beginner,please feel free to throw in other cycle choices.

Cheers mateys

jamie 'jammy dodger'

Please ignore THIS IS A DOUBLE POST...MOBILE PHONE KEEPS ADDING THIS POST !!!!!!!

dannyharris

I got a carrera tdf. Would definitely get the virtuoso as a first time bike.
But if you don't mind second hand then look for something a bit better.

elderone

As I have a Carrera virtuoso myself I would recommend it.

Schoie81

I did exactly that - bought a Defy 5 with the cyclescheme and then other stuff myself. I haven't any knowledge of the other two bikes, but I would definitely recommend the Giant Defy 5 - i'm cycling over 100miles a week on mine and loving it. Had no problems at all with it yet.

Depending what gear/clothing you're looking at buying - you might be able to add that to your cycle to work scheme purchase - save yourself some more money!!

macleod113

in my opinion Decathlon bikes and especially the Triban 3 get great reviews and you seem to get a lot for your £300. Halfords have a bad reputation but its a good price. how would you fancy setting it up for yourself if the workshops are not always good?
i had the same buy it myself or C2W choice this year and got a Road bike on C2W and bought my own 29er. i'm a lot more comfortable with the MTB as i own it and it may be years before you own on the C2W scheme.
i have also bought 2nd hand bikes but not had much luck. i'd strongly recommend viewing before buying if you go down the 2nd hand route.
sorry if this has just added to the confusion. ultimately you have to decide what you want and of course which bike you like the most.

hairy_boy

All 3 bikes on your list will be good - best advice is to go see them in the flesh and give them a quick try - even if its just a quick go round the car park.

Buy the one which fits best and if more than one feel a good fit then buy the one you like the look of most. If you love a bike you will be more likely to ride it.

Once you have done a year or 2 on your 1st bike and you know you will stick with cycling then you could look at upgrading to a more expensive model new or second hand once you know what to look for.

Also, worth a mention:
The Triban 3 and Defy 5 are available as Triple chainsets (3 cogs on the front)
The Virtuoso I think is a compact (2 cogs on the front)
Compact chainsets are everywhere and are the trend (what pro's tend to ride). If you think you may struggle with big hills or live in a particularly hilly area then a triple chainset should provide a lower gear for crawling up hills.

paulorg

Test ride them all and then if you still can't decide buy the giant, awesome first bike IMO. I'm on a defy 1 and love it. If I had to moan, the tyres were like cheese slices and I'm pinging approx 1 spoke a year on the rear wheel but that aside, no complaints. Very comfy riding position and quite nicely equipped at that price