Entry level roadbike

Restyle

I'm looking for an entry level roadbike but I'm a total newb in road stuff.

I really fancy http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/ ... sport-disc but i'm clueless about groups and stiffness and design on a roadbike..

I want a road bike for some cruising/training on the road between my MTB rides.
Price about 1200$/1000€/850£

Anyone got some advice on nice roadbikes?

alidaf

Add a Giant Defy to your shortlist, but ultimately, try before you buy. I've been on bikes that I absolutely hated but tried the Defy 2 and loved it. The lower the number, the better the components but the higher the price. They all have the same frame though but the higher ones have neater welds. Going up the range adds a carbon fork and a carbon seatpost at some point. For £850, I'm sure you could get the Defy 1.
The Defy is a little more relaxed than some of the other models. I think their racer is the TCR but I didn't take to it at all. The Defy may suit you better after MTB.
Cannondale are also popular in that price bracket but I'm not too familiar with them.

unixnerd

Don't get hung up on disc brakes unless you plan on riding in the wet a lot. For the same money a non-disc bike will have a better spec. You want something with Shimano 105 as that's the sweet spot price / performance wise. Cannondale CAAD8 and Synapse are worth a look too, not that there's anything wrong with a Secteur. There's a lot of good bikes around, just see what you can get the best deal on.

Manufacturers tend to skimp on the wheels, so pay attention to what you're getting unless you plan to upgrade them.

cycleclinic

Tifosi CK7 or Geneis equilibrium -both have mudguards and I think that is important if you are having just one bike.
The Tifosi comes with Miche wheels which are robust and the Genesis comes with some 32 spoke efforts on Shimano hubs so they should be fine.

The tifosi is an alloy frame and the Genesis is a steel frame but both do the job well as all weather road bikes and both come with decent kit.

Keith1983

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXKAFF2T ... -road-bike

Seems to tick all the boxes?

Restyle

Keith1983 wrote:

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXKAFF2TIA/planet-x-kaffenback-2-shimano-tiagra-road-bike

Seems to tick all the boxes?

I have been looking at http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPULT ... -road-bike to it's little over budget but Ultegra + carbon frame for that price.. looks to good to be true, anyone got experience in this?

Also looked for some 2nd hand bikes but i'm pretty tall, it's hard to find a good deal on that.

Thanks for the advice so far will check out all recommendations!

Keith1983

Restyle wrote:

Keith1983 wrote:

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXKAFF2TIA/planet-x-kaffenback-2-shimano-tiagra-road-bike

Seems to tick all the boxes?

I have been looking at http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPULT ... -road-bike to it's little over budget but Ultegra + carbon frame for that price.. looks to good to be true, anyone got experience in this?

Also looked for some 2nd hand bikes but i'm pretty tall, it's hard to find a good deal on that.

Thanks for the advice so far will check out all recommendations!

Or if you're more bothered about disc brakes, and you can stretch to £1k, then maybe this?

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXXLS105 ... cross-bike

tarbot18

Have a look at a Boardman for a grand you'll get 105 and a carbon frame or an alu version with better spec .

Dont listen to the bike snobs theres only 2 factories churning out 95% of the worlds bike frames its only the components the bike companies bolt on not many of them make anything anymore.

kajjal

If you are tall and weight about 100kg then disc brakes are worth considering in general. Road bikes are generally ridden by lighter riders and for them rim brakes are fine. Add another 30kg of rider weight to get to 100kg and rim brakes are OK but not as good as disc brakes especially in wetter conditions. Coming from MTB disc brakes I noticed the lack of power and modulation in road bike rim brakes. It is down to personal preference.

How tall are you and roughly what do you weight ?

To give you a comparison I am over 6ft6 and weight about 100kg. I ride a 62cm Trek 1.5 at the moment which fits me fine after I adjusted the setup, bought better brakes / pads and also bought a new wider saddle. My bike is now comfortable for riding three hours or more. Being my height you have to be careful about bike sizing.

Restyle

Im not really bothered with disks or not but like them a lot on my mtb.
Their a nice extra but i think im better off with a better group, im not planning to break much, powerrr!!
Im 6ft2 and weigh 83kg long and skinny

rickeverett

Firstly this Felt F6 Has got to be one of the best deals around at the moment for the £850-900 mark... reduced from £1500 ! !

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-f6-apex-2013/

Dont think you can beat that above.

These Canyons however are almost as light and the spec is good too...
https://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/se ... te-al.html

gimpl

Kajjal wrote:

If you are tall and weight about 100kg then disc brakes are worth considering in general. Road bikes are generally ridden by lighter riders and for them rim brakes are fine. Add another 30kg of rider weight to get to 100kg and rim brakes are OK but not as good as disc brakes especially in wetter conditions. Coming from MTB disc brakes I noticed the lack of power and modulation in road bike rim brakes. It is down to personal preference.

How tall are you and roughly what do you weight ?

To give you a comparison I am over 6ft6 and weight about 100kg. I ride a 62cm Trek 1.5 at the moment which fits me fine after I adjusted the setup, bought better brakes / pads and also bought a new wider saddle. My bike is now comfortable for riding three hours or more. Being my height you have to be careful about bike sizing.

We're nearly the same height & weight and I have experienced no problems whatsoever with rim brakes riding in all weathers - clearly in the wet I am braking much earlier but I do that when driving too so not really an issue.

I'm sure that disc brakes would be better (not tried them yet on a bike) and I do believe that at some point in the future they will all have them but for now I certainly wouldn't exclude any rim braked bikes - just brake earlier.

markhewitt1978

Rim brakes are ok in the wet in my experience, where they falter is with dirt, if you're riding through muddy puddles, or off road, then dirt can get between the pad and the rim severely affecting performance. I've no idea if the same applies to disc brakes.

Restyle

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Rim brakes are ok in the wet in my experience, where they falter is with dirt, if you're riding through muddy puddles, or off road, then dirt can get between the pad and the rim severely affecting performance. I've no idea if the same applies to disc brakes.

disk breaks are okay in wet and dirty conditions, but i'm going for rim breaks since disk comes at a price and i'm on a budget, rather have a better group then disks.

kajjal

Gimpl wrote:

Kajjal wrote:

If you are tall and weight about 100kg then disc brakes are worth considering in general. Road bikes are generally ridden by lighter riders and for them rim brakes are fine. Add another 30kg of rider weight to get to 100kg and rim brakes are OK but not as good as disc brakes especially in wetter conditions. Coming from MTB disc brakes I noticed the lack of power and modulation in road bike rim brakes. It is down to personal preference.

How tall are you and roughly what do you weight ?

To give you a comparison I am over 6ft6 and weight about 100kg. I ride a 62cm Trek 1.5 at the moment which fits me fine after I adjusted the setup, bought better brakes / pads and also bought a new wider saddle. My bike is now comfortable for riding three hours or more. Being my height you have to be careful about bike sizing.

We're nearly the same height & weight and I have experienced no problems whatsoever with rim brakes riding in all weathers - clearly in the wet I am braking much earlier but I do that when driving too so not really an issue.

I'm sure that disc brakes would be better (not tried them yet on a bike) and I do believe that at some point in the future they will all have them but for now I certainly wouldn't exclude any rim braked bikes - just brake earlier.

I came to road biking from an XC mountain bike with disc brakes. In the summer it felt like someone had stolen my brakes using the the rim brakes on my road bike in comparison. In the wet the difference is much more marked. The big different is in power and modulation which means you can brake later with a lot more confidence and control using discs.

markhewitt1978

Perhaps if we fast forward 5 years or so the majority of road bikes will have disc brakes and only the cheapest models won't have them (and perhaps the most expensive if the UCI still don't approve for racing)

gimpl

Kajjal wrote:

I came to road biking from an XC mountain bike with disc brakes. In the summer it felt like someone had stolen my brakes using the the rim brakes on my road bike in comparison. In the wet the difference is much more marked. The big different is in power and modulation which means you can brake later with a lot more confidence and control using discs.

I have no doubt they are better it's just that I don't think they are absolutely necessary and I don't agree that rim brakes are mostly used by lighter riders. I also have very good control with my rim brakes.

kajjal

Gimpl wrote:

Kajjal wrote:

I came to road biking from an XC mountain bike with disc brakes. In the summer it felt like someone had stolen my brakes using the the rim brakes on my road bike in comparison. In the wet the difference is much more marked. The big different is in power and modulation which means you can brake later with a lot more confidence and control using discs.

I have no doubt they are better it's just that I don't think they are absolutely necessary and I don't agree that rim brakes are mostly used by lighter riders. I also have very good control with my rim brakes.

My point was road bikers tend to be a lot lighter than me at 100kg, meaning with 30kg or less weight rim brakes work a lot better than in my experience. Not that lighter bikers use rim brakes

Until I had disc brakes I thought I had plenty of braking control, only took one ride to change my mind. I could pull up really quickly without locking up and brake a lot later if needed. Useful for dodging cars pulling out in front of you, people crossing the road without looking etc. Good for steep hills and braking late for corners. Wet or dry makes no real difference. Like most things on bikes it just a personal preference