Viking Phantom?

Maiin

Good morning all,

This is my first post here on this lovely forums, I have a question.

I have been offered a Viking Phantom road bike, which I would guess is a entry-level road bike for only £80-100. Which I believe is rather cheap. The bike has barely been used and looks like it is in really good condition.
I will get clip-on shoes no matter what bike I get.

What do you all think about this bike? I want to start road biking, so is this a good entry level?

Phil_D

No, it's rubbish.

Frame heavier than the titanic.
Terrible components.
Handlebar mounted gears.

I can only think of two good reasons to have this:

1. You have been offered it for free.
2. You have no possible way of accessing more than £80 or saving up another £150 to £200.

If neither of those apply, then you really are better off keeping hold of your £80 and saving up until you have enough to buy one second hand off ebay.

For example:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/specialized-road-bike-/111451037437?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item19f2ffdefd

A far superior bicycle all round and only (currently) £100 more. You will get a few years at least out of it, whereas with the Phantom you will immediately regret it.

Tjgoodhew

DO NOT BUY THIS.

I did and it was dreadful. As Phil_D has said it is heavy, nothing works as it should, the components started falling apart after two weeks. I could go on. Now considering myself a bit more experienced with bikes i would say it is verging on dangerous

It is truly dreadful and im not surprised somebody is trying to offload it.

You would be MUCH better off saving a bit more and either picking up a decent bike 2nd hand or taking a look at Carrera TDF's from halfords or Triban 3 from Decathlon.

Jules Winnfield

Kill it with fire!

poacher13

Brutal relies, but totally honest i'm afraid. With a little research you could find better for yourself. Also try to save a few more pennies to help along the way, you wont regret it if you do it right.

razorsharpwhit

Having owned a Phantom, I feel compelled to reply on this thread (there could still be a few floating around out there right?).

What I'll say is, for a road-bike newbie it's potentially an OK starter bike, however you will quickly outgrow it.

The best way I can describe it is as a "cruiser". If you're happy not to put too many miles on it and just hop between pub beer gardens, then this could suit your needs as a casual rider.

I bought mine for something like £140 which is a bargain for a new road bike, although you get what you pay for to an extent. All the mod cons are very basic, in particular the brakes which are poor. I actually shattered one of my levers by pulling it too firmly. Since then I've replaced the stock pedals, headset, handlebars, tape and levers (through choice). For me this is part of the fun with having a fixer-upper, if you're happy to experiment with modding it as your first road bike (if you're happy to spend the money). The gears are handlebar fixed, which I don't mind and haven't had any problems with.

The real limiting factor is the frame. If you imagine a spectrum of bikes from light to heavy, the Phantom sits somewhere around the level of a tank. It's a heavy bike and not fun to lug in & out of a car boot if you're taking it riding anywhere. For novice riders I don't think you'll notice much difference in terms of performance though.

What I will say is it's a great looking bike (mine is the Sky-team blue version), and the wheels for a stock bike are excellent.

Four years on and mine is still going strong, although now that I'm getting more into serious riding, I'm looking to upgrade to a Boardman once I've saved up enough, . The Phantom was a good stepping stone for getting into road biking though and I'll look back on it with fond memories. Probably wouldn't sell it for what it's worth now but just keep as a (trusty?) spare.