Buying a Bike for first time cyclist

bayhota

Hi looking a bit of advice for buying a bike for a first time cyclist.
I had been using an old bike in the mornings and evenings to build up my fitness, and decided that im going to buy a bike to cycle to work, and for leisure.
Work is only 5 miles away and im looking to do this most days. With future goals being to cycle longer distances at the weekend.
I however have a budget of around £400 at the minute, but i havent been to any local cycling shops for ideas of what to buy.
I however have been over the last few weeks been reading reviews online, and looking at suitable bikes.
But i dont have an idea of what is best for me, nor what is value for money.
So i wouldnt mind some advice of what is best for me.

Thanks

fatdaz

What sort of riding do you want to do including your work commute? All road, a mix of road and gentle off-road (tow paths, gravel tracks etc), more adventurous off road? Do you need mudguards and/or pannier racks?

These kind of decisions will inform what type of bike you want to be looking for

Philly8mt

fatdaz wrote:

What sort of riding do you want to do including your work commute? All road, a mix of road and gentle off-road (tow paths, gravel tracks etc), more adventurous off road? Do you need mudguards and/or pannier racks?

These kind of decisions will inform what type of bike you want to be looking for

This!

A lot of people would, at the price point you suggest, recommend a trip to Decathlon.
Great value for money, decent bikes and well priced clothing to suit.

A mate of mine has one of their road bikes and it's been a cracker!

bayhota

For me its all about roads. There is off track road around where i live, but for for me at this moment im looking a road bike.

fatdaz

So a drop bar road bike. Is your £400 just for the bike or do you also need to buy pumps, tools, helmet, shorts etc from that? If you're going to do any kind of distance (i.e more than an hour in the saddle) the size of the bike is crucial. Riding a badly fitting bike for long periods is very uncomfortable and can be unstable. In this respect you are better buying from a shop rather than online unless you know exactly what you're looking for. You will probably get less for your money at a shop though.

Sticking with the Decathlon theme the Triban 500 is on offer at the minute http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-r ... 06944.html. Not sure if it'd take mudguards and panniers but it's a decent spec for the money

bayhota

After a wee bit of looking around im looking at TREK 1.2 H2 COMPACT 2015 - BLACK (through my works cycle to work scheme).

Any thought on it?

fatdaz

That will be absolutely fine. You can get better bikes (i.e better spec components) for that money but the most important thing is making sure that the bike is the right size and fit and that you like the look and feel of it.