First road bike under £500

stella_artois

Hi guys,

I'm going to buy my first road bike soon, after many years of riding only MTB. My first logical choice is TRIBAN 500 SE since it seems to be rated very good everywhere and the price is reasonable.

However, I've seen there are other alternatives, and nice, bikes such as:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p5226/CANNONDALE-CAAD8-2300-2013

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-road-sport-bike

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/caad8-8-claris-2014-road-bike-ec053958

http://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-performance-pr7-road-bike-73113.html

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/carrera-virtuoso-road-bike-2015

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-defense-wr21-sora-2015/

Do you think I should stick to the Triban or among these (or other) you see one that is clearly better (or more convenient) then Triban? Thanks!

wotnoshoeseh

CAAD 8 with Claris would be my choice..

stella_artois

Thanks for the suggestions, CAAD8 seems the right choice.

Just out of curiosity, what about the Specialized Allez (I might get an additional 10% discount through CTW scheme)?

http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/specialized-allez.html#product_tabs1

Thanks!

penguin_of_death

Carrera Vanquish is cheaper than the Boardman with similar spec and a Carbon fork

ayjaycee

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19635548#p19635548]stella_artois[/url] wrote:

Just out of curiosity, what about the Specialized Allez (I might get an additional 10% discount through CTW scheme)?

I bought a 2015 model Specialized Allez Elite (ie. with Shimano Tiagra gearing) last year and it's a fantastic bike (see: viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=13029133). Although that's a little further up the range than the version that you are looking at, the basic geometry is the same. I have a pal who has the same Claris equipped version that you refer to and he is similarly impressed with it (he paid the full price). I have never used Claris myself but he assures me that it works very well.

When I bought mine, I did a direct comparison with a Tiagra equipped Cannondale CAAD (can't remember which one!) and, to be honest, I didn't think there was a world of difference between the two of them, albeit the CAAD was slightly cheaper. in the final analysis, I simply preferred how the Specialized looked and therefore bought it and have never regretted the decision for a second.

There are a few on this site who seem to dislike Specialized as a matter of principle but I would ignore them if I were you. Yes, there are cheaper bikes out there and I honestly don't know whether they are any better or worse than Specialized. What I can say is that Specialized do give a good warranty on their bikes and mine at least is very well put together (as is my mates). It also helps that I bought it from a very good LBS who gave me a very good discount on the initial purchase and also have a very good customer service ethos. There are some things that you just don't get from internet based shops.

Hope this helps.