B'twin Triban 520 / Mango Point R / Trek FX 7.4

Mr.Salsa

Hi there,

I am new into cycling and ready to buy my first road bike. Have done a lot of research in what bike to buy, have tested a lot of different types. I would like to have a flat bar road bike but while it is my first bike reserved a limited budget.

My short list so far:
- B'twin 520 flat bar (sora triple), 27 gears, 25c tires, carbon fork, 9.7 kg weight
- Mango Point R flat bar (claris), 16 gears, 25c tires, carbon fork, 9.8 weight
- Mango Point AR flat bar (claris), disk brakes, 16 gears, 32c tires, carbon fork, 11.2 weight
- Trek 7.4 fx 2015 flat bar (acera), disk brakes, 27 gears, 32c tires, aluminium fork, 12.1 weight

I wanted originally the B'twin 540 flat bar but unfortunately it is not available in XL anymore.

Thank you for your help/view/opinion!

Omar Little

I realise you asking to recommend one thing then im recommending something completly different which can be annoying! However drop bars might seem a bit scary at first but they are much more versatile/comfortable than flat bars in terms of hand position options - Most folk that get into cycling and choose a flat bar road bike as their first road bike end up wanting one with drop bars shortly after, so you could save yourself time and expense and miss the first step.

For budget then Btwin is always a good option. I'd also look at the Giant Defy or Cannondale Caad 8 should be able to get something in a similar price range

Mr.Salsa

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19757629#p19757629]Omar Little[/url] wrote:

I realise you asking to recommend one thing then im recommending something completly different which can be annoying! However drop bars might seem a bit scary at first but they are much more versatile/comfortable than flat bars in terms of hand position options - Most folk that get into cycling and choose a flat bar road bike as their first road bike end up wanting one with drop bars shortly after, so you could save yourself time and expense and miss the first step.

For budget then Btwin is always a good option. I'd also look at the Giant Defy or Cannondale Caad 8 should be able to get something in a similar price range

No problem at all but I have tested both drop and flat bar and the drop bar is putting too much stress on my back (which is weak). So drop bar is ruled out for me.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

If you want to choose mainly on claimed bike weight and price, you would struggle to beat http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-transmission-cb22-singlespeed-2015/

Currently reduced to ~£246 for a claimed weight of 9.9Kg

letap73

If I had to choose I would go for the BTWIN:
1. Greater value for money.
2. Best groupset of the choices.
3. Carbon fork - prefer to an Aluminium fork.
4. Least weight.