Best budget road bike?

gaz79

I'm looking for some advice on purchasing my first road bike. I have a flat commute of about 8 miles each way and have been doing this 5 days a week for the last 6 years or so on a Carrera Gryphon and prior to this a Subway.

I have a very tight budget and would rather buy new than look for a second hand bike. Could people please give me their opinions/advice on these examples.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-road-bike-black-id_8331913.html

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

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

Any comments much appreciated

mcstumpy

If you stretch a little beyond the triban 500, the 520 and 540 are both excellent, well specced bikes. Both are available in flat or drop bar. I have the 540 and would recommend.

gaz79

Thanks for the replies. Sadly money is tight so will struggle to stretch to the 520 or 540. Does that mean I should discount the Triban 500? My commute is dead flat so I'm guessing the microshift gearing will be a little redundant?

Forgive my ignorance but what's the problem with a 7 speed rear cassette? Is that the only problem with the Zelos?

Thanks again.

The Rookie

It hasn't got a seven speed cassette, it has a seven speed screw on freewheel which is fitted to an inferior design of rear wheel.

Either gearing is redundant or not microshift is a cheap brand, their good products are quite good but the cheap stuff doesn't have a good reliability record compared to Shimano or SRAM.

wotnoshoeseh

If you need a L size, how about this....
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/76359/Giant_Defy_5_2015_Bike

gaz79

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19768507#p19768507]wotnoshoeseh[/url] wrote:

If you need a L size, how about this....
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/76359/Giant_Defy_5_2015_Bike

Cheers but I'm at the other end of the size scale. Basically I want something low maintenance and reliable but appreciate that for this price spec is not going to be great. All the above bikes get good reviews but i guess there is more potential for the microshift gears to go wrong? The Boardman now looks the way to go to me.

kajjal

Have look at the sales bikes at Pauls Cycles there are alot of good deals on there.

cyberknight

I think these are hard to beat .
https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-performance-pr7-road-bike-2016-85148.html

gaz79

Thank you for the replies. Still unsure of what to do and now starting to consider repairing my Carrera Gryphon. Hopefully I could do this for a fraction of the cost of a new bike. In the long term this could then become my winter bike and I could look at getting a road bike later in the year.

Fixing up the Gryphon involves fitting new front disc brakes, the rear is still functional but likely to require new cables throughout. The chain recently broke so needs replacing and I also need a new set of decent tyres. I've got cheap ones in the past but have come to learn that this is false economy. The gears probably need looking at as well.

On the positive side the frame and wheels are still in good order.

I would hope to go about fixing these issues myself to keep the cost down. Is this feasible? Or am I likely to need the LBS to sort it? I need to sort something soon, can't face continuing to commute on the wife's Apollo... :oops:

stephen365

For what it's worth, I'd have a few minutes looking at 2nd hand on eBay. This time of year, there'll be plenty of people selling off after new xmas pressies. I bought a 2nd hand willier for 250 to use over winter and the spec is much higher than if I'd spent similar money new. You also get the added benefit of browsing bike porn for ages

'Edit' - and you're near to London so should get plenty of choice - search on 'nearest to me' and see what comes up.

tangled_metal

Go Outdoors do a calibre rivelin Claris 8 spd bike. Alu 6061 frame IIRC with a carbon fork and only £300. Another website/magazine/forum has it as their best buy under £300.

Dandelionclock30

At Go Outdoors theres the Calibre Progress Road Bike for £214.00, its got good reviews and looks o.k. I'd be going for a look at this one.

t4tomo

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19768275#p19768275]Gaz79[/url] wrote:

Thanks for the replies. Sadly money is tight so will struggle to stretch to the 520 or 540. Does that mean I should discount the Triban 500? My commute is dead flat so I'm guessing the microshift gearing will be a little redundant?

Forgive my ignorance but what's the problem with a 7 speed rear cassette? Is that the only problem with the Zelos?

Thanks again.

The 500SE is a better buy I reckon as comes with a carbon rather than steel fork.
The microshift is an excellent system, my son has it in his and it works very very well, it just isn't shimano branded so people think less of it.

The Rookie

The Gryphon is a sound bike, just get a mechanical disc calliper off ebay and a new cable, won't cost much over £13, chain can be had for circa £5 and even decent tyres won't cost much over £25 for a pair.

My commuter uses a Gryphon frame, without rack and guards it weighs in at 9Kg dead (it was built up from a bare frame) and makes a decent fast road commuter, I prefer the flat bars for traffic negotiation although mine are set very low (no spacers and flipped stem).

gaz79

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19772006#p19772006]The Rookie[/url] wrote:

The Gryphon is a sound bike, just get a mechanical disc calliper off ebay and a new cable, won't cost much over £13, chain can be had for circa £5 and even decent tyres won't cost much over £25 for a pair.

My commuter uses a Gryphon frame, without rack and guards it weighs in at 9Kg dead (it was built up from a bare frame) and makes a decent fast road commuter, I prefer the flat bars for traffic negotiation although mine are set very low (no spacers and flipped stem).

I've just replaced the chain although I'm now struggling to index the gears properly. The barrel adjuster on the derailleur won't budge. Aiming to at least get this part sorted before I spend money on the calliper etc. Wondering if I've just opened a can of worms. Definitely going to keep my next bike better maintained/serviced!

The Rookie

Soak it with a penetrating oil for a couple of days, then try it, or just adjust at the shifter - after all many rear mechs come with no adjuster anyway.

gaz79

Just a quick update. I'm continuing to try and fix up the Gryphon myself, as the rough estimate I received from the LBS was higher than I was willing to pay. Hopefully I'll be able to do it myself and learn a bit along the way. In the long run I hope it will become my winter bike.

Meanwhile I bought a Carrera Zelos for £225 today during Halfords flash sale. I'll try and maintain this one a bit better and possibly upgrade the cheaper components if and when necessary.

Thanks for your comments/advise.