First week on the road

Sonny89

Hello all,

I have cycled a little in the past nothing serious. Just a small commute a 14 mile round trip which I havent done in a while. I decided at the start of last week to try and get into cycling! It has worked and I am hooked ha. I managed 111 miles in total, this includes having to work around family life, work (which is physical) etc etc. So am fitter than I thought. The routes and conditions varied, I included some hills such as Westbury white horse.

The bike I am using is a Carrera axle ltd which is a hybrid and a complete dog. Always has issues and halfrauds are a complete joke. I am looking for something more suitable and would love a decent Road bike or tourer. As i want to challenge myself this coming summer to ride down to cornwall in a set amount of time.

It would be great if someone could point me in the right direction regarding second hand cycles and kit and also training etc.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Sonny.

fenix

Does your work to the cycle to work scheme ? Always worth asking.

fudgey

Budget is the major factor here. So once that s known suggestions can be made.
Also what size are you etc?
Ill have a Colnago AC-R for sale soon, but it depends what you want. Im not that far from you either if you want to have a look.

Sonny89

Hey chaps,

Thanks for your replies. I am self employed so don't think the scheme is possible for me, although I could buy new and claim the VAT back I believe. My budget will be around £300 second hand, so I guess a decent mid range bike. I am 5'10" with a fairly stocky frame.

fudgey

Here is a link to size guide, at your height id go for a medium.
https://www.evanscycles.com/help/bike-sizing-road

for £300 ebay is your best shot i expect.

homers_double

How about this from the classifieds?

viewtopic.php?f=40090&t=13061495

deejaysee

Just go on any bike website (tredz, chainreation etc) and just do the top lists of bikes either sorted by price or best selling.
This will start to give you a few ideas on whats good in your price range and you can start whittling down you choice

What i did anyway

Sonny89

Excellent info guys, most helpful cheers :-) I wasnt even aware of all these classifieds. Ive been searching on gumtree with no luck. The Giant looks right up my street, thanks for the heads up.

I have been out on the chunky hybrid of mine today 20 miles or so and some steep hill climbs. It is so much more effort.

ForumNewbie

Sonny89 wrote:

Excellent info guys, most helpful cheers :-) I wasnt even aware of all these classifieds. Ive been searching on gumtree with no luck. The Giant looks right up my street, thanks for the heads up.

I have been out on the chunky hybrid of mine today 20 miles or so and some steep hill climbs. It is so much more effort.

You need to make sure you get the right size, especially if buying second hand. The Giant ad doesn't say what size it is, but it looks pretty small.

homers_double

Medium so good for a 5'10" chap

Anonymous

You have probably missed a lot of the store based (rather than internet) sale bikes now.

A lot of people on here love recommending Decathlon (a lot of those will just have heard others do the same) but they are heavy and sometimes odd/poor spec, list price 'bargains', rather than sale bargains IME/IMO.

They are also triple chainrings which seem to be dying a bit of a death these days.
Nothing wrong with a triple if people want it, but as you are looking at that Giant, you clearly don't.

kingrollo

The problem with 2nd user bikes - is that you need a bit of knowledge to snare a bargain. I recently got a giant defy 2 for £300 from ebay - its a great buy for that money.

If your near a decathlon - I would go there - they do some great budget road bike for around £300 - they have dedicated cycling staff on site - any issues repairs are quickly dealt with in my experience.

ManiaMuse

You'll definitely notice the difference with any road bike, even a cheap new one or a 2nd hand one that has been looked after/not actually used that much.

A road bike will definitely weigh less than your current Carrera, will have narrower and slick tyres (assuming you still have the stock tyres on your Halfords bike), drop handle bars give you more positions to put your hands in, integrated gear shifters on the brake levers are nice as well once you get used to them.

If you are looking at used bikes make sure you get one with the right frame size. You can usually find a size guide on the manufacturer's website so have a look before going to view/test a bike that is obviously going to be the wrong size. How tall are you?

Also be mindful of buying bikes on Gumtree/Ebay, especially if the price looks too good to be true. Lots of stolen bikes out there, don't bother with any ads that only show stock photos rather than the actual bike, make sure you ask questions about where/when they bought it for how much/why they are getting rid of it and if they have any receipts. Find out the frame number (usually on the bottom of the frame underneath the bottom bracket) and check it against Bike Register, definitely avoid if it has been obviously removed or painted over. If they refuse to meet at the place where the bike is being kept or give you their address then that is probably a red flag as well.

whoof

Sonny89 wrote:

Hey chaps,

Thanks for your replies. I am self employed so don't think the scheme is possible for me, although I could buy new and claim the VAT back I believe.

Not unless you are a self-employed cyclist, you can only claim back VAT on business expenses.

If you are planning to ride to Cornwall this summer you may wish to bare in mind the closure of the A30 over Bodmin moor to cyclist. It's a rotten road to ride on anyway so you would be best off finding an alternative even if it was open.

' Work began in March to dual the A30 between Temple and Higher Carblake in Cornwall and is expected to take 22 months, with the new road open to the public in early 2017..............A cycling ban for the duration of the works, with a clearly signed diversion route provided. With the narrow driving lanes there would be a significant safety hazard for cyclists who would also impede the flow of traffic.'

https://www.staustellbrewery.co.uk/travel-update