First time road bike required

wavey1000

Hi all. I have been mountain biking for some time, and I have decided to give a road bike a try. I don't want to spend to much, so I have seen this carbon bike for 500quid

2015 Former carbon edge 2 LE

Can u advise if this is OK and a good bike to buy for this price range. Or is there something better out there

Thanks in advance

homers_double

Carbon at £500 should be avoided, maybe look second hand in the classifieds on here for something that is a suitable size. You'll probably find they've been well looked after.

If you want brand new than there is always Decathlon as their BTwin range gets good reviews.

But it's reduced from a grand assuming it's the rutland cycles offer? - didn't see that

wavey1000

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/312380/pr ... -bike.aspx

This is it. All comments welcome.

photonic69

For that price you can't really go wrong and you get a shop warranty. Will it fit you? They only have 56cm frames left.

drlodge

My thoughts exactly, if 56cm is your size, whats not to like?

thepeginator

100% most important part of buying any bike is the fit. If it doesn't fit you, you won't be comfortable and you won't ride it. Particularly at the sub £500 price bracket there isn't a huge choice of components and options anyway, while I'm not saying all bikes in at this price are the same. There's definitely not as much in it as there is in slightly higher price brackets.

I would highly recommend - if possible - going to a good local bike shop and getting properly fitted for a bike, bike fit is not as simple as what height you are. If 'cycle to work' is available to you it's a great way to buy a bike.

wavey1000

I'm 5 ft 10. Isn't it for 5ft 8 to 5ft 11?

drlodge

Wavey1000 wrote:

I'm 5 ft 10. Isn't it for 5ft 8 to 5ft 11?

Its not as simple as that, you might have long legs for your height, or shorter legs and longer torso. You need to understand the geometry that fits you, then selected the best frame size/geometry that is closest to that. e.g. I'm 5' 8 and a bit, I need an effective top tube of 54.5 cm with 73.5 degree seat tube angle. Frame size of "54" or "56" etc means nothing unless you know the actual frame geometry.

drlodge

Best go to one of the shops that has it in stock and try it for size, even better take it round the block for a spin.

photonic69

Wavey1000 wrote:

I'm 5 ft 10. Isn't it for 5ft 8 to 5ft 11?

Unless you are oddly proportioned it will "probably" fit but it's a gamble you would have to take. As you are coming from mountain biking your first month on a road bike will probably give you lower back pain until you develop more core strength anyway.

If it was me I'd probably gamble if I couldn't see it first hand as it seems a bit of a bargain.

wavey1000

Bought. Took a gamble. As u all said for that price. Also on the cycle 2 work scheme so will get a full carbon bike for around 350 quid

If I don't like I could probably sell it for more

Thx for the info guys

thepeginator

Yeh it's a pretty cracking deal, the main thing is make sure you're comfortable on it and you'll enjoy riding it.