Friend looking for advice - £300 first road bike

guy.spartacus

Anyone got any decent recommendations for a starter road bike for around £300?

Options seem limited to either;
Decathlon Triban 500SE http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-s ... 06187.html
or
last years Carrera Vanquish http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/r ... -bike-2015

Any other options or is it worth convincing him to spend a bit more and get the Triban 520 or Boardman Road Sport?

james010101

The decathlon triban looks pretty good spec wise. I'd avoid the carrera vanquish like the plague.

guy.spartacus

Cool - thanks

I'll send them on to him

Bobbinogs

This:

http://road.cc/content/review/116333-bt ... -road-bike

Job done.

Lota

If I had to choose, I would choose the Carrera Vanquish. The lightweight alloy frame and 16 speed Shimano gears always win.
I hope that I would own it in future.
But I've just bought a good bike - Lombardo Siena 100M Commuting Bike. I had read about it in the article about top city bikes:
http://bestadviser.net/urban-bikes/8-to ... and-women/
And it fits me for now.

Anonymous

If this were a car, Small budget for a first time buyer, the vast majority would be looking at buying used. For 300 quid you can get a much better bike second hand. Something lighter. Better gears and /or wheels. More comfortable and ultimately more enjoyable to ride.

Around the 300 mark most new bikes are garbage. Heavy clunky things that transfer all the road surface through your body. For the same price I can find on ebay a Trek 2000 with Ultegra gears or a Specialized Allez with Tiagra setup. Neither spectacular but still a hellnof a lot better than buying a new bike which has 20% VAT on top

mallorcajeff

As above id be spending £500 on a used bike

courtmed

oxoman wrote:

Both bikes are ok, carbon forks ones a triple the others a double compact both will ride ok. Issue with halfords bike is normally the assembly and service in shop as it goes from crap to very good depending on your luck. I personally would be looking at the Merlin PR7 mainly shimano drivetrain and a beginner friendly rear cassette with bombproof starter wheels. I have use mavic cxp22 wheels on my wet bike for years and they never missed a beat even when abused in a cyclocross event. Just make sure that whatever bike you choose fits you. Expect to possibly change the saddle as not everyone gets on with the saddle supplied with their bike.
See enclosed link.
https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-per ... 85148.html

Exactly what I came in here to mention. I'm currently riding a Merlin PR7, my first road bike. Very much a beginners bike but I've been riding solidly since the beginning of this year & haven't once felt that I've been held back by the Merlin would definitely recommend it to others as a first road bike.

figbat

Just to add my experience: I bought my first road bike earlier this year for £300. It is a used Cannondale Synapse with 105 mechs, Ultegra brifters and Mavic wheels. Yes, it has some marks on it and needed some tyres, but it is a good way into road cycling as well as giving me something to tinker with and fettle.

I get the draw of a box-fresh bike, but for me as a do-I-like-it-or-not intro to road riding, it is perfect. If I don't get on with it I can shift it on for pretty much what I paid for it.