First Road bike - which one?

ajdobbin

Looking into buying my first road bike, my budget is around the £500-800 range. After doing a fair bit of research I've narrowed it down to the following
-
B'Twin Triban 540 £650 (cracking reviews for the price)
Canyon Endurance AL 5.0 £709 (currently on sale with £90 discount, and I prefer the look myself)

From what I've read, the difference between the Tiagra and 105 group sets is minimal to a beginner, so I'm assuming the frame and wheels etc would be of better quality on the slightly more expensive Canyon?

Also, assuming the Canyon has a better quality frame, would it be best to go with that in case I get bitten by the bug and want to upgrade parts in the future?

Thanks in advance.

Vslowpace

For my first bike there is a lot to be said to popping down to a local, but decent bike shop, talking to the staff, having a test ride and choosing something that suits rather than buying a bike in a box.

The key reason being if you have any minor niggles the shop should be more than happy to resolve them whereas with a Canyon it would be less so.

jdee84

oxoman wrote:

Maybe best wait a month as 2017 bikes are starting to be discounted as 2018 models come in.

If you are going for either the btwin or the canyon no point in waiting for either of those as the current discount on a canyon at around 800pounds is as much as you ll ever get off one in that price range and the decathlon is unlikely to be reduced at all

ajdobbin

oxoman wrote:

Probably the btwin because you can fetch it yourself unlike the canyon which you would have to wait for. Maybe best wait a month as 2017 bikes are starting to be discounted as 2018 models come in. Not a huge difference between tiagra and 105 to be honest in performance terms.

Only problem is that the closest Decathlon to me is 120 miles away!

ajdobbin

jdee84 wrote:

oxoman wrote:

Maybe best wait a month as 2017 bikes are starting to be discounted as 2018 models come in.

If you are going for either the btwin or the canyon no point in waiting for either of those as the current discount on a canyon at around 800pounds is as much as you ll ever get off one in that price range and the decathlon is unlikely to be reduced at all

Yeah i think the Canyon sale is only on until the end of the month

minnnt

Take a look at the Boardman range in Halfords. I'm highly delighted with my Road Team Carbon. It is a £1000 bike but some stores may still have a stock of the 2016 model in which is priced at £800. They also do flash 20% discounts online every so often so you may get lucky.

Also worth considering is paying for the British Cycling membership which is £22. This entitles you to a 10% discount at Halfords, Cycle Republic and also chain reaction cycles.com.

I'd also scour Gumtree. My Dad has picked up a couple of bargains on there lately including the 540 you mention. Quite a nice bit of kit tbh.