Which to go for ?..

deckard56

Hi all
I'm after a new (secondhand) road bike, finding it really hard to find anything suitable, most of the ones i have seen are the other end of the country (SE London here), far too big , small etc etc. The two Ive listed below I can get to pretty easily.
On a very limited budget
I recently joined a local club and am at the lower end but have been advised I'd be fine a group or two up even with my current 20y old Specialized hybrid, flatbars with Claris fixtures and fittings.
Used to do a lot of commute cycling and the odd long charity type ride and have always liked it as my second "sport" but think a more suitable machine would be better. for most rides and keep current bike for the really crap wet weather days
Seen a couple of bikes on Ebay that seem to fit the bill and that I can get to to collect.

here are the two bikes so wondering if you could let me know am i making a big mistake here or what.
what sort of offers if any should I make.
My own preference is the Trek, mainly beacause i have always hated sloping cross tubes (its a marmite thing, either hate or love !), the Trek is about 1kg lighter but apart from that i have no real clue which if any would be better for me.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trek-Madone-5-2-Carbon-Road-Bike-54cm-medium-Frame-Size/183486400444

and the Trek archive for spec
https://archive.trekbikes.com/au/en/2006/trek/madone52#/au/en/2006/trek/madone52/details

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cannondale-Road-Bike-Caad-8-105-54-Frame-Excellent-Condition/173585629368

grateful for any help/advice

joe_totale-2

Will your budget stretch this far?

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-540- ... 77756.html

If you do choose to buy second hand then be very careful and give the thing a thorough inspection before purchasing. If you're not too knowledgeable yourself then take a friend who is.
Another thing to note, the Trek has a 53-39 chainset and 11-25 cassette that will make climbing steep hills awkward unless you're a pro.

arlowood

deckard56 wrote:

Hi all
I'm after a new (secondhand) road bike, finding it really hard to find anything suitable, most of the ones i have seen are the other end of the country (SE London here), far too big , small etc etc. The two Ive listed below I can get to pretty easily.
On a very limited budget
I recently joined a local club and am at the lower end but have been advised I'd be fine a group or two up even with my current 20y old Specialized hybrid, flatbars with Claris fixtures and fittings.
Used to do a lot of commute cycling and the odd long charity type ride and have always liked it as my second "sport" but think a more suitable machine would be better. for most rides and keep current bike for the really crap wet weather days
Seen a couple of bikes on Ebay that seem to fit the bill and that I can get to to collect.

here are the two bikes so wondering if you could let me know am i making a big mistake here or what.
what sort of offers if any should I make.
My own preference is the Trek, mainly beacause i have always hated sloping cross tubes (its a marmite thing, either hate or love !), the Trek is about 1kg lighter but apart from that i have no real clue which if any would be better for me.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trek-Madone-5-2-Carbon-Road-Bike-54cm-medium-Frame-Size/183486400444

and the Trek archive for spec
https://archive.trekbikes.com/au/en/2006/trek/madone52#/au/en/2006/trek/madone52/details

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cannondale-Road-Bike-Caad-8-105-54-Frame-Excellent-Condition/173585629368

grateful for any help/advice

Of the two you've listed I would definitely opt for the CAAD 8. No mention of age but it could be a 2010 model from the colourway. If that's the case it's 4 years younger than the Trek. Also it has a compact chainset and 11-28 cassette so the gearing is much more user friendly.

The Trek has a 53/39 chainset and 12-25 cassette so you would be likely to struggle on hilly routes unless you are super fit or want to lash out on changing the gearing to something more friendly

deckard56

Thanks for the rapid replies...
O'k im going to ditch those two i linked to...the reviews of the Btwin look pretty good..sooo, will try 2nd hand if not then will up the budget (got a couple of spare guitars i dont really need, i can sell them !)

just found the following which is a short hop from me....but i need to be quick...
I'm 5'7 -5'-8 so sizwise it should be ok
should i risk it... ?

https://tinyurl.com/y8jkj979

joe_totale-2

Sizewise it should be fine and it's a fairly decent price, perhaps a longer stem may be required but that's a fairly inexpensive item and quick job to fit. Nice that it has a tyre upgrade as well.
I'd say go ahead and contact the seller with regards to viewing the bike and giving it a go.

deckard56

going to contact now...
Cant find a bad review...this will be more than adequate for my level of riding...

many thanks for the advice