Which starter road bike should I buy?

dougmacdonald96

Hi all,

I’m not what you’d call a keen cyclist (yet) but I do cycle intermittently, but recently I have committed to doing a Paris – London (weekend) charity bike ride in memory of a close friend of mine who passed late last year due to cancer.

I’ve started my training, but I need to buy a new road bike! As the hybrid that I currently own just won’t do the job for this ride.

I am 6ft2, 22 years old and weigh around 90kgs – can anyone guide me what I should look for in a Road bike? I have about £350 to spend – I know this won’t get me a great bike but I understand for this price I can get a decent entry level for the time being. I understand the Decathlon bikes are good specs for the price?

I’m happy to buy pre-owned off gumtree etc but I need advice on what to look for in a bike, as my knowledge is fairly limited.

For example – I’ve seen differing info online about frame size – some say 54cm is fine for my height, others say I need at least 58-60cm, can anyone clarify?

Any other advice/information about what to look for would be really appreciated, thank you all!

bongofish

Definitely 58-60cm frame size and decathlon do some descent entry level bikes for £350

The Spiderman

All manufacturers size differently so you might need to try a few for size. I’m 6ft for example and have a 56cm Cannondale , a. m/ L Giant Defy, a large Boardman mtb, a medium Giant mtb , had a large giant mtb and have just got large Pinancle hybrid and In the past I’ve had a Trek in a 58 , so you can see it’s not necessarily the same acros brands.
To be fair particularly with mountain bikes it can be due to personal preference too.
A Btwin triban is a good starter bike if you need to buy new. If you are confident in buying secondhand there’s a plethora of secondhand barely used road bikes on eBay and particularly local Facebook classifieds.
I managed to pick up an immaculate Boardman hybrid last week for £100.

steve91

I've got a B'Twin Triban and I do really like it, but I'd look at the secondhand market as well.

For reference, I'm 6'3, and have the 60cm frame, but my Halfords Carrera was a 54cm, so definitely try before making a decision.

bonzo_banana

The Btwin road bikes are rated and certified to a total load of 100kg as stated in the manual including the bike weight, accessories etc. It seems many ignore these limits or don't see them as important but they are there for a reason and I personally see no reason to buy a bike not rated to take your weight when pretty much all other brands would. It could mean the frame fails 2-3 years down the line when you are least expecting it and that could be in heavy traffic.

There is a promotion on at Halfords at the moment where you can get 20% off bikes if you part exchange a used bike, scooter or helmet and that will get you a serious discount especially if you can get further discount and cashback via topcashback/quidco etc. You could literally buy a £5 helmet to get a 20% discount. The Carrera bikes are rated to rider weights up to 120kg or a total load of 160kg. As you can imagine they are a little heavier typically than a btwin bike of similar spec. The Carrera Virtuoso is a fantastic bike but if you are looking to compete in sporting event maybe look for a discounted Giant Contend. The Claris equipped version is £550 new but last season's models have gone sub £400 at times although that stock is probably very thin on the ground now. The frame on the Contend is fantastic for the money, the entry level model weighs sub 9.5kg in medium size. It looks like a bike well above it's price point too. I must admit I'm personally always swayed by a bargain though. It's worth seeing if any current road bikes take your fancy at Halfords that are already disounted because if you can get a further 20% off that price you are likely to get a pretty amazing deal. Halfords buy their bikes direct from the factories for their own brands so are pretty cheap compared to the big brands anyway before any discounting.

https://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cat ... iew-51086/

dougmacdonald96

I've had a look on Ebay and gumtree and at the moment there doesn't look to be many road bikes with my frame size. I will keep searching though! In the mean time I will go and sit on some bikes and speak to some people at the shop.

Thank you all for your help so far, really pleased with the responses I've had!

dougmacdonald96

Bonzo Banana wrote:

There is a promotion on at Halfords at the moment where you can get 20% off bikes if you part exchange a used bike, scooter or helmet and that will get you a serious discount especially if you can get further discount and cashback via topcashback/quidco etc. You could literally buy a £5 helmet to get a 20% discount. The Carrera bikes are rated to rider weights up to 120kg or a total load of 160kg. As you can imagine they are a little heavier typically than a btwin bike of similar spec. The Carrera Virtuoso is a fantastic bike but if you are looking to compete in sporting event maybe look for a discounted Giant Contend. The Claris equipped version is £550 new but last season's models have gone sub £400 at times although that stock is probably very thin on the ground now. The frame on the Contend is fantastic for the money, the entry level model weighs sub 9.5kg in medium size. It looks like a bike well above it's price point too. I must admit I'm personally always swayed by a bargain though. It's worth seeing if any current road bikes take your fancy at Halfords that are already disounted because if you can get a further 20% off that price you are likely to get a pretty amazing deal. Halfords buy their bikes direct from the factories for their own brands so are pretty cheap compared to the big brands anyway before any discounting.

https://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cat ... iew-51086/

With Halfords current 20% off deal, combined with 10% off gift cards (a benefit that I get through my workplace) I could pick up the Boardman SLR 8.6 for around £395. Is this a good deal worth considering? This would also get me a tidy discount on the carrera bikes.

arlowood

dougmacdonald96 wrote:

With Halfords current 20% off deal, combined with 10% off gift cards (a benefit that I get through my workplace) I could pick up the Boardman SLR 8.6 for around £395. Is this a good deal worth considering? This would also get me a tidy discount on the carrera bikes.

If it were me I'd jump at the chance of the Boardman SLR 8.6. It has fewer gears than the Triban 500 (16 vs 24) but the Boarman has a Claris drivetrain while ythe Triban is based on Microshift. Nothing inherently wrong with the Microshift system but I reckon the Claris is the better bet. Also the Triban has a triple chainset vs a double on the Boardman. Triples are fine but can be a bit more problematic with set-up and maintenance.

The Btwin has a lowest gear of 30/25 but that is matched by the Boardman (34/28) so despite the larger potential gear range of the Triban you don't end up any better off in terms of low gears

Klaus B

https://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/orbea-avant- ... ke-p375895

This looks to me as a bargain, even if it's got the really entry level Shimano tourney ( personally I've used this Shimano 7speed system without troubles). Biggest size available is a 55 though. I think a little too small for you.. the size chart in tredz website says 55 is good until 185 cm.
Didn't check the maximum weight allowed though.

dougmacdonald96

Klaus B wrote:

https://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/orbea-avant-h70-road-bike-p375895

This looks to me as a bargain, even if it's got the really entry level Shimano tourney ( personally I've used this Shimano 7speed system without troubles). Biggest size available is a 55 though. I think a little too small for you.. the size chart in tredz website says 55 is good until 185 cm.
Didn't check the maximum weight allowed though.

That looks like a great deal, unfortunately the frame I think is too small for me. Most brands I've seen recommend atleast a 58cm frame.

I'm currently looking at a circa 2015 Specialised Allez being sold locally on Facebook for around £185, I am hesitant however as I've not bought second hand before and I'm worried I'll buy a bike which will need many parts replacing.

Klaus B

dougmacdonald96 wrote:

Klaus B wrote:

https://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/orbea-avant-h70-road-bike-p375895

This looks to me as a bargain, even if it's got the really entry level Shimano tourney ( personally I've used this Shimano 7speed system without troubles). Biggest size available is a 55 though. I think a little too small for you.. the size chart in tredz website says 55 is good until 185 cm.
Didn't check the maximum weight allowed though.

That looks like a great deal, unfortunately the frame I think is too small for me. Most brands I've seen recommend atleast a 58cm frame.

I'm currently looking at a circa 2015 Specialised Allez being sold locally on Facebook for around £185, I am hesitant however as I've not bought second hand before and I'm worried I'll buy a bike which will need many parts replacing.

You can bring with you someone that knows a little what to look at when you go and see the bike.
Allez of those years are good road bikes with aggressive geometry, so long reach and short stack (low in the front) so you need to be flexible a little to enjoy it. No mudguards or rack mounts there, it's a proper road bike. So it's more a good weather bike/summer bike (not that it can't ride or it's dangerous when it's raining, it's just because putting mudguards saves you from extra maintenance in cleaning and you cannot fit the 'proper' full-length ones on the allez).
Considering the cost of components if any of the chainrings or teeth on the cassette are bent or excessively worn you're looking to spend at least 60£ for a chainset (80-100£ if 11 speed) and 20£ for the cassette (30£ if 11 speed). Chains costs vary between 10 and 20£ at this you have to add the cost that a mechanic charge you to fit the new stuff.
Good tires don't cost less than 20£ each and bottom bracket it's at least 15£+ work. If the road shifters are not working it's gonna be costly, prices start at around 80-100£ if you lucky+work. If the wheels are to worn on the braking surface or need replacing for hub/free hub problems can cost you 40£ each.
So like you said it's risky if you buy used without any clue.
That's because even if you try the bike and the gears are skipping all-over the places you can't say if this is a problem that just needs tensioning cables or serious problems that need brand new parts.

Klaus B

https://www.tweekscycles.com/uk/cube-at ... 8-1423112/

This is IMO a sweet bike for the money, and available in your size. Over budget at 575£ (but originally priced at 850). And with cycle to work scheme it's even less than that. In Decathon there is a similar option with the btwin 500 af gf discountinued at 559£ (from 850£ again) with mavic wheels. The other day I saw one of them in size xl in Decathlon Stockport. The problem with decathlon bikes has been stated above with the weight limit though.
That cube can take full-guards the btwin nope (shame if not I was gonna take it as I'm less than 70kilos so no weight limit problem for me but I need to have mudguards in my bike 'cause I ride in winter mainly commuting)

dimmockg

Are you with an employer who partakes in cycle scheme at all? That way you could get something via salary sacrifice with a saving to boot

Something like this....

https://www.rutlandcycling.com/bikes/ro ... lue_460045

Which has a great saving to start with, then if done via cycle scheme would end up not a million miles from your budget

cij28

Can’t message you to the wheels now is assume you have removed my ability to message you as you’ve changed your mind. It wouldn’t have mattered just send a message and say you’ve changed your mind instead of just disappearing?

cij28

cij28 wrote:

Can’t message you to the wheels now is assume you have removed my ability to message you as you’ve changed your mind. It wouldn’t have mattered just send a message and say you’ve changed your mind instead of just disappearing?

Message for @dimmockkg