From a terrible MTB to a <>£500 roadie....

mattward1979
mattward1979 Posts: 692
edited August 2009 in Road beginners
Hey all =)

A year ago I bought a MTB from my LBS for about £150 which has served me well, with minimal maintenance and a fair bit of New cyclist abuse. It has proudly born my rather large 17 stone bulk for a little over 1400 miles, so with the Cycling addiction firmly in my system, Ive decided to opt for a road bike.

After reading Many sites it comes down to a decision between 2:

Specialized Allez sport 18
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... gn=froogle

or:

Boardman Road Bike Comp XL 09
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710


I Love the look of the Spesh, but the components of the Boardman seem a bit better.
Also, after a night on the town, I drunkenly broke my wrist a few years ago, meaning I tend to get achy when exerting myself in that area, so which STI shifter mech would you reccomend?

Please excuse my Noobishness... I really have tried to work this out on my own but now look to the experts for advice!

thanks in advance!
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Comments

  • pompeypoppy
    pompeypoppy Posts: 182
    Must firstly say, i'm no expert...

    Now, the Boardman is a better specced bike (mainly tiagra), but it's up to your trust of your local Halfords as to how well they will set it up etc.

    The Specialised is a Sora setup. This may not be so great for shifting as the tiagra for your wrist.

    I'd suggest getting yourself down to your local bike shop and trying out a few to get a feel for the shifting.

    My personal preference for the price would be the specialised and put the £50 you save towards a pair of pedals and shoes.
  • mattward1979
    mattward1979 Posts: 692
    Thanks for the advice,

    I saw that the Spesh came with toe clips and straps, so I put some on my MTB to practice.
    Hopefully they will do ok for the short term!

    I live about 2 mins from the LBS that sold me my indestructo-MTB so Ill have a look at what they have to get a feel, although I know 100% they dont stock Specialized/CBoard/Trek etc, but at least I can check the Mech's.
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  • PaulS77
    PaulS77 Posts: 48
    I was in exactly the same boat as you till recently, I've been riding a second hand Halfords mountain bike and decided to upgrade to a road bike. I bought the Specialized Allez Sport 18 a couple of weeks ago and it's great but it's taking me a bit of time to get used shifting gears on it, I'm finding it a bit fiddly. Definitely go for a good test ride on one before committing to buying one.

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