Almost bought a new bike, good/bad decision?

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Paul Burke

Regular
Location
Birmingham
Hello.

I contacted a seller of a Carrera Zelos bike today as it was advertised for £150, he still has the bike and I nearly bit the bullet and went for it. The bike in question is apparently in VGC.

A little about me, please excuse me...

I am over weight and keen to get back into road cycling, I am confident enough around traffic.

The bike I 'really' want is a Decathlon B'Twin Triban in stunning blue/black... I have set my heart on one of these and although cheap for a road bike (£330) it is still not cheap for someone on a budget.

In your opinion is the correct decision to save for the B'Twin or is the Carrera worth the money and will last me well?

I understand the Carrera has 14 gears and the B'Twin has 24 gears... when I last was into cycling my 'racer' had 10 gears.

I have so many questions regarding other things like locks, pumps etc... I apologise in advance.

Paul
 
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maxfox44

Active Member
Location
Lincoln
@Paul Burke i'm also a bit of noob around here and certainly not qualified to answer your question. But having read quite a lot of advice threads on this excellent forum, I think you'd get some good replies, if you could provide some more info.
Where and how far are you cycling? Are you (like me) a fair weather cyclists only? Will you need to carry lots of stuff? What's the most important for you, out and out speed, comfort or bit of both?

Answering the above might help the expert guys give you the best advice they can.
 
Hi, the carrerra zelos is a good bike to 'try out' cycling on but it isn't really a keep and upgrade as the 2x7 speed transmission is not that common, it is usually starts at 8 speed.

If you can stretch to about £200-£225, quidco have 10% off bikes with voucher code B15BK08 at Halfords until Monday and if you are a member if British cycling you can get a further 10% off.

You can currently get a pendelton initial
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...goryId=165710&productId=1021566&storeId=10001

Or a Carrera cricus http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...goryId=165710&productId=1038535&storeId=10001
 
OP
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Paul Burke

Paul Burke

Regular
Location
Birmingham
I don't think I am a fair weather anything to be honest, although given the choice I would rather be dry than wet every time.

I think I need to pace myself better (will come in time maybe) but my preffered style of riding is of a faster pace than a slower one, I don't really want to travel at 10 mph sort of thing.

What ever bike I buy it will be with the intent of using solely on the road, I live in a hilly area with many steep hills nearby (none of which I can tackle yet)...

I would like my road bike to be able to last, yet be light and fast at the right price... not bothered with panniers.

Thank you for the links to those Halfords bikes, must say they are well priced but I know nothing about their quality sorry.
 
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At entry level you will see claris shifters which are the newer version of 2300's with the thumb shifter.

The chainset and brake calipers are usually own brand, tektro or proounce like the Btwin.

Can you stretch to a btwin 3a (white frame, black fork) which is the same as a Carrera spec practically or if your lucky try ebay and gumtree for a triban 3(red frame and carbon fork). It is the triban 500 pre the lick of paint. It also has a Shimano rear mech instead of a microshift one.
 
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Paul Burke

Paul Burke

Regular
Location
Birmingham
Sorry for my ignorance.

Is a mech gear better than a microshift?

The B'Twin I have seen in person and quite liked the look of it, it was black with a little blue on it. A Triban 500 SE.

I assumed the 500 SE was the better version?, it has got great reviews on Decathlons website.

Also are you saying the Carrera Velos is actually a good bike? as I said before I could have one for £150 in very good condition, but have not done so as I wasn't sure of the components quality.
 
To give a bit of history

The triban 3a became the triban 300 and the triban 3 became a triban 500.

You can pick both of these up from ebay and gumtree for between £150-£200.

The old triban 3 came with a Shimano claris rear mech, where as the 500 comes with a microshift rear mech. Microshift does not have the same prestige as Shimano so cannot command a premium price. The old triban 3 was £30 less than the 500 making the 500 slightly less value for money.

If you can your hands on a triban 3 it would be ideal as it comes with an 8x3, 24 gears set up making upgrades like wheels easy to do.

The Carrera velos is an ok bike but as it has steel forks it will be heavy. As it also has 7x2, 14 gears any upgrade would probably mean a new groupset (8 speed upwards) and new wheels which would be just as expensive as buying a new bike. This is because 7 speed is not seen on the more mainstream bikes.

As a first time bike, I would say go for it but for a few bucks more you can have a brand new one which would be easier to upgrade if you were that way inclined. If you do decide you like cycling the better option for me would be sell the velos on and use the cash to fund your next purchase.
 
Forgot to mention, are there any recycling schemes where you are. Such schemes take unwanted bikes in, refurbish them and then sell them on. You maybe able to pick up an even better specification bike than the carrera this way for the same price.
 
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Paul Burke

Paul Burke

Regular
Location
Birmingham
So are the micro shift gears not all that great?

The Triban I saw in Decathlon was a 500SE, which had carbon forks but also I believe has micro shift gears.
 
Microshift shifters are in my opinion simple to use but a bit clunky at changing gears. You press the little trigger to downshift and swipe the big trigger to upshift, a long swipe upshifts two to three gears. The brake is the brake.

On claris the black trigger downshifts and you twist the brake lever to upshift. I also find them slightly smoother than microshift.
 

biggs682

Touch it up and ride it
Location
Northamptonshire
@Paul Burke at £150 it will be a good starting point but budget enough for local bike shop to give it good going over , once serviced there is no reason in my mind that it should last you a few years depending on how much riding you intend doing .

shame you are not more local to me as i normally have a couple of retro steel bikes for sale in the £150 + aera and these have all been serviced ready to go
 

vickster

Legendary Member
I am defiantly male ;)

Still confused over the gears I should be looking at?

Most of the bikes in the price range I am looking to pay (£300) seem to have 8 speed micro shift gears, are these to be avoided?
I think they are fine for a starter bike. I'd try to find the extra for the Decathlon bike over a Carrera. In my book, carbon forks are a must for weight saving and comfort

You'd be best off asking the Carerra owner for a test ride of the bike and see what you think, and going to ride around your local Decathlon on the Btwin. You can't make a decision based on spec alone, depends on the frame, geometry, feel and only you can know what's right for you

Oh and there's nothing wrong with a bloke riding a 'women's' bike if it's the right bike and fit...it's not like it looks 'girly'. But looking at your avatar, you look fairly big so it would likely be too small. (would be for me and I'm female, albeit 5'10)
 
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