Buying first road bike

[ARK]

I have been a solid mountain biker for many years helped by living in Sherwood forest with endless off-road trails. Now I am living else where and want to gave road cycling a try. I also ant to start doing some TT, sportive’s and couple of races again.

I have been looking for a bike for long time now and have been keeping eye on second hand after last summer thousands bought bike before realizing they didn’t like cycling (thanks wiggy) so there’s plenty of unused “second hand” bikes available.

Been looking at Boardman Team as the components specks are not bad (105) for the price despite the links to high street shop Halfords . I have been offered a hardly used less then 200 mile Boardman Team 2012 for £600 (new £1000)…despite this I am still stretching my budget of £500

Am I paying too much on a first road bike?
Any advice on another bike? New or second hand.

My fair is buying a too cheep bike and not have good first impression of road cycling and not good enough to have a shoot at competing.

Any help would be much appreciated
Cheers

 

[jim55]

seriousley ,if u think ur gona have a go at competing then its a good idea to get a half decent bike straight off ,however theres a big difference between a good tt bike and a cyclocross say ,so theres a lot to b said for buying a cheaper one and having a go before you spend loads ,but in saying that you are talking mid budget (cheaper end of the scale ,)not much help im afraid ,theres just too many variables ,what i would say is get a bike u feel good and comfy on and give it a fair crack of the whip

 

[biggs682]

£500 is a lot for a first road bike imho . and if you are any good then you should be able to compete on any machine and yes you should be able to compete better on a better bike but that does not always mean a better bike has to be more expensive .

buy a decent 2nd hand machine and have a go

 

[arallsopp]

Other half just picked up a nice Giant in her size. Had been traded in at our LBS so preloved but sound. Carbon forks, 105 / ultegra, bling wheels. Needed a £20 stem to trim the fit, but for £300 its a hell of a bargain. Best of both worlds, really. The LBS is a good'un, so she's got someone to run to if it goes a bit squiffy.

 

[ARK]

By time I buy and try out a cheeper bike on some proper rides prices would have risen again for the spring and summer. Unless a buy now then in summer I could sell a 500 pound bike again without loosing too much. Cheeper bikes might not hold it's value as much?

 

[vickster]

The Boardman seems a good deal for the spec and under usage

£500 is still pretty much the entry point for the main brands. If you want a decent upgradeable bike well within budget look at the decathlon Btwin Triban 3 - £300, alu frame, carbon fork, 10kg. Poor wheels but much better ones can be fitted for £200. But entry level 2300 gearing, 3 points below the 105 of the Boardman. I reckon you'd get £200-225 back for an unused Triban in July or £500 for the Boardman. Depends if you have the cash now really

It's cheap

 

[ARK]

Other half just picked up a nice Giant in her size. Had been traded in at our LBS so preloved but sound. Carbon forks, 105 / ultegra, bling wheels. Needed a £20 stem to trim the fit, but for £300 its a hell of a bargain. Best of both worlds, really. The LBS is a good'un, so she's got someone to run to if it goes a bit squiffy.

Nice! And lucky. Will have a look round again but not seen much of interest bellow £500. Will have to see on Monday.

 

[ARK]

The Boardman seems a good deal for the spec and under usage

£500 is still pretty much the entry point for the main brands. If you want a decent upgradeable bike well within budget look at the decathlon Btwin Triban 3 - £300, alu frame, carbon fork, 10kg. Poor wheels but much better ones can be fitted for £200. But entry level 2300 gearing, 3 points below the 105 of the Boardman. I reckon you'd get £200-225 back for an unused Triban in July or £500 for the Boardman. Depends if you have the cash now really

It's cheap

Yes seen that bike. It's the cheep gearing that worries me and yes the extra cost of the wheels. Might be good start though.

 

[Psyclist]

Yes seen that bike. It's the cheep gearing that worries me and yes the extra cost of the wheels. Might be good start though.

2300 has a low gear range (8 speed) but it's reliable. It lasts for ages. In fact I know a few riders who're still running theirs with no worries after thousands of miles. Just needed a re-calibration every so often.

You could go for the Btwin 5 for £500, Sora gearing (9 gears) and carbon s/s carbon fork.

 

[lulubel]

No, you're not spending a lot (in my opinion). You already know you like cycling, so that isn't an issue. Presumably, you've had to ride on roads from time to time to get to the trails, so you know you're not going to be intimidated by dealing with traffic. So, you're unlikely to buy the bike, ride it a few times, and decide it isn't for you.

My first road bike was a £500 Trek, which I upgraded at point of sale, so I ended up spending closer to £600. (Prior to that, I'd struggled around on a £100 Apollo, and hated it.) As vickster says, £500 is entry point for most brands. There are cheaper bikes, such as the Triban 3, but most comments I've seen say people are upgrading the wheels on those pretty quickly, which will put you closer to your £500 budget.

If you know a bit about maintenance, maybe look for a slightly older bike that isn't so perfect at first glance. Bikes that have hung around in sheds for a while can often look quite scruffy (which puts buyers off) but often all they need is a bit of an overhaul, a new chain, and maybe a few new bolts if the existing ones have some rust. You could get a real bargain that way if you know what you're doing.