First Road Bike (<£500) - Recommendations?

[JesTTer]

Hi All,

Brand new to the forum so please forgive me if I am asking a question that has already been covered.

I have been mountain biking for a few years now and would like to take to the road. Can anyone recommend a first road bike? I have a budget if £500 - I know it's not that much but I would rather start at this level and, if I take to it, upgrade later.

Many thanks,

JesTTer.

 

[BrumJim]

Specialized Allez 16 is my steed for this same budget. Came top in a Cycle Active test for £500 bikes. Although the Trek equivalent was regarded as just as good - only personal preference putting it second.

 

[ian turner]

Also depends on what is available locally as Trek seem to have stopped their dealers from delivering bikes to be assembled by the customer so some say no delivery and others say only with our on site bike fitting service.

 

[Kestevan]

Decathlon Sport 2.
Carbon stays, Sora triple and comes in £50 under budget leaving you enough to buy a pair of pedals.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/sport-2-51-63-69567479/

 

[Willo]

I have the basis Allez too and really like it (although a triple which took it slightly over your budget).

Sorry to state the obvious, but I would recommend sitting on (or better still trying if that's possible) those in your range. I was leaning towards other makes/models that were better spec'd for £s, but just found the Allez frame better suited to me (plus liked the look of it, which was important in inspiring me to get out on it).

The other thing to consider, is whether you're likely to want to add to the bike over time (for example, I found the standard Allez tyres pretty flimsy and, after several punctures, upgraded; added clipless pedals.........).

 

[hotmetal]

Another wildcard option – go secondhand.
Firstly you've got to know what size you are though, and I admit there is an element of risk especially as you may not know much about road bikes at this stage. I was basically the same – been mountainbiking for years but fancied a road bike as well. I tried a few new bikes for size but then a mate of mine found a bike on ebay that was 5 yrs old but had been well looked after and was far higher spec than what I had set my sights on. I was lucky I guess but it's worth a thought.

 

[Flanker37]

The Decathlon Sport 2 was in the first ever edition of Cycling Active. And it wiped the floor with everything on test, which included the Trek 1.2 (2009) now valued at £650. the price of the sport 2 at the time of the review was £500. So its come down in price as others have gone up. Add to that it has a triple chainring, more carbon fibre than most bikes under £700 and you have yourself a REALLY good bike.

If it wasnt for the fact i need a more rougher Kona Jake, i would have had one myself

Plus decathlon now deliver. they never used to

 

[Jezston]

Another wildcard option...

Do you work for a company? Does that company offer some kind of cycling to work incentive?

You might find you can afford a lot more than £500 if they do. Then things get really confusing