First road bike, advice sought

[Ali101]

I'm about to buy my first road bike and i would appreciate some advice on which one of these bikes to go for. I'm looking at the following models:

Cannondale CAAD Optima 2 @ €830
Triban RC500 @ €710
Kross Vento 2.0 @ €620
Romet Huragan 3 @ €595

Today i visited 3 local bike stores and got all sorts of input on various entry level road bikes, with the above 4 being my options for now. I handled them all, sat on two of them, and if i'm honest, i'm none the wiser as to which to go for. They all seemed ok to me, but i'm a total novice so i cannot really tell the difference between them. The Cannondale is generally out of my budget, but one store was pushing it, they have it on sale from €1500 so it seems like a very good deal and i'm thinking maybe it is a class above the others on this list, but i really dont know???

Some info on me:

Male, 46 y.o., 183cm, 88kg. I have never ridden a road bike before and want to give it a go and see if i will take to it. I'm reluctant to spend more at this stage. I will ride on standard tarmac roads, there are plenty of routes around where i live. I'm also considering buying the Wahoo Kickr Core for indoor training and would use this bike for that also.

I'd really appreciate some input from experienced riders. Do you notice much if a difference between these bike models or are they all much of the same?

Thanks

 

[TomDW]

If you can afford the Cannondale go for that, more resale value. It's all about the Tiagra groupset. Otherwise Triban. Remember the're other bits to buy: bottles, saddle packs, clothing, mini pump etc Good luck and have fun.

 

[Sirdoh]

Since returning to Cycling in 2025 I have noticed several trends that are similar to guitars:- Starter guitars, buy the best you can afford, buy the one that everyone else has. They are all wrong, and the real answer is: buy the one you are most likely to play/ride - a lot. Actually the most important thing is how it fits you. Don't be tempted to go for the "fastest bike". Comfort is more important than weight, wheel sets, and aero. Comfort means you can keep delivering power.
You will probably change parts as well so think about compatibility with other saddles, wheels, 28/30mm tyres. Use this bike to figure out what you really like/need. There will be others.

 

[biggs682]

@Ali101 welcome
If you can afford the Cannondale and it's your size then I would suggest that or the Triban

 

[cyberknight]

Its a toss up between the cannondale and the the triban
The cannondale has 10 speed tiagra vs 9 speed triban but the triban has disc brakes and mount points for a pannier rack if you want them.
The cannondale comes with 25 mm tyres and you could probably run 28s on it whereas the triban can run 32 mm tyres , it really depends on where your going to ride .If the roads are in good condition then 25 and 28s are fine but if your roads are in poor condition and you plan to ride when the weather is wet the extra tyre width and the extra clearance means you can fit mudguards plus the disc brakes give you consistent braking in the wet whereas the rim brake bike gives decent braking in the dry but take a bit longer until they bite in the wet , nothing you cant get used too as i ride both and havent died yet .
Really depends on what you want from a bike ?

 

[DCLane]

+1 to the Cannondale/ Triban comments. A Wahoo Kickr is good for indoor training but I'd spend on the Cannondale then decide rather than a cheaper bike plus Wahoo. But that's me who prefers real roads

Kross and Romet aren't well known and will have less availability of key spares.

And enjoy getting started. It may take a bit of time to build fitness and mileage.

 

[EckyH]

Welcome @Ali101

The Cannondale has 10 speed Tiagra vs 9 speed Triban

In my experience the differences between 9 speed and 10 speed while riding are generally neglectable. Tyres, brake pads, disc rotors or rims (depending on the brake technology), chains and cassettes wear down over time and need to be replaced. 9 speed cassettes and chains are basically cheaper than 10 speed parts.
The disc brakes and the bigger tyre clearance of the Triban make the bike considerable more versatile than the rim brake bikes.

On the polish Decathlon web site the RC500 has a Microshift group set, on the UK site it has Shimano Sora. The control concept of the Microshift group set is slightly different to the Shimano group sets. Please try out both concepts if you can.
An acquaintance of mine has got a comparable Microshift group set on his bike and he doesn't complain, so technically the Microshift stuff is good enough in the long run.
I've got the Shimano Sora on my commuter and it works good enough for the last five years and I'm sure that it will last much longer.

Due to the brands "Kross" and "Romet" you mentioned I assume that you're in Poland.
Perhaps you can find a Romet Huragan 4, which is available (?) on the Romet web site for the same price as the Triban RC500: https://romet.pl/rower-szosowy-romet-huragan-4-5390.html
The Huragan 4 comes with Shimano Tiagra 10 speed and modern thru axles.
That could be an alternative.

E.

 

[wafter]

Allow me to be the first to suggest going used as you'll get a lot more for your money; especially in the post-Covid wasteland of entry-level road bikes..

 

[YMFB]

IMO, where you live and the quality of the roads you will do the majority of your cycling on should be a consideration.

The roads in our area are too bad for a really high quality, racy bikes. I have a Cervelo S5 which just isn’t the right bike for S. Wiltshire, I should have bought a Caledonia or something more robust. As a result I use my gravel bike far more often and have two sets of wheel/tyres.

 

[cyberknight]

Welcome @Ali101


In my experience the differences between 9 speed and 10 speed while riding are generally neglectable. Tyres, brake pads, disc rotors or rims (depending on the brake technology), chains and cassettes wear down over time and need to be replaced. 9 speed cassettes and chains are basically cheaper than 10 speed parts.
The disc brakes and the bigger tyre clearance of the Triban make the bike considerable more versatile than the rim brake bikes.

On the polish Decathlon web site the RC500 has a Microshift group set, on the UK site it has Shimano Sora. The control concept of the Microshift group set is slightly different to the Shimano group sets. Please try out both concepts if you can.
An acquaintance of mine has got a comparable Microshift group set on his bike and he doesn't complain, so technically the Microshift stuff is good enough in the long run.
I've got the Shimano Sora on my commuter and it works good enough for the last five years and I'm sure that it will last much longer.

Due to the brands "Kross" and "Romet" you mentioned I assume that you're in Poland.
Perhaps you can find a Romet Huragan 4, which is available (?) on the Romet web site for the same price as the Triban RC500: https://romet.pl/rower-szosowy-romet-huragan-4-5390.html
The Huragan 4 comes with Shimano Tiagra 10 speed and modern thru axles.
That could be an alternative.

E.

indeed , heck i use 8 speed claris for commuting and apart from slightly smaller gaps in the gears the difference in shift speed are as you say nothing worth worrying about.

 

[Punkawallah]

Because you have no experience, whatever you buy could be unsuitable. If you buy second hand, you are likely to lose less on any re-sale of a mistake.

 

[Elybazza61]

Because you have no experience, whatever you buy could be unsuitable. If you buy second hand, you are likely to lose less on any re-sale of a mistake.

Trouble with used is that you could end up with something that although seems good will need a lot spending on it ;see lots of people come in the shop with bikes that need double what they spent on it to get it running right (one of the things I won't miss when I retire is explaining that everything on the bike that's just been bought is knackered).

BTW I'd get the Cannondale.

 

[Gillstay]

Could you get someone knowledgeable to buy you a used one wisely ?

If so I would do it. It would be more fun and you would get a better bike for less money.

A new bike only gets worse in my eyes, but a used one can be happily improved to my liking.

 

[DRM]

I'd also suggest the Cannondale 1st, then a Triban, Decathlon have a good range on offer, and I believe they'll let you have a go on one in store, to check it out, as for the other 2, a quick Google suggests that the Huragan 4 is a Polish brand, but does seem decently specced, but I doubt anyone here will have any experience of one

 

[Jameshow]

One think with the tribisn us the rims maybe tubeless so are a pig to get tyres on abs off.

The Cannondale stock wheels (maddox) used to be carp but might have improved.