First Road Bike Help

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Dan77

Senior Member
Location
Worcester
Help?!

I've really got the cycling bug having not done it for 20+ years until this May. I've gone from a 3.5km commute to as much as a 74km ride last weekend on my hybrid bike.

I now know that I need a road bike. I might miss the fairly regular tow paths but making those climbs easier and the general pace faster will more than make up for it.

There are so many different types out there though that I'm struggling to figure out what would suit me. I'm short and overweight (but improving) and have never even sat on a road bike. I'm concerned about the geometry given those facts. Am I right to be looking at an endurance bike rather than an aero bike? I presume I don't want one classed as a race bike? Different manufacturers seem to give their bikes different classifications.

Have been looking at bikes like Trek Domane/Ribble Endurance/Canyon Endurace but really am not decided on anything. I feel like I want something light but continuing to lose some of my body weight would certainly help more so don't need to take this to the extreme. I'm willing to spend around the £2k mark if it is beneficial to - tell me if this is daft and I should start off with something cheaper please.

Also not sure whether I need to buy new or can get something better with low use off eBay - surely there will be a lot of lockdown bikes going unused that will appear in the coming months. Or perhaps I need a proper fitting. I don't know.

Advice appreciated as I don't have any friends who ride and am going this alone.
 
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vickster

Legendary Member
Can you see if any local shops have a bike you can try? If new to bikes, it’s always best to buy from a local independent if you can, not least in case of issues

how short are you? You don’t need a fit to buy a roadbike but you do need a broad idea of what size you need. Your weight has no bearing on the geometry, injury or disability may do

if you’re in the UK, I wouldn’t personally buy a Canyon as a first roadbike as you can’t try them out and it could be a pain if there’s a problem
 
OP
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Dan77

Dan77

Senior Member
Location
Worcester
Can you see if any local shops have a bike you can try? If new to bikes, it’s always best to buy from a local independent if you can, not least in case of issues

how short are you? You don’t need a fit to buy a roadbike but you do need a broad idea of what size you need. Your weight has no bearing on the geometry, injury or disability may do

if you’re in the UK, I wouldn’t personally buy a Canyon as a first roadbike as you can’t try them out and it could be a pain if there’s a problem
There is what looks to be a decent shop nearby which seems to deal in Trek and Pinarello. My hybrid is a Trek and I'm pretty impressed with it for what it is. I'm 5'6 but with particularly short legs.

They actually have a showroom condition (ex staff) used Trek Emonda Di2 Ultegra but it's a 54 so I think it might be a size too big and the geometry might be a bit too bent over for me as opposed to a Domane.
 
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Location
España
Sorry, Dan, I'm going to be boring!
You're starting off and admit to not knowing much about bikes, so my advice would be to stick with what you have, continue to enjoy your cycling and take the time to figure out what's important to you in a bike. That last thing can change over time!

Get a winter season under your belt to get the full picture of cycling regularly.

Speaking for myself, I'm a lot more comfortable practising my non-existent mechanical skills on an older bike than a brand spanking new one!

There's also the issue of a shortage of bikes at the moment and the possibility of a lot of second hand bikes coming on the market post-Covid.

If you've got 2k in your pocket now, I'd be very surprised if you couldn't get a lot more bang for your buck next year coupled with a lot more knowledge about geometry, gearing, tyre clearance etc.

Yeah, I know that's not what you want to hear ^_^
 
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Dan77

Dan77

Senior Member
Location
Worcester
No, it's actually kind of what I'm planning to do unless a bargain turns up. I'm just keenly exploring the options so I can keep my eye out for any.

I've just bought some mudguards for the hybrid but not fitting them while the weather is nice. I plan to use it over the winter and possibly even continue using it for the commute after that as I can bomb along without being concerned about damaging it, etc.

Ultimately though I need a road bike for next spring so that these longer rides are more enjoyable and hopefully cover more distance. I've done quite a lot of reading on it and covered 1500km in the last few months so I feel I've made a good start but a first road bike is a big decision and I don't really want to get it wrong. There is a 104km sportive planned for July starting out a mile away from my house so I think that has to be my target.
 
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netman

Veteran
@HobbesOnTour has done the :angel: so I'll do the :evil:

If you can afford it, do it!! Get something nice and light and flash for the weekends and keep the hybrid for the winter commuting. If you don't know bikes I'd probably advise going for a new one from a good shop rather than risking second-hand but it's your call obviously (should be some good clearance deals around now on what's left from 2020). Alternatively, second hand prices will drop in a couple of months as they do every winter and there should be some mint bargains to be picked up!

Fit is very important, so if you've got a good local bike shop, go and have a sit on a few. At 5'8 I can ride 51cm (non compact) or even 56cm (compact geometry), but am happiest and most comfortable on a 54cm frame.

Also check out the Specialized Roubaix and the Cannondale Super Six Evo...
 
And then there is of course the obligatory Giant Defy, I'm a little biased though as I've got 2 of 'em.

First road bike I bought was a 2014 alloy Sora Defy and liked it so much I then bought a Defy advanced pro 3 with 105.

Again, this is classed as an 'Endurance' fit rather than race so a little more relaxed.

I'm 5'8" with a 30" inside leg and 54cm (M) is perfect.

As far as Ebay goes, I've recently picked up a 2021 Specialized Diverge E5 comp that was only 2 mths old with a saving of £500 so there are bikes out there.

Hope this helps.
 
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