First Road bike under £800

[adehooper]

https://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/bikes/road-bikes/london-road

Have a look at PlanetX
A lot of folk wouldn't recommend them, can't see why not though as my bikes a blast although I did upgrade it a bit from the base spec.
It's now done aver 4000 miles and has been completely trouble free only needing a new chain, worth a look if nothing else.

Just noticed you've already ordered, oh well no matter 😀

 

[sammydaviss1]

I have around £250 to spend on accessories.. Mudguards, pannier rack, shoes, pedals, clothing, lights.. Any help with what I should buy would be appreciated. Preferably from Evans cycles as that's where my c2w voucher is valid.

Thanks.

 

[vickster]

Do you need shoes immediately? If so, ones that fit - try on in Evans. If going clipless - as you're commuting, go SPD (MTB style and not SPD-SL road style). Shimano M520 pedals are bombproof, easy to use and cheap

Lights - country or urban riding?

Clothing - some sort of water proof / windproof jacket with reflective patches - doesn't need to be yellow
Maybe some padded tights or padded shorts and tights to go over. Try on in Evans
Other stuff, look in Evans clearance and order into store, LS / SS jersey, a buff, maybe some cycling specs.
Helmet if you plan to wear, again try on in Evans, not online, needs to fit and be comfortable

Mudguards - Evans to advise and fit to bike
Pannier rack - the Topeak Super tourist and slide on bag with fold out panniers are fab

You'll also need a good lock - Abus or Kryptonite sold by Evans, get a cable for front wheel

 

[sammydaviss1]

Do you need shoes immediately? If so, ones that fit - try on in Evans. If going clipless - as you're commuting, go SPD (MTB style and not SPD-SL road style). Shimano M520 pedals are bombproof, easy to use and cheap

Lights - country or urban riding?

Clothing - some sort of water proof / windproof jacket with reflective patches - doesn't need to be yellow
Maybe some padded tights or padded shorts and tights to go over. Try on in Evans
Other stuff, look in Evans clearance and order into store, LS / SS jersey, a buff, maybe some cycling specs.
Helmet if you plan to wear, again try on in Evans, not online, needs to fit and be comfortable

Mudguards - Evans to advise and fit to bike
Pannier rack - the Topeak Super tourist and slide on bag with fold out panniers are fab

You'll also need a good lock - Abus or Kryptonite sold by Evans, get a cable for front wheel

I don't necessarily need shoes straight away but I have £250 left on my c2w voucher so would be handy to get the discount on them if I have enough funds left on the voucher.

 

[vickster]

I don't necessarily need shoes straight away but I have £250 left on my c2w voucher so would be handy to get the discount on them if I have enough funds left on the voucher.

Fair enough. Just try some on. They can be oddly sized especially if you have odd shaped feet.
I doubt you’ll have loads left. Locks aren’t cheap and a rack and bags will be £80odd, mudguards £30, a jacket £50-100 etc
Get a track pump for home and mini pub for bike, they’ll be £20-30 each at evans. Lights will be £50, helmet £50 and so on.
Add a mini tool, tyre levers and a couple of the right sized inner tubes to the list as well
shoes and spd pedals will be £75-100

 

[vickster]

A few options
https://www.evanscycles.com/fwe-160s-track-pump-EV248258

https://www.evanscycles.com/topeak-race-rocket-hp-pump-EV162352

https://www.evanscycles.com/topeak-super-tourist-dx-bike-rack-EV162284...if the Bike doesn't have rack mounts, you might need evans to fit with P clips
https://www.evanscycles.com/topeak-mtx-trunk-bag-exp-EV274392 (one of the sites Evans price match might have this and the rack cheaper)

https://www.evanscycles.com/park-multi-tool-allen-keys-00103216 for essential new bike adjustments
https://www.evanscycles.com/fwe-tyre-lever-set-EV183170 in case of puncture (learn how to change tube at home if not sure how)
Mudguards, SKS chromoplastics if they fit
These are good lights if you're riding in lit areas, you'll need beefier for country roads
https://www.evanscycles.com/moon-meteor-x-pro-comet-x-light-set-600-120-lumen-EV366233

Clothing, world is your oyster https://www.evanscycles.com/clothing_c
But get a buff and gloves for definite
https://www.evanscycles.com/fwe-neck-warmer-EV332574

I use an older version of these in black in 5-10 degrees, but check out in store
https://www.evanscycles.com/fwe-kennington-3-0-windproof-gloves-EV332570

These are the pedals I'd recommend https://www.evanscycles.com/shimano-m520-spd-pedals-non-retail-packaged-EV192341

 

[sammydaviss1]

A few options
https://www.evanscycles.com/fwe-160s-track-pump-EV248258

https://www.evanscycles.com/topeak-race-rocket-hp-pump-EV162352

https://www.evanscycles.com/topeak-super-tourist-dx-bike-rack-EV162284...if the Bike doesn't have rack mounts, you might need evans to fit with P clips
https://www.evanscycles.com/topeak-mtx-trunk-bag-exp-EV274392 (one of the sites Evans price match might have this and the rack cheaper)

https://www.evanscycles.com/park-multi-tool-allen-keys-00103216 for essential new bike adjustments
https://www.evanscycles.com/fwe-tyre-lever-set-EV183170 in case of puncture (learn how to change tube at home if not sure how)
Mudguards, SKS chromoplastics if they fit
These are good lights if you're riding in lit areas, you'll need beefier for country roads
https://www.evanscycles.com/moon-meteor-x-pro-comet-x-light-set-600-120-lumen-EV366233

Clothing, world is your oyster https://www.evanscycles.com/clothing_c
But get a buff and gloves for definite
https://www.evanscycles.com/fwe-neck-warmer-EV332574

I use an older version of these in black in 5-10 degrees, but check out in store
https://www.evanscycles.com/fwe-kennington-3-0-windproof-gloves-EV332570

These are the pedals I'd recommend https://www.evanscycles.com/shimano-m520-spd-pedals-non-retail-packaged-EV192341

Thanks for the suggestions.
The commute to work does include quite a few unlit country roads.. What lights would be suitable? (Roughly) How many lumens do you think?

 

[RoadRider400]

I have around £250 to spend on accessories.. Mudguards, pannier rack, shoes, pedals, clothing, lights.. Any help with what I should buy would be appreciated. Preferably from Evans cycles as that's where my c2w voucher is valid.

Thanks.

In your situation I would probably go for

Mudguards
https://www.evanscycles.com/sks-bluemels-mudguard-set-700c-x-23-28c-00101656
Pedals
https://www.evanscycles.com/dmr-v8-pedal-v2-EV298876
I cycle out up to 50miles for leisure and have never felt the need to be clipped in. I would just get the V8 pedals and that means you can wear trainers you already may own.
Lights
I would not go cheap here. Cat eye lights have served me very well. Started cycling 5 years ago and still have the same lights
Panier rack
Get something half decent. You dont want it rattling about. For the bag it depends how much you need to carry but some of the bags on there look an absolute rip off. Honestly IMO a bags is a bag is a bag and I got a perfectly usable trunk bag from ebay for about £25.
Clothing.
This is where I did spend a bit more on a waterproof breathable was about £75 and decent waterproof trousers were £45. However for the rest I avoided cycling specific kit and saved a good deal of money. For cold weather I just wear a couple of cheap hoodies which I already had, in previous years they kept me warm even a few degrees below zero.

 

[vickster]

Thanks for the suggestions.
The commute to work does include quite a few unlit country roads.. What lights would be suitable? (Roughly) How many lumens do you think?

I don't know as my riding is 99% on lit roads so need to be seen, not really to see. I think absolute number of lumens isn't the only factor.

Ref the bag, what will you be you carrying? Clothes (what), shoes, laptop, lunch, anything fragile or bulky (other than a laptop)? Can you store stuff at work, such as the locks for example or are you parking outside in a town or city?

Are you planning on only commuting or doing club rides, long distance and the like? That might also influence the type of clothing etc

 

[si_c]

Good shout on the Trek, I really like mine. Bontrager mudguards fit really well to the frame for me (made by Trek) so worth looking at them. The frame has rack mounts - I'd get Evans to fit it all together for you to save yourself the hassle.

With front lights there are two factors at play - the brightness of the lamp and the lenses that dictate how the light is displayed on the road. I've found for dark country lanes that 500 lumen is more than enough to be able to see where you are going. It is worth spending the money on a more powerful light though if only because they tend to have larger batteries which means you can run them at a lower power and expect to get to and from work on a single charge. For me the sweet spot is around 1200lumen. It is worth considering getting two front lights - a main beam and a blinky spare light that you can use in an emergency in case your main lamp fails.

I've found that the Lezyne range of lights is excellent as is the Cateye Volt range. For rear lights pretty much anything works - I've had success with Cateye, Lezyne, Moon and Evan's FWE brand lights. As with the front light it's worth having more than one.