Help...first road bike....which to choose?

[Kevrach]

Hi,

I know there are lots of threads for this but all are a little different.

I'm looking for my first bike. I've been doing a little riding on an old mountain bike and am now ready to move into a proper road bike. Plan is I will excercise, do some shorter weekend rides and commute 10 miles to work a couple of times a week.

Budget is £4oo max. Current choices I've got down to are:

Boardman Road Sport Ltd Ed
Carerra Vanquish
Btwin 500 SE

Any other options recommended?

I don't really want to miss the rest of the summer but would you hold out a couple of months to see if the autumn sales bring a btwin 540 or anything else down in price.

Thanks

 

[vickster]

Btwin, best spec...BUT go sit on them and see for yourself

Other option - Merlin PR7 but restricted to smaller sizes

http://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-performance-pr7-road-bike-73113.html

Or the Ribble Prime model http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bbd/r...art=SE14PRIMERIBCLARIS&sub=conf_BB_ALL&bike=1

Or...if this is the right size and if you can find more money, forego food for a bit etc - this is an utter steal at £500!! http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/merida-ride-400-2015-lampre-road-bike-reduced-£500.183093/

 

[Torvi]

you can also buy very decent used bikes for 400, damn i would go for it and get some used 10-11speed light aloy bike thers plenty of them on ebay and facebook bike groups

 

[vickster]

If buying on eBay, Gumtree etc...do lots of research and make sure you don't end up with one of the many '000s of stolen bikes sold via those media

 

[Swifty]

I've been to see the merlin pr7 and it is a really high specked bike for the money I will wait until they get my size in the next few weeks .Cant wait until I get it.

 

[Cyclist33]

I've been to see the merlin pr7 and it is a really high specked bike for the money I will wait until they get my size in the next few weeks .Cant wait until I get it.

I've had great customer service de merlin.

 

[Brava210]

Boardman especially as they are discounted until Sunday

 

[Kevrach]

So if I was buying today I'm going to go for the boardman. However, I've heard there are normally better offers toward the end of Summer. should I Wait?

 

[Mark2802]

How about a used giant defy 1 circa 2013 for your money??
Excellent bike (check reviews) and you'll get one on eBay that someone's bought, put in the shed, then decided to sell.

 

[Simes82]

New Merlin PR7s now in stock. I think I will be picking one up in my size!

 

[Kevrach]

Had a browse of the second hand market and tempted with definitely more bike for the money. Any one know of any good second hand bikes sub 400 quid in the leeds area?

 

[JCroxton1]

http://www.bikesheduk.com/marin-argenta-2013

 

[iamRayRay]

I picked up a Specialized Tarmac SL2 2nd hand for just over your top end budget. Shop about, but make sure you do your research!

I had to clean the cogs etc a lot, but 1 hours elbow grease and I could probably sell her on for a profit in 3 years time!