is the viking giro d'italia road bike any good?
- Thread starter lukepalmer94
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SportMonkey
Guest
That is pretty...
rowan 46
Über Member
- Location
- birmingham
I don't know about this bike but can tell you what I know about the brand. They are cheap bikes generally well put together with bottom to mid range components. The frames tend towards the sturdy rather than truly lightweight but are most often use t6 aluminium frame. I have a viking hybrid trekking bike and its fine for round town sturdy, reliable and not so flash that I worry about it getting nicked. That being said it's not the bike I ride for pleasure if you want a road bike you want one with a bit of performance in it a viking will get you there but you should be able to get a 2nd hand bike off ebay for a similar price that will give you a bit more fun. true you get the 12 months guarantee but if your riding for pleasure its not the best brand. I have a bottom to mid range specialized hybrid that is just a much nicer ride. In short if its to get you to work It will do the job fine if you want it for the joy of the open road see if you can find something with a little more zing. Ignore the selling bit about recommended price they are always sold with the discount.
lukepalmer94
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lukepalmer94
New Member
rowan 46
Über Member
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- birmingham
Luke give us an idea of your budget and how you intend to use it. I am sure that people who are a lot more knowledgeable than me will be able to give you better advice and choices. If £200 is your top limit you can pick up some good road bikes on ebay for that price. I have looked on the web and the reviews of this bike range from poor to not glowing. nobody appears overwhelmed by it and some underwhelmed. As for raleigh bikes imo they are not much better than viking they do the same thing buy the stuff from china assemble it over here and sell it as made in england. Don't get me wrong I am not slating chinese bikes I'm just saying they are all much of a muchness you are paying for the name as the components and design are much the same as each other. Raleigh, viking, Claude butler are not the bikes they once were and for £200 of your money new you are going to get a similar bike whichever brand you buy. In short if you have only £200 the viking is as good a new bike as any other brand, But for that money you can get a much nicer one 2nd hand. To a large extent you do get what you pay for 2nd hand the other person has taken the hit on depreciation rather than you.
downfader
extimus uero philosophus
- Location
- 'ampsheeeer
Looks nice but it has downtube gear shifters. Can be a bit of a faff for a beginner. As Rowan said, you need to specify budget, the road types you'll use it on, do you need panniers. I'd advise mudguards would be a good option too.
YahudaMoon
Über Member
Don't buy it !!!!!!!!!!. It does look the business though.
Anything below £300 will be poor. £200 ? who knows what thats made of ?
Anything below £300 will be poor. £200 ? who knows what thats made of ?
downfader
extimus uero philosophus
- Location
- 'ampsheeeer
Sheffield_Tiger
Guru
Many people have done many miles on similar
STI used to be non-existent, and downtube shifters were friction only - it was never a big problem then
To be honest, downtube shifters might be a plus, as paying for STI would mean a cutback somewhere else
STI used to be non-existent, and downtube shifters were friction only - it was never a big problem then
To be honest, downtube shifters might be a plus, as paying for STI would mean a cutback somewhere else
lukepalmer94
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lukepalmer94
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rowan 46
Über Member
- Location
- birmingham
luke the price of a bike is split between a few things, first you are going to pay for the components. the components ultimately decide the price, However a good bike is not just a bunch of bits put together its every part working together to make a harmonious whole this is where the top brands score they pay lots of money to get feedback from top riders on how a bike should and does behave, consequently if they spend £300 on a bike you get a good £300 bike however its going to cost you £400 because they have to recoup their r&d, sponsorship and the extra effort required in quality control. The other brands may put £300 worth of components together but it won't feel the same the quality control isn't as high their understanding of a bike is not as profound. The reason the big brands don't make very cheap stuff is they understand you can't get the best out of low quality components. So essentially it boils down to you are not going to get the performance new unless you spend a certain amount of money. £300 will buy you a nice bike from viking, raleigh, claude butler whoever but it won't get you a very good one because the very good ones will cost £400 However if you buy 2nd hand you can buy a £500 bike for £300 hence a very good one.
I am on my first big brand bike and the difference is very noticeable, its components are not much better than the viking I use as a runabout but the riding experience is totally different. £300 will get you a decent bike from any of the non big brands so If your heart is set on a shiny new bike get one you won't be disappointed, that is until you try a friends named brand and see the difference. I used to think it was just brand snobbery (there's a lot of it about) but its not. serious cyclists here drop a lot of money on kit because cycling is one of those things that you get what you pay for. £300 will not get you a great bike but it will get you a decent bike that will tide you over till you have enough for your next one. £300 will get you a decent , viking raleigh whateverand when you are ready to move on you will be able to sell them for a £100. however If you buy a good used specialized, cannondale etc for £300 when you want to sell it and move on you should still get pretty much the price you paid as its previous owner has taken the hit on depreciation. Its up to you of course, a £300 new road bike will give you a lot of pleasure because of course you will be cycling and a new £300 bike will do the job. However a £300 2nd hand bike will do an even better job because you will in effect be buying a £500+ bike
nb
I have never heard of coyote but I am not a road bike expert)
I am on my first big brand bike and the difference is very noticeable, its components are not much better than the viking I use as a runabout but the riding experience is totally different. £300 will get you a decent bike from any of the non big brands so If your heart is set on a shiny new bike get one you won't be disappointed, that is until you try a friends named brand and see the difference. I used to think it was just brand snobbery (there's a lot of it about) but its not. serious cyclists here drop a lot of money on kit because cycling is one of those things that you get what you pay for. £300 will not get you a great bike but it will get you a decent bike that will tide you over till you have enough for your next one. £300 will get you a decent , viking raleigh whateverand when you are ready to move on you will be able to sell them for a £100. however If you buy a good used specialized, cannondale etc for £300 when you want to sell it and move on you should still get pretty much the price you paid as its previous owner has taken the hit on depreciation. Its up to you of course, a £300 new road bike will give you a lot of pleasure because of course you will be cycling and a new £300 bike will do the job. However a £300 2nd hand bike will do an even better job because you will in effect be buying a £500+ bike
nb
I have never heard of coyote but I am not a road bike expert)
downfader
extimus uero philosophus
- Location
- 'ampsheeeer
Basic bike options might be:
Virtuoso. Have seen a few of these at work and TDFs (same bike essentially). Look nice and decent for the money. Good parts and good frame:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_272625_langId_-1_categoryId_165710
Raleigh are making decent bikes again.Slightly outside your budget:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/raleigh/team-sprint-2011-road-bike-ec028445
Have a scout around your local bike shops too. You might be able to do a deal for cash, or for kit like gloves, helmet etc.
You could buy a load of parts from ebay, but its better to know what you're looking for imo. If you did go down the "hack bike" route then you'd have to find a decent mech guy to assemble it.
Virtuoso. Have seen a few of these at work and TDFs (same bike essentially). Look nice and decent for the money. Good parts and good frame:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_272625_langId_-1_categoryId_165710
Raleigh are making decent bikes again.Slightly outside your budget:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/raleigh/team-sprint-2011-road-bike-ec028445
Have a scout around your local bike shops too. You might be able to do a deal for cash, or for kit like gloves, helmet etc.
You could buy a load of parts from ebay, but its better to know what you're looking for imo. If you did go down the "hack bike" route then you'd have to find a decent mech guy to assemble it.
rowan 46
Über Member
- Location
- birmingham
this seems quite a nice viking http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B3890.html?id=mF9gfWRU
