Looking for advice (Road bike)

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Phixion

Guest
Hi there, I used to cycle alot as a kid and a few years back I bought a Raleigh Mountain Bike from Halfords for £99 to try and get back into cycling, the bike was only a 17" frame and the guy there said that alot of people ride 17" bikes, now i'm not sure whether he was just trying to get a sale, but after getting on the bike and riding it properly I soon found it was way too small for me, I felt like I was riding a kids bike and reaching down for the handlebars was uncomfortable.

I went on 1 journey on it, was in excruciating pain for the next few days and really didn't enjoy the experience. I later sold it...

Part of the reason I got it was to get fit again, I'm overweight and really want to start doing something with my life rather than sitting around all day.

Anyway, point is I am looking into getting a road bike now for my birthday. As a kid I always had a Mountain Bike but looking back, we spent most of our time cycling on roads... Mountain Bikes were just the "in" thing I guess.

I have around £300 to spend and would appreciate some suggestions as to what road bikes to check out.
 
Welcome aboard Phixion. How tall are yo? What's your inseam? What's your favourite colour?
 
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Phixion

Guest
Hi there, I'm ~ 5'7" and my inseam is around 28-29" (Just measured myself roughly).

Favourite colour... I don't mind really as long as it looks nice.
 
No but seriously. Find your nearest, best, three local independent bike shops and pay them a visit.

Developing a relationship with your local dealer is way more important than what brand you eventually buy.

As a new bike buyer you have access to around two hundred different brands. 90% of those brands have the majority of their bikes built in Taiwan. There is so much intense competition between the major brands that it's actually quite difficult to purchase a shoot bike these days. What you should be looking for is 'the right bike for you' and you can only find it by asking. Describe what you want to do with the bike; All road, all off road, a bit of both, 2 miles, 20 miles, 200 miles.

Two words of advice;
Find a cycle shop that you trust.
Spend more than you think you need to.
 

Willow

Senior Member
Location
Surrey
I've just swapped my 20 year old giant for the same reasons as you. Bought a mongoose 450 for £309.00. It is scarily fast downhill compared to Giant, building up over the next couple of months so I can cycle the 7 miles to work in September - used to do 5 but older less fit and much fatter now. Love that old giant and wish I had room to keep it and use both. SO nice to be cycling again.

My limited advice is to make sure you go to a bike shop that stocks a variety of different manufacturers some of them just seem to stock one/rwo makes. Also look at cycle to work scheme, I didn't find out about it until too late and it seems you can get some good savings with it.

Even in the pouring rain I enjoyed my little trip to take boys to school yesterday. Let us know what you get.
 
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