Muddyfox Milano Tri Bike

[Deleted member 20519]

As some of you may be aware, I'm on the hunt for a bike. Now, this has popped up. It's a 2011 Muddyfox Milano road bike. Now yes, I know, they are not the best of bikes but this would be my first road bike. This is a triathlon bike and it does come with aero bars (which I was most likely remove), would there be any issues for normal road cycling? I'd be using it for around 50-100 miles a week.

Frame Size: 52cm (I'm 5'5", would this fit?)
Frame - 7005 Alloy Tubing
Wheels - 700c
Saddle: Muddyfox Road Race (would be switched for my Charge Spoon)
Tyres - Kenda 700c x23 (would upgrade when I can afford it)
Brakes: Dual Pivot Tektro
Gears - Shimano SORA
Weight - 12kg (a bit on the heavy side, no heavier than what I've previously ridden)

Obviously I've got some things to put on it (SPD-SL pedals, Charge Spoon saddle etc).

Is this bike a decent buy for a first bike? It's second hand, one year old and the guy's looking for £200, I might get it down to £180.

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/muddyfox-milano-triathlon-road-bike/108594952

 

[Cyclist33]

Don't?!

 

[Deleted member 20519]

Don't?!

Huh? Why not?

 

[Cyclist33]

Dunno. Gets an ok review at bike radar.com but my sister bought a muddyfox mtb from Costco and it fell apart within a few months.

 

[Deleted member 20519]

Dunno. Gets an ok review at bike radar.com but my sister bought a muddyfox mtb from Costco and it fell apart within a few months.

Well this is a second hand bike that's already a year old. I'll probably be stripping it down and reassembling it myself, to be safe.

 

[Cyclist33]

Lol, it's not me that needs convincing! If you want, go get.

Cheers stu

 

[Rob3rt]

That is considerably heavier than the B'Twin Triban 3. Also there is a dilemma you face with regards to the bike.

(I cant find the geometry information to clarify which of the below is correct, but one of them is)

1) If it really is a triathlon bike (which I dont think it is) then the geometry would favour straight line speed and handling would be slow and unresponsive. The bikes are designed to be stable when your weight is pushed forward, this translates to them not liking cornering and riding in traffic a whole lot so not ideal for road cycling in the broadest sense.

2) On the other hand, it doesnt look like a tri bike, it looks like a road bike with some clip on tri bars attached, this doesn't make it a tri bike, it makes it a road bike with tri bars and the name is thus misleading. A road frame is a very different beast to a true TT/Tri frame which will have a steeper seat tube, slacker head tube, shorter top tube, more fork rake (not always) and a shorter headtube vs a "road bike" of the equivalent size. If it ends up being the case it is just a road bike at heart, you could pull the tri bars off and probably save 700g-1kg based on cheap tri bar weights.

Personally, I would say if you can buy a Triban 3 new (£299) or wait for a month or 2 and buy one second hand when all the hype around the Olympics etc subsides (there will be lots going up for sale, I just got one for my girlfriend yesterday and they were selling these bikes at a silly rate, probably due to the post TdF and Olympic Track cycling domination)

 

[Deleted member 20519]

That is considerably heavier than the B'Twin Triban 3. Also there is a dilemma you face with regards to the bike.

(I cant find the geometry information to clarify which of the below is correct, but one of them is)

1) If it really is a triathlon bike (which I dont think it is) then the geometry would favour straight line speed and handling would be slow and unresponsive. The bikes are designed to be stable when your weight is pushed forward, this translates to them not liking cornering and riding in traffic a whole lot.

2) On the other hand, it looks like a road bike with some clip on tri bars attached, this doesn't make it a tri bike, it makes it a road bike with tri bars. A very different beast to a true TT/Tri bike which will have a steeper seat tube, slacker head tube, shorter top tube, more fork rake (not always) and a shorter headtube vs a "road bike". You could pull the tri bars off and probably save 700g-1kg based on cheap tri bar weights.

Personally, I would say if you can buy a Triban 3 new (£299) or wait for a month or 2 and buy one second hand (there will be lots, I just got one for my girlfriends yesterday and they were selling these at a silly rate, probably due to the post TdF and Olympic Track cycling domination)

Thanks for your reply, I can't afford a Triban 3 though. I agree with you, the tri bars are clip on and I planned to remove them anyway. As much as I'd like a lighter bike, I have a very, very, limited budget and I can't afford much.