Old fat bloke wants road bike £700 - £1,000. Help please.

[DTDTDT]

I am looking to get a road bike (currently have an old mountain bike) to start training properly, lose weight and do some events. I am 50 so I dont want top spec but I dont want one I will regret buying in 6 months. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Basil.B]

Giant Defy 1, would be a good choice.
Had a test ride on one the other day, was impressed!

 

[defy-one]

I was so impressed .... I bought one!!
4 months on - no regrets

 

[Sittingduck]

Get yourself down the local bike shop and see what they have on offer. Take a few out for test rides and see if anything jumps out at you? Decent budget, so you should have plenty of choice!

 

[CopperCyclist]

Find a LBS that stocks Cubes. Go in with your budget - I doubt you'll regret it!

 

[BrumJim]

Good budget. Difficult to go wrong in that price range.

Tips - you'll want an aluminium framed bike, with Shimano Tiagra or 105 gears. Other than that, find good bike shops, find one that fits, and enjoy it.
Aluminium - lighter than steel, but will have carbon forks at that price to reduce road buzz.
Shimano Tiagra and 105 have a mechanism for changing gear within the brake levers that allow you to do this when riding either on the hoods or on the drops. Which is useful.

Outside this, the Boardman range in Halfords are well regarded, even if not every Halfords has the best bike service workshop or salespeople.

 

[Sittingduck]

Good budget. Difficult to go wrong in that price range.

Tips - you'll want an aluminium framed bike, with Shimano Tiagra or 105 gears. Other than that, find good bike shops, find one that fits, and enjoy it.
Aluminium - lighter than steel, but will have carbon forks at that price to reduce road buzz.
Shimano Tiagra and 105 have a mechanism for changing gear within the brake levers that allow you to do this when riding either on the hoods or on the drops. Which is useful.

Outside this, the Boardman range in Halfords are well regarded, even if not every Halfords has the best bike service workshop or salespeople.

Just to add that the 2013 version of Shimano SORA (that's 1 notch down on the range from Tiagra), have the same design of paddles to shift up, as is currently on offer with Tiagra, 105, Ultegra and Dura Ace.

 

[Basil.B]

I was so impressed .... I bought one!!
4 months on - no regrets

I'm just waiting till the end of the month for the 2013 Defy 1 to come in.
Been told it's red instead of blue, not that it matters much.
Would have bought one there and then, but didn't have a Defy in Small.
Medium is just a little too big for me.

 

[dellzeqq]

full Ultegra (which is good news except for the head set) full carbon frame and really fabulous wheels for the money
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/btwin-facet-5-id_8203212.html £1699

 

[Sittingduck]

Hideous looking frame though, Dell

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Maybe you should get a road bike with more relaxed geometry so you are not bent over as much, i.e. the handlebars will be higher. Such as a Specialized Secteur or a Cannondale Synapse. I have the Secteur and it's a really comfortable bike. I am sure other better value brands such as Cube maybe have a similar model, I just do not know what it is called.

 

[Sittingduck]

Verenti Millook, from Wiggle is a very comfy and light bike but I wouldn't advise buying online, if it's your first road bike.

 

[Peteaud]

Another for the Defy

Ive got the Defy 2, brilliant bike.

 

[vickster]

Don't discount a bike with SRAM Apex - Boardman team for example - very simple to shift gear

 

[Davos87]

Another vote for the Defy.