What is that?! And how much out of the piggy bank?
Road bike buying advice for newbie
- Thread starter AdamD1
- Start date
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Xipe Totec
Frrrg rrrrf yrrrr crrrnds
- Location
- Between The Thirteen And The Nine
From the bikes you've linked the Triban 520 is by several million miles the best spec and the best value. The colour is unfortunate (I came back to road riding 10 years ago with their bright red T3) but the £150 you save from your budget would buy a lot of fluorescent spray paint, glow-in-the-dark iridescent vinyl wrap or sparkly unicorn-poo adhesive rainbow glitter. And you'll have 11sp 105 and semi-hydraulic discs. So buy that one.
Interesting as someone on another forum said it’s not great spec!
In layman’s terms, what is the difference between hydraulic and mechanical disc brakes? And then between semi hydraulic and the other two?
Won’t be much commuting as i wfh a lot. And when there is it is pretty much a straight cycle along the beach and then 2 miles of road!If it’s for commuting then one that takes mudguards as a minimum
I got the RC500 as my first road bike and happy with it. The main difference between the 500 and the 520 is the groupset. Sora 9sp with promax mechanical disc calipers in the 500, I am happy with it, good range of gears, reliable shifting and plenty of stopping power.
The 520 has 105 gears, not sure what brakes, but someone in here had a bit of a nightmare removing and reinstalling their tyres.
As @Cycleops says, Decathlon are very good value. Sizing wise, according to their table I needed an xs, but on trying I found it too cramped so went for the small, which is very comfortable, so if you can, try to see how feels sitting on it.
ETA, both tribans take proper mudguards, I put SKS bluemels on mine.
The 520 has 105 gears, not sure what brakes, but someone in here had a bit of a nightmare removing and reinstalling their tyres.
As @Cycleops says, Decathlon are very good value. Sizing wise, according to their table I needed an xs, but on trying I found it too cramped so went for the small, which is very comfortable, so if you can, try to see how feels sitting on it.
ETA, both tribans take proper mudguards, I put SKS bluemels on mine.
Alex321
Veteran
- Location
- South Wales
I've got a Cube Attain, higher in the range than the one you are looking at, and I love it.
OK, it is twice the price you are after, but the one on your list won't be all that much worse. Mine is two groupsets higher, but still the same sort of range, just bigger jumps between gears on yours. Hydraulic disc brakes rather than mechanical, and carbon frame rather than aluminium, so probably 1-2Kg difference in weight
But it is the same shape of frame, same wheelset, and a lot of other similarities.
OK, it is twice the price you are after, but the one on your list won't be all that much worse. Mine is two groupsets higher, but still the same sort of range, just bigger jumps between gears on yours. Hydraulic disc brakes rather than mechanical, and carbon frame rather than aluminium, so probably 1-2Kg difference in weight
But it is the same shape of frame, same wheelset, and a lot of other similarities.
Xipe Totec
Frrrg rrrrf yrrrr crrrnds
- Location
- Between The Thirteen And The Nine
It's certainly head & shoulders above any of the others you're looking at - I suppose it's not a great spec compared to, say, 12 speed Di2 Ultegra on a full carbon frame with an Enve wheelset - but it's a great entry level spec, certainly compared with most other bikes in the sub £1000 bracket at the moment, and isn't likely to make you wish you'd bought something else. Or be desperate to upgrade to something 'better' in a couple of months.
I've not used full hydraulic brakes yet but my experience is that in terms of efficiency, cable discs are OK but not massively better than good rim brakes, but semi-hydraulics (which I have on a very silly bike I've recently built up) are a lot better, and mine are a significant improvement on the (very good) Shimano Ultegra rim brakes I have on a different bike. The TRP Hy/Rd brakes on the Triban have been around a few years and are very well reviewed, and a reasonably common upgrade from mechanical discs, as you don't need to change your shifters (typically the most expensive bit of a groupset) for ones with a hydraulic reservoir.
Cool, thanks. So I may opt for that if I can get over the awful colour! Can you recommend anything similar to the triban? Bearing in mind the ones I linked to were pureful from my novice level knowledge and brief research.
The problem I have is I could go round in circles for weeks and months researching but I really just need to get on one and ride it!
Isn't the black one available?
Cycleops
Legendary Member
- Location
- Accra, Ghana
You might even need an XL or may find it more comfortable.
Alex321
Veteran
- Location
- South Wales
A bike shop should be able to, yes.
But if you know your height and inseam measurements, then you should be able to work out the right size for you. There are online charts for most manufacturers. Note that different manufacturers size their bicycles differently though, so you can't be sure for instance that the right size for a Cube would be the same as the right size for a Triban.
When looking at the bike measurements, the two most important are the stack and the reach. Stack being the vertical distance between the bottom bracket and the top of the head tube, Reach being the horizontal distance between the same two points. What are the best stack and reach measurements for you though are going to depend very much on your style of riding and your comfort preferences, so if you are getting a bike fit from a shop, you need to be telling them that sort of information.
Sterlo
Early Retirement Planning
- Location
- East Riding of Yorkshire
Another + from me for the Cube. I've had 2 now (first one sadly stolen 
) and replaced with a the next model up. I would avoid mechanical discs, I've heard they cause no end of issues, go for hydraulic or stick with rim brakes if not.
) and replaced with a the next model up. I would avoid mechanical discs, I've heard they cause no end of issues, go for hydraulic or stick with rim brakes if not.I found that the size suggested by Decathlon's chart was too small for me.