Road bike for approx £300 ??

[staff1975]

Hi I'm new to this forum and pretty new to cycling....well to road cycling anyway.
I'm looking for a road bike for around £300 give or take a few quid. Because I'm 6ft 5 and 18 stone, I'm reliably informed by my local bike repair shop that I need a bike with a Cassette hub not a threaded freewheel for strength reasons. I need a frame 59cm +. Can anyone suggest a bike with a cassette hub in and around my price range ?? I appreciate I'm not going to get too much for that kind of money which is why I'm after some advice. A few people have mentioned Giant Bikes but the cheapest I have seen is £450.
I've spotted this Viking Tre-Valli - any comments would be very welcome. Thanks!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Vikin...Bikes_GL&var=560214449149&hash=item3cd3d1555a
or
http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B5428.html?id=nGbUfrJi
or
http://www.bikesdirect365.com/produ...-Sports-Road-Bike,-18-Speed.html#.UjyOa9FwbIU
or
http://www.bikesdirect365.com/produ...rts-Road-Bike,-16-Speed-STI.html#.UjyQXNFwbIU

 

[MikeW-71]

Go to Decathlon, look at the Triban 3.. Job done.

 

[Cycleops]

The general consensus on here is that for three hundred notes the best bike is a BTwin Triban 3. http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-red-road-bike-id_8274036.html There will be more who will endorse this I am sure. As for me I would go secondhand, you could get a very decent bike if you know what to look out for, but I appreciate that you might not want to go down that route. You will need quite a large frame too, which could be in your favour as they are not widely sought after. If you can get a bike that has not been used much that might take the chance out of it. The Viking is good but not as good value as the Triban.

 

[staff1975]

Hi, Thanks for advice. I've been on Decathlon website and they only have small frames sizes in stock and they do not have a shop near me as I live near Newcastle. I have emailed them to ask if 63cm frame will be in stock soon. Do u have any opinions on the links for bikes I posted ??

 

[biggs682]

@staff1975 out of the ones listed i would go Dawes route , have you tried one ?

but saying that if i was in your shoes i would be looking at 2nd hand route ie local gumtree

 

[Born2die]

Carrera tdf currently 250 notes still halfrauds

 

[staff1975]

I have not tried out any road bike. I have sat on a few in Halfords to check sizes. I did consider the carera tdf but its too small for me. The biggest they do is 58cm

 

[Cycleops]

I would also go for the Dawes. It has 26c section tyres instead of the 23c of the others which will make for a more comfortable ride. You need to make sure the 58cm will be big enough.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

The general consensus on here is that for three hundred notes the best bike is a BTwin Triban 3. http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-red-road-bike-id_8274036.html There will be more who will endorse this I am sure. As for me I would go secondhand, you could get a very decent bike if you know what to look out for, but I appreciate that you might not want to go down that route. You will need quite a large frame too, which could be in your favour as they are not widely sought after. If you can get a bike that has not been used much that might take the chance out of it. The Viking is good but not as good value as the Triban.

I don't see many Triban owners doing 800 + miles a month.
But I have to agree the current range of Vikings is pretty poor.

 

[jay clock]

from a quick look, the last one listed is not ideal. Smallest chainring is 39. You need a compact (smallest will be 34) or a triple.......
If you know what to look for then second hand will be the best.....

 

[MikeW-71]

Agreed, a few of those bikes seem to have high gearing, which isn't beginner-friendly. Compact chainset (50/34) with something like a 12-28t cassette is more like it. The Carrera TDF is the same. The Carrera Virtuoso has much better gearing and it's currently £379.

Found some more info on the Dawes Giro 300. It is a compact with 14-28t cassette, I think that would be a good buy.

 

[BAtoo]

@staff1975 out of the ones listed i would go Dawes route , have you tried one ?

I've got the Dawes Giro 200 as my first bike and I'm quite satisfied with it overall although it has thumb shifters which are a pain. When I bought it I wasn't aware of the various types of shifters available and hadn't found this site to ask questions.
I did buy a new saddle (Specialised BG type) after a period of severe nether region pain and then some clipless pedals.
I'm still very much a newbie and do about 4-5 rides a week mostly in the 10-mile range before work with a longer weekend ride.
N+1 will be coming after Christmas I think........

 

[Matt1243]

I'd recommend going second hand too. I'm quite picky when it comes to parting with money so it took me a year to decide on which bike i could afford, but in the end felt that if i bought one from halfords or decathlon i'd end up spending £100s just to get it as I want it.

So i looked on ebay and found a 2010 giant defy 3 for £280 instead. Very happy with it too

 

[_Jim]

Another thumbs up for giant....I bought a giant scr off ebay for £250 as my first roadie and its been excellent....really good condition too. I use it for commuting so buying second hand also means that if it does happen to pick up a scratch or get clonked Im not as mifted as I would have been if Id parted with £600 or whatever. Definitely worth having look down the bike shop for sizing as theres plenty of variation....especially if youre 6.6.

 

[staff1975]

Thanks for all your advice. I've had an email back from Decathlon and they are getting a delivery of the Triban 3 on 3rd Oct so I think I'm going to go for one of them. They do a 63cm frame which is what I need and it looks like it's the best new bike by far for that kind of money. All reviews I've read are excellent including professional reviews!! Only decision is red or white ?? Can anyone confirm that it definately has a cassette freehub not threaded freewheel as it doesn't say in the spec?? I imagine it has at that price.