Looking to buy my first Road Bike this summer, and don't have much knowledge of what I should be looking out for. A friend recommended that I get Shimano 105 gear front/back setup, aluminium frame/carbon fork and enough clearence for mudguards and panniers. I currently have a Ridgeback Supernova with Deore frn/bck gear set up, which seem quick and smooth, does anyone know whick gears set up are best for Road Bikes?.
Road bike knowledge
- Thread starter noadapter
- Start date
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benborp
Guru
- Location
- further from Penge
A couple of questions and a little bit of opinion in between -
What sort of mileage over what sort of terrain will you be planning on riding? Pretty much any road bike will have a suitable range of gears unless you have an unusually long and hilly commute and/or you load the bike up quite heavily at which point you could consider a triple (three chainrings) over a compact (smaller chainrings than a standard 34/50T) or standard chainset (39/52T).
In terms of groupset, 105 is at about the standard where you'll appreciate the quality/weight/function/lifespan without paying over the odds. However, I think you might be limited in the number of machines available that fit your other criteria. Many off-the-shelf 105 equipped bikes now are going to be carbon affairs with tight clearances. I used to commute on aluminium but lost two frames to minor dings and now use steel.
How much do you want to spend?
What sort of mileage over what sort of terrain will you be planning on riding? Pretty much any road bike will have a suitable range of gears unless you have an unusually long and hilly commute and/or you load the bike up quite heavily at which point you could consider a triple (three chainrings) over a compact (smaller chainrings than a standard 34/50T) or standard chainset (39/52T).
In terms of groupset, 105 is at about the standard where you'll appreciate the quality/weight/function/lifespan without paying over the odds. However, I think you might be limited in the number of machines available that fit your other criteria. Many off-the-shelf 105 equipped bikes now are going to be carbon affairs with tight clearances. I used to commute on aluminium but lost two frames to minor dings and now use steel.
How much do you want to spend?
