some road bike advice please ?

[bricksmasher]

Hi guys

I am looking for a road bike, I dont know a huge amount about road bikes, but I was originallu looking at treks, as I had a trek 7.5fx, which got stolen and I loved it

I have been told when looking for a road bike, I should look for Dura Ace groupsets ideally, or tiagra

Now the treks I have seen like this sell on ebay for £600+ like the 2.3 and thats just for the 105 groupset, I have seen 1 or 2 other brand bikes, which lok older, that have all Dura ace stuff etc, as someone thats relatively ignorant when It comes to bikes, what would I be best of doing? Is buying a trek just buying into a large companies name? Or is there more to look at than groupsets when choosing a bike?

 

[YahudaMoon]

Hi. Road bike Groupsets Start at : the cheapest '

Sora' about £200

Tiagra' about £300

105 ' about £500

Ultagra' about £800

Dura ace ' about £1000 +

The prices are just a guess though I think you get the idea.

Then you need a frame, handle bars seat post, saddle, Wheels, tyres, pedals, ..... The list goes on lol


Basically for a decent road bike with 105 your looking at about £1200 new.

 

[bricksmasher]

Hi

Thanks for the details

I must admit I am looking to buy second hand, as I will be new to road bikes, I know i'll either love or hate it

 

[YahudaMoon]

Second hand is a good idea. Sora the cheapest aint bad kit, it's entry level stuff. Though most people that ride bikes a lot like myself use 105, Ultaga or Dura ace is because it last for years and years. The Sora and Tiagra is more disposable. Or if you really got some spare cash the get a Camagnola Record groupset.

I would'nt bother with anything less than sora, and all Campagnola kit is decent, even the bottom range. Campagnola Mirage I think it's called ?

You get what you pay for !!

Good luck with it. Sounds like you have some idea anyway John.

 

[bricksmasher]

Cheers John

A friend of mine knows a fair bit about bikes, but I havent had a chance to speak to him properly, and I am eager to get a bike before the london to cambridge ride lol..

Appreciate the info, I think with the budget I have, I am looking at a second hand bike with 105 and that seems recommended enough by looks of it, If I like it, I can always spend more at a later date!

Thanks again

 

[YahudaMoon]

You love it if you get a decent bike. Good luck with ya ride. Im off. Up at 6am doing 250 km Yawn

 

[oldroadman]

You'll not go far wrong on 105. Plenty of people race on it. Campagnolo Mirage is OK and durable too. Be careful buying used, try to get something set up for comfort rather than a full on race frame/wheels set up. Best of luck!

 

[Norm]

Couple of things.

Firstly, Sora isn't their entry level lit, that is 2300.

Secondly, I'd say that the components get more fragile as you hit the top of the range, because they're built down to a weight, not down to a price. We've had people post on here about Dura stuff wearing out quickly on commuter bikes and the response is that stuff which is designed for race bikes is expected to be frequently replaced, whereas stuff designed for commuting is expected to last. The vehicular equivalent is racing cars or motorbike which are stripped and rebuilt every race. For general use, I'd recommend Sora or Tiagra over they top-end stuff.

Finally, the components are about the last thing that you ahould care about when buying a bike. Fit and comfort should be your main concerns, along with what you intend to use it for. A bike which is too large / small will suit no-one and getting a TT bike with Dura-ace will be useless if you want to ride on a canal path.

IMO, of course.

 

[Cardiac]

One other thing - try before you buy. The changer levers on the Sora have a weird little lever that is thumb operated to release the derailleur. Not everyone can get their thumbs in the right place comfortably. The others use a pair of levers (a secondary lever behind the main brake lever). Personally I find these much easier. Some changers allow you to push one, two or three gears at a time when changing against the spring pressure of the derailleur. That takes a little getting used to but is a worthwhile benefit in my view.

Edit - Oh, and I have 105. Very happy with it.

 

[Dayvo]

You could try looking in the classified section of a cycling mag, Cycling Weekly, for example, for good 2nd hand bikes.

http://www.magazineclassifieds.co.uk/search/cyclingweekly/

 

[vickster]

My new roadbike has SRAM Apex which is between Tiagra and 105 and meant to be good for newbies and inept females like me Meant to be asy to use, I am still trying to figure it out but I did only get the bike yesterday and have done about 8 miles so far

The Campags at the lower end are lever and button operated too (like the Xenon). As mentioned above, I was told that the higher up the food chain you go, the more everything costs to replace - like the parts on a supercar and if they wear out more quickly being lighter and hence more fragile potentially, that is definitely something to consider

There's a decent classifieds section on here too. I'd be a little wary of Gumtree and fleabay, make sure you are happy about the origins of the bike

 

[lulubel]

My bike has mostly Tiagra, with a bit of Sora that didn't get upgraded when I bought it. I basically didn't want the Sora shifters, so upgraded everything I needed to get the Tiagra ones. With the benefit of hundsight, I wish I'd gone for 105 because everyone says it's a lot smoother, and the Tiagra can be a bit "clunky".

Having said that, the groupset isn't all that important. If this is your first road bike, you want to find out whether you enjoy it first, so get yourself something with a decent frame and forks, and anything else can be upgraded as and when you want to. (Yes, it probably works out more expensive that way, but the money is spent over time, which is a lot easier for most people than buying a higher spec bike straight off.)

 

[Norm]

I basically didn't want the Sora shifters, so upgraded everything I needed to get the Tiagra ones.

Did you try the Sora shifters for any length of time, lulubel? I have Sora on one road bike and Tiagra on the other and I find the Sora thumb clicks to be more intuitive than the Tiagra shifters. I now miss them on the Tiagra equipped bike.

 

[aberal]

Groupsets are well and good and obviously important - and it does no harm to get a handle on what level of quality you would want to aim for, but in fact, the most important thing you should be assessing is the quality of the frame. That (followed by the quality of the wheels) is the measure of the quality of a bike.

 

[lulubel]

Did you try the Sora shifters for any length of time, lulubel?

No, I didn't - I had them upgraded before I even took the bike home - but I'm glad I made the choice I did. I use the drops a lot, and not being able to reach the thumb levers without moving my hand would be a serious irritation to me. I don't really see the point of having a separate lever when you can put the 2 close together, and you only need to move your fingers a centimetre either way to change up or down.

But it's all down to personal preference, of course.