What 1st Road Bike

[biggs682]

sorry guys but i cant understand why so many noobies ask this question ?

And then they draw up a shortlist of NEW bikes that range from the economy end through to the top end , and ask total strangers which is best !

As most of you know i love my retro steelies for no real reason other than i do , its what i was bought up on , there was none of those fancy materials , you had gas pipe or Reynolds .

The point i am making is if i was trying something for the first time , there is no way i would be splashing a lot of bucks on something that will loose a lot of its initial asking price the minute your rubber hits the tarmac .

I like the look of those Merlins at £299 and the B Twins are both good value but once you have decided you like cycling and want to upgrade your initial purchase it will have more than likely lost half of its value .

I always have and always will offer for any newbie to come and try a steelie to get a road bike experience and to try and show him some of the options available .

Sorry guys and @vickster rant over and soap box pushed into the corner till next time

 

[Dogtrousers]

Can I have a rant now? Why are so many entry level bikes sold with close range sporty gearing that may be fine for Jens but not for mortals. A suitable bottom gear is a must for enjoying cycling, and for many people that's aLOW one

 

[Apollonius]

That is a very good point indeed.

As for frame materials, well, a good bike is a good bike and a poor bike is a poor bike whatever the stuff it is made of. And you can soon turn a good bike into a poor one with bad maintenence or nailing unnecessary junk to it.

 

[roadrash]

what i want to know is ...... why are you going to build a nest in a soap box

Sorry guys and @@vickster rant over and soap box pushed into the corner till nest time

 

[vickster]

What annoys me is why newbies can't read some threads before they post - the same question gets ask numerous times a week...

I can understand why people who haven't ridden bikes much / for a long time aren't going to go out and buy a used bike as invariably this is going to cost additional money (I have just found the same with my SS, which is fine but if I'd spent my full budget I'd be stuffed now, not that I tend to have a budget for a whim purchase )

This is also why Ribble / Dolan are a good option if local/ confident as you can actually get the correct size components unlike off the peg.
I am 5'10 so yes of course I can buy a men's bike...but I don't want 42-44cm bars, I don't want 175mm cranks, I don't want a 110-120mm stem and I don't want a men's saddle!

At least buying new from a shop you have come back, a warranty, you know it's not stolen or visibly / invisibly damaged, even if it costs you a few quid more and you perhaps lose a bit if/when you sell up.
I used to change my car regularly, that was much more costly than changing bikes - a couple of hundred lost versus a £1000+

I'm going to stop ranting and suggesting bikes now and let others get ranted at

 

[Dogtrousers]

I have absolutely no problem with answering the same question over again. It often leads to interesting discussion. But when that question is "how do I get a lower bottom gear?" You have to think that something is wrong. For a start, it would be good if the published the gearing range (in a consistent unit, inches gain ratio, whatever) to enable comparison between bikes with the rest of a bike's tech spec.

 

[Apollonius]

Yes, but Vickster, people just want to join the conversation and that is what they want to ask. It happens on every enthusiast forum. People get interested in something and that is what they want to do.
Inevitably people who have bought Madones recommend Madones (I often mis-read this as mad ones!) and Defy riders say "get a Defy".
Additionally, no two people are the same in what they want and where they are on the slippery slope of bike addiction. Most of what they want is to get involved. No harm.

 

[Peteaud]

Good point, what one of these do you think i should get.

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/the-new-16000-specialized-mclaren-s-works-tarmac-41582/

or

http://www.tesco.com/direct/vertigo-piccadilly-21-road-bike-unisex/211-7006.prd

 

[Apollonius]

Tesco is everywhere, and Maclaren have to date only made baby buggies, so I suggest you go for the more popular option.

 

[Peteaud]

Tesco is everywhere, and Maclaren have to date only made baby buggies, so I suggest you go for the more popular option.

So i will do what most "what bike" questions do,

I will buy something not on the list in the 1st place.

 

[raleighnut]

The Vertigo Definitely (the other one might melt in the rain)

 

[outlash]

For me, it's not necessarily the question because let's face it, even £300 is a fair bit of money to a lot of people, especially to spend on a leisure pursuit and there's a whole raft of choices but the answers that come up tend to be:

'I've no experience of any of these bikes, but that one seems to be well liked, choose that one'.
Or it's:
'I've got one of those bikes, I've got no experience of any of the others you're considering but as I own that one, it's the best'.

Pretty pointless IMO.

Tony.

 

[Apollonius]

I have only just moved Mrs A on from "What colour is it?" as the key question. It took 20 minutes on a Dogma to get her to notice there was more to it than that. Fortunately she hated it!

 

[Peteaud]

For me, it's not necessarily the question because let's face it, even £300 is a fair bit of money to a lot of people, especially to spend on a leisure pursuit and there's a whole raft of choices but the answers that come up tend to be:

'I've no experience of any of these bikes, but that one seems to be well liked, choose that one'.
Or it's:
'I've got one of those bikes, I've got no experience of any of the others you're considering but as I own that one, it's the best'.

Pretty pointless IMO.

Tony.

Buy the red one.

 

[Apollonius]

We have all just enjoyed am amusing cyber-conversation. I think that proves my point. people are not really asking forumites for advice. They want a chat about bikes.