Which Bike?

[Boydie]

Hi; Im wanting to buy a road bike, I usually go for mountain bikes, but now I have took a interest in buying a nice road bike.

I am willing to spend around £400; maybe a wee bit more for a good starting bike. I live in East Lothian; Scotland, the country roads generally have some type of gradient and most of the roads are really smooth, so a nice place to cycle.

Also I have found this bike; it looks to be a bargain to me; but maybe you guys can find me something better.

http://www.shoppersd...ts-700c-w/5490/

Plus cheers for the time if you post.

 

[the_mikey]

Looks like a reasonable spec for the price, although you might like to look around, bike shops might start to sale their 2011 stock from now, and if you can raise another £100-200 you might find something that could give you a little more fun, lighter frames or better component generally.

For example: http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Specialized-Allez-Sport-27-2011-Road-Bike_37622.htm or the 18 speed version: http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Specialized-Allez-Sport-18-2011-Road-Bike_37624.htm

 

[Boydie]

Thanks for the quick reply. The Allez's bikes are very nice and would be something I would go for; but sadly I'd say my maximum budget is £450.


Plus the only thing I'm worried about buying a bike online is if the bike doesn't fit me properly, unlike going into a shop and trying out the bike. Would this be a accurate chart to go by?


http://www.evanscycles.com/help/bike-sizing#road

 

[johnnyh]

A couple of good value road bike are the Decathlon Triban 3, and the Carrera Virtuoso, both of these can be had for 300 notes and leave you £'s for pedals and accessories.

I note you say the local roads all have gradients, the Viking bike you highlight has an 11-23 rear cassette, that could be something you may want to give thought to. I think the Virtuoso comes with a 12-26 as standard, and I am not sure about the Decathlon bikes.

Just more to add to your confusion

 

[Evil Rabbit]

The cycle to work scheme has made for a great S/H bike market. With that budget, personally, I would look out for a £700-800 priced bike going S/H. Lots around.

 

[Boydie]

Cheers for the info johnnyh; the Carrera looks to be a cracking bike from the review and the Decathlon looks to be promising too. I will take these bikes into consideration too.

Evil Rabbit; actually I have been looking on the second hand market and I have notice a lot of people don't put they're bike's frame size on some certain websites, which is annoying lol. Do you know any good S/H bike websites, you could suggest? It would be much appreciated thanks.

 

[Evil Rabbit]

Cheers for the info johnnyh; the Carrera looks to be a cracking bike from the review and the Decathlon looks to be promising too. I will take these bikes into consideration too.

Evil Rabbit; actually I have been looking on the second hand market and I have notice a lot of people don't put they're bike's frame size on some certain websites, which is annoying lol. Do you know any good S/H bike websites, you could suggest? It would be much appreciated thanks.

I have picked up bikes for me and the family from, in order of preference:

• Local bike stores - some may not sell S/H, but they often know someone/customer wanting to sell one.
• Free Papers/Small ads
• Forums, like this (good solid members rarely sell dud bikes)
• Ebay
• Other free/ad sites - Gumtree etc.

 

[johnnyh]

no worries, have been very pleased with mine and it has proven very reliable in all weathers.

 

[cyberknight]

I would go for the triban 3 over the virtuoso as it has a carbon fork to take the sting out of the road.

I have a virtuoso and it is a very good bike but if i was going to buy that price bracket again i would go for the triban as you get more bike for your money .

I know you said that £450 is you max but for £499 you can get the triban 5 .. carbon fork and seat stays for comfort , triple chainset for plenty of gear choice

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/triban-5-172072740/#

 

[Boydie]

That Triban 5 looks to be a good bit of kit... I wonder if decathlon would do me a discount haha.

Cheers for the info cyberknight.

 

[Alembicbassman]

That Triban 5 looks to be a good bit of kit... I wonder if decathlon would do me a discount haha.

Cheers for the info cyberknight.

They will give you a discount on accessories if you buy a bike

 

[Boydie]

They will give you a discount on accessories if you buy a bike

Nice to know; thanks a lot.

I was at Halfords today and this bike caught my eye; the new Carrera Virtuoso, it's not been out long the guy from the shop said, less than a month from the top of my head. I think it's a very pretty bike, felt nice and light too. What do you guys think?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_810675_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

 

[uphillstruggler]

Nice to know; thanks a lot.

I was at Halfords today and this bike caught my eye; the new Carrera Virtuoso, it's not been out long the guy from the shop said, less than a month from the top of my head. I think it's a very pretty bike, felt nice and light too. What do you guys think?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_810675_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

That will end up costing you as much when you replace the pedals alone.

Also, unless you can set the bike up yourself, you will more than likely need to take this elsewhere to be checked over. A neibour of mine didnt and ended up with the chain getting stuck between the cassette and frame, bent the rear stay badly enough that he couldnt ride back, miles from home, not sure whether alfords are doing anything about it.

From limited experience, I would definately seriously consider the decathlon bike

 

[Boydie]

That will end up costing you as much when you replace the pedals alone.

Also, unless you can set the bike up yourself, you will more than likely need to take this elsewhere to be checked over. A neibour of mine didnt and ended up with the chain getting stuck between the cassette and frame, bent the rear stay badly enough that he couldnt ride back, miles from home, not sure whether alfords are doing anything about it.

From limited experience, I would definately seriously consider the decathlon bike

Sorry I should of pointed this out in the first place; the picture is deceiving; the bike does come with clipless pedals, the guy at Halfords was telling me, plus they build up the bike for free at they're store.

 

[cyberknight]

last years carrear was 7005 aluminium and this years is 6061 , not much between them tbh but apparantly the 6061 is softer giving a lighter ride but it needs slightly thicker tubing to offer the same strength.

I was damn if i could tell any difference between my TDF and the virtuoso except the TDF had a longer top tube .

Does the new one have mount points on the seat stays? ( bolt holes near the top in the bit of the frame that runs from the gears towards the saddle ), the old one did so it was easier to mount a rack .

From the look of it i would buy last years as it look like the changes are cosmetic on the whole .