The Cycling Thread

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Mind you I'd reckon you'd get more for your money if you looked at one of the Boardmans from Halfords...

Quite likely or any of the large retailers...

It is end of season sale time and there are bargains to be had...

E.g. two nice Treks from Evans

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...-bike-ec023963

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...23958#features

Better components and a quality frame for the same sort of money...

Google will come up with some real bargains if you look... I got my MTB half price this time last year...

Well to be honest, I didn't specify to him that I wanted flat bars, he just said that's what I should get. I don't really know a lot about bikes so it's not an easy decision to make. I also thought £600 was a bit much for a first time road bike. I would have been happier with a bit of a smaller budget too.

[fizzwheel]

Well first things first then. What do you actually want to do with it ?

Do you want something to commute / pootle about on or do you want the riding position of a full on road bike with dropped bars ?

As you progress you might find the flat bar bike holds you back a bit, and despite what you might think personally and I'm not the only one who thinks this, is that the drop bars are more comfortable as you have two or three different ways of holding onto the bars.

If your not used to cycling then you want a tripe ( 3 cogs on the front ) or a compact ( 2 chain rings on the front but with low gear range ) either of those will help with climbing / going up hills. You dont want a standard double. Well not just yet anyway.

Sora or Tiagra would be what I would recommend in terms of gears, but theres nothing really that bad with the bottom of the range shimano 2300 it just might take a little more fine tuning to set it up.

Trouble is with bikes is you do get what you pay for, if you buy cheap and get into cycling you might find yourself regretting your choice and wishing you had spent more money. IMHO buy something that has a decent frame to start with, that way you can upgrade stuff later on but keep the frame, rather than having to buy a new bike all over again.

If I were you I would look for something buy one of the big names as Mike suggests, especially this time of year with the bike shops wanting to clear the shelves of 2011 spec bikes to make way for next years models you might find a bargain

So as Mike has suggested

Trek
Specialised
Giant - Giant frames are good and you often get alot of bike for your money
Boardman as I suggested earlier.

Unfortunately with the state of our economy the price of bikes has gone up compared to a couple of years ago.

I would think a reasonable quality starter road bike that you'll actually enjoy and want to ride is unfortunately going to be around the £400 to £500 mark.

Depends how much you actually want to spend, once you've worked out a figure it'll be easier to recommend something to you.

Dont forget because with respect IIRC you are a short ass, you want to find something that fits you and TBH thats more important than anything else. Which is why I said to go to a bike shop and sit of a few bikes and see what the feel like etc etc.

Remember a full on road bike will feel twitchy, unstable and perhaps a litle weird / uncomfortable at first, you will get used to it.

[fizzwheel]

Just so you have something to compare the hybrids / flat bar bikes with

This is Liz's Giant Defy, which is something I would recommend you consider looking at purchasing.



This is my Look, ( you really dont want to go mad with something like this to start with and I am not suggesting you do, its just to give you an idea of what I mean when I say "Road bike" )

Thanks Fizz, that's really helpful. And I'm not that much of a short ****! 5ft6!!!

I think £500 mark is reasonable and I would be willing to spend roughly around that mark. I am trying to get my fitness levels up and I enjoy cycling. Was never off bikes when I was younger. I just fancy a road bike as I already have a MTB.....

[fizzwheel]

Of course your other option in the interim is to fit some slick tyres to your MTB, it'll be easier and faster to ride on the road that way and its much cheaper than spending money on a road bike...

[fizzwheel]

Giant Defy 3 - £494

http://www.ashcycles.com/site/index....20&language=en

Spes Sectaur - very decent entry level bike but a bit more money than you wanted to spend, but worth the extra IMHO.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...-bike-ec025005

I think the boardman is out of your price range at £699 although the spec is very good for that money.

IMHO the Carrera is worth looking at, but it wouldnt be my first choice TBH.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...egoryId_165710

Specialised Allez is also in your price range

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...-bike-ec025025

Trek 1.2 also worth considering albeit a bit more money

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...-bike-ec023940

All these are good starter bikes, I see plenty of them on Sportives, which is the draw back, they are common as everybody has one, but then theres a reason for that i.e. they are good for the money that they retail for.

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by Milky Bar Kid

Thanks Fizz, that's really helpful. And I'm not that much of a short ****! 5ft6!!!

I think £500 mark is reasonable and I would be willing to spend roughly around that mark. I am trying to get my fitness levels up and I enjoy cycling. Was never off bikes when I was younger. I just fancy a road bike as I already have a MTB.....

I'm in agreement with Fizz & Mike on the selection of bikes, and I would prefer one with drop handlebars, rather than flat handlebars, as it gives you more hand positions, whereas flat only gives you one.

I'd see if your Force does a bike to work scheme, as I know my lot do. Its not as good as it used to be, but still means you can get a better bike, but spread the cost.

Only thing about the bike to work
Scheme is you lease it. They decide a 'fair market price' at the end of the year for you to buy it don't they? Could it work out more expensive?

[fizzwheel]

Meh, cant believe I left a Ribble of that list. OK a bit over your price range, but definately worth the extra

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/specia...nf_SERC&bike=1