Been riding my Frankenbike MTB framed commuter on longer road rides quite a lot of late and am now wondering whether or not to go full darkside and get a proper road bike. Thing is, I know nowt about the blessed things. I won’t be racing but may consider joining a club so what sort of bike should I be looking at, in terms of geometry and so on? Sportive? Full on racey-bike? Someone give me an informed idea on where to start, please. 😐

In exactly the same situation myself.

I’m thinking I might go for one of these:

http://www.cyclesurgery.com/wilier-izoard-xp-ultegra-2012/wilier/bikes-components-bikewear/fcp-product/40299

Seems to get very good reviews. I don’t really know much about road bikes though, this would seem to be a good one for medium length to all-day rides. The stuff that reviewers didn’t like (tyres) can easily be changed.

Also thinking the Focus Izalco Pro 3.0 that won bike of the year 2012 but it seems a bit more difficult to try one out.

Sportive if you’re doing sportives.
Racey if you’re doing racing or shorter, faster road rides.
Spend as much as possible to avoid the inevitable and costly upgrade path 🙂
Aim for 10-speed. Decent frame and half-decent wheels.

Just find a bike thats comfortable regardless of whether it’s aimed at racing or sportives. The Cube Peloton is a very good starter bike and there’s a Canyon bike too about the same money which looks good value but I’ve never ridden it.

I’d go to a well stocked shop and see what you can sit on.
Road bikes will feel weird if you’ve never sat on one before.

Look at the mainstream brands as they don’t really make bad bikes these days.

If you decide to go mail order than planet x, ribble and canyon may be worth a look but you take a serious punt on geometry and sizing.

Size is more important on a road bike than a mountainbike in my experience.

Geometry wise it depends on how flexible you are as well. My frame is described as pretty race orientated (Focus Cayo) but I’m fine on it for 10hours of riding. Others will happily race on a “sportive bike”. MAkes little difference for lower level riders (i.e. not cat 1 and pros)

Do you want something that can take full mudguards for winter and bad weather riding?

I know it is not what you originally asked but I’d look at cyclocross bikes too. They make great all round bikes. I use mine on club runs and centuries with no issues all though it is a bit slower than my road bike (but that cost 3x as much). Slicks on a cross bike will let you eat up road miles. Semi slicks will let you explore rougher gravel tracks typical of the national cycle network, full on nobblies will let you ride off road. I find mine very versatile and it is great to do long rides where I can venture off the smooth tarmac if I want.

I’d set yourself a budget too as it is easy to get carried away. Tiagra groupsets work fine, 105 is nice, ultegra really good and dura ace really expensive. They all work and shift well in my experience the only real difference is weight.

I was in a similar position earlier in the year (I’d entered a tri and decided I wanted something a bit more fit for purpose than my hybrid commuter).

I’d never had a road bike before, knew very little about them and wasn’t sure how much use it would get so didn’t want to risk spending “too much”…

I spotted this **linky** and there was little else around at that price point that caught my eye, so I cashed in a years worth of brownie points with Mrs V and bought it.

As it is I really like it and I’m using it loads (Dunwich Dynamo this weekend). I’m happy enough with the Sora groupset but will prob upgrade to 105 at some point in the future.

As far as I’m aware road groupsets roughly match up with MTB ones as follows;
Sora = Deore
Tiagra = SLX
105 = XT
Ultegra = XTR

If you have a bit more to spend, Paul’s also have the CAAD8 105 for £800 or the Synapse which has a slightly more relaxed riding position.

HTH

Come on now OP, go get that ‘Dale that you know about – £799 for 105 or £649 for tiagra, brand new and warrantied.

The Dales are a tad spoprtier than the equivelient treks/Spec but as I’ve learned, a better qaulity ride in the frame.

Do it. You need to get training anyway, dont you? 😉

Ultegra = XTR

??

What happened to Dura Ace?
and if you’re looking at the CAAD8 in Paulscycles … check out the CAAD10 on offer.

What happened to Dura Ace?

That’s just my interpretation, I’ve no idea how closely it matches up…

EDIT: I guess I might be one step out which would push my Sora below Deore 🙁

EDIT2: Groupset comparison

sora is fairly pants – the thumb shifters are annoying.

Aim for Tiagra 10spd as minimum.
Dont buy a triple as it will cost you a fair bit to ditch it later. Get a compact and MTFU.

105 is fairly bombproof, Ultegra just adds that extra bit of niceness.

CAAD10s are great loads of cat 4 racers use them for a reason.

I don’t mind the little thumb shifter things, but I do have oddly double jointed thumbs so I can even reach them in the drops 🙂

Kryton57 – I have a feeling that the Super Six( however good the deal is) would be the road bike equivalent of me getting an Alpine 160 – I’d be “overbiked” with both! 😐
Thinking about a Scott CR1……..which I could also get a deal on.

Just buy one that fits and is within your budget, anything with 10speed from Japan or America is bang on.

Carbon is very nice, but them CAAD frames are comfy too, low end wheels are heavy & often rubbish.

A 50/34 compact with a 12-25 will get you up nearly anything – assuming you have a decent level of fitness.

Tyres are pretty cheap & last for ages so don’t worry about that.

Drive trains and brakes last for ages on roadies, I did 2000miles on my last one and the chain etc was still well within tolerance.

TS as a mutual friend said to me, its addictive, you’ll get fitter, it expands you’re riding option when the trails are sh*te, there’s a lot less cufuffle (unles you can MTB from home) as you can just get dressed, ride, come home, stick the bike in the shed and… relax.

IE last night for me was come home from work, bath Jnr, 2 hours riding an sit down in fron of the Telly before 9pm. 😀

Plus Le Tour starts tomorrow and as soon as you watch that you’ll want one anyway.

If you want a cheap entry-level road bike look at Decathlon’s Triban 3, exceptional value at £299.99. I have just bought one for Gti Junior and a roadie neighbour thought it was a £500 bike.

I have a Roubaix, which is good for long rides. My chain has lasted 4500 miles and is still well within limits.

Hmm….

Crikey TS, 2k for someone who wants to try Roadbiking?

Try this thread first: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/is-the-difference-worth-it-road-content

🙂

…I recently took the plunge, went with a Rose carbon pro RS4400 with a couple of upgrades. Absolutely love the bike, so fast, looks awesome. Cost me £2200. Lots of doubters told me to buy a cheap(er) bike to try it out. If I had done, I would have spent £800, not got want I wanted and probably spend £2k on what I did want within a year.

They are very good for fitness. Also enjoy the roads much more than I am enjoying the trails at the moment (which are axle deep mud..)

Do it.

assuming you have a decent level of fitness.

And you’ll soon learn a decent level of road fitness is a different beast to MTB. At least I did

Ignore the roadie bollocks about triples, if you live anywhere hilly get a triple & enjoy the less abrupt gear changes when shifting chainrings.

Crikey TS, 2k for someone who wants to try Roadbiking?

Mates rates, fella, mates rates.

The Giant Defy range are seriously worth a look too.

My advice would be to buy a nice little road bike from one of the big boys.
I’d not bother with a ‘sportive’ bike. That’s like going into a bike shop and asking for a road bike, but one that’s just a tiny bit crap. And when you get fitter and faster you’ll probably want to be lower and longer and actually feel comfortable climbing out of the saddle.
Compacts are fine and will get you up anything, if you struggle at first get a slightly larger cassette.
Other opinions of ‘mine’
Campag is great.
SRAM is light and fast but delicate
Shimano is a great all rounder. 105 good, Ultegra better.
Cheap carbon frames feel cheap. Ask youself how a company that doesn’t make it’s own frames can sell them at a third of the price of a mainstream brand one. That said if you’ve not ridden a very top end carbon, a Planet X will feel the dogs.
One very niche expensive brand actually admits to just painting up sub £300 China frames.
You don’t need a mudguard specific frame. A tight clearance road frame will accept after market guards that are easily turn on and off’able.
Good tyres last ages, but some race specific tyres wear quickly or puncture easily. My choice is the Rubino Pro, but the Conti version is far more popular among STWers.
Of course there’s loads more.

Am tempted by this myself..
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=82576

I’ve just got a Van Nicholas Mistral Apex. £1275 for a Ti frame and full build of what they say is a 105 equivalent. I’ve got Ultegra on my CX and personally prefer the Shimano shifting over the SRAM, but it’s probably just because I’m getting used to the Double Tap.

Nick I was looking at that, posted a thread but no response. On reflection I think there’s better out there.

“Dont buy a triple as it will cost you a fair bit to ditch it later. Get a compact and MTFU.“

ROFLCOPTERS

Aim for Tiagra 10spd as minimum.
Dont buy a triple as it will cost you a fair bit to ditch it later. Get a compact and MTFU.

A compact is hardly MTFU a double 53/39 is

There’s a couple of sale price 2012 bikes here Link

I would get something reasonably priced to get into it first so you get a better idea of the kind of riding you like and how often you;ll use it… then, when you have more experience, go for £2k+ on something decent.

You can afford to spend more on a road bike than mTB IME as the ongoing maintenance and kit costs are minimal. My summer roadbike which gets used every weekend from April-Sept and is nearly 3 years old has had nothing at all replaced from new – not tyres, chain or even brake pads. And maintenance is minimal too.

And club riding is a great way to learn about how to ride, and about kit, and a lot more fun than you might expect 🙂

crftom – Member
There’s a couple of sale price 2012 bikes here Link

To be fair mate, I think you’re supposed to declare yourself if you are trade and promoting your own goods.

Aim for Tiagra 10spd as minimum.
Dont buy a triple as it will cost you a fair bit to ditch it later. Get a compact and MTFU.

A compact is hardly MTFU a double 53/39 is

When I said that I meant in terms of a beginner. I ride a 53/39 11-25 and did so on Lakeland loop. Is that MTFU enough for you?

But then the only real downside to a triple is a little less ability to use the larger sprockets in the big ring. Other than that it’s no different to a standard with a bail-out ring, so there’s no need to “ditch it later” unless you have a massive insecurity complex.

Yeah 53 11 is a mans gear

Well, just been round the LBS to try a few for size and walked out with a SuperSix to try, for the weekend, as that seemed to feel “right” in the shop/carpark test…….wish me luck. 😯

EDIT – It’s a 56cm frame as the ‘dale 58 felt too big, the Scott 56 felt too small and the Scott 58 felt, erm, “odd”.