I would link to my previous post on this, but it has been lost down the back of the digital sofa. So while I have been looking for something second hand around the £500 mark to try out road riding I spotted this:
[url= http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/detail.asp/sku=merida-RR88024/Merida_Road_Ride_880_24_Bike_2010 ] Merida Road RIDE 880-24[/url] for £450.
Now, I know nothing about road bikes, groupset types etc, so wondering if this would be worth a punt if I could not find anything second hand?
Cheers
Looks pretty similar to my Decathlon road bike, perfectly reasonable as a first road bike, I'm very happy with mine. Be warned, though: if you enjoy it you'll end up buying roadie bike mags and dreaming about upgrades 🙂
Be warned, though: if you enjoy it you'll end up buying roadie bike mags and dreaming about upgrades
As long as I stop short if shaving my legs I should be ok 😉
I'd definitely go down the 2nd hand route first,
I got a nice entry level road bike with mix of shimano sora shifters/mechs and truvativ chainset, carbon fork for £100 off the classfieds here
it was pristine condition, I think I was quite lucky with that buy,
but another option is this
[url= http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m7b0s6p3114 ]cannondale caad8 sora[/url] the extra £50 would def be worth it over the merida
If I was going to spend £500 on a road bike, I'd go for a [url= http://www.ashcycles.com/site/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3066&language=en ]2010 Kona Honky Tonk[/url].
or this if you want 56cm
I was in your position just before christmas and ended up getting one of these from CRC -
[url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=44407 ]Cube Peloton[/url]
Had a 10% off voucher as well, so went for it as a few people had advised to go for Tiagra over Sora.
That Cube is really nice for the money. Tiagra shifters are definitely preferable over Sora.
I'd definitely go down the 2nd hand route first,
I got a nice entry level road bike with mix of shimano sora shifters/mechs and truvativ chainset, carbon fork for £100 off the classfieds here
it was pristine condition, I think I was quite lucky with that buy,
People keep saying similar, but I never seem to find such bargains. Plus I do not really know what I am looking at.
That Cube is really nice for the money. Tiagra shifters are definitely preferable over Sora.
I did have a look at that, but I am 5'7" and they only have 58 and 60 in stock which I assume will be too big for me.
The missus has that exact cube. Looks nice, bit weighty (the bike). Would ditch the triple though straight away.
58 will be too big.
I'd go for something around 54cm. I'm 5'9" and fits about right, though the 110mm stem is way too long.
I am 5'11" - ride a Scott M (54) with 130 stem. Used to ride 56's but found them too big.
I'm 5'11 and went for a 56 but since then got my bike Spesh Alez setup and the guy said I would suit a 58 better also Spesh Concept store said the same so two shops had the same opinion.
Scott Speedster?
[url= http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m7b8s6p2969 ]http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m7b8s6p2969[/url]
go outdoors 50% sale on cycle stuff this friday dont know wether there will be any bikes though
go outdoors 50% sale on cycle stuff this friday dont know wether there will be any bikes though
Looking on the website they have about 3 road bikes. Do seem to be in the sale though.
Obviously I know nowt about road bikes, but £300 for this seems very cheap -
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/airlite-200-p152994
I'm 5'11 and went for a 56 but since then got my bike Spesh Alez setup and the guy said I would suit a 58 better also Spesh Concept store said the same so two shops had the same opinion
i'm 6ft 2" and find a 58 too big,much more comfy on a 56, try before you buy is the moral i suppose, just because you "should" fit a certain size doesn't mean it'll be comfy
Obviously I know nowt about road bikes, but £300 for this seems very cheap -
Too big fella.
I think for my first bike, as RD alludes to, I might need to get fitted properly rather than do it over t'internet.
At 5'7" you won't want much bigger than a 52, and that'll put you at the top end of a small compact.
Are you local'ish to me....Woburn way. If so I'll keep a look out.
Down in P'boro Oldgit, so about 50 mins down the road.
If you're 5'7" my feeling is that a 52 will be closer to your size. Be naught and nip in a LBS or 2 and get an idea at least(if possible) of the relative sizes of 52 & 54. Have you looked at reviews on Bike Radar and Road.cc? May help you get an idea of what you can get around your price. Have you looked at bikesoup.co.uk?
Done a search for you -
http://www.bikesoup.co.uk/search?bike [new_bike]=used&bike[bike_type_list][0]=1&bike[bike_type_list][1]=2&bike[bike_type_list][2]=9&bike[frame_size]=50-55&bike[price_from]=50&bike[price_to]=1000
I know people with both the Trek and Giant and they are good bikes IMHO for a first bike/all year road bike. Don't be put off by double gear set ups. Now that both SRAM & Shimano are doing 10 spd offroad gears you can get a better spread if needed by simply buying a wider range cassette and long cage rear mech.
Good point about the Tiagra shifters, you have to up on the hoods to change gears with the Sora ones on my bike. Not a deal-breaker, but not great.
Might be blasphemy, but what about the[url= http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_categoryId_165710_productId_502003_langId_-1?cm_mmc=E-Mail-_-Automated-_-Product_Browser-_-ProductBrowseID1 ] Boardman Comp[/url] that Halfords are currently knocking out for £559?
....I had never heard of Bikesoup as it goes, checking out the link now.
Boardman are supposedly good. Id have that one, and easy to try for size.
I would go to a bike shop and find out what TT length suits you for road riding before listening too much to forum-ites. FWIW and this won't help at all but I'm 5'8" and ride 56.5cm TT road bikes.
I am awaiting on some money and really hope that the Boardman is still around for that price, looks lovely in the flesh, a good weight and a good spec.
I am awaiting on some money and really hope that the Boardman is still around for that price, looks lovely in the flesh, a good weight and a good spec.
Indeed. The only prob is the piss poor advice one is likely to receive in branch. Fairly sure I need a small frame but unsure, and am reluctant to put myself in their hands.
Ho hum.
Just try it, if it feels comfy go fer it. Theres probably some good advice on bike fit knocking about on the internet. You can always fit a slightly shorter or longer stem to suit anyway.
Just rang my local branch and they have no smalls in stock. So that's knackered for the time being.