Forum menu
Wanting a road bike to get fitter and lighter on but know nowt about them .
my specs are 5ft 9in need to lose 2 stone as quick as poss
Orbea Orca.
Any budget?
Prob want around a 54cm frame. Shimano, sram, campy, all good. 105 is very good kit for a beginner - have you got a budget in mind? What about second hand?
If you're a Costco member, they have the Mekk Pogio 2 for £803 at the moment. Seems to be ~1000 everywhere else.
I based my road bike purchase on what I could get the biggest discount on 🙂
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/offers.php?cat=7
Budget not sure tops £1000 but would prefer less
Any of the big boys will do a decent frame with 105 for £1k
Cannondale CAAD10, or supersix if you're feeling flush.
Avoid carbon, not for any intrinsic reason, but under £2k the bikes are always heavier for a given price (over £2k and you dont see so may alu bikes) as the aluminum frames are 1150g, and with the exception of Planet-X no ones makes a lighter carbon frame. The system six, Deda Nerrisimo and Dolan Ares-SL are all in the 1150g ballpark, most others are heavier (and don't forget forks can vary by 150g as well). Those frames are £1100 ish alone, whereas good aluminium frames are £500, so that gives an idea of the budget for the rest of the bike. Carbon frames cost money, and usualy means a notch down the groupset ladder and cheeper finishing kit for the same pricepoint, adding 1lb at least.
[edit] go 2nd hand, far less to go wrong and wear out on a road bike, so you can buy with relative confidence. Last years £2k bike will be on ebay for £800.
And don't buy during the Tour, ebay prices go mental! Buy some running shoes, lose the weight then buy a bike next may/june when this years MAMIL's have spent the winter hibernateing, got the bike out again, paid a shop for a service, ridden it once and decided it's too much effort before putingit on ebay.
I'd reccomend the Planet X pro-carbon, great spec for the money and seriously light, well pleased with mine. If you are looking for a bargain Chain Reaction are cleareing Giant TCR Advanced's for £750, got to be worth considering
I think you'll lose two stone a lot quicker by looking at what you eat rather than what you ride...
But choose a budget, choose a groupset, choose a frame material and shop around.
MMM just had a look at the planet x and like the looks
Crikey am watching what I eat but would like to put in a little more effort than that in the hope it speeds up things a tad But thanks for the stirling advise
I lost 2 stone on the 2011 Specialized Allez 16 diet.
Boardmans have 20% off in Halfords today.
I lost 4 stone on the £75 stw OCR diet. Then applied the cube litening super hpc race upgrade.
Heading out on it now in fact
Canyon roadlite with Ultegra - £1075.
Thanks for the suggestions .
A mate has just offered to lend me a Trek so I can get an idea What its all about
while deciding what to buy .
I've said this before, but go to Halfords- you can pick up a TDF or a Gryphon for very little, and it'll do the job admirably, and there's various other more expensive options. Road bikes are pretty simple machines, and it's not hard to get them up to adequate spec.
Course, you can spend more and get something better, and maybe you'll want to. But there's nothing much wrong with the entry level, it's not like mountain bikes where there's major concessions to price.
Medium Boardman. See if you can find a 2010-11 model as the new ones are not as well specced. Want cheaper? As mentioned, a Carrera will be fine.
Fit and geometry rather than price is the most important factor for a road bike. A cheap heavy bike with nice geometry (72 degrees parallel) will be a good start.
Cannondale Synapse Tiagra or 105 or a Caad 8 depending what type of comfort level/riding you do
This didn't sell on ebay - I am guessing that it is really a 55 but it still might be a little big - looks nice though, and steel - which is real:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120937965904&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123
Check Canyon or Rose. Very happy with my carbon pro RS (slightly more than £1k budget)
Saw this at the lbs today... Looked very nice! Only in medium
http://www.cycle-world.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b2s6p12651&tbv=GIANT_TCR_1_
Very light and full 105
I lost 2 stone on the 2011 Specialized Allez 16 diet.
Was it [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/so-you-buckled-my-wheel-then ]this[/url] one by any chance 🙂