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So leading on from the recent fancy trying a road bike post, the boardman deal fell through and I've now decided I need to do a taster without breaking the bank.
So I'm thinking start with a good frame to get the feel and upgrade wheels and components should I get into it.
Giant seem to have a good reputation with road bikes and wondered if this was about as good as it gets for £500 http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/36383/Giant_Defy_2_Bike_2011
I've noticed that there has been a complete frame redesign from 2011-2012 bikes. Is it just the 2012 bikes that are great with the new frame design or are the 2011 also good?
Some cannondale caad8 soras also pop up around that price too such as http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/cannondale_caad8_sora_triple.html?gclid=CLeyxZrMna8CFYpjfAodZTFpdg
Anything else I should be looking at for £500?
Thanks,
Ryan
Orbea bikes are good value, it's said that you get the same carbon frame on all the bikes no matter what the price level. Dunno if that's true though.
Both I and my parents started road riding (or got back into it) via Giant road bikes at around the £500-£700 mark. Really solid frames and Sora gears will do the job. You can upgrade it as it goes or after a year or two swap it out for something better.
The Cannondale CAAD frames are also very good if you can get them at the right price.
I would recommend going to a good roadie shop and getting measured up and get some advice. Not sure where you are but we have a fantastic roadie shop in cardiff called cyclopaedia that has a professional computerised fitting system. I would say set up and sizing is very important on a road bike. The riding position is not as upright and comfortable as an MTB and some have more sizing options than MTB's with frames in CM increments instead of S,M,L. You may need to have a comfortable mile cruncher position to start with to get your body used to it and then tweak towards a more racey position. To sum up, a good fit is critical and could be the difference between you taking to riding road or not.