A mate wants to get a road bike for under £200, to do a big ride for charity. I don't have a clue about stuff at that price range - should he be aiming for 7/8 speed? Shimano? Any obvious choices?
I wouldn't imagine that there is much available for that price.
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£200 is very slim for a new road bike.double that might get him something worthwhile. then £500 they start getting decent.
Might be worth looking for 2nd hand
Secondhand off Gumtree is your best bet
Need to at least double the budget for a new bike, and even 2nd hand you'll not get much good.
Look for Carrera on eBay, they go for roughly £200, however at that price You're looking at Sora 7 speed, maybe 8 speed, pretty basic components, bike would be probably around or over 11kg as well.
Maybe have a look at some hybrids, straight bars + barends, normal shifters are cheaper than STI's so usually the bike would have a higher spec at that price range. Check Carrera Gryphon, 8 speed Sram, some have disc brakes, shouldn't be much slower than a road bike from that price range.
Those Decathlon ones don't look too bad actually. I've had a look at them several times in the shop and for the money they're a tidy bike. And it would be far better suited to a charity ride than some cheap 30lb+ mtb with slicks on.
Get on ebay, I got an '08 Specialized Allez Elite for not much more than the budget, due to it finishing at a stupid time & badly advertised.
Ok cheers all.
If your mate is interested, give me a shout. I have a Decathalon, done about 100 miles, decided road wasn't for me. £180 not a mark, based in Kent. If interested I'll sort out some pics and a component spec. Email in profile. Cheers.