just looked at the road bike picture thread on here.have been thinking about one day getting a decent road bike for a long time (when funds allow) have only ever had one road bike (a raleigh elan that got the front bent when a van pulled out of a roundabout,as i had right of way).i especially was thinking of the winter months,when the weather is foul (i really don't enjoy having to spend hours cleaning bike) it would give me the motivation to go out and check some of my local country lanes e.t.c. ideally it would be light,but tough at the same time (maybe even attempt some light cyclocross type riding.would be looking to spend a max of around £2000 if it was really worth it.cheers in advance. 🙂
£2000 opens a lot of options...
(style, frame material, etc)
how about, getting a cheaper one, and using it to find out what you like about road biking before spending a little more on a bike that's right for what you want.
you might find you like triathlons, or time-trials, or cyclo-cross, or joining the local chain-gang, or just finding interesting ways of linking up your favourite cafes, or all of the above...
road bikes are ace, and they're not all the same.
get a s/h road and cross bike @max £500 each. Try it first you may not like it
£2k for a starter bike to try is a lot of money and really needs your personal input in to what you value more spec/set up wise.
Plenty of on line sizing guides available via goggle depending on how anal you want to get over sizing.
Personally I would get £300-500 road bike and see if you liked it
ribble audax if you want a winter one
apologies for not being specific.was heading into dreamland a bit (about spending that much)i definitely take your advice about buying a cheaper bike first.i was looking at either steel (ideally/both tough and compliant,without feeling like a comfy sofa) or aluminium.i live in devizes,so plenty of country lanes to explore (free from too much traffic).i would use it all year round,but especially during the winter months (when i don't want to take my anthem out,then have to clean for a couple of hours afterwards) as long as the bike was reasonably quick and able to do distance (fitness willing) in reasonable comfort (am wary about having to grow some new vertebra like some of the riding positions that you see the road racers in for hours at a time.
a lot of roadies save their bling £2K road bikes from the ravages of winter!
genesis aether?
they're not eye-magnets, they're just very nice.
aluminium frame, carbon forks, geometry tweaked for comfort and fun, and enough clearance for biggish tyres and mudguards.
sensibly priced too.
I know what you mean about winter mountain biking, a 2 hour ride leaves me with a 1hour clean, plus muddy kit, plus an evening's worth of servicing (forks, cables, etc.) road biking is a lot less faff. s'fun too!
i have no opinion on frame material one way or the other as I dont hink it matter much - lets not go there.
Basically any bike can be winteriesd by adding mudguards thougha n Audax has the abilty to attach them to the frame but [url= http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Accessories/Bike+Accessories/Mudguards/Crud+Road+Racer+MK2+Mudguards_2044.htm ]these[/url] work ok.
Generally a road bike will survive winter much better than a MTB as you get rain and salt but no the mud. People usually have a summer bike and a training/winer/commuter bike but I only own a road bike/commuter these days.
Quick- well all quicker than a mtb but more to do with tyres and wheel type than bike IMHO - ignoring the rider which is the most important
Comfort- more stretched position than a mtb but comfort is a personal choice hence why I suggest a cheaper one to see what you think before a big purchase.
They do not require the maintenance of a mtb as they have an easier life so any bike should be fine over winter IMHO though some are specialised.
thanks for all the helpful advice.ahwiles that genesis is a lovely looking machine,will definitely look at one of those. one thing i forgot to ask was why road bikes don't come with hydraulic disc brakes?i really would have thought they would be great for road bikes,especially with the technology that they make them with today.
I know nowt about road bikes or road riding, but i bought a Boardman sports hybrid ostensibly as a commuter in the event of getting a job further away than my mtb-style commuter could cope with.
However, i enjoyed the ride so much i've taken to doing fairly long distances on it (80+ miles) and even road the C2C on it.
Purists will tell me its not a road bike but i don't care, it's comfy, has a good range of gears for the hills around me and i can get some speed on it.
Just about to enter an Audax too! 😯
my advise would be not to spend 2k on a race bike and to buy a winter bike for around £500-600 maybe a tifosi alu or sumut steel and if you take to road biking then buy a race bike and keep the winter bike for when the roads are wet
a lot of roadies save their bling £2K road bikes from the ravages of winter!
Aye - I was in a caf during the cold weather recently and the Sat morning road ride piled in. Fit-looking lads, but I've never seen a bigger collection of mediocre bikes outside of Halfords - To a man they were riding bog-standard beaters. Reckon the carbon loveliness must come out later in the year.
Yeah that's a lot of dosh to lay out when your not 100% sure about what you want one for.
The two bike option is the one I'd go for. For example I have a PX carbon and a cheapish crosser. And the original builds were about 2k at first.
I've raced the PX two seasons, ridden reliability trials, sportives, club runs, overseas day trips and a few commutes.
The crossers also done two seasons, it becomes my winter trainer and I've also done some reliability trials and rough stuff sportives on it.
Mind you the way I feel now, I'd go for the bike for life option, something like a custom Mercian or Bob Jackson.
a lot of roadies save their bling £2K road bikes from the ravages of winter!
Very true, winter = salty roads. when it rains you can literally see the build up on bikes when they dry, salt eats bike components...
I don't think anyone has mentioned fit.
fit is more important than on a mtb (imo) a good shop should be able to do a fitting although i have seen a few dodgy fitted bikes.
Mountain bikers tend to do some funny things with set up.
Also have a good think about what bike would suit you best. i would definitely get more use out of a roady if it could take guards etc. but i bought a race type bike and i like the feeling of going fast - just use a fixed wheel in the winter....
Very true, winter = salty roads.
true dat. I've never seen any bike as corroded as a a winter bike i had to help with recently (stuck seatpost)
a lot of roadies save their bling £2K road bikes from the ravages of winter!
That's small change for road bikes, it won't get you bling IMO!
Agree that the fit is essential, just as with an MTB I'd try and get a test ride. A lot of people on here love their 'cross bikes, but I think they're the worst of both worlds, nowhere near as nice as a proper road bike on the road.
Cheaper road bikes tend to be more upright, my winter road bike (Spesh Allez) has a ridiculously long head tube, I know it's to some people's taste, but I hate it. Find my Trek Madone much much nicer to ride, vastly more comfortable for being an inch or so lower at the front.
njee20 +1
Not alot £2000...
But PLEASE get one that fits right, far more important than bling.
I think 😯