Hi all. Am thinking about getting myself a cheapo rd bike for training purposes, defo no racing. A roadie chum told me a 300 quid carrera would be ideal, but i’m acutely aware of what i’d get if i spent the same on an mtb, so wary going for the cheapest available.

Am i better buying secondhand, and new or old what should i look out for (other than light wheels) spec wise

Budget is £500 quid max

ta

I’d probably say go secondhand. World appears to be full of road bikes that people only rode once and put in the garage!

You could probably get a base model (maybe previous year?) Specialized Allez new for that price.

If you want to build something it might be worth it.

I shopped carefully over time and built a Kinesis Racelight T up with Sora groupset and new Shimano budget wheels for <£400 for the winter

I’m in the same boat. This horrendous weather is killing my enjoyment of mountain biking. I don’t mind riding in sludge every now and again, but every ride gets a bit wearing.

There seems to be no shortage of ridden once Boardman bikes on Ebay, so I’m looking in that direction.

Any 4-5 hundred quid bike from a major brand that fits will be fine. Add some mtb spd’s and you will not be held back from doing anything. On the road its much less about the bike as some bloke once said.

Don’t

I would say a ribble , or a decathalon ……. Bring it on

is there a roadie stw equivalent with clasifieds?

Lols, thats another one lost to the road.

Let you into a secret, the road is where it’s at!!!!

Ribble
Decathlon
Boardman
Secondhand.

If you’d have posted this time last week you may have bought this:

trek by kryton1957, on Flickr

But luckily for me you didn’t. I bought it from here 10 months ago for £600 as you see it, and its served me very well. Currently averaging about 17.5mph after riding solo most of that time, and did my first club ride last Sunday, one of the most enjoyable 100km I’ve ever ridden*. I’ve gained loads of fitness. Why not put a note in the “Wanted” section?

Be warned though, its very addictive.

* Many thanks to Southgate Cycle Club for accommodating me.

I got a Spesh Secteur for £480, love it. My first road bike so cant comare it to others, but done a couple of thousand miles and everything still works as it should and I’m still really happy with it. Sometimes wish I had taken a spin on a Tricross as maybe that would have been more versatile, but hey ho.

Used Boardman. The 2010-11 Road Race was much better equipped than current offerings (Tiagra and Ritchley wheels). Get one off ebay and bid about £420. If you are about 5’9″ you will want a Medium. 5’10.5″ then go for a Large. Try before you buy in Halfords. Should be nicely bedded in and a few extras added. I’m pleased with the one I bought for Son1.

Look out from C2W refuges got an 08 Allez Elite for £250 which had about 120miles on it.

The cheap Carreras are absolutely fine (so are the mountain bikes btw- the only bit that generally isn’t is the suspension fork, and no worries there obviously).

I would also say go s/h if you can hold out for finding a model and size that suits. Road bikes generally have a fairly easy time, plenty with low miles on the clock, and if they are really well used probably also well looked after?

2nd hand Langster or similar. Mine was £200 and a great introduction to road bikes!

edit – double post

For £500 or less you should be able to find a little used Giant Defy, with probably Sora or Tiagra on it. They’re great bikes, more versatile than most. I like mine a lot, and for some reason they don’t seem to hold their money all that well, so are an absolute bargain 2nd hand.

I’ve just bought a £300 Decathlon Triban 3 for Gti junior and the spec is amazing for the money; 6061 ali frame, carbon fork, all Shimano 2300 and with a decent set of tyres fitted it rides really well. I showed it to a neighbour who is a big roadie and he reckoned it was a £500 bike.

Triban 5 has carbon seat stays and Sora all round, for £500.

Merlin do a couple of road bikes and they look pretty good for around £500.

Another vote for Boardman here.

The bikes offer a fantastic spec, and they receive amazing reviews. £500 should get you a second hand 2010/2011 Boardman Race or even the next model up (Pro?).

You’re not paying for the name with a Boardman, which you are to a certain extent with offerings from Generalized, Trek, Scott etc.