Road bike?

Never thought the day would come but……..thinking of getting a road bike. Don’t know any thing about them. Just want to get something cheap to start with max £200 and see how I get on. Had a quick scan of ebay and seen a couple of things but like I said I don’t really know what I’m looking at. Vikings? Carrera? or something old? What exactly is a hybrid and what are they for?

For that money i’d be looking at a Ribble Audax/winter but second hand. Ideally if you can stretch to about £300 and you should get a second hand example. I picked mine up for £250.

It’s a good solid base to build on, and in all honesty is a good bike!

If you don’t fancy that then Decathalon do a entry level road bike.

One point to bear in mind, the chances are you’ll become hooked and want a better bike within a few months!

I got a second-hand Carrera Virtuoso for £150 and it’s plenty of bike, may not have electronic shifting or crabon rims but until I’ve reached a certain level I’d feel like a dick riding an expensive bike *shrugs*

Bump up your budget to £300 and buy the B’twin from Decathlon or something 2nd hand. £200 will not get you a good bike, new or second hand. Avoid those Vikings like the plague.

munrobiker – Member
£200 will not get you a good bike, new or second hand.

Ahem.

Get something for 200 quid second hand. Doesnt matter to much how shit it is, it’ll give you a feel for road biking. If you dont like it then sell it, nowt lost. If you like it, then buy something decent.

Make sure it has drop bars, 700c wheels, some gears, some brakes and preferably sti style shifters (although downtube ones are alrite)

There’s a decent looking Giant on the classifieds – looks quite small though

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-giant-scr-15-2008-needs-new-rear-medium

Ive got a ribble frameset plus some other bits in tonights classifieds, wheels, shifters mechs tyres and your about done for about 350 – 400

So how does the sizing work on these strange machines? I’m 5’11 what size do I look for?

So how does the sizing work on these strange machines? I’m 5’11 what size do I look for?

Probably around a 56cm for conventional frames but as with all bike frames, there can be variations

My first road bike was a steel peugeot 14 years ago. Real basic but it had STI levers at least.

It lasted me over a year of 30-60 mile rides once a week before i started looking to upgrade.

Road stuff lasts for ages.

STI ? Is that the levers on the bars?

Shame you weren’t near Edinburh as Im selling my old road bike .

Linky.

CARRERA TDF any good?

That Giant will be a touch small- you’d need a large or medium large in a Giant.

I will hold my hands up and say the Carreras second hand are a good deal. Especially since not a lot of them have been used much (bike to work, nice cheap bike during TdF fever, that sort of thing). Gumtree is the best place to look for good deals on them. The TDF you mention is a great first road bike if you can live with the colour!

STI levers refer to integrated brake/gear levers- while they weren’t the best on MTBs they are really a necessity on a road bike these days as taking your hands off the bar and reaching down to change gear at 40mph going down a hill is absolutely chuffing terrifying.

You can get some very useable older stuff cheap
I’ve just got a old steel bike prob late 1970’s
It’s a mix of campy stuff
Weighs 22 lb
And rides really well
All for £100 yes it’s a bit scruffy but I’m over the moon with it

I should add it needed tyres tubes cables and brake blocks to make it work

Mate of mine has just got a £300 decathlon, it’s a lot of bike for the money and rides great.

^^one of my mates had the £300 road bike from Decathlon, he did serious miles on it (inc a 100 miles sportive) before upgrading to a posh Specialized Allez Elite earlier this year – was a fantastic bike for £300.