Road bike virgin, clueless and in need of help…

Fantastic response there from north wind, funnily enough since I’ve been riding road it’s been the mountain bikers who have a problem saying hi or being pleasant generally. I admit roadies can be arseholes but that happens in all walks of life, don’t tar everyone with same brush!

Now to the topic in hand, have a look at specialized allez, bianchi nirone and giant defys. Try and avoid shimano 2300 groupset as it’s pressed out shite! You will become hooked if only by the speed and efficiency of it all!

Planet X?

That Medium Boardman would be a good bike choice for the budget. I bought one for Teen1. Same geometry as the TCR. I raced his and did not find it wanting. Early 2009-10 bikes were VERY well specified for the money.

When it was stolen, I replaced it with a 54cm Cannondale CAAD8#. At 5’11” you are about my height (179 cm) and I found that the 54 is a better fit than the 56 if you are looking new. Position is a bit nmore beginner friendly than the TCR and Boardman. I raced that too and it is a very nice frame indeed (poor wheels though). All three are very good bikes and bought used, will easily come in your budget. Buy medium or 54cm and you can’t go wrong.

#Teen1 of course wants my TCR now 😈

Again,thanks for the replies.That Planet X looks good value, but I will create a shorlist and have a good research.

Just spotted this on road.cc:
Battaglin S11.

Looks great for £500 new.

bash – Member

What’s your location? I’m based I am the North West and have a Boardman that I’m looking to sell, if nothing else you could have a test ride to see whether you like the feel of the Boardman as opposed to a ride round the car park at Halfords?

Sorry don’t want it to sound like an advert.

bash – thanks for the kind offer, I am in the south east, but would certainly have taken you up on the offer otherwise.

Cheers

Anyone still looking, Rutland seem to have some good deals on at the mo.

3 different bikes with Tiagra or 105 groupsets for under £500!

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/tiagra-105-cycles-499-99-rutland-cycles-1766267

The Forme 2.0 even has a decent wheelset!

This will last for about one month, then you will be hooked on road bikes,

this for me. Got a £1K C2W bike after 20+years away from the road, 18 months later bought a plastic fantastic with full ultegra. Ridden it more (either time or miles) than my ~£4K Alpine 160 and Yamaha R1 combined.

Go by top tube length not seat tube. From borrowing a bike I figured 550mm TT was right for me (5’10” fairly normal proportions); I borrowed a 55cm ST Bianchi, bought a 54cm ST Orbea and then a 52cm ST Lapierre.

I think you need to get in to road riding.

my very first ride on the borrowed bianchi was a hateful deathmarch and I wrote a vitriolic post on our club page about being a mountain biker not a cyclist! Since then it “clicked”, and despite doing a few long weekend road trips riding the best MTBing that Wales has to offer on a bike I love, my single best day on a bike this year was the Ronde Van Calderdale sportif, riding 25%+ gradient yorkshire cobbles with deep snow on the verges.