Racing bike advice

DrJazzTap

Okay so i've been looking to lose weight over the last year or so. And I'm about half way to my target. I went out cycling today and it dawned on me.
I have various pedals which I haven't used in years........So why don't I sell some of them (keep the ones I really want) and use that money to put towards funding a new road bike.

I'm looking to get up to £700 for a decent road bike. My problem is, I don't know the first thing about them. What's good/bad etc

xmrchi

Cube, trek and specialised, are all brilliant, and giants higher end stuff is also great :-)

Cube are pretty new but have really gained a foothold in cycling due to their great quality frames :-)

FelineGuitars

Living next door to Geoffrey Butler cycles gives me bike GAS, and I already have one of theirs...

Amazing shop though.

crunchman

Some bikes are more aggressive in their riding position than others.  Some bikes are hard core racers while others are more comfortable.

It's definitely worth test riding before buying to find one that you find comfortable.  When I bought mine, I originally put a deposit on a Pinnacle that Evans had in their sale, but when they got it into the local branch it was too aggressive.  They let me transfer the deposit onto the Specialized that I ended up with which was good.

FelineGuitars

crunchman said:

Some bikes are more aggressive in their riding position than others.  Some bikes are hard core racers while others are more comfortable.

It's definitely worth test riding before buying to find one that you find comfortable.  When I bought mine, I originally put a deposit on a Pinnacle that Evans had in their sale, but when they got it into the local branch it was too aggressive.  They let me transfer the deposit onto the Specialized that I ended up with which was good.

Great advice 

My own bike is an Audax style which is a cross between a racer and a tourer, so a bit more suited to road commuting and general cycling as opposed to performance.

Worth trying a few out and getting some good advice for your needs

joneve

One thing I will say, as nice as specialized bikes are, they don't tend to offer value for money and there are other bike brands that offer better specs for your £700 budget (for instance their new 2015 "starter" Allez is £600 and doesn't offer Carbon Forks and has the cheapest Shimano gearing/mechanics) Look at a Cube Peloton 2013 or 2014 if you can find one left as they'll be selling them off cheap. 

Ribble bikes are good for the price, as are Planet X bikes, but you won't be able to try before you buy. 

for £700 I would look at getting something that has no less than Shimano Tiagra components and definitely carbon forks. In your price range, the wheels you'll get will probably be basic stock (heavier) wheels but they'll be fine to start you off and are about the easiest thing to upgrade later on. 

You won't find a much better spec than this at £600! Tiagra Components, Shimano R501 wheels (which are their entry level set, but still better than most stock sets of wheels)

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXRT58ALUTIA/planet-x-rt-58-alloy-shimano-tiagra-road-bike ;

As I said, no try before you buy (unless you're lucky enough to live near their shop in Barnsley, Edinburgh or Sheffield), but as long as you use the sizing guides and stuff to order the right size you should be ok - and it's partly why they can offer them at such a good price! 

Wish I had £700 to purchase a new bike!

Best of luck with the search - and despite what I say above about not trying before you buy, I  do agree with the advice above about the different frame styles. 

DrJazzTap

Thanks for all the advice guys, I was looking for more advice in terms of gears and manufacturers etc. But genuinely thankful for the advice.

@crunchman thank you, it's tempting to pick up a half price bike from Paulscycles. Didn't even know about the different types of riding etc :P I don't want to end up with a bike which will give me back pain. Again need to think about intended usage

@joneve well i don't have to readies at the moment. It's just something for me to focus my weight loss on

joneve

DrJazzTap said:

Thanks for all the advice guys, I was looking for more advice in terms of gears and manufacturers etc. But genuinely thankful for the advice.

@crunchman thank you, it's tempting to pick up a half price bike from Paulscycles. Didn't even know about the different types of riding etc :P I don't want to end up with a bike which will give me back pain. Again need to think about intended usage

@joneve well i don't have to readies at the moment. It's just something for me to focus my weight loss on

For gears etc, SRAM and Shimano are the two most common. Shimano's range is easier to explain. They have different levels of mechanics which range from Claris at the cheap end right up to Dura-Ace which is what the pros use. Each step up gives various quality of materials and slight nuances in functionality. As I mentioned previously, the latest Tiagra range offers a good balance between the higher end stuff and lower end stuff. Order goes; Claris Sora Tiagra 105 Ultegra Dura-Ace Any and all of the various parts are interchangeable for the most part, so you can mis and match and have 105 front and rear derailleurs (the mechanisms that move the chain to change gear), but you can have Tiagra cranks and brake levers/gear shifters. I can't get enough of road riding these days. I won't do as much over the winter, but it's really good for general exercise and weightloss, so best of luck with it all.

joneve

FFS. Sorry for the unreadable post. Goddamn iPad

littlegreenman

Could do worse than this.

http://images.evanscycles.com/product_image/image/6d0/619/02e/111794/large/cannondale-caad8-7-sora-2014-road-bike.jpg

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/caad8-7-sora-2014-road-bike-ec053957

Last year's model, so cheap for what you get. Carbon forks and the excellent Cannondale CAAD8 frame, only a Sora groupset but if you've not used modern STI stuff before it's a country mile away from old school downtube shifters.

£600 for a £750 bike, and you can do test rides at Evans to see if it's right for you (no affiliation!)

thermionic

Yes, now is time to buy 2014 models cheap. Bike technology doesn't change much from one year to the next at the low end of the market. Or at any end, for that matter.

The weakest point will probably be the wheels - they'll look "fast" due to a lack of spokes, but they'll have overengineered heavy rims to compensate. 

Ribble and Planet X will give you most bike for the money, but you need to know what you're doing in terms of size if buying off a website like that.

benecol

@joneve is spot on as ever - Specialized for some reason always tend to offer a groupset down at every pricepoint compared to their competitors. That PlanetX he linked to is great - one of my students bought one earlier this year, and it's a pearler. That 'Dale above is good for the money, would also take a long hard look at the Alur 700 - http://www.decathlon.co.uk/alur-700-road-bike-id_8290145.html - the only bike you'll find in this pricerange with full 105 groupset - absolutely cleaned up on a recent grouptest against bikes up to £1200.

joneve

benecol said:

@joneve is spot on as ever - Specialized for some reason always tend to offer a groupset down at every pricepoint compared to their competitors. That PlanetX he linked to is great - one of my students bought one earlier this year, and it's a pearler. That 'Dale above is good for the money, would also take a long hard look at the Alur 700 - http://www.decathlon.co.uk/alur-700-road-bike-id_8290145.html - the only bike you'll find in this pricerange with full 105 groupset - absolutely cleaned up on a recent grouptest against bikes up to £1200.

Was going to suggest the Alur too. I love my entry level B'Twin. nearly 1000 miles this year (not much by some standards, I know!)

benecol

While the wheels are usually where manufacturers save some money, the wheels on that Alur are the same as the Junior team use on their training bikes, too.

racefaceec90

have a look at boardman bikes also. 

if i had a grand,this is great value for the money http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-road-team-carbon-bike-2014  

sorry,just read that you have max £750 to spend.

try this boardman bike £699.  http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-road-comp-bike-2014

great value for money.

DrJazzTap

Thanks guys

Did a forty three mile cycle today. I have seen those decathlon ones before, and was tempted to buy one when I picked mine up. At the moment I have a Boardman hybrid comp. It's not a bad bike just put together by Halfords. Not looking to start a flame war towards them, and in hindsight you think "can't be that bad". I'm hanging onto the bike and just going to use as a run around or a commuter for work

I think my first prot of call is to visit a bike shop and ask some questions, possibly go for a fitting. Even thinking about selling a guitar to fund this. I'm 15.5 atm, and want to get down to 14st before I get the bike. So possibly in the next few months. Depends if something tasty comes up.

holnrew

If you got the bike now, you'd do more riding and lose weight more quickly.

benecol

I wouldn't worry about that sort of weight - I'm 15st.12, and have been wobbling round on my Cannondale (no upper weight limit on them, either) since I was the thick end of 18st.

DrJazzTap

@holnrew ha ha I like your thinking.

But it's kind of the gold at the end of the rainbow. That sort of thing. But having said that...I am thinking about speaking to a shop soon :P

@benecol Thanks bud. I just made the mistake of gettting annoyed with some cyclists one day. And because I was out of shape. I went straight over the handle bars. Bent the front wheel ha ha. So yes want to make sure I'm a bit more slender before I drop some more money on something nice

joneve

If you're cycling 30-40 miles every ride you'll soon shift any excess weight you want to get rid of! 

If you've got some hills round your way, get yourself up them too. It's hard work (especially at first), but so rewarding. 

And I certainly wouldn't buy a lower end Boardman for the reasons you've given - not bad bikes per se, but usually put together by chaps at Halfrauds who don't know what they're doing and really don't offer good value for money. 

My bike (including upgrades to Shimano Sora bits) has cost me £380 - over £200 cheaper than pretty much the same spec as the £700 Boardman. 

The higher end Boardman bikes are bloody lovely though! 

jimmyd

Rutland Cycling are currently blowing out giant defy 1s for 700 quid which is great value-shimano 105 groupset and a well regarded , less aggressive geometry aluminum frame. I'm very tempted to get one myself as a winter bike.