Advice on cheap first Road Bike

[mr tommo]

Hi,

Last year I decided that I'd start riding to work. I absolutely loved it although the only restriction I had was that my bike was a Giant mountain bike. To make do through the summer I bought my self some Road bike tyres and fitted them to my mountain bike It did the trick as a temporary measure!

So this year ideally I'd like to buy a road bike but a the very bottom end of the price range. The gearing was a problem on my mountain bike (obviously) and this year I'm looking at doing a couple of bike rikes (Liverpool - Chester) aswell as starting to cycle for fun with a friend.

What's peoples opinion on the Halfords road bikes? Specifically this Carrera TDF road bike - http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_786811_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

With cashback and discount I can get that bike for £265.

Are they any good? is there any other budget road bikes for that kind of price that are worth looking at? I'm just a summer rider so can't really justify spending £400-500 on a bike for a few months.

 

[matt_fsr]

If you're talking Halfrauds stuff, make sure you've some experience/knowledge of the staff who work there before you buy.

If they know their stuff, fine, great, buy it - If they're numpties, stay well clear.

I'm not buying any more Halfords/Carrera bikes, purely because of the incompetence of the staff at my local store.

*Edit. Oh, almost forgot - its a Road bike. So added obligatory "yack, ewww, tyres too skinny, no suspension etc"

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

For that cash it's bloody brilliant.

Obviously it's never going to set the world alight and it's going to be relatively heavy, but it will do the job and parts should be robust and, if anything goes wrong, cheap to replace.

As has been mentioned, Halfords' spannerers aren't know to be the best so it's usually a good idea to book it into another bikeshop for a safety check / service as soon as you pick it up.

I kid you not.

 

[mr tommo]

If you're talking Halfrauds stuff, make sure you've some experience/knowledge of the staff who work there before you buy.

If they know their stuff, fine, great, buy it - If they're numpties, stay well clear.

I'm not buying any more Halfords/Carrera bikes, purely because of the incompetence of the staff at my local store.

*Edit. Oh, almost forgot - its a Road bike. So added obligatory "yack, ewww, tyres too skinny, no suspension etc"

To be honest I have no idea about bikes myself so unless they put the seat on the wrong way I wouldn't have a clue anything was wrong

For that cash it's bloody brilliant.

Obviously it's never going to set the world alight and it's going to be relatively heavy, but it will do the job and parts should be robust and, if anything goes wrong, cheap to replace.

As has been mentioned, Halfords' spannerers aren't know to be the best so it's usually a good idea to book it into another bikeshop for a safety check / service as soon as you pick it up.

I kid you not.

It's going to be quicker than my mountain bike though right?
Can't really find much info about it to be honest on the net. Everything I have found seems to state that its really good value for money.

The way I see it is if I want to get a bt more serious I can look to buy a better bike in a couple of years. If its just going to be summer stints and for a bit of leisure then even better.

Would there be any parts on it that were worth upgrading? I'm not clued up on bike but anything that would make the ride/bike better for realtively small money?

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

It's probably going to be lighter than your MTB, have bigger thinner wheels and gearing better suited for road cycling.

Ultimately, whether it's quicker or not is down to the engine.......

There are folks in the commuting section of Bike Radar who use them with no complaints and they are a tough crowd.

The main things you would normally upgrade are wheels and then contact points (saddle, pedals and bars). Heavy wheels accelerate slowly and a comfy rider is a quicker rider.

If it were me I'd look at pedals and shoes for going clipless (possibly even share with your MTB).

 

[mr tommo]

I tried a set of clipless once in a friends back garden, after 2 falls I gave up! Will look into that once I get a bike although I might be commuting somedays so I'm not sure on that idea yet as I don't fancy carrying work shoes around in a bag.

I think once I get to the point where I want to upgrade parts I'll probably look at getting a new bike anyway.

I just asked about bike rides in the Essentials thread would it be possible to have a look as you seem to know your stuff!

 

[Participant]

Watching this thread with interest as I'm in a very similar boat...£200 Carerra Subway hybrid that I'm finding too slow and annoying for my commute, especially when a 60 year old on a road bike zooms past me on a hill .

I tried a set of clipless once in a friends back garden, after 2 falls I gave up! Will look into that once I get a bike although I might be commuting somedays so I'm not sure on that idea yet as I don't fancy carrying work shoes around in a bag.

You only need to take your work shoes to work once. Then you leave them there and only bring them back when they need a polish.

 

[matt_fsr]

£200 Carerra Subway hybrid that I'm finding too slow and annoying for my commute, especially when a 60 year old on a road bike zooms past me on a hill .

Get fitter

I overtook 2 people riding my Specialized Big Hit home the day I got it delivered at work.

I didnt see their faces but I hope they were suitably shamed

 

[Participant]

Yeah fitter would be good . My excuse, which I'm sticking to, is that I had a pair of full panniers and it was a bloody windy day. This guy was stick thin on a proper-looking road bike. Still embarassing though and something in my sub-conscious made me pedal a bit faster!

 

[Jonny69]

Get fitter

This. And get some drop bars. I regularly sail past guys in lycra with carbon bikes who look like they're going flat out. I'm riding 1970's steel road bikes I scored on Freecycle

Drop bars do make quite a big difference though, especially because you can tuck down a bit when it's windy and set the saddle up so you can get a decent push on the pedals. Straight bars on hybrids often sit you quite upright and relaxed, which isn't ideal for getting a decent purchase on the pedals.

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

Sitting upright opens your hip angle though and allows you to deliver more power. Drops become handy at higher speeds since wind resistance is exponential to speed and peer isn't. That's why TT bikes have a shorter top tube and riders sit forward on the saddle: they get an open hip angle and flex the back, not the hips to get low at the front.

Completely OT. Sorry.

 

[Participant]

Re: drop bars, surely it's the best of both worlds in that there's an upright position equivalent to the straight bars, but also the lower dropped position?

I've been looking on the Ribble website and am in serious danger of spending lots of cash...when all I probably need to do is buy some slick tyres and corresponding inner tubes! (Sorry for OT, but pending OP's return....meh )

mr tommo - did you really only try twice before giving up? *Slap*

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

Best thing about drops is riding on the lever hoods; if you put your arms by your sides and then bend from the elbow you'll find your hands in a position with pals facing each other. This is the natural position for your hands and exactly the position riding on the hoods gives.

MTB and hybrid bars leave your palms down which is unnatural and so unconfortable. Also, flat bars tend to be wider which puts extra strains on your shoulders.

 

[mr tommo]

Re: drop bars, surely it's the best of both worlds in that there's an upright position equivalent to the straight bars, but also the lower dropped position?

I've been looking on the Ribble website and am in serious danger of spending lots of cash...when all I probably need to do is buy some slick tyres and corresponding inner tubes! (Sorry for OT, but pending OP's return....meh )

mr tommo - did you really only try twice before giving up? *Slap*

Yup! Wasn't my bike so didn't want to keep trying. Seems this bike can be had for £216 now, it gets better

 

[ScottehBotteh]

Yup! Wasn't my bike so didn't want to keep trying. Seems this bike can be had for £216 now, it gets better

£216, how ?

Edit - Found it, cheers.

 

[Participant]

That's awesome vfm...as long as you don't spend £400 upgrading the fork, peddles (they're toe clip style), seat post, cassette, etc. etc.

 

[Burned_Alive]

As you know, I have been looking for a bike around the same budget. After a bit of reading around I decided to go for the B'twin Triban 3 from Decathlon.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/triban-3-173178017/

A little bit more money at £299, but slightly better spec with the addition of a carbon fork. I was also happier dealing with decathlon rather than Halfords.

The other advantage being that I was able to go into Decathlon and try all the different sizes there and then, and just select a ready built bike and take it home.

 

[mr tommo]

Only just seen your post. Ended up getting the one in my OP. Carrera TDF for £236 thanks to Burned Alive's voucher codes

Just ordered it an hour a go and will be ready for pick up tomorrow afternoon. I'll then be taking it straight down to my dads friend for him to check it over after some of the horror stories Ive read about Halfords!