Choosing a road bike for under £500

Zephyz

Zephyz

Zephyz

Associate
Joined
24 Dec 2011
Posts
123
Hi, I've been riding and commuting with a 21-speed Dawes Hybrid bike that I've been borrowing from my dad and I thought it was time for me to get my own road bike.

My firm budget is max £500.

I'm using the bike mainly for commuting in London and for around 5-10 miles and also for fitness.

I was thinking either Triban 500 (£300), Giant Defy 5(£350) and someone also reccomended Triban 520(£450).
 
The Triban 500 has microshift levers, which get the job done but they're not really well regarded. The Defy 5 has aluminium forks so i'm always hesitant to reccomend it. The 520 is a good bike but tbh £450 is a bit steep considering you can get a Cannondale Synapse Claris for not much more, and a roughly equivalent Claris bike with better wheels for £100 less. Also worth considering the Felt Z100/95 on wiggle.
 
PermaBanned said:
The Triban 500 has microshift levers, which get the job done but they're not really well regarded. The Defy 5 has aluminium forks so i'm always hesitant to reccomend it. The 520 is a good bike but tbh £450 is a bit steep considering you can get a Cannondale Synapse Claris for not much more, and a roughly equivalent Claris bike with better wheels for £100 less. Also worth considering the Felt Z100/95 on wiggle.
Click to expand...

That's a good shout. It also does away with the pointless triple.
 
I've had the Triban 500 SE for about 6 months now. I only use it to commute, and not on anything too taxing, but I've had absolutely no problems with it. Not sure what the difference is to the 520, but I'm sure it's not worth £150 (assuming the 500SE is still available in your size etc.).

My only real problem wit it was that it came with super cheap tyres which I swapped out immediately.

I've had no problems with the microshift switchers, but then again my previous experience was with halfords leisure bikes.
 
Good call on the tyres too. Pretty much all bikes at this level will come with awful tyres and the first thing you should do is swap them out. If you can get the bike shop to do it for you during the build then all the better. I recommend Pro4 Endurance 25mm for good all-round awesomeness (and not breaking the bank).
 
Not many places will stock the Mitch Pro4 Endurance, especially the 25mm now, they're like hens teeth...

Most will do Continental, most of which are ok but avoid the Gatorskins if you're going to be riding in any wet weather. GP4 Seasons are awesome, as are GP4000s II's.

Heard good things about Schwalbe Marathon's but can't imagine they're very fast to ride...
 
Quite a few places have started stocking the P4E V2s for the same price as the older V1s. I'm hoping that the reason they became rare was the phasing out of the old versions. I might be wrong though.
 
Jono said:
What about second hand?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't mind second hand bikes but I prefer getting it new.

macmodder said:
I've had the Triban 500 SE for about 6 months now. I only use it to commute, and not on anything too taxing, but I've had absolutely no problems with it. Not sure what the difference is to the 520, but I'm sure it's not worth £150 (assuming the 500SE is still available in your size etc.).

My only real problem wit it was that it came with super cheap tyres which I swapped out immediately.

I've had no problems with the microshift switchers, but then again my previous experience was with halfords leisure bikes.
Click to expand...

What are microshift switchers? The current shifters I have are the Shinamo 200GS STI shifters
file.php


are they similar to this?
 
A smoother feel to the ride, better wet grip and probably find the bike a little faster/more responsive. Potentially better puncture protection too, depending on what you go for.
 
What is the difference between the Triban 500 and the Triban 500 SE and also does anyone know how they compare to the Red Triban 3 that Decathlon used to sell?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom