Road bike advice

Jobe

Jobe

Jobe

Associate
Joined
26 Oct 2002
Posts
1,064
Location
Lincoln
Hi all

First off didn't want to mix this with the more serious talk in the bike essentials thread.

I am looking to get a road bike but have no idea what to get.

Budget is around £700 with a little more for spares, helmet, shoes etc.

I will also be looking to join a local club to help push myself and get fitter.

All advice appreciated and welcome.

Thanks for reading

Jobe
 
Damn..normally someone asks for a hybrid recommendation and then we spend ages trying to convince them to get a road bike instead. Now you've ruined it :p

On a more serious note, what kind of conditions do you expect to ride it in? Personally I love road bikes with disc brakes (which are generally called CX bikes) but others don't really care about that so much. If you plan on commuting then mudguard mounts and/or rack mounts may be important.
 
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FrenchTart said:
Damn..normally someone asks for a hybrid recommendation and then we spend ages trying to convince them to get a road bike instead. Now you've ruined it :p
Click to expand...

Lol is that why no one replied for a bit......
"What's this post, is someone trying to catch us out. I'm keeping quiet". :D

Don't plan on commuting as we have no way of showering at work.

It would be purely for pleasure(or torture), Local bike club stuff etc. Pleasure rides with the Mrs would prob still be on the mtb as she isn't too adventurous.

Jobe
 
Jobe said:
Lol is that why no one replied for a bit......
"What's this post, is someone trying to catch us out. I'm keeping quiet". :D

Don't plan on commuting as we have no way of showering at work.

It would be purely for pleasure(or torture), Local bike club stuff etc. Pleasure rides with the Mrs would prob still be on the mtb as she isn't too adventurous.

Jobe
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was wondering :p

I'm not sure what to suggest in the £700 range for pure road to be honest. My fall back is often the various PlanetX bikes (I currently ride the PX XLS 105 and love it but it's both more money and probably not exactly what you want given the disc brake part of things). I'm sure someone will come along with a suggestion soon enough though.

I presume when you're riding around with the Mrs on her MTB you won't be going down super technical MTB-style routes but just gentle trails and the like?
 
Planet X RT-58 can be had for £600 and is a good aluminium bike. Ribble have some decent ally bikes around that price as well. Wiggle probably have something decent, too. You may just about sneak a decent carbon bike on offer at that price, particularly if you wait it out a couple of months until the sales start.
 
FrenchTart said:
Yeah, I was wondering :p

I presume when you're riding around with the Mrs on her MTB you won't be going down super technical MTB-style routes but just gentle trails and the like?
Click to expand...

Yep. Bit boring really but there you go.

Would a carbon bike make much difference really to me?
Was hoping to get something soon enough before the weather changes too much.
Will have a nosy at the '58.

J
 
Well, riding is still fun even if the trails aren't super challenging. At least she's up for heading out and joining in :)

Other people may be able to comment with more experience but personally I've had two alu bikes, 1 steel and my latest is a carbon. After some initial "hmm" I'm not pretty convinced that I wouldn't buy a bike that isn't carbon in future.

Ignore the horror stories about carbon being brittle. I rode around when I was much heavier (100kg) on it and often carrying ~10kg of shopping in a rucksack. The bike was fine. The thing that is nice about carbon is that it is quite light and it is responsive/fast. It's not that far off alu in that way. If you really don't care about speed *and* do super long distance riding then steel is a better choice. I can't comment on Ti as I haven't ridden it.
 
You could also look for a steel framed bike, possibly with carbon fork. Could probably find something decent for that price, and if you're not worried about breaking any speed records there are a lot of people that prefer the ride comfort of steel. Weight isn't really much of an issue either, little heavier than alu/carbon bikes at the same price point maybe but still very respectable. That is something you'd have to test ride a bit to see if it's for you though.

Few examples, haven't looked too much into that sort of price range:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jamis/quest-comp-2014-road-bike-ec067927
http://www.rutlandcycling.com/159668/products/genesis-equilibrium-00-2014-road-bike.aspx
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-substance-cx11-sora-2014/
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Eastway-ST1-0-2013-Road-Bike_62946.htm
 
Some nice suggestions there guys thanks.

Think I would prefer at least an ally bike. Understand I may be 'just' under the price point of carbon.

That Giant looks pretty nice but not really sure about that colour. Will have to have a think about it.

Atm there are 2 bikes linked to, the Giant and Planetx. Both £700. Are both about the same in terms of quality? I would prefer the Planetx purely on colour choice tbh.

Will have a look around to see if I can find any promotional codes. Can always shave a few more quid off that way

Jobe
 
Jobe, the Giant is an amazing deal, forget the colour. The components are way more important, and that has better gearing a wheels than the planetX, its an awesome price.
 
right, quick update.

rang the store and going to go down tomorrow to try it out and if i like it will get it. This will be the Giant bike. can't really decide on colour choice.

decided to go to the store as i will need other things and like to see bits like that first hand.

i know about a spare tube, multi tool, little bag to put them in, shoes, helmet, gloves, pedals. Anything else i could do with to start off with? :)

jb
 
Shorts and jerseys for sure. Plenty more clothes beyond that, particularly when we get to winter. Lights, maybe? Toolkit for at home and a workstand wouldn't hurt, but they're not essential to begin with.

Oh, a track pump for sure if you've not already got one, and a mini pump to take out and about with you. No point taking a spare tube with you if you've not got one of those. Also some tyre levers if your multi tool doesn't have them. Hell, probably worth getting some even if it does as the ones on a multi tool aren't always great.
 
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