Road Cycling Essentials

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About the bike, the reason I chose it was that the price was reduced from £199, does that make any difference? Also I know just about nothing when it comes to bikes, just that I prefer dual suspension because its comfy and also prefer v-brakes as opposed to discs. The one I've been using for the past 3 years was also a cheap dual suspension one from argos and its been fine. Another thing is that right now I'm on a tight budget so I'm trying to keep everything under £200 so for now I cant really afford £200-250 just for the bike alone
 
Dual suspension isn't comfy it's heavy and slow. A good fitting bike will ****e all over it in terms of comfort.

The bike never retailed at £200, maybe in a store in the middle of nowhere for 6 weeks it did but not in the real world.
 
Just another similar view to others, I really wouldn't buy that BSO Temi_D. If you had to buy a new car and you only had £1,000 you'd buy 2nd hand and not one of those bins with wheels on they sell in India.

If you really wanted to buy new though, the lowest budget you should be aiming at is around the £200 mark, something like a Carrera Subway which your local Halfords should stock.

Dual suspension isn't needed on a commute to Uni either unless your going off-road to get there, and even then just front suspension would probably suffice. As your budget is on the low side of things, the suspension you pay for would be heavy, clunky and cause you more trouble than usefulness.

I'd personally use your current one for now, save up a few more pennies and get a decent bike, you'll get so much more enjoyment out of it than a Argos / supermarket 'bike'.

Not going to comment on the cape ;).
 
Ok i guess i can hold off on the bike to save up more. Next is the cape....honestly I think it looks daft. I've never seen someone wearing something like that. What else can I use to keep dry when it rains?
 
Sorry what I mean is that the quality of the bike is compromised due to the demand for full suspension. This means the spec is even more **** than usual + the **** suspension.

What you want is to save your money and get a bike rather than a bso. Even a second hand bike will cost $$$$$$ to repair to a good standard. Cables, cassete,chain and brake pads etc cost many $$$$$$.
 
I'd suggest that a full suspension bike ( even a good one costing £1000 upwards ) is utterly pointless for an urban commute. Absolutely no point in full suss on the road or cycle paths/canal paths. In fact, it will simply reduce your pace.

A half decent road or hybrid would be much more suited to this purpose. If you absolutely must go the MTB route, a hardtail preferably with front lock out would be "ok". But again, if you end up with an MTB with knobbly off road tyres fitted, your either going to have to purchase a new set of more road/pathway orientated tyres or suffer the rolling resistance that off road tyres have on tarmac and pavements. Coupled up with something with suspension front and rear, personally that would cripple me or at the least, put me off cycling for life!.
 
I currently have SPDs (MTB version) on my Cannondale and I'm beginning to dislike them on my road bike.
I am in the market for some road specific SPDs/clip in pedals. And am looking at the "Look Keo Classic Road Pedals"

Those are around £50 and seem to get good reviews. My problem comes with the shoes, do I take a chance, order some DHB ones from Wiggle or pop down to evans and buy it all in one go, the pedals are only £3 more there.
Does anyone here have any recommendations on what shoe to look for?

Cheers.
 
[DOD]Asprilla;17352710 said:
I've seen that Road Rat and if I didn't know about belt drives then I'd have one in a moment. However, I've got my heart set on the Civia. I reckon it will be about £1500 all in when you add shipping, VAT and import duty.
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That's not as bad as I had anticipated, though it would be towards the top end of what I could spend. I've never imported something like a bicycle before, which is why I had hoped to find one in the UK. I have also come across another potential that seems to tick all of the boxes, the On-One Pompetamine Versa Pro. With a rack and mudguards added it could well be the bike for me. Although I did have my heart set on the Alfine 11 speed internal hub, I am now swaying towards the proven (and available) 8 speed version. How long would you expect it to take to actually get a Civia Bryant Belt Alfine?

I must admit, am finding that being a complete novice on this subject is highly frustrating. I don't have the experience of actually riding these different styles of bikes to know which would suit me best. If I were buying a new PC instead I'd have already built it myself by now!
 
Picked up my Boardman Road Comp yesterday, love it! I rode it from my girlfriends to my house in about 30 mins which is 7.2 miles and quite hilly. I only stopped for traffic lights, loved it. Not ridden or done anything fitness wise in over a year

All I need now is to get kitted out for the rain and I need to give the bike a bit of a tweak as the chain rubs a little bit. Going to be riding all winter so I've stocked up on lube etc to keep things pretty.
 
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