Spec Me an Entry Level Road Bike

Freakish_05

Freakish_05

Freakish_05

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Joined
1 May 2006
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810
Location
Bristol, UK
Greetings all!

Now that we're finally getting some sun, I'm in the market for a road bike to enjoy it with.

As with all of these things, there is a great deal of choice and I find myself stumped. How much is too much and where will I stop noticing a difference in spec is really the key question.

I don't intend on doing any off-roading, I will be using cycle tracks and roads. I'm a fan of the dropped-handlebar configuration for the more aggressive riding position and speed.

I was previously considering one of the Specialized Allez range, but a friend of mine picked up one of the Carrerra's from a well known car shop and seems to think it's okay.

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
Got myself a Trek hybrid entry level bike last year, and its perfect for cycle tracks and slightly rough terrain.

If you're just going to cycle on roads don't get a hybrid, but for cycle paths and a bit of rough ground they're ideal.

I paid about £500 for it brand new from a independent shop.
 
As an entry level I would suggest anything with stabilisers and not to be fussy. (Sportives are not recommended with stabilisers)

As you progress to feeling comfortable, then without stabilisers, a cheap, sturdy, teenagers bike.

As your proficiency increases you could then step up to a reasonably priced adult bicycle.

Don't forget to wear helmet at all times when you start cycling.







even in bed.
 
King85 said:
Lowest you should go brand new would be the Triban 3. Alternately you could see what you could get for your budget on the bikeradar forums second hand.
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i've had triban 3 since november 2012 :)

covered over 2000 miles on it and here's what you need to know about it.

the good;

a proper road bike
comfy(carbon forks really help)
tyres that it comes with are good(1 punture in 2k miles - central london)
gears are smooth for 2300 groupset
brakes are great(the pads won't last long - first set went after ~300 miles)
paint finish is nice for 300quid
was all assembled when i got it delivered(all i had to do was tighten up the stem)
come with a set of front/rear lights.

bad bits;

seat is made out of a plan of wood(would feel more comfy sitting on a nail)
wheel bearings went poof after 1400miles(mind you it was snow, rain, dirt and a tone of potholes)
stock pedals last ~2k miles(mine started to make noise)
bad mudguard clearance(only crud road racers mk2 and raceblades long fit)

the rest is really good for 300quid :) i couldn't be happier tbh!

got a new set of wheels, tyres, and 5 sets of brakepads over the time i had it(and front/rear lights because i did not like the ones it came with)
 
Kimi said:
I like the Boardmans as starter bikes
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The entry level Boardman is £500 and badly specced, though, so not ideal. Steel fork and 14 speed bargain basement Shimano gears. You have to go to £670 to get the Boardman Road Race with Sora components, by which point you may as well spend another £30 and get a Ribble Sportive with wall to wall Tiagra.

As said, we need a budget. And if that budget is low, we need a good reason to not just recommend the Triban 3.
 
I got my Boardman on the cycle to work scheme, went for the Team with carbon forks, think it was about 700ish with the discount. I use it as my wetbike now and if someone wants to come out with us who hasnt got a ride. In all the time ive had it, it hasnt missed a beat, and only 2 punctures, still, depends what your budget is, people on here are good at finding bikes to a budget, so youre in safe hands!
 
Thanks for the replies all. Budget is around £500 for the bike and £100 for everything else (e.g. helmet).

The triban's look interesting. As a 'beginner' would I notice any difference between the 3 and the 7, especially noting the higher spec chainset and rear mech?

Also are there any 'standard' features that I should be looking for to help protect myself (e.g. carbon forks over steal to reduce vibrations through the hands - *not sure if this is actually true*)
 
I think the only real difference you would notice is that the 3 is a triple at the front and the 7 is a compact double.

That means you have three different sized rings at the front on the 3 and two on the 7. The 3 will have a greater range of gearing, but for practical purposes that range is very, very rarely used. Very few people use triples as they are heavier, it requires more shifting to find the gear you want and they aren't that much use.

However YMMV.
 
If you go 2nd hand you can get a lot more for your money.
Last August i paid £600 for a Boardman Team Carbon with SRAM Rival groupset for example.

Take a look on ebay and places like the sale section on Bikeradar forum (bought my Boardman from ebay and my wifes Specialized Allez from Bikeradar).
 
Freakish_05 said:
Thanks for the replies all. Budget is around £500 for the bike and £100 for everything else (e.g. helmet).

The triban's look interesting. As a 'beginner' would I notice any difference between the 3 and the 7, especially noting the higher spec chainset and rear mech?

Also are there any 'standard' features that I should be looking for to help protect myself (e.g. carbon forks over steal to reduce vibrations through the hands - *not sure if this is actually true*)
Click to expand...

not really, it would be smoother to shift but 3 does the job fine.. :) as pointed out it will have a triple chainset at the front which might be better for a newbie with weak legs(dunno how fit you're) but personally i have never used it yet..(in over 2k miles)

but you can get a better bike for ~500 used - not something i would want to do but its up to you really :)
 
I've been looking for a bike myself through my cycle to work scheme and ended up with a Fuji 1.1 Sportif. I was initially going for the 1.3 (now £560 + accessories discount) which is almost the same as the 1.1 but with full Tiagra.

Have a look here:
http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/bikes/road-bikes/f/fuji#!!sort=asc

On top of that, you get extra £50 for accessories. This £50 discount is on for some other makes. Pop down into your local Evans, there should be a few on display or book a test ride, I did and totally enjoyed mine!

Just waiting for my vouchers before picking it up!

Edit: A full review of the 1.3 on Bike.cc
http://road.cc/content/review/79075-fuji-sportif-13-2013
 
Thanks for the tip Mr Jones that Fuji looks very nice!

Out of interest has anyone had any experience with Coast-To-Coast / Roubaix (sp?) frames? They have a slightly curved top bar but their main focus is to give the rider a less aggressive riding position for additional comfort. I'm told that for minus 2% speed you get plus 10% comfort... but they tend to cost an extra 15-20% on top of standard road bikes.
 
The curve isn't functional, it's just to look nice. The difference in geometry is that the top tube (the one your legs straddle) is shorter and the head tube (the one short one the steering fork passes though) is longer meaning the rider is more upright. It's was more usually called a compact frame when companies started marketing them a few years ago and are frequently called sportive frames these days. Roubaix and C2C are frames made by Specialized and Bianchi that happen to be sportive frames.

Truth be told all frames have different geometries and some are more aggressive than others but it's difficult to say 'that's a sportive bike and that's a race bike' as it depends on the position of the person riding it in relation to the bike.

I've got long legs and a short body and my weekend bike is a sportive frame:

IMG_0852.jpg
 
Thanks for clearing that up for me Asprilla :-)

I test rode the Fuji 1.3 sportif yesterday and pretty much fell in love with it. I shall be buying one later today.

Thanks everyone for your responses, they really helped :-)
 
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