Time for a bike and considering the Specialized Allez Sport.

Feek

Feek

Feek

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I've been umming and ahhing about getting a bike to help increase my overall fitness for about a year and a conversation a couple of weeks ago rekindled my interest.

I'm not unfit, I can walk for miles and miles and miles very quickly but would like to exercise some different muscles. I can't run so cycling seems like a decent option.

I'm looking at the Specialized Allez Sport which I can get for a good price (cheaper than advertised on Evans).

It would be for general pleasure and good weather biking. I'm not planning on doing any racing and as it's 25 miles each way to and from work, I won't be riding to work.

I'm just interested in any opinions on my choice of bicycle and what essentials I should be considering buying along with it.

Thanks.
 
It's not a bad bike but there are better options for less money (I'll let someone else chime in with the latest on those as my info is a bit out of date).

You're making the right choice with a road bike :) but you may want to consider one that will take mudguards and/or rack mounts. Personally I don't like racks and prefer a backpack but if you have a dodgy back a rack might be a requirement unless you plan to travel very lightly all the time (I do this and use a backpack when I absolutely need to).

25mm tyres are a good all-round choice for road riding. If you plan to stick to do more off-road then you could get something more like a CX or "Gravel/Adventure" bike, which is essentially the same as a road bike but with a little more relaxed geometry and will support tyres up to ~35mm wide.

One thing I'd absolutely recommend is making sure that the shop you buy from is willing to spend some time getting the bike properly set up for you. Setting the correct saddle height and position, and adjust the handlebars for an appropriate reach will make the ride the most comfortable it can be for you. Some would advocate a full bike fit but that's probably overkill, at least initially.
 
It's not a bad bike by any means, but £600 is a lot for Sora considering what else you can get for the price.

There are also a few disc brake options if that's your thing. Essentials, pedals will probably help, along with a helmet, some basic cycling clothing, a saddle bag with stuff to fix a puncture, multitool, chain lube and a lock if you're going to be leaving it out anywhere (although i wouldn't recommend it if at all possible).
 
Thanks for the quick replies.

A quick search suggests that there are mudguards available that will go on the Sport so I'm covered for that.

I hadn't noticed that pedals aren't included though, what's that all about?

And as I said on the original post, I'm not spending £600 on it, I'll be paying significantly less than the price advertised on Evans with a budget around £400 for the bike itself (this could be plus or minus a few quid, exact figure not known).
 
Is that an offer specific to that bike or for anything on evans? Pedals generally aren't included because most people will end up replacing them with their own anyway, because there's so many different types of clipless systems people might already have shoes for.

Mudguards might help but if you are, as you say, fair weather riding they're really not necessary. To be honest i find them a bit of a faff, can just get an ass saver if you really need it but that's personal preference :p
 
Fair enough /re price. I'm still not convinced that £400 for a Sora-equipped bike is great value though personally. I'd be looking for Tiagra. Some will say that frame is more important and to a degree they are right, but the difference between 10 speed Tiagra and 9 speed Sora is actually quite a bit.

Those mudguards are horrendous and also will not work with 25mm tyres without significant rub. I say this as someone that has used two sets of them on different bikes (I didn't learn from my first mistake). Race blades are also very bad, though for different reasons. If you're *only* going to ride when it's not raining you can get by without mudguards I guess but I personally will not buy a bike again without mudguard mounts.

Not including pedals with bikes is a fairly common practice. Part of it is down to profit margins and another part of it is down to the fact that many people will have their own pedal preference. Are you considering using pedals where you need to clip in or do you want to stick to flat pedals?
 
It's a good bike for £400. The allez frames have a good rep. 9 speed Sora is more than serviceable for the sort of casual riding you're talking about. If you're only planning on riding in good weather I wouldn't fret too much about mudguards.
 
OK, again thanks for the responses.

I'm not limited to Evans, I merely posted that link to show the bike I was interested in.

As a bit of a step up, how about the Giant Revolt 3 '15. Again, I wouldn't be paying that listed price and not being a dedicated road bike would give me a slightly better option if I wanted to ride it elsewhere. It can take mudguards.
 
Platform pedals are fine to start out, but when you start getting into reasonable distances you will probably start to see the benefit of clipless. Cyclocross bikes are very versatile, especially if you use different tyres on them. They can handle the road well, as well as grass and gravel, and discs do help in the wet. They're also a lot better suited to touring than a specialised road bike if you decide that's something you want to do. But they'll never go quite as fast as a normal road bike. Easy trade off for some, not so easy for others ;) They are probably the best option if it's the only bike you ever intend to have, but the best way to find out is probably to go to a shop and actually ride a few.
 
Claris is a perfectly acceptable entry level these days. You don't even have to compromise with the thumb shifters that everyone gets their knickers in a twist over (unless the shifters have Campag printed on them of course, then they are fine...). The chasing groupset names, when you are starting out, is just that. Claris up and you are set to get rolling.

Anyway, that second bike doesn't look like great value to me. In your original post you said the bike would be used for fair weather biking, that is great so don't worry about compromising yourself worrying about mud guards, disc brakes etc. The original bike you posted is good VFM at what you can get it for.
 
Nobody is saying that Claris is awful - just that paying more to go from Sora to Claris isn't something that we would advise.

I agree that of the two the first bike is a better choice. I personally disagree that you shouldn't worry about mudguards now (discs are a different matter) as with British weather even when it isn't raining it's not uncommon for the ground to be wet/full of crud.
 
Whilst FrenchTart does not recommend the Crud Racer mudguards I have to say I've a pair on my Allez 2013 and whilst they take a bit of adjustment to get on at first, there is no rub at all on mine now. So I would say they were decent bit of kit :p (25mm tyres too)

I would also recommend the decathlon tribans, my girlfirend got one as her first bike, and had I known about them before i got my Allez I would have got one myself. Better value for money.
 
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Had Roadracer mk2's on my old Carrera and they did do around 8 months (over winter & autumn/spring) before breaking. As a cheap and easy 'quick guard for any bike' they're ok. They're not a long term solution and can be very fiddly (& rub some on 25mm's! Depending on your rim width and tyre profiles).

As for the bike, there are many within your budget, good ones and bad ones!

My thoughts are thus - the allez is a very good bike, certainly for the price you're paying for it! It might be slightly 'overpriced' compared what you can get but in reality this is your 'first' bike and as we all know - your first bike will either get you riding and hooked (hopefully), sit in your garage barely used (boo) or totally put you off cycling completely (even bigger boo!).

The first will mean you will look at replacing the bike within a year or two (carbon! Ultegra! Discs! Di2!) so in reality you won't be keeping the frame/groupset for more than probably 4 or 5 thousand miles tops. It'll be a good bike for that mileage and age, it won't 'wear out' (nothing major anyway) and will still be worth something once you're done with it.

Second result, you get out when the weather is good and go out riding occasionally with some friends. You will have a fairly relaxed ride perfect for this, nothing too racey/slow or uncomfortable. Maybe even do a light sportive or two, any of the bikes listed are more than capable. The occasional/yearly service with your low mileage will mean the bike lasts for many years, hopefully not costing much to keep it running.

Final one, it's a good bike from a respected brand using quality components. There's nothing to stop it providing many years of fun and miles... Except the rider! So get a bike, get out there riding and enjoy it (while the sun is out)! ;)
 
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