entry level bike
TeaJay
Posts: 29
in General Chat
all cycling so far has been on my specialized mountain bike. its heavy..... actually very heavy. i don;t mind training on it as its really sorting my fitness out but i am looking at doing my first sprint tri in about 6 weeks and figure now is the time to get a road bike.
i had a brief look in halfords at the weekend just to see what is about, the bikes in there are not that light TBH !
any sugestions on a starter road bike that will last me a few years?
or maybe a second hand bike site as i can;t find one locally or on line (bedfordshire area)
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Comments
So, I guess you need some suggestions of which ones to try out:
Hard to say without any idea of budget, but as a suggestion the Giant SCR 3.0 seems to be pretty good for a budget bike, and can be had for less than £300 if you don't mind last year's colours. Four of the guys at my club have bought them, and they've all been chuffed to bits.
On the other hand, you could be loaded..... go buy a Cervelo P3C and some big-ass Zipp wheels. [:D]
i was thinking £300 to £400 to start, to be honest if i can get a better bike second hand for that money i would preffer that but would be happy just to get off my moutain bike to be honest.
we did 35K at the weekend, through the chilterns so a bit hilly, 107mins and very sore quads ! very poor average speed and i am sure i can increase that by 8Km / hr just by getting any old road bike. i hope so anyway.
i will go check out the giant, i tried there mountain bike a few years back and wasn't that impressed. mind you, doing a different sport now so guess i need to have an open mind.
thanks for the help !
I bought it for £899 in February. But would be willing to take around £550ono if your interested. Have a look at what you think. Am based in Wimbledon, London so not that far really.
I'll post a picture of it.
Sizing is important so hook up with a good LBS or cycle/tri club for advice and possible bargains.
I would suggest you do not spend more than £300 - £400 - if you get the bug you will in all probability want to upgrade and need to have some pennies put to one side, then of course all the other go faster bits and pieces.
Good luck
Otherwise save your money for a little longer as you will not get a decent bike for less than £500 better to go for £700+. The tight fisted will call me elitist but there you have it!
In my original post I was typing up some stuff about maybe stretching to CAAD5 or CAAD9 bikes, even if that meant getting a Tiagra set-up then upgrading later. Then I deleted it all 'cos I didn't know the budget available. (Not that I'm fixated on the CAAD frames, I just know that they can be had cheap and are very upgradeable). In principle I agree, but there are practical considerations, damn them!
Aside, I saw a lot of P3C based bikes at the London Tri. It really is becoming ubiquitous, and looks utterly stunning up close. What the hell are Cervelo going to do to improve it for next year???
All:
It's a tough choice: getting an SCR 3.0 (or similar) now, or riding an MTB for 12-24 months (or whatever) while saving up for something a bit better.
I'd say the most important thing, if you're only making one big investment in tri, is to get off your MTB and onto something with a set of drops, some road gears and a reasonably light frame. It hasn't done me so badly for a few years - I've certainly learned about which bits are important. I finally got enough together to spend £1000 on what I would think is my 'ultimate bike'.
treefrog is perfectly correct, of course.... at the lower end of the market each pound buys you a lot more performance so if you are on a tight budget but might be able to sneak a bit more past the missus/bank manager/credit card then it will probably be worth it. Like anything, it gets into diminishing returns at the top of the scale where you an make increasingly finer cost/benefit judgements.
H
With tri bars on top (guess where they came from....), once I've sold the Trek frame, my total spend will have been about £600
to be honest i am a tight git when i start something new, untill i know its for me i start of with basics and take it from there. the way i see the triathlon is my times will get better the next few years due to training hard anyway, then learning the transitions and techneques the next few years...... then if i hit a platter i can always grab some "free" time by spending money later
anyway, thanks for the help i will go check out the Giant i think and take it from there.
anyway just filled in the form for my first event, sprint at South Shropshire. 28-08-08 400 / 26km / 6.25km
what are reseanable times for a starter with "medium" fitness levels. i know, another open ended question ?!?
to the guy who offered me the bike, not quite the right time but thanks anyway.
thanks again,
anybody can spend money, i preffer to work hard first then spend the money afterwards, i may know what i am talking about by then too
If short of cash or like me new to sport a good way to get into it
Looking for entry level bike with 10-speed groupset (apparently important) spending absolute max of £900
IIRC the wheels are crying out for an upgrade on the CAAD9/105. Budget reynolds, I think?
I don't have one, but I know a man who does.
as i said in a different post, i finnished my first tri and the bike got me round, which will do for a few years ! i only had 3 training sessions on it before my event so i have a bit of a sore back now. its very different to a MTB....
i will go back to do the same event next year and my aim is to knock 10mins off the ride section, which shouldn;t be too hard.
so heres to 3 years time and decent bike
click the link below:
http://s367.photobucket.com/albums/oo112/Colbert_Carbon_Cycles/?action=view¤t=WilierLeRoibuild001.jpg
This bike is for sale at the moment on the `for sale` section for £2300( FSA tri bar extensions also available).
I can get my hands on top quality frames/components for good prices,example, this frame is worth £1500 rrp.
My price for frameset (carbon frame/fork/seatpost/headset) £800
Sorry if this is a bit cheeky of me to ADVERTISE like this, but I too spent WAY WAY too much money on bike/frames/components over the years and have now found suppliers so evryone gets a good deal.
Thanks
Stephen
and good luck! [:D]