Home Chat General Chat

Newie and bike question

Hi

I have decided to start training for my first Triathlon in early 2010. I have a road bike which I know is slightly too big for me so I was going to invest in a new bike around the £500-600 price mark. But, I have been thinking that maybe buying a new frame/fork and wheels and transfer the Shimano Sora Groupset i have on the old bike, etc onto the new frame.

So, my question is would i get a better bike by purchasing a £300-£400 frame & fork, and the rest on the wheels, or simply buy the best £600 bike I can find?

Any advice would be great

Thanks

Comments

  • Jack HughesJack Hughes Posts: 1,262
    Why wait til 2010? Get a sprint/super sprint in. Practice makes perfect.

    Whatever you buy, in 6 months time you will regret it, and want to get something better.

    You need to set an overall budget, as there will be a whole load of other kit to get!

    The cost of the bike will probably be about 1/3 of your year one expenditure.

    Entry level is £400, next level is £700, then £1000.

    I would spend as little as possible, this will be your training bike.. then, if all goes well, you can think about getting something better next year!
  • EulerEuler Posts: 2
    Thanks for the reply Jack

    I might look into an earlier start, with the bike I'll think i go with the frame/fork idea, and improve the rest of the bike over time.

    Thanks again
  • Im SpartacusIm Spartacus Posts: 204
    Agreed do one this year, get a feel for it and have a benchmark you can measure yourself against next year.
  • ZacniciZacnici Posts: 1,385
    I would say go for one this year but with your existing bike, don't worry about times, you will learn a lot and also be better placed to decide what sort of bike to go for

    Tomtris spotted this by the way
    http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/p ... rice+Cut=1
  • julesojuleso Posts: 279
    If you have some bike knowledge, or a friend who has some, it's worth trying to get a bike from ebay. Or the ads in Cycling Weekly. So many people spend money on bikes and then give up; and that's where we step in!

    Just thought I'd post this because I was so fully patronised by a bloke in AW Cycles the other day. I'm now recommending to everyone that they buy bikes from ebay, because in a small way it feels like revenge and makes me feel better. Oh and you can save hundreds of ££s!
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    Very little point in buying a frame/fork then spending even more time/money to move a budget Sora groupset over.

    You could spend your entire budget on a low-tier big name bike and get a decent frame with economy components... actually for £600 you'd probably get a half decent alloy frame with perhaps a smattering of 105 on it.

    I think you're close to an entry level Boardman for that money, which will do you proud.

    Here's another idea which will make me even more unpopular... go to Halfords. Buy one of their Carrera road bikes for about £250-300. Make sure it fits. Ride it all winter (or possiby for several years) while saving up for a decent bike, then go buy one and you won't feel guilty about using your Halfords shitter as a hack. A mate spent a similar amount of cash on an entry level Giant Defy recently, and while I was mildly impressed with the frame, the rest of the bike was OEM rubbish... unbranded bits and IIRC 14-spd cogs.

    My Halfords hack did me very well for a few years as my only bike and is still going strong when the weather is too nasty to take my lovely Dolan out of the garage.
  • diddsdidds Posts: 655
    argos bike £150?

    Does anybody know anyone that has one? What the proverbial are they like?

    Having read the Triathlon Plus Sub £500 tests this month there' allegedly some real shockers out there for around £300 (heavy frames, poor handling, no shock resistance etc etc) so i am really wondering what HALF that money would really buy! (Not that they are necessarily bad... it seems phenomanally cheap!).

    didds

    PS the Tri+ tests came out plumping for a Pinnacle - but as its £200 more than two of the other bikes (out of a total of four bikes tested) maybe that shouldn't have been surprising in some ways.

    PPS Maybe we also need the Conehead "sub £500 bike review as well"! I'll volunteer to be a tester (seriously!)
Sign In or Register to comment.