Looking for first bike
thand
Posts: 4
in General Chat
Hi Guys
I'm looking to buy my first road bike with a view to entering some triathalons and reducing my running (my knee is starting to suffer after taking part in a distance event and Aberdeenshire has some beautiful countryside).
I was looking to spend between £750k and £1,000, is there a real difference in the bikes at these price marks or would i be better saving my money or even spending it on upgrades (alot of people seem to talk about the benefits to be gained from new wheels).
Also does anyone know of any good local bike shops in the Aberdeen area? A quick look around seems to have me limited to Alpine bikes (who specialise in mountain bikes) and Halfords!!!
Any help would be appreciated.
I'm looking to buy my first road bike with a view to entering some triathalons and reducing my running (my knee is starting to suffer after taking part in a distance event and Aberdeenshire has some beautiful countryside).
I was looking to spend between £750k and £1,000, is there a real difference in the bikes at these price marks or would i be better saving my money or even spending it on upgrades (alot of people seem to talk about the benefits to be gained from new wheels).
Also does anyone know of any good local bike shops in the Aberdeen area? A quick look around seems to have me limited to Alpine bikes (who specialise in mountain bikes) and Halfords!!!
Any help would be appreciated.
0
Comments
Most important thing, though, is to try a few bikes in your price range - and then get a good fit for the one you choose.
A great bike and bad fit = bad news.
Look at her....... what do you think ?
I'm from Scotland also and I took the drastic step of going down south for my bike, as my LBS sold me a bike that didn't fit and really only realised once I'd been for a proper bike fitting.
It maybe worthwhile taking some time to go Ediburgh, there is a triathlon dedicated shop there thats huge, I think its called the bicycle works. At the time the place was shut when I was looking for a new bike. I think they sponsor the Edinburgh Uni tri team. I would seriously recommend getting fitted for the bike, since you are splashing some decent cash you might get it free.
In terms of a £1000, in reality spend the bulk of it on the frame. Forget the bling wheels and groupset, these can always be added to a good frame at a later date. I currently have shimano 105 on mine, whilst not the blingest groupset it is still value for money. However I can always upgrade when I've got the cash and add these to what I would say is a good frame.
New wheels.... hmm yes you will get benefit but only once you get good carbon with a decent aero on them. In reality you need to pushing out round about 20-25mph to get the benefit from them as they can be heavy. Again I sacrificed the wheels and went for Fulcrum 5, not the most expensive in the world but practically bomb proof. I have now upgraded to Fast Forward F5R's tubs. (not got them yet tho)
Again I echo what I said, go for the good frame and upgrade as and when you can. You can get a carbon frame with ultegra on it but the frame will be crap. In essence, a good alloy frame will be better than a half arsed carbon frame.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the help guys, think I'll take a trip to Edinburgh/Glasgow in the new year and get fitted for a bike
make sure its the right bike. you'll know what I mean when you see it.... she's the one you'll instantly name and take it home, kick the girlfriend out the room and have the bike in there instead....
Once you get the bike, post a pic on the bike porn thread..
This tri lark doesn't half get addictive!!!
There's do much to learn when it comes to tri.
Get yourself hooked in with a tri/bike club and see if you can get sorted with a cheap second hand bike, get your first season done with that then keep that bike for training etc and get something like a Focus Culebro tria: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Focus ... 360037593/ which will do you for at least a couple of seasons, is quite well specced and again you can swap out most of the components onto a carbon frame should you so wish.
I paid £550 for a road bike for my first season and then got a tri bike for my second season, in retrospect I could have got a decent'ish bike for about £350, and saved £200 toward my tri bike.