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New to triathlon, which bike?

I appreciate there are a number of posts on the subject, but my preference is to buy from a British company (I appreciate the bike would probably not be built in the UK) and I also like the idea of buying from a company that supports the sport. I noticed that the Brownlee brothers use Boardman, their Road Comp is within my budget and Wiggle have it with a 25% discount. I am hoping so spend under Euro 1,000

Really impressed with the knowledge of many of the contributors, I thought some of the following may help with any advice you are able to give. I live in Poland and I am not aware of any shop that would allow a test ride. Most things here to do with my cars and motorbike are 20-30% more expensive than the UK (I suspect the same would be for bicycles) so buying through the internet is probably the best solution. I am 45, have not ridden a road bike since I was at school, but I do ride in the forrest a mountain bike every weekend, weather permitting (it can get really cold here!). I weigh 70 kg (is that relevant?), have exercised regularly, so am in pretty good shape. The roads here are rubbish, but I think I can find enough around the forrest where I live for enjoyable training. Is selecting the correct size a problem without trying the bike? There seems to be a comprehensive sizing chart on the Wiggle website, but if my calculation was correct I was pretty close to being between two sizes.

Any help you can give would be appreciated. Many thanks.

Comments

  • Here in the UK wiggle do not do Boardman bikes but I have had a look at the comp on Halfords and it is a pretty solid bike for the price and I think it is a good choice for a first road bike. There are a few things which might be better but think about this when you come to replace worn parts at some point in the future and upgrade them to make improvements.

    When it comes to sizing and you are between sizes I would always recomend going to the smaller size, simply because the bike frame is tighter and will climb a lot better and handling will be that bit sharper. The proviso is that you have enogh cockpit room, in other words your knees do not hit the bars when climbing out of the saddle. On this bike the geometry is quite realxed so if this was an issue a longer stem to move the bars forwards a couple of cm is a cheap solution without affecting the handling of the bike.

    My advice is go for it. At this price range the bike is solid and if you really get into the sport and want something a lot better this would make an excellent winter training bike for many pretty good riders, it has provision for fitting standard mudguards and as such I think it is a very good long term investment. Far better to get something in this price range that you can comfortably afford and is reliable than stretching yourself on a bike worth say 1500 euros which in a year or two might not quite what you want as a racing bike, but is too good to use in the winter conditions which you experience in Poland and be expensive to maintain.
  • shadowone1shadowone1 Posts: 1,408
    the most expensive one you can afford.

    Buy a cheaper one and you'll be lining up in T1 wishing you had bought one more blingy...who cares if its faster or not... its about the look anyway

    Anyway go and remortgage your house, sell your kids, dogs, auntie and uncles.... then buy the bike
  • nivaghnivagh Posts: 595
    My Boardman is built in Taiwan.

    Ignore the country of the brand, because you won't be spending your money on UK manufacturing.

    Have a look at Planet X - they have SRAM Red - equipped bikes for under a grand!
  • BlinkybazBlinkybaz Posts: 1,144
    When I first asked this question the answer was spend as much as you can afford then double and buy a carbon one!

    I didnt. I spent 250 quid on a Viking. I wish I had spent more at the beginning.
  • Hi,

    I'm a newby too; last year I bought the Boardman Team Carbon and have so far done duathlon with it but it's a great bike for what I need; I'm not good enough to warrant spending loads more and until I am, the Boardman is great. On my experience, I'd go for it if I were you. (nb I've just upgraded the saddle tho' - perhaps see if you can get a discount on a new saddle when you buy the bike?).
  • nivaghnivagh Posts: 595
    The Boardman bikes are good value for what you get - I ride one myself as my regular bike. I didn't mean to suggest they were not, only that they are not a British manufactured product...

    In terms of pure value for money, I would go second hand.
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