Triathlon Bike < £200
paul2007
Posts: 2
in General Chat
Hi Guys,
I have upto £200 to spend on a road bike for both training and for a tri event next August - not much at all so I'll be ebay scouting.
Do any of you know if there is there anything in particular I should look out for or a specific make that would tend to give best value?
Cheers
Paul
I have upto £200 to spend on a road bike for both training and for a tri event next August - not much at all so I'll be ebay scouting.
Do any of you know if there is there anything in particular I should look out for or a specific make that would tend to give best value?
Cheers
Paul
0
Comments
For example, they have a sale on right now on their Carrera Valour road bike for £280, and it has an aluminum frame, chrome-moly front fork, Shimano Sora front and Tiagra rear derailleurs, and aluminum rims on the wheels. All of which, if it had the Trek, Specialized, Claud Butler or Scott logo on it, might cost you more like £350-400 pounds (well, Halfords do say that the Valour is marked down by £140 from its normal price).
I know that's not within your budget, but it's pretty darn good for a new bike. You might be able to find second-hand bikes for £200 or less on eBay. Good luck!
Raliegh do the Airlight 100, which is a 21 speed triple bike with ally frame and cro mo forks. Shimano basic gears Etc.
You can find them on ebay new for about 210 quid.
You aint getting an ultra light flash bike, but you are getting a solid bike thats more than enough to get you started and will last a while.
This bikes a car cry better than some of the new bikes you see on ebay at the same price or a bit cheaper. Its light enough to use and not a solid steel item thats impossibly heavy!
- avoid eBay if you can, stick to buying second hand from a shop or buy locally (lots of horror stories out there about eBay purchases, often the fault of the buyer for not asking, not knowing or not having a chance to look and try first)
- learn as much as you can about the components different bikes you might want to buy (e.g. look up the Trek 1000 on the Internet, go to the Trek web site and try to find out what standard components it comes with), so that you can tell when things have been changed (for the better or for the worse)
- learn as much as you can about the range correct bike measurements for you (e.g. can you fit onto a Specialized Allez 54 frame, even though a 52 frame would be ideal for you?)
I did not have much of a clue about bikes but knew I didn't want to spend £100's+ on a bike I had no idea if I needed or not. In the end after conflicting advice from bike shops and online forums I bought a Visp Pro5 off eBay, shipped over from Hungary for £190. Aluminium frame, aluminium 700C wheels, 23C tyres, 12 speed with down tube shifters, drop handlebars weighing in at 8KGS with Shimano SIS. Nothing special but ideal as a starter bike I think and very light.
Upgrading is easy enough to STI but the rear wheel is threaded hub and needs replacing to upgrade the cassette to 8+.
Good luck!
Hi,
I would seriously doubt that the complete bike weighs in at 8KG! Im not doubting your word but i think it must be a type error.
Mid priced full carbon Felt bikes weigh in at more than 8KG and they are running lightweight groupsets.
If you google this bike, you'll find it for less than £200 with free delivery.
It took me some time to get it right - you obviously don't get the bike fitted to you at this price level - but I'm using it as a learning aid: When I finally do go and blow my mortgage on some serious kit I want to understand why I need all that carbon and Dura-Ace (hopefully!).
In 2 years I've fiddled with the seat, changed the rear wheel, inverted the 'bar holder and stuck some adjustable tri-bars on it. A pair of £40 carbon forks will follow, to help reduce some of the vibration from the forks. From a personal viewpoint, the thing I am most pleased about keeping on my spec list was the STI shifters - essential kit. And don't get obsessed about bike weight - it only matters when you are changing speed, direction or altitude. Unless you are already Mr. Perfect then the cheapest way to save a few kilos is to cut out the beers and pies for a couple of months. [:D]
I'll be on my Halfords Valour in the London on Sunday morning! Woo-hoo!
One problem, however, with getting a budget bike: you know the sort of people who greet you by saying 'Hello' to your bike frame? They won't take you seriously. Just beat 'em.[:D]
Six years later.
How on earth did you find that post... you must have had to doig through the archives