Potential road bike purchase
Potential road bike purchase
Author
Discussion

jason90

Original Poster:

217 posts

233 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all

Thinking of buying a bike to try a get a bit fitter, not ridden a bike for about 25years, but I see it as a good way of getting out and about

Went into a bike shop the other day and to be honest was blown away with all the options available, the last bike I bought was a bmx

I have found what I think is a good spec bike and deal on Wiggle

Would appreciate your thoughts on the following bike:

Battaglin Pro Team 105 2013

Specs
•Monocoque carbon frame and forks•Shimano 105 components with Shimano brakes and compact chainset•Fulcrum Racing 5 wheelset

Thoughts and suggestions welcome

Jason

numtumfutunch

5,172 posts

167 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all

May I be the first to welcome you on board in the pedal powered forum biggrin
And I mean that sincerely

Novices can find a degree of elitism around road cycling which is one of the reasons I spent so long getting muddy on MTB's myself until I made the jump

Anyway none of the big companies will make a crap bike at that price point
The market is just too competitive

The best advice would be to buy one that fits
It sounds obvious however the wrong sized bike will be a painful instrument of torture which you just wont want to ride

Therefore get yourself down to the local bike shop and have a fiddle
If you get the ritual noob patronising then ignore it and buy the same bike online having got your sizing right
If they look after you then reward their good service with a purchase

Interesting stuff here:
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40...

See you on the road wavey


jason90

Original Poster:

217 posts

233 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all

Thanks for the welcome

Went into the local bike shop the otherday and all they seemed interested in was selling me the most expensive pce of kit they had, trouble with living in Dubai I guess

As far as the sizing goes I think I have that sorted, daft question

I know the frame size I need, does that mean the size frame from any manufacturer will fit and be the same, or im guessing its not that simple

Barchettaman

7,261 posts

161 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
It's a long way from being that simple, unfortunately.

Go here:

http://www.probike.ae/services/index.html

get a Retul fit, then buy the cheapest aluminium framed/carbon fork 2x10 road bike you can find that matches your fit coordinates.

TheLemming

4,319 posts

294 months

Tuesday 28th January 2014
quotequote all
Barchettaman said:
It's a long way from being that simple, unfortunately.

Go here:

http://www.probike.ae/services/index.html

get a Retul fit, then buy the cheapest aluminium framed/carbon fork 2x10 road bike you can find that
matches your fit coordinates.
That's pretty damn good advice for a first road bike. Fit is damn important, I ended up with an mtb a carbon bike and a cheap road bike that were just too big, not by a lot but by enough that I've now replaced them with smaller models..

Learn from other peoples mistakes - its cheaper than learning from your own!

Floor Tom

419 posts

214 months

Tuesday 28th January 2014
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Like others have said, if you don't know enough to look at a geometry chart and know if a bike will fit or not then you need to be getting some advice from a decent shop. Road bikes generally come in more size options that mountain bikes and the fit is more important, on a mountain bike you are a lot more dynamic, on a road bike you are sitting in one position for extended periods of time and if its wrong it will be very uncomfortable.

lynus2004

119 posts

236 months

Tuesday 28th January 2014
quotequote all
Whilst I agree that fit is important I am not sure that a bike fit is essential provided you use the size guide on Wiggle and carefully measure your inside leg etc.

To answer your question about the bike, it looks like good value. You could get a better spec grouset for a little more money from Planet X but this will easily meet your needs. It has better than average wheels for this price level and a decent groupset, it even has acceptable tyres from the start.

Not sure but I think it has been on sale before at a lower price.

Floor Tom

419 posts

214 months

Wednesday 29th January 2014
quotequote all
lynus2004 said:
Whilst I agree that fit is important I am not sure that a bike fit is essential provided you use the size guide on Wiggle and carefully measure your inside leg etc.

To answer your question about the bike, it looks like good value. You could get a better spec grouset for a little more money from Planet X but this will easily meet your needs. It has better than average wheels for this price level and a decent groupset, it even has acceptable tyres from the start.

Not sure but I think it has been on sale before at a lower price.
It really is, if you ain't comfy on the bike then you aren't going to enjoy riding it. If you don't know what a different TT and HT length are going to feel like then just measuring your inside leg can tell you if you are getting the right size but can't tell you if you are going to be comfy on it.