Discussion
Hi guys,
I recently sold my car so have managed to free up some cash and I thought I would go for a road bike too as I have always wanted to get into cycling.
Can anyone recommend a bike for £450-500 tops. I did a search on here for beginner bikes and did find some recommendations but they were out of my price bracket. I also know that deals/prices change.
Im hoping to go down to my local Evans store later and just absorb some info and take a look at the bikes etc.
Any advice would be greatly received.
I recently sold my car so have managed to free up some cash and I thought I would go for a road bike too as I have always wanted to get into cycling.
Can anyone recommend a bike for £450-500 tops. I did a search on here for beginner bikes and did find some recommendations but they were out of my price bracket. I also know that deals/prices change.
Im hoping to go down to my local Evans store later and just absorb some info and take a look at the bikes etc.
Any advice would be greatly received.
Mike V said:
Hi guys,
I recently sold my car so have managed to free up some cash and I thought I would go for a road bike too as I have always wanted to get into cycling.
Can anyone recommend a bike for £450-500 tops. I did a search on here for beginner bikes and did find some recommendations but they were out of my price bracket. I also know that deals/prices change.
Im hoping to go down to my local Evans store later and just absorb some info and take a look at the bikes etc.
Any advice would be greatly received.
I definitely recommend going second-hand, you'll get much more for your money, however it ususally does require a good bit of knowledge about bikes, probably best to get the guys at Evans to get you sorted with your size and then get looking on eBay.I recently sold my car so have managed to free up some cash and I thought I would go for a road bike too as I have always wanted to get into cycling.
Can anyone recommend a bike for £450-500 tops. I did a search on here for beginner bikes and did find some recommendations but they were out of my price bracket. I also know that deals/prices change.
Im hoping to go down to my local Evans store later and just absorb some info and take a look at the bikes etc.
Any advice would be greatly received.
mchammer89 said:
Mike V said:
Hi guys,
I recently sold my car so have managed to free up some cash and I thought I would go for a road bike too as I have always wanted to get into cycling.
Can anyone recommend a bike for £450-500 tops. I did a search on here for beginner bikes and did find some recommendations but they were out of my price bracket. I also know that deals/prices change.
Im hoping to go down to my local Evans store later and just absorb some info and take a look at the bikes etc.
Any advice would be greatly received.
I definitely recommend going second-hand, you'll get much more for your money, however it ususally does require a good bit of knowledge about bikes, probably best to get the guys at Evans to get you sorted with your size and then get looking on eBay.I recently sold my car so have managed to free up some cash and I thought I would go for a road bike too as I have always wanted to get into cycling.
Can anyone recommend a bike for £450-500 tops. I did a search on here for beginner bikes and did find some recommendations but they were out of my price bracket. I also know that deals/prices change.
Im hoping to go down to my local Evans store later and just absorb some info and take a look at the bikes etc.
Any advice would be greatly received.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a bike? i.e. certain brand etc?
Well I didn't mean a professional fit, they cost a lot, and are only useful if you're having a bike custom built, go into Evans (or any other bike shop) and say you're interested in a bike, try some out for size and get a rough figure for what you're looking for, then get to ebay/gumtree/whatever and get looking, as far as brands go, if you've heard of it before, that's normally good enough, you can't really say one brand is better than another because of the variation of models, but like I said, as long as it's a well known manufacturer you should be good.
Hi,
Personally I'd be very cautious about buying s/h unless you know for a fact that the bike has been bought new, ridden only a couple of times & then forgotten about; or you're a good mechanic, buying very cheaply and accepting that you'll be spending cash in renewing the drivetrain, setting up the gears, etc, etc.
A couple of years ago good frames/bikes were expensive, spare parts were relatively cheap and that approach was fine. But with the recent £ exchange rates all bike parts have shot up in price. And if you're going for a bike that cost £1000 or more then it's likely to have mid-range components, and as the first thing to wear out on a bike is the chain/rear cassette you could be looking at £100 just to sort the drivetrain out.
Personally I'd suggest you look at new bikes; cycling is incredibly fashion conscious and last years models often sell at good discounts, even in local bike shops. £500 isn't going to get you a tour-de-france competitor, but it will get you something that is fun to ride and works well enough.
Places like Evans are fine for looking around although you're unlikely to get a bargain from their new stock lines. However they do discount older models, and I bought my Bianchi from them a few years back as it was the best deal on the market, including internet suppliers.
To give you an idea of the market, take a look here;
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/...
you can pick out the big names, Trek, Giant, etc, but don't get too wound up on brand names. The frames are most likely to have originated from the same asian factory and are likely to be aluminium with Al front forks, although if you find one offering carbon forks that's a plus as I find it does make an improved ride.
The only significant differences are likely to be in the equipment - gears/wheels/etc. At £500 that's likely to be lower end shimano, which is fine and will give you good service. If your riding terrain is hilly and you're new to riding, consider buying a triple chainset model. Ok, they're not trendy, but neither is walking up hills....
Personally I'd be very cautious about buying s/h unless you know for a fact that the bike has been bought new, ridden only a couple of times & then forgotten about; or you're a good mechanic, buying very cheaply and accepting that you'll be spending cash in renewing the drivetrain, setting up the gears, etc, etc.
A couple of years ago good frames/bikes were expensive, spare parts were relatively cheap and that approach was fine. But with the recent £ exchange rates all bike parts have shot up in price. And if you're going for a bike that cost £1000 or more then it's likely to have mid-range components, and as the first thing to wear out on a bike is the chain/rear cassette you could be looking at £100 just to sort the drivetrain out.
Personally I'd suggest you look at new bikes; cycling is incredibly fashion conscious and last years models often sell at good discounts, even in local bike shops. £500 isn't going to get you a tour-de-france competitor, but it will get you something that is fun to ride and works well enough.
Places like Evans are fine for looking around although you're unlikely to get a bargain from their new stock lines. However they do discount older models, and I bought my Bianchi from them a few years back as it was the best deal on the market, including internet suppliers.
To give you an idea of the market, take a look here;
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/...
you can pick out the big names, Trek, Giant, etc, but don't get too wound up on brand names. The frames are most likely to have originated from the same asian factory and are likely to be aluminium with Al front forks, although if you find one offering carbon forks that's a plus as I find it does make an improved ride.
The only significant differences are likely to be in the equipment - gears/wheels/etc. At £500 that's likely to be lower end shimano, which is fine and will give you good service. If your riding terrain is hilly and you're new to riding, consider buying a triple chainset model. Ok, they're not trendy, but neither is walking up hills....
Mike V said:
Thanks for the replies so far.
I remember reading that sora gears are 'not the best' and should be avoided. Wheres as Tiagra (sp?) etc are better.
Oh well off to Evans for a browse.
As far as that Shimano goes, Sora is bottom of the line, then Tiagra, then 105, then Ultegra, then Dura Ace.I remember reading that sora gears are 'not the best' and should be avoided. Wheres as Tiagra (sp?) etc are better.
Oh well off to Evans for a browse.
(I may have mixed up 105 and Ultegra, I always do, bad memory
)Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff