Road Bikes...

[McFsC]

Okay, I'm purchasing a road bike for the first time after realising my MTB is no good for commuting the times that I want. I'm just looking for the best value for money bike. I understand I'm not going to get the best bike in the world but something that represents the money I'm going to spend will do me.

Budget: £800 MAX

I've spotted this as a first option. Anyone suggest better or tell me it's rubbish for £800?

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Specialized-Secteur-Eli...

[Jimbo.]

Provided it fits (as always), it'll be absolutely bang-on You'll be hard pushed to beat that, TBH.

EDIT: £800, 10sp Tiagra, the bonus of a "big name" (and, IIRC, Specialized lifetime warranty on the frame) and, from what hear from those who've owned/ridden them...just a damn good bike. I feel a little bit envious now: could've done with that when looking for a C2W bike!

Edited by Jimbo. on Saturday 4th August 18:39

Edited by Jimbo. on Saturday 4th August 18:40

[LotusMartin]

Check out the Merlin Malt-R, carbon fork, decent frame, reasonable wheels Tiagra groupset. £559 shipped with the extra 10% offer at the moment. Its 9kg (i called them) Leave you come cash for pedals and a Garmin Edge 800 which you know you need!!

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/bikes/road-b...

[McFsC]

Jimbo. said:

Provided it fits (as always), it'll be absolutely bang-on You'll be hard pushed to beat that, TBH.

EDIT: £800, 10sp Tiagra, the bonus of a "big name" (and, IIRC, Specialized lifetime warranty on the frame) and, from what hear from those who've owned/ridden them...just a damn good bike. I feel a little bit envious now: could've done with that when looking for a C2W bike!

Edited by Jimbo. on Saturday 4th August 18:39

Edited by Jimbo. on Saturday 4th August 18:40

Cheers, superb review. The best thing is, it's from a very local bike shop so I will be able to pick it up/try the fit at my leisure.

Also a good point about pedals and 'stuff'. I think I'm going to start with the net type and work my way up to the clips so £800 for the bike and then I'll find some spare cash for the pedals.

Got a lot of gear for my MTB that can transfer over ( computer, lights etc... ) so it is only pedals that I will need.

[Jimbo.]

re. pedals: on the assumption that finances aren't restrictive (be it now or later), seek out some Shimano M520 pedals: yer' benchmark clipless pedal. £20 a pair (tops - ebay often has them for £10-15) and they'll last forever + 1 day. You'll require shoes of course (so a touch more £££), but should you wish to go down the clipless pedals route, it's the best way.

[McFsC]

The reason the bike budget is what it is, is because it's a present. The few months after it I can spend some on my spare dosh on pedals, new computer and other little bits.

I'll remember the model though and definatly keep them in mind for when the time comes.

[nammynake]

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/roadbikes/bike.html?b=25...

[McFsC]

Okay, that looks a good bike but technically I have no idea.

Best value for money anyone?

[Comfortably Dumb]

If there was one answer we'd all be riding the same bikes. Unfortunately there isn't, personally I went with the bike that I liked most from my local bike shops. That way I could ride it befire purchase and have local support.

I could have got 'better' value by but something online.

Also, do budget for accessories such as pedals, at this level bikes either come with incredibly cheap plastic ones or none at all because it's assumed that the rider will change them to their preferred choice. If you buy locally the shop owner will most likely do you a deal.

[Jimbo.]

McFsC said:

Okay, that looks a good bike but technically I have no idea.

Best value for money anyone?

The Specialized, as you can try it for it which you can't do with the Canyon. This is your first road bike, so it pays to make the effort to try things out and see what fits. Once you've some miles under your wheels and you know what works/what doesn;t work for you, then take a punt and buy bikes online. But for now...

FWIW the Canyon has better wheels, but that's about it as far as I see (skim reading). Suspect there's little between the Tiagra gears of the Specialized and the Apex gears of the Canyon.

[McFsC]

That's what I am thinking regarding buying locally. At the minute, that Specialized is the first option due to the fact it's from a shop less than 15 miles away.

However if that Canyon is 'worth' much more than the £800 then I would buy that, I just have no idea or experiance in riding road bikes or buying them, which is why I've come here hoping you lot would share me your thoughts!

[HereBeMonsters]

Any of the big three will be competitive at that price, also consider Cube.

[MocMocaMoc]

I was in a similar position a couple weeks back and went for a Boardman.

The road snobs will scoff, and I've only my MTB to compare, but it's a cracking bike!

[McFsC]

Cheers, I've been looking closely at the Boardman as again, I can go to Halfords and try it for size.

Do all road bikes change gear by pushing the brake levers, if not, what other types are there?

[Jimbo.]

McFsC said:

Cheers, I've been looking closely at the Boardman as again, I can go to Halfords and try it for size.

Do all road bikes change gear by pushing the brake levers, if not, what other types are there?

For all road bikes, the shifters are on/around the brake levels, but not necessarily the brake levers themselves.
Shimano (their "Sora" range aside) shift gears by using the brake lever itself (pushing it inwards towards the centre of the bars) and a smaller lever/paddle immediately behind the brake lever, again pushed inwards. The brake lever pulls, the paddle releases.

SRAM doesn't use the brake lever for shifting: that's done by the lever/paddle behind the brake lever for shifting in both directions. Push the lever a little bit to "release", push it a bit further inwards to "pull". They call it "Double Tap"

Campagnolo doesn't use the brake lever, either. It has a small lever on the top/inside of the hoods to "pull", and like Shimano has a small paddle behind the brake lever to "release".

They all have their plus and minus points. For most riders, the biggest difference is the shape of the hoods and how you "get on" with the shifting method. The biggest differences in performance come from the set-up

[McFsC]

Ahhh right, I see.

If they are set up properly, is there any difference in speed/smoothness of shift or do both types 'work'.

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

[Jimbo.]

McFsC said:

Ahhh right, I see.

If they are set up properly, is there any difference in speed/smoothness of shift or do both types 'work'.

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Not really. The only real difference will be how heavy/light the shifters feel, and how "tactile" the shift is (for example, Shimano snicks in oh-so-quietly, whereas Campagnolo tends to go with a nice click/clack fashion).

[jamcam23]

Going to chuck this in here, just got one myself, a beast of a bike

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/felt/f85-2012-...

[HereBeMonsters]

Interesting you say how odd it feels. All my mates who went from hybrids or MTBs to road bikes have all struggled to adjust, one had his first ride on his new roadie today and went so far as to give up half way and get on the train with it as he couldn't hack it.

I've not had a problem with mine (Trek 2.1) at all. I like the bars, the riding position is a bit arse in the air, but that's to be expected. Makes it easier to change positions to use the different leg muscles. It's no more bumpy than my old rigid cross country MTB (in fact, the carbon forks make it a tad less jarring on the hands!) and the saddle is actually softer than my Cube LTD Race. I don't see what the problem is. Is it like people that only ever driven one car?

[okgo]

Standing to climb is usually very inefficient, there is a point where you can only get more power by standing, but for most climbs, no matter how steep, seated is better.