First Road Bike - Under £500

[sagarich]

I'm looking for my first road bike, predominately for a short 3 mile commute to the office and back. It may also be used for longer fun rides with my brother in law.

Considering a 2018 Pinnacle Laterite 2 which seems to tick all the boxes as a novice, but have I overlooked anything else?

Also, as it's a business purchase I'm looking at new bikes only.

Thanks in advance.

[Phil Dicky]

I've a Cube Peleton that I commute on bit further than you on at 6 miles. Was £700 when I got it but do crop up second hand for a lot less. My point being have you considered a used example. So many people take up cycling...then bin it off 2 months later. Meaning there are some lightly used bargains out there.

[Dannbodge]

You'll be able to pick up a decent second hand Specialized Allez for less than that.

Again as above, people buy them on C2W and decide they don't actually like it, so sell them 1 yr later.

£300 for a bike and then £50-£100 for a service at your LBS will get you up and running with something decent.

[Barchettaman]

This may be useful:

http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/217632-10-best...

[sagarich]

Barchettaman said:

This may be useful:

http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/217632-10-best...

Thanks, already read this... However it reads more like a generic lazy top 10 round up, merely for SEO purposes and didn’t fill me with confidence that these bikes had actually been ridden by the rider.

[sagarich]

Dannbodge said:

You'll be able to pick up a decent second hand Specialized Allez for less than that.

£300 for a bike and then £50-£100 for a service at your LBS will get you up and running with something decent.

Phil Dicky said:

I've a Cube Peleton that I commute on bit further than you on at 6 miles. Was £700 when I got it but do crop up second hand for a lot less. My point being have you considered a used example. So many people take up cycling...then bin it off 2 months later. Meaning there are some lightly used bargains out there.

I’m one of those joining a C2W scheme, so it need to be new I’m afraid.

[MOBB]

Decathlon and Go Outdoors do some v good bikes at that price level

[Barchettaman]

sagarich said:

Thanks, already read this... However it reads more like a generic lazy top 10 round up, merely for SEO purposes and didn’t fill me with confidence that these bikes had actually been ridden by the rider.

Possibly. That Roux looks like a good choice for an all-weather commuter, although you’ll need to know how to dial in cantilever brakes.

[timbob]

sagarich said:

I'm looking for my first road bike, predominately for a short 3 mile commute to the office and back. It may also be used for longer fun rides with my brother in law.

Considering a 2018 Pinnacle Laterite 2 which seems to tick all the boxes as a novice, but have I overlooked anything else?

Also, as it's a business purchase I'm looking at new bikes only.

Thanks in advance.

The Pinnacle you’ve mentioned looks pretty good actually. The equivalently priced Boardman at Halfords is kitted out with gears one tier lower down the Shimano pecking order. I the Claris line is the lowest level you’re likely to find on bikes at this price. Sora is next best, followed by Tiagra. If you can find a bike with Tiagra gears/brakes/shifters at this price, consider it well equipped.

The Evans own line Pinnacle stuff is pretty well thought of and they’ve got the economies of scale so you’re getting a reasonable amount of bike for the money.

Also worth a look is the range of Triban road bikes at Decathlon - they are always well reviewed, I think the Triban 5 is the one for around the £500 mark? They use a different company (microshift, I think) for gears but they seem to be well thought of.

The other option is to discover and look at your local bike shop. They may have a link to Giant/Cube/Trek etc and might be able to do a still new but old stock, last seasons model at a good price on the CTW scheme.

Good luck!

[g7jhp]

What size bike do you need OP?

I'd look to buy a bike from a bike shop which is either 'old stock' or a 'demo' bike and get a higher spec bike as the price has been reduced.

Plenty about at this time of year as shops start to clear out stock.

[sagarich]

timbob said:

The Pinnacle you’ve mentioned looks pretty good actually. The equivalently priced Boardman at Halfords is kitted out with gears one tier lower down the Shimano pecking order. I the Claris line is the lowest level you’re likely to find on bikes at this price. Sora is next best, followed by Tiagra. If you can find a bike with Tiagra gears/brakes/shifters at this price, consider it well equipped.

The Evans own line Pinnacle stuff is pretty well thought of and they’ve got the economies of scale so you’re getting a reasonable amount of bike for the money.

Good luck!

That was my thinking. Even the cheapest £599 Specialized Allez E5 is running Claris, so the Pinnacle looks like good value.

I'm going to pop down to my local Evans with a view to purchase a Pinnacle, unless they have anything interesting in the old stock section.

[mikees]

Surely with some some of these comparisons would it not be better to buy a 2nd hand one yourself rather than a comedy equipped one (£600 for Claris Allez) on CTW?

M

[Steve91]

For the money I can't look past Decathlon and their B'Twin range. I've got the entry level Triban 500 and its fantastic.

[smn159]

Steve91 said:

For the money I can't look past Decathlon and their B'Twin range. I've got the entry level Triban 500 and its fantastic.

I had one as my first road bike - excellent value

[Jiebo]

Another vote for Decathalon's Triban 500. It's £350 so under budget too.

I have nothing to compare it to, but it's fairly light and the gears change quickly and smoothly. Only negative so far are the brakes, they do stop when needed from a high speed, but they feel slightly weak around town.

I've started getting into urban cycling since I bought it and will be looking to demo some mid range bikes to see what the difference is.