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Help in choosing a good road bike

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john89
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Help in choosing a good road bike

Post by john89 »

Hi all,

I'm a newbie when it comes to bikes so I'm after a bit of advice on what to look for in a bike. I'm looking to buy a new bike in the £200 GBP (ish); range, but the chose is frankly mind numbing. I will be using the bike every day, mainly to get to work and back home so it will have to be fairly rugged (and as light as possible, within my budget, to help cope with the very hilly terrain around the area that I live).

I was thinking either a mountain bike or a hybrid bike. I was told by a friend that disk breaks are not really that good and can be expensive to replace, he advised me to stick to normal V-type brakes?

I don't want a full suspension bike as I already got one and don't like it. Any advise that anyone can give me on this matter will be gratefully received.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post.

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unc.si.
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Re: Help in choosing a good road bike

Post by unc.si. »

Not really sure at that price point, but just avoid the Halfords and supermarket rubbish (some OK stuff at Halfords to be fair - carrera's are usually OK).

Disk brakes are fantastic, but at that price you won't get decent ones, so yes, v brakes.

I'd have a look at the Wiggle own brand hybrid or MTB's. They're fairly basic but OK for the money.

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Moist von Lipwig
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Re: Help in choosing a good road bike

Post by Moist von Lipwig »

I can't look now, but Google road.cc best bikes under £500. Think there may be some at that price.

I believe the decathlon triban 3 is considered about the best of that range, but they're about 300, think can often get last year's model for about 200 but it's random on frame sizes.

hancockjr
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Re: Help in choosing a good road bike

Post by hancockjr »

unc.si. wrote: 26 Jun 2016, 13:09 Not really sure at that price point, but just avoid the Halfords and supermarket rubbish (some OK stuff at Halfords to be fair - carrera's are usually OK).

Disk brakes are fantastic, but at that price you won't get decent ones, so yes, v brakes.

I'd have a look at the Wiggle own brand hybrid or MTB's. They're fairly basic but OK for the money.
Is this still the case? I'm probably joining the cycle2work scheme at work which gets a great discount on bikes but you are tied to Halfords - Are the Carrera's still ok, and are there any other credible options?

Many thanks

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unc.si.
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Re: Help in choosing a good road bike

Post by unc.si. »

Carrera Subway 2 from Halfords is the default at that sort of price. Think some of the Voodoo ones are OK as well,

Disc brakes pretty much the default now and the cheaper ones have got better. They'll still squeal like bigger in the wet, but at least you won't need a bell :D

To be honest, there are so many Subway's around they must be OK. They get pretty good reviews as well. Just keep the drivetrain clean and adjusted and you'll enjoy riding it. Think they're about £300. For that you get a proper bike with Shimano, SRAM, Tektro etc components. Go much cheaper or try to get suspension for that sort of price and you'll hate it.

If you can push the price a bit more then Boardmans are good value for money (Halfords sell them) and are decent bikes. All over £500 though I think.

It's easy to be snobbish about Halfords but their bread and butter is shifting high volumes of cheap bikes and they do offer pretty good value. They've definitely got better than they used to be, although the variable quality of their mechanics that build the bikes up does mean you still get the odd horror story.

hancockjr
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Re: Help in choosing a good road bike

Post by hancockjr »

Thanks. I think they work out about half price in the end so I can push the price a little. I'll look at the ones you suggest.

In general is it better to go upper end of a cheaper range, or cheaper end of a more expensive range, or is there no clear rule - more depends on the specific model etc?

Rachel83
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Re: Help in choosing a good road bike

Post by Rachel83 »

Thank you for sharing. I am going to buy bike it will help me.

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