Buying my first road bike

[S.Esposito]

Hi everyone, I´ll be going to look at the road bike range from Evans cycles next week (had a look online too). I am wondering is it better for me to stick to a ladies bike rather than a mens? I´m 5´4 and if I can get away with it, i´d rather get a mens bike if it´s going to be much cheaper.

 

I´m looking for a good bike, which manufacturers would you recommend?

 

Really like the look and specs of the Specialized, Felt, Trek and Cannondale bikes but they all look good.

 

Also It looks like i´m eligible for the ride 2 work scheme so i´m going to buy something decent

[Guest]

Hi. I hear those are good bikes although some people have commented that felts are prone to cracking. As for ladies specicfic bikes, I don't know what differene it makes. Have a look at what the female racers are riding. I'm sure they have it right.

[LenMcD]

Be careful with the ride-to-work. I got a bike on Cyclescheme and when I signed up the rules were that after paying over a year I would pay a 'token' amount to own the bike outright. I spent nearly the max £1000 on the bike and accesories.

When it came to the end of the year they told me the rules had changed and that I would have to either;

1. Hand the bike back (and the well used acessories)

2 Pay £200 pounds to keep the bike outright or

3 Pay £54 and renew the 'rental' for another 3 years but pay no more monthly payments.

 

I chose option 3 which means that I do not actually own the bike for another 3 years and I will need to wait to see what the final payment will be.

 

It seems that a change in rules makes the Final Value payment 20% or theeabouts of the purchase price for bikes over £500.

 

The savings therefore are substantially less than I had anticipated.

 

I bought another bike without using the scheme and got a 2011 model with a saving of over £300 and also on interest free credit (Bought online from Hargroves as Evans couldn't provide the size I needed. They would have price matched). This seems a much better deal to me.

 

Have a good look before signing up to Cyclescheme, I understand that there will be some kind of VAT addition in January 2012.

 

Also some shops won't allow 'sale' bikes on Cyclescheme.

 

As to the bikes, in my humble opinion if you are going to do a considerable amount of cycling you should buy the best you can afford as when the bug bites upgrading parts is expensive. Bike manufacturers get parts a lot cheaper than we can and can sell bikes with good components for a lot less than it would cost you to buy a lower spec. bike and upgrade.

A lot of magazines etc. do tests for bikes. BIKERADAR on the internet seem to be fairly honest in their opinions.

 

Enjoy your bike when you get it and beware, when the bug bites it bites hard!!!

Len

[S.Esposito]

Len, after what you said I´m a little put off the idea of the scheme, I know some companies do interest free credit on buying which I prefer to do at least the bike is mine.

 

My budget is £1000 too, hopefully i´ll get something nice with that

[Richie Cross]

A few folk at work have just came to the end of their cycle to work scheme and as Len says, they aren't too happy with their payments etc.

The likes of Tesco and M&S do interest free credit card for 15 months if you think you could pay it off.

Have a look at Ribble who have a bike builder where you can change the spec of things.

I think their basic bike comes in around £600.

 

I used Ribble to get a basic bike to see if I was getting into cycling and then upgraded when the bug caught.

You could get a Ribble winter frame and see how you feel next year.

 

Just make sure you get Campag

[S.Esposito]

Cool thanks for the advice Richie, I think I could pay it off in 12 months instead of 15. Does Evans cycles do interest free credit? If they do that would be perfect.

 

Also just looked at Ribble, they´re bikes look awesome for the money, are they a good manufacturer like Specialized? I´ve never heard of them.

 

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikebuild ... BRC&bike=1

[chung]

Hi Sarah,

 

Welcome to the mad and wonderful world of cycling.

 

If your budget is £1000, then you have a good selection of choice for your first road bike. All the well known brand you mentioned & Ribble included are safe bets to go for, you can also look at Halfords CBoardmans bikes, they are really good value for money. You will have to do some home work on that, it's also a personal choice as to what you find pleasing in terms of look. You can get a really great aluminium bike or a starter Carbon bike with your £1000, the choice is yours.

 

The one important thing you need to watch out for is SIZE, I would say it's the most important issue here once you have chosen the model & brand as the wrong size of bike can cause all sorts of problem in the long run.

 

Don't take the frame size that manufacturer put on their frame on face value, different manufacturer measure their frames size differently i.e: some to top of top tube, some to middle of top tube & some to top of seat tup collar from the middle of the bottom bracket. If it's a compact frame, then it's even more confusing. This is confusing and can be misleading, so when you size a bike frame, alway ask for the true or effective TOP TUBE length, this is the true size in which a bike frame is measured weather it fits you or not.

 

I am 5'7" and ride bikes with a 53.5mm top tube, so I reckoned you might need one that's around 51 to 52cm (rough guess). Generally speaking, Female have shorter torso than men, but longer legs, that's why you will find woman specific bikes have shorter top tube length. Personally I would go for something a tad smaller as you can use longer stems or saddle position to get that extra adjustments, it's more difficult to do so if the frame is too big for you.

 

If you go to a bike shop, ask for a size fitting service if they have one (they should) and try the bike(s) on the turbo rollers to get a feel of it first before you take it for a test ride (again most bike shop will provide them too). Don't be pressurise into buyer a bike that don't fit you, some bike shops can be guilty of doing that either knowingly or not to get the sale.

 

Bottom line is, spend you hard earn cash wisely and your purchase will give you immense fun and satisfaction........even the buying process.

 

Happy shopping, I hope I haven't confuse you. Any more question, please feel free to ask.

 

P.S On the note of Ritchie's suggestion of Campagnolo v. Shimano, I use Campag, but stick to Shimano or Sram, it's cheaper and more readily available if you want repair. Oh, sh.t, I've offended a lot of people by saying this!

 

Cheers

 

Chung

[Richie Cross]

Cool thanks for the advice Richie, I think I could pay it off in 12 months instead of 15. Does Evans cycles do interest free credit? If they do that would be perfect.

 

Also just looked at Ribble, they´re bikes look awesome for the money, are they a good manufacturer like Specialized? I´ve never heard of them.

 

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikebuild ... BRC&bike=1

 

Ribble, like a lot of places have their frames made in the Far East and then badge them up over here.

They're certainly good value for money and a few club members have them as winter bikes.

 

Have a read here - http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/index.php?c=4 using the search function for Ribble and you'll see plenty. Some people complain about their customer service on occasion but I've never had a problem.

 

With regards to your link to the Ribble bike, personally I'd try to get 10 speed. With the likes of Campag already on 11sp, you might find having a 9 sp will make it harder to upgrade bits later, if you wish to.

 

Don't listen to Chung. Campag is Italian and therefore cool. History, heritage etc etc.....even though only about 2 pro teams use it these days. The Campag hoods are smaller so might be better for your hands.

 

Oh...if you get decent wheels, don't let them down by getting rubbish tyres. It's worth spending the money on good tyres. All about rolling resistance or something

[S.Esposito]

Hey I have Italian blood in me so I´ll go Italian

 

They seem to have a wide range of choice of tyres as with wheels, i´d get carbon if I had a bigger budget for sure they´re awesome

 

Only big issue I have is being female, 48 frame is available, though I wonder if I can reach the handlebars with ease? Don´t think anywhere stocks them to try either. Kind sold on the Ribble bikes they´re reviews are positive.

[Richie Cross]

Worth having a look at Evans because they'll have girls bikes and with Trek and Specialized having a lot on offer, you may get a deal.

Have a look for deals when the 2012 stock comes out.

[S.Esposito]

Evan´s cycles seem to have a good selection of womens bikes but I liked Ribble because I could customize so much and they have a 48 frame too. I am just wondering if I should contact Ribble and ask them about the suitability of their bikes for me too. Seem to get a lot of bike for the money, and not to mention carbon frame.

[Jannza]

I'm 5'4 and ride a women's specific giant road bike.

Shorter top tube and narrower handlebars.

 

Dooleys the club sponsor are dealers for several manufacturers and I'm sure could find you something good for your money.

 

I've tested all my bikes for size by riding beforehand and wouldn't buy without having a test ride.

 

Your welcome to have a shot on mine. 46cm with 50 top tube.

[S.Esposito]

Hey, thanks Jannza thats very kind of you.

 

I was looking at the bike build from Ribble and they´re handle bars come in 38cm (smallest) is that small for us women?

 

If I can get away with it I´m going to buy one from them as I can get a XS frame 44cm. I´ve seen photos of their smallest bike and youths ride them. Not to mention the excellent reviews from bike radar. It could be promising

 

I´m going to call them on monday but still going to visit Evans cycles and Dooley´s.

[LenMcD]

Last I was in Evans they were doing interest free on some bikes so might be worth a visit. Dales in Glasgow also had some interest free bikes.

 

As has been said before get a good fit. I sized my new one in Evans but found they couldn't get the spec of the bike I wanted in the right size. Evans will price match as well.

At 6'3'' I thought my XXL specialized was a good fit but having now got an XL (58'') Scott find it to be so much more comfortable. I am going to alter the stem on the Specialized to get roughly the same cockpit as the Scott.

 

Len

[S.Esposito]

No problem, i´m going to check all my options before committing to buy.

 

Which wheels would you recommend clinchers or tubular? A lot of them seem to be very heavy, does it really matter for cycling here?

[LenMcD]

If you can afford to pay up front Wiggle have a 20% off everything voucher code until Tuesday 27th. You can get a Focus Cayo 105 for £800. A real bargain.

 

Len

[HMC]

Hey I have Italian blood in me so I´ll go Italian .

 

 

yeah, Italian road bikes...its the way forward...!!!

[S.Esposito]

If you can afford to pay up front Wiggle have a 20% off everything voucher code until Tuesday 27th. You can get a Focus Cayo 105 for £800. A real bargain.

 

Len

 

I´m afraid I wouldn´t be able to pay upfront but I could put a deposit in and take out finance, of course i´d pay it off no problem. It´s a pity that I don´t have a spare £800 lying around though lol.

 

I have a really silly question but how do you work out your seat height and reach length? I think I have a short torso.

[LenMcD]

I have finally got my seat height etc sorted. Trial and error was how I did it. If you buy from a shop try to swing a 'fit' in with the sale.

[S.Esposito]

Cool thanks Len

[S.Esposito]

Hi all, I was at Evan´s cycles in Braehead and was helped by Mark (knows most of you pretty well).

 

I was a little disappointed that there were no Specialized bikes in store however I tried a ladies Fuji supreme 2.0 (50cm frame) and I didn´t really like it. However I prefered the unisex bikes. I also tried their own dolomite (49cm frame) and it felt great. I was surprised that I would be able to ride a unisex bike and both were bigger than what was recommended. I am 5´4 and I am still going ahead with a Ribble bike, however their XS frame is 44cm-46cm, the sales rep from Ribble advised me that it would be fine for me but I think it sounds too small??? The small is 47cm-50cm.

 

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