Gav

I'm just in the midst of reading Lance Armstrongs book "It's not about the bike" and it's inspired me to get into riding. I was wanting to ask any experts on the subject who makes good bikes and what would be a good starter one for me? I've had a quick mooch and Trek and Derosa bikes come up alot. I'd want a good quality one as i belive you pay for what you get with this kind of thing.

gav..

PG

Fully spec'd up with campagnolo wheels and full groupset.
So much faster than my last bike which was a Giant.
Less choice with the road bike ranges in mainstream shops but this in turn saves bikes being produced with form over function.

dpb

Derosa, along with a handful of others have the name and pedigree to supply a wonderful bike - however your going to pay for it...
As mentioned ribble will do more or less the same for about 1/2 the cost.
personally id go for the new steel alloys that have become available...

cw42

iTrader: (1)

Gav, you have voicemail



That book made me cry on holiday Very strong willed guy lance Loved him in Dodgeball

Bluie

No connection to me, but worth a look

http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/upload/sh...ad.php?t=50828

Gav

Cheers guy's, chris i'll ring you when i'm back off holiday!

What size frame would i need, I'm about 5 foot 9?! Also is it best to get a carbon frame ar aluninium? Obviously the carbon one will be lighter but does this give better performance? Also is a sloping horizontal bar better than sloping??? I've had a look at the ribble website and most of it goes over my head

Gav..

PG

I would think 55cm suit.
I find the Alu. frames better, more ridged and better power transfer through the frame.
I think for the layperson a carbon frame is a bit OTT.

Gav

i've fallen in love with this!

£1800 though

So you think an alu frame would be a better starter bike PG?

cw42

iTrader: (1)

Gav, I have the perfect bike for you Cannondale r400 with shimano 105 groupset and mavic wheels. Nice and light, and in stealth black like the one above. Clipless pedals as well

Give us a ring asap your back in country

PG

Quality bike !
At the right price I may be interested myself

PG

The Trek is a very nice bike but you could save yourself a few hundred pounds and get something that would still be more than sufficent for your needs (he says on a Subaru bbs )
It is very much a 'horses for courses' type thing but you should go out and get a few test rides to see what suits you.
If you were to get in to road racing in a big way and were looking to save every gram possible then perhaps carbon would be the way to go but I just like the feel of the alu. frames better. The Ribble is so stiff, there is just no flex even when driving hard on a sprint.
If I were you I would have a serious look at the Cannondale being offered above. I run a Cannondale MTB and love it.

Paul

dpb

Not a lot of point in a lower end carbon fame , not as stiff as alu and not much more comfortable either - i have a Look 241 and a Cannondale ...
Previously i had a 531 steel which was total pleasure to ride - not as exciting or as light as the others of course but nicer. Thats why id go for one of the newest steel alloys..!

However youd do worse than the r400 above - i think thats the same frame i have ..

PG

Good ol' Reynolds

andyr

Your choice will be influenced by a number of issues such as how much you want to spend, how used to riding a road race bike you are, what you intend doing with it but you can spend £5000 but for £1000 you can get a bike that, compared to an MTB bike, will feel like a rocket.
If you're not particularly fit then you will want to consider one either with a triple front chainset or a compact chainset which give a slightly lower set of ratios than an all-out race bike.
The big brands such as Cannondale, DeRosa, Colnago etc sell bikes that are possibly worth the money but you obviously pay for the name a bit (the Italian brands especially so but then they have a certain cache)
Lesser names like Ribble tend these days to take a generic frame and stick their name on it - no bad thing as you get a good bike for less money. Ribble bikes are very well thought of in the VFM stakes.
You are probably best advised to try any bike that you like the sound of and if you go for a new bike then find a decent local bike shop that will let you test ride it.
Cannondales have a good rep for their aluminium frames but they are overly stiff/uncomfortable to some people : a decent saddle and quality shorts makes a difference here !
In theory a good carbon frame can be made so that it combines both stiffness and comfort which is more difficult but not impossible with aluminium.
Take your time when looking - maybe flick through a few bike mags (Cycling Weekly and Cycling plus) to see what is available - with the advent of cheap Asian sourced frames light, well made frames are becoming very affordable.

rr_ww

Without trying to sound rude.

Is it realy worth spending thousands on a bike if you're just starting out? Surely up to £5-600 would be more than sufficient. You may find you get a little sick of nearly being killed by stupid drivers not giving you much room when they pass you and if you've thrown £2K into a bike you stop using, you'll regret it.

IMO

PG

this looks interesting

Mr Bat

It's not often you hear of people wanting to get into road bikes !
Above all else get a bike you are semi comfortable on, you could be spending up to 5 hours at a time on it and in that time your neck and back could be killing you. I would also pay close attention to your leg length, your body length, I am exactly the same height as my mate but we have subtley different body proportions, meaning I can't ride his bike without major back pain. Ribble is always fantastic value for money.

Mr Bat

Oh i forgot, whatever you do, don't get a trek and wear discovery team kit............very sad !

Regacy

Looks like you're going to get lots of differing opinions, so here's mine.......
I spend a lot of time on my training bike and for me the most important issue is fit.
Unless you're looking at something custom (read lots and lots of cash) find a good specialist bike shop who will give you a proper going over before talking about frame size. The bikefit.com system works well for me.
People I rate
www.sigmasports.co.uk (very serious bike shop but run by genuine enthusiasts)
I shop at www.triandrun.co.uk which is a specialist triathlon shop but if you're in the Essex area don't let that put you off, they know more about bikes than the vast majority of so called specialists.

If you can find the right fit brand doesn't really matter, and the wrong sized bike will be slow regardless of how much of it is carbon!

Hope you make a good choice and enjoy it.
R

Butkus

I'm into road bikes, and have been out on it today in fact!

If you haven't done any/much road riding recently, I'd suggest you try to get a ride on the roads to see if you like it. It can be a bit scary at times, and lately I've actually been questioning whether I want to carry on with it. It's more of a personal feeling I've been having regarding my own mortality, and I'm sure most others that do it don't give it as much thought. Maybe you might prefer a mountain bike - more chance of a 'spill', but less chance of being mown down by a big truck!

Anyway, I'm not trying to put you off, but just thought it's something you should think about.

When it comes to bikes, there are so many choices - Aluminium, Titanium, Carbon, Steel, Shimano, Campagnolo, cheap, expensive etc etc.. As others have suggested, there are a couple of magazines available that might be a good starting point.

Also try hanging about at www.roadbikereview.com to pick up some extra information. It's mainly Americans, but there's a lot of information on there.

I got my bike from www.maestro-uk.com which is down near Bognor. It's a fairly small shop, with just one guy who builds your bike to order. He specialises in Colnago, but also sells a couple of other makes too.

As suggested before, www.sigmasport.co.uk in Kingston are very good too.

To start off with, I'd have thought you'd be fine with something lower down the Specialized or Trek range, but if money's no object, then just splash on a £5k Colnago!

Good luck :-)

cw42

iTrader: (1)

Butkus, my sentiments exactly, and the reason I'm getting rid of my road bike. I do fear for my own safety on the roads these days, and have lost the edge when it comes to road riding. Much rather potter along the canal towpath now on my 4000sl

Crippo

Get the Trek OCLV is the best carbon frame in the world- has a life time warranty and has the best ride quality. Lance rode the 5200 that you are looking at in 2001 & 2002 Tour de Frances. The frame is the most important part of the bike the whole ride quality is dictated by this - buy the best you can afford as you lose money everytime you trade. Bikes are only worth around 50% of original value within 1 year.
Welcome to the world of Bike Riding.

r32

This seems like good advice, a good 600 pound bike will allow you to see if you like the sport without spending thousands. If you can find a good local bike shop and keep your first purchase in good condition they should be able to trade it in if you wish to continue and upgrade.

I tend to do more mounting biking as I get scared ****less on the road. Car drivers have little regard to cyclists, but cycling is a good way of keeping fit.......

Mr Bat

Who says it’s the best and most comfortable frame in the world? I personally wouldn’t want to spend £1,800 and have a bike adorned with Bontrager products either.

It is the best bike if you are an Armstrong fan.

dpb

Its certainly ONE of the best - however bought new as a first purchase would be daft!

Mr Bat

Agreed, don't do it first timer !

At the highest levels there isn’t much to choose between bikes apart from appearance and this is one area that trek falls down on.

Jonathan Davies

Something steel framed.

Aluminium frames ride harshly imo... steel feels great in comparison. You could also get a carbon or matrix frame but that's like passing your test and buying a race car...

For me, I'd be looking at a good British made steel frame. Italians are fantastic bikebuilders but I reckon a Ribble or a Chas Roberts is better value.

Why add to Trek's fat profits by buying an ally frame made in a chinese factory when you can have one made by a craftsman?

I have an agenda in that I hated my Trek - overpriced even with 40% off and very uninspiring to ride.

Jonathan Davies

Or if you're feeling well 'ard, you could go for a fixed wheel job... for the purist or the macho courier.

Like so:

http://www.on-one.co.uk/index.php?mo...position=95:95

Regacy

2 things
1 Buying a single speed or fixed wheel bike as your first road bike would be like learning to drive in a race prepped touring car.
2 On-one's single speed road bike (The Pompino) is Italian for blow-job

So you'd look like a right **** on all fronts
R

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

None of the following are mine, but all are worth a look, esp the first:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-TITANIUM-F...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Titanium-Road-...QQcmdZViewItem

Alcazar