Road Bikes For Beginners

Marathon Man

After years of mountain biking i have decided it would be interesting to start road racing. i have a budget of between 500-800 euro ( i know its not much) and i would be grateful for any help or suggestions anyone could give me. These are the 4 bikes i have in mind:
Lapierre S-Tech 200 http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=35&idproduct=12400

Giant SCR 3.0 http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=35&idproduct=11627

Trek 1000 http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=35&idproduct=15454

Specialized Allez http://www.cycleways.com/store/product/33815/07-Specialized-Allez-52-d/

hunnymonster

get fitted and see which one suits your dimensions best. The best bike is the one that fits correctly.

Your Man

OP i was in the exact same category until i bought a trek 1000 (2007) yesterday for a considerably cheaper price than the one in the link...and i upgraded the tyres from them bontrager ones which i heard are the weakest aspect of the bike..

Marathon Man

Your Man wrote:

i upgraded the tyres from them bontrager ones which i heard are the weakest aspect of the bike..

i heard the exact same thing. where did you get your trek?

Quigs Snr

Equipment wise, I would skip the stech. Although its a nice bike. I would go with the specialised, at this price point there is really very little in it, but I think in terms of value for money the trek and the specialised are a little better than both the giant and the lapierre.

A mate is trying to make the same choice as you are and I have been taking him through the pros and cons, I have ridden the trek and the allez as well as the lapierre (not that particular giant, but I have ridden the SCR2 and the OCR4). Not much in it to be honest. But the trek felt good (I would expect that this is because it is similar geometry to my training bike, which is also a trek, albeit somewhat higher specced being a carbon trek 5500, dura-ace all round etc...). My main race bike is a compact from like the others you mention, the lapierre has rubbish equipment, the giant is a bit better, the specialised to me though just felt more like my own race bike than any of the others. A decent wheel upgrade and it would be a fine bike, I have seen lads race on these. Shame you cannot afford a Shimano 105 equipped bike though (upgradability is significantly improved if you can find one of those in your price range, all parts are interchangeable then with Ultegra and Dura Ace).

Although you can't go wrong with any of them, my general feeling is go for the trek or the specialised. Different shapes, so make sure to test ride them first.

Membrane

Have you considered buying used? You'd be able to get a much higher spec bike for your budget.

I've been looking at a Giant Compact Road 2004 with an Ultegra groupset, Mavic Cosmos wheels. It is advertised for E750 without pedals, so you'll have to factor in the price of a decent set of cleat pedals, and cleat shoes if you don't have any. It's beyond my budget and I don't think that it's double chainring would suffice for me personally. But it does strike me as a lot of bike for the money.

It's listed on buyandsell.ie: http://www.buyandsell.ie/browse.php?quicksearch=&textopt=all&ofr_wan=ofr&priv_trade=priv&area=1100&s=24&g=00329&price1=&price2=&daysonline=0&bSearch=Search&sort=p&dir=d&

Drapper

hunnymonster wrote:

get fitted and see which one suits your dimensions best. The best bike is the one that fits correctly.

agree with this too!

iregk

I'm in this boat too so I'm wondering what people think are the reasons for choosing the La Pierre S tech over an SCR 3 or 4. Thats the price range I'm looking at.

Marathon Man

Man one would think that purchasing a low end racing bike would be easy. but not so. Conflicting opinions from shop staff coupled with a feeling that i should perhaps add another couple of hundred euro have made my decision difficult. Each bike has something better that the other lacks it seems. Overall though it seems that the specialized is the winner but now that I've looked around I'm also considering a giant scr 2.0. i guess that at any price buying a bike is a hard decision. it seems that components are a major factor in price. Another key point is to shop around. Even though it doesn't seem much one can get the same bike in different stores with up to 50 euro difference. That would get you a nice jersey or a nice accessory.

Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

Lazairus

look trek 1000 all the way, great starting bike ,a mate of mine has one, and it does the job 100%, its great for touring / classic events, i mean i own a ocr4 which is grand bike , albeit bit heaver and harder to work , but the minute i stepped on his bike i felt such a difference,
the trek , or scr2 , you can always upgrade the actual bike for 200 euros , (ultegra 105's )

the botranger tires are fine , in fact the will work grand for the first few months, but if u feel like it it wont cost much to upgrade the tires , ie 30 - 50 euro, but try buy your bike out of a cycling magazine . Call in to the local cyclists in your local club, they will give you the best advice

i would choose the scr 2,for my second choice , it is a great bike also, ,
so it up to u to decide!?!?!?!?:D

Pride Fighter

There is a Peugeot racer for 50 quid in the buy and sell. has no brakes though.

rew-non

here are sum of da bikes im tinking about

trek 1000

giant scr 3.0

lapierre s tech 300