Advice on buying a road bike

paddyb

Hey Everyone

Just found this forum and I'm looking to buy a road bike.
Im doing a charity cycle across Cuba next March. I have a budget of around €600 but I dont know very about much about road bikes and I would like to know what I should be looking for before I head in to a shop or what the best shops are (I'm living in Dublin).

Any advice is appreciated

Paddy

Morgan

Will you have to carry any luggage on the cycle or will there be a support vehicle?

Any idea what the road surfaces will be like over there?

Are you comfortable riding dropped handlebars?

paddyb

the roads are nearly all tarmac and there is a support vehicle.

I have been on bikes with dropped handlebars before - a long time ago! but I was fine

paddyb

someone has recommended a Giant SCR 3 to me??

paddyb

someone has recommended a Giant SCR 3 to me??

beans

At that price you're either talking about entry-level brand-new or higher-specification second-hand.

Specialized, Giant, Kona, Trek, Lapierre are all makes that spring to mind - Google their offerings and then check buy&sell, adverts.ie etc to see if you can find some bargains.

Aside from that, check out their entry-level offerings to get an idea of what's to be had For that money you're talking Aluminium tubing with Shimano Sora gears.

Ghost Rider

Agreed. You will get more bike for your buck in the UK but, then again, you won't get the service. If you're not sure what size you should get particularly, it's a risky strategy. I'd buy here in Ireland, even if it means spending an extra hundred quid.

People seem to agree that Shimano Sora gearing (as featured on the Giant SCR 3.0) is fine for beginner road cyclists or for commuters. I have Sora on a Giant bike and it's perfectly fine. Frankly, if you haven't cycled a road bike in many years, I think even Sora will represent a huge leap forward from the old-style gears of the 70s and 80s.

The only thing about Sora is that it isn't as upgradeable as some other Shimano groupsets. The next level up, Tiagra, is supposed to be upgradeable, but you'd be looking at around 840 brick for a bike with Tiagra derailleurs and shifters. The cheapest I've seen in Ireland is the Giant SCR 2.0 in Wheelworx.

To be honest, if you're not sure how much you'll be getting into cycling, I'd go with the Giant SCR 3.0, as recommended. I've noticed that there's much more demand for second-hand entry-level bikes around here, so if you decide you don't like it, I'd say you'll have no trouble shifting it (no horrible pun intended).

beans wrote:

At that price you're either talking about entry-level brand-new or higher-specification second-hand.

Specialized, Giant, Kona, Trek, Lapierre are all makes that spring to mind - Google their offerings and then check buy&sell, adverts.ie etc to see if you can find some bargains.

Aside from that, check out their entry-level offerings to get an idea of what's to be had For that money you're talking Aluminium tubing with Shimano Sora gears.

paddyb

i think I will use it alot but I dont really want to go over €700. Wheelworx have the scr 3 for 700 or a trek 1000 for about the same price

beans

The general advice from those in the know is that the main difference between comparable models will lie in how they feel under you - get a bike that fits (height, reach to the handlebars etc) and test-ride each company's offering until you find the one that hits the sweet spot

I run Sora on my commuter and find it AOK

blorg

Try both and see which you prefer, I'd possibly go for the Trek if the price is similar. Best of both worlds if you can get a Trek 1000 at a discount, as it has been discontinued but the replacement is lower-spec.