Buying a bike advice

thebuzz

I don't know much about bikes, just know I'm thinking of replacing my old one I've had for years.

I have no idea what sort of bike I should be looking for. I'm not like a mad professional cyclist but want to start into it more and I just find my current bike not great for cycling distances. I would like a race bike but it seems well over my budget, so is the next best thing a Hybrid? I've a budget of about €200 or so, wouldn't really want to be spending much more than that til I see what use I get out of this one.

I've been looking on Halfords but I really haven't a clue what's a good bike there and they mightn't even be the cheapest, just looked there cos they've a good online shop. What's the difference in a 14", 17", 20" etc. What should I be going for?

Any help appreciated.

CianRyan

I'd suggest upping your budget and looking to go second hand if you're tight on money.

There's an adverts section on this forum and you could try www.adverts.ie to find some nice bikes.

If you could wait and save €400-€500 you'll get a nice second hand race bike.
I'd stay well clear of buying a cheap bike if you're having trouble with the one you have. Spend €200 on a racer and you're looking for trouble.
Having said that, there's a Carrera TDF on the Halfords site for around €379(?) that could be worth a look.

Still though if I were you I'd be looking for a well kept, second hand Giant Defy, Trek 1.2 etc... On adverts or the likes and you'll more than likely do a lot better.

hiDEhi

Try a small independent bike shop, you'll get better value and good advice there. I bought a bike recently and the guy couldn't have been more helpful. My budget was tight, so I just got what I could afford, he even said if I wanted to exchange it in 6 or 12 months come back and he'd do a trade in against a new one. And he'll service it foc in a few months too.

Lumen

There are some decent used race bikes that come up for sale around €250 from time to time.

You won't get anything new, racer or hybrid, that's fun to ride for anything close to €200.

thebuzz

Found a site where you can order stuff from USA and get delivered to Ireland, so I've been looking at bikes on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Victory-Vision-Mens-Road-Bike/dp/B002D126EW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312582699&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Micargi-RS888-Road-Racing-Bicycle/dp/B003ZGOWCS/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1312582699&sr=8-6

http://www.amazon.com/GMC-Denali-Medium-Frame-Yellow/dp/B002GNWPK2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1312582699&sr=8-5

Are any of these bikes good? and good value?

biko

Chainreactioncycles in UK deliver free to Ireland.

Lumen

thebuzz wrote: »

Found a site where you can order stuff from USA and get delivered to Ireland, so I've been looking at bikes on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Victory-Vision-Mens-Road-Bike/dp/B002D126EW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312582699&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Micargi-RS888-Road-Racing-Bicycle/dp/B003ZGOWCS/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1312582699&sr=8-6

http://www.amazon.com/GMC-Denali-Medium-Frame-Yellow/dp/B002GNWPK2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1312582699&sr=8-5

Are any of these bikes good? and good value?

If you're buying from the US, you'll have to pay shipping, duty, and VAT. These charges, compounded, will add a lot.

If it's crap, are you going to send it back to the US?

You cannot buy a good new road bike for €200, no matter how much you Google for it.

thebuzz

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_786805_langId_-1_categoryId_212536

Anyone any experience with this type of bike? Or at least, does it seem to be good? Looks a good price for a racing bike anyway. Obviously isn't going to be the best out there, at that low price but does it look ok?