Getting into cycling. Is this bike any good?

aster99

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


I mentioned in another thread that I'd like to get into cycling for help with my fitness. I'm a total newbie and hardly know where to start. I'd like to think that after a while I'd have the ability to go on a few longer journeys. I'm based in the Cork area.

So was wondering about the gear etc that I'll need

What would the bike above be like?

kenmc

Not great to be honest, the gears are at the bottom of the range. If you can find a good second hand bike at that price it'd be better, else add another 200 or so euro and get yourself something with at least tiagra and a carbon fork if you want to do longer distance in comfort.

aster99

Thanks. Just wondering what is tiagra? Sorry if that's a stupid question. Googled it but not sure, is it to do with gears

marley1

Tiagra is a model of gears.

To get brand new bike with Tiagra gears and shifters will cost about 1000 euro. bikes with Sora gears and shifters brand new start at 750 euro. Bikes with 2300 shifters start around 600 euro.
I take it the above poster meant buying a second hand bike with Tiagra for 600 euro

CianRyan

Tiagra are a line of Shimano's gears, they're above 2300 and Sora but not as good as 105, Ultegra or Dura Ace.

aster99

Thanks for the info guys. To be honest I don't understand the difference between any of those or what they mean. But I'll keep reading and learning!

projectgtr

aster99 wrote: »

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


I mentioned in another thread that I'd like to get into cycling for help with my fitness. I'm a total newbie and hardly know where to start. I'd like to think that after a while I'd have the ability to go on a few longer journeys. I'm based in the Cork area.

So was wondering about the gear etc that I'll need

What would the bike above be like?

Hi aster im a fairly newbie to cycling myself, im gonna go totally against the grain here. I think its a decent bike for the money, two friends bought that exact bike at the higher price too to get into cycling, both are what i would consider high mileage cyclists. The lad i work with bought it for fitness now i will admit he is now considering upgrading, he considers it a great entry level road bike and it has done him well, he also has someone interested in it for a good price so he didnt lose much on it in the year or so he had it.

When i was looking for advice on a bike the advice i got was road bike or nothing, also the bikes i was advised to get were`nt cheap. what im getting at is assess what you need the bike for and what your budget is and buy the best that fits into that. Im over the moon at my decision (i went for a boardman hybrid team) even though 99% of veteran cyclists advised me against it.

Personally as an entry level bike to get your fitness up and give cycling a try i find it hard to pick a new bike id choose over it.

Just my 2cents

studiorat

Get a mountain bike! They're much better fun.
It that's your budget the bike is grand, you'd be hard pushed to get better except for second hand. Below is one or two up in the range, you'll notice some of the names mentioned...

Halfords Content

Tonyandthewhale

The 2300 groupset and tektro brakes are things you'll find on a lot of bikes and usually you'll pay closer to 600e for that sort of stuff and while it's not exactly fancy (in fact it's the lowest you can go as far as modern integrated shifting is concerned) it's servicable and I put 10's of thousands of kilometres on a similarly specced bike (Giant SCR 4.0) before upgrading although I paid about 150e more.
I don't know how good the frameset and wheels are as they're specific to this bike but the geometry and tube sizing looks fairly conventional and it's made of the same 6061 allu so it should be at least ridable and the wheels have a nice high spoke count so although they're probably heavy hopefully this means they're pretty durable (although quality of the spokes hub and rim have more of a bearing than quantity so don't quote me on that).

If you can't afford anything nicer and don't feel you know enough about bikes to navigate the second hand market competently then I'd say buy it, it's not ****e and tiagra or above isn't by any means a necessity.
Carrera are generally regarded as a fairly safe if uninspiring bet in cheap bikes, just be careful of dodgy halfords set up as a lot of those guys don't know how to tighten things properly. Also, keep it in good nick because if you like cycling you'll eventually want to upgrade and if you don't like it you'll probably want rid of it.

shamrock55

op id say if you are only starting off and only want to do cycling for a bit of fitness and also dont want to spend too much and would like a new bike rather than 2nd hand or arnt bothered about the spec of the gears or carbon forks id say go for it ive heard they are a good solid bike for general cycling;)

good price with the 195 euro off too!!

aster99

Interesting replies thanks.

I've played different sports all my life, gaa and golf. So I like to be some bit competitive and set a goal. Was looking online there and I've decided I'd like to try the ring of Kerry cycle this time next year. Have family in Kerry so I've heard a bit about it and had a look at their website earlier. Think it would suit as it's not competitive but at the same time would be a test for me

aster99

Another question, how does a person know what size bike to get?

Is it by height? I'm approx 5-8"

Lumen

aster99 wrote: »

Another question, how does a person know what size bike to get?

Is it by height? I'm approx 5-8"

The simple answer: consult the size guide from the manufacturer.

There are more complex answers.

a148pro

Have this bike and I love it. Its a relatively small investment for a bike that's regarded as solid and seems fine for your purposes. I wasn't sure how big I was going to be into cycling so I figured I'd buy this and see how it went. If I started getting into it more I'd buy a more expensive bike and use this for training. Don't think I'm going down that road but we'll see.

Gears are fine also - they change, and don't seem to slip (albeit they're starting to now because I haven't brought it in for the first service yet). What more do you want? I've done 140km on it and was fecked, but prob because I'd done 140km having never previously done more than about 60, not because of the bike.

aster99

Good, I'm glad to hear that. It would be plenty good enough for me I think. This will be purely just for exercise purposes. And every so often I think id like to take part in something like a charity cycle or something similar to the ring of Kerry cycle.

aster99

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/28851/Raleigh--Bikes--Sprint-2010---Road-Bike-.html


What are the thoughts on this one?

lescol

For the same price have a look at B'twin http://www.btwincycle.com/EN/triban-3-170478497/ carbon forks will feel better.

aster99

If you bought online would a cycle shop then assemble it for you? What would that cost approx?