Question re Basic road Bike

mgbgt1978

Hi all, I am considering getting into cycling more for fitness than anything else.
I have an oldish raleigh hybrid (14kg-ish) but would prefer something a bit lighter and more suited to road riding.
I have a very strict budget of €300 (the wife says....) so am wondering about people's opinions on either of the following;


http://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/carrera-vanquish-road-bike-2015

http://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bikes/end-of-line-bikes/boardman-road-sport-bike-2014

I can use my AXA plus card to get either one just under the €300 mark (I know one of the guys in my local Halfords (although he's in the Motoring dept.) and he can get me 10% off the prices shown even though the Guys upstairs in the Bike dept say that the bikes are already discounted enough.

As for myself, it's been quite a few years since I cycled regularly although I do walk for about an hour each day, usually a fastish pace with the dogs.
I am 49 so not looking to set the world of cycling on fire.
I am 5' 7" and an inside leg of 31".
The Boardman mentioned above is only available in 53 cm locally while the Carrera can be got in both 51 cm and 54 cm.
They both weigh exactly the same (10.6 kg) so I suppose it's down to people's thoughts on which is the better made bike.

I have tried the locally owned shops but they cannot come near this price with new stuff and anything 2nd-hand is more exotic, and costly. Same story with both here and adverts.ie

I would be grateful for any advice or opinions on my choices.
While I would love to be able to stretch my budget a bit the missus is adamant that that is our limit.
Thanks in advance.

listermint

have you considered the bike to work scheme at all ?

would increase the net in terms of price.

Of the 2 there id prefer the boardman, but not by much.

Macy0161

Firstly, the axa discount should apply regardless. I'd argue that point!

There'd be better bike experts than me to spot any differences, but there doesn't seem to be much between them (I'd probably go Boardman, just because it's not carrera).

For what it is worth, when I moved on from a bike shaped object/ pile of crap I got on Amazon, I got a carrera zelos. It's grand, and is still my commuter. At the stage you're at, it will do imo.

Fitting wise, I'm 6ft and the 54cm carrera zelos could really do with a shorter stem for me. It's probably going to be you making your own judgement on that going halfords.

smacl

Couple of threads discussing this recently;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057618009
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057613662

mgbgt1978

Thanks folks. Self-emplyed so BTW scheme doesn't apply .

Bigus

Decathlon Belfast beside George best airport and buy a triban 500.. Excellent bikes with excellent reviews built in Romania .
Reduced to 250 sterling now , an equivalent branded bike here would cost €1000. Bike prices in Ireland are inflated because of BTW scheme. I know 3 people who bought tribans and well worth the trip even a year down the road .
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-road-bike-black-id_8331913.html

fat bloke

Either of those Halfords bikes are fine and represent a significant upgrade on your aul hybrid. That current 20% off in Halfords is a real sale and a generous discount.

mgbgt1978

Thanks for all the replies so far guys. Really appreciate it.
It looks like the boardman is ahead by a nose, simply because it's slightly smaller than the carrera. It seems my height and leg measurement fall between 51cm and 54cm Frames.
Anybody else on here around the same size as myself ?

I had spotted the B'twin Bigus, but it is a small bit(very small in fairness) heavier than the other two. Also at least the Halfords bikes can be fecked back to the shop within 10 minutes if there's a problem.......

positron

Bigus wrote: »

Decathlon Belfast beside George best airport and buy a triban 500.. Excellent bikes with excellent reviews built in Romania .
Reduced to 250 sterling now , an equivalent branded bike here would cost €1000. Bike prices in Ireland are inflated because of BTW scheme. I know 3 people who bought tribans and well worth the trip even a year down the road .
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-road-bike-black-id_8331913.html

I am not disputing this, and I have noticed prices were going up by €100 a year ever since the bike to work scheme came into place in the country (back in 2009, average al bike with Shimano 105 used to be around 800 or so.. what is now, 1300 plus?)... but my question is - UK also have a similar cycle to work scheme. How come prices are not inflated there?

rtmie

Would you consider secondhand?
http://touch.adverts.ie/for-sale/sports-fitness/bikes/road-bikes/830/price_250-500/

Chuchote

Unpatriotic though it is, it's certainly worth thinking about Belfast for bike buying, with the pound sinking so tragically against the euro.

OP, is there any way you can get a couple of days' work for an employer? A neighbour works two days a week for a hospital (and they take & pay PRSI and she pays PAYE) and she was able to get the bike-to-work scheme. Depends on the employer, of course.

shamrock2004

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Hi all, I am considering getting into cycling more for fitness than anything else.

Good luck with that - give it a few weeks and I guarantee you'll be hooked!!

mgbgt1978

rtmie wrote: »

Would you consider secondhand?
http://touch.adverts.ie/for-sale/sports-fitness/bikes/road-bikes/830/price_250-500/

Thanks for that rtmie. i had a quick look at adverts but mostly saw either too cheap or the exotic end of the scale. You linked to a few possibles.
Thanks again.

mgbgt1978

Just an update.
I just missed out on a Trek 1.5 on Donedeal (2 years old and asking €350).
LBS has a 2014 Trek 1.1 (so far has dropped from €450 to €400....I reckon at €380 it would be a decent buy).
He also has a older Ambrosio Solaro. Italian-made Alloy Frame, Carbon Fork, but downtube-mounted Shifters (other than the Shifters it looks fairly modern). We're down to €250 for this one. Probably not worth it as I would prefer a compact chainset, and feel the Shifters are probably a bit too Retro.

The Carrera Vanquish is currently out of stock in a 54cm with Halfords. They have 1 Boardman Road Sport left in a 53cm at €300 (inc AXA discount).

Most reviews would put the Trek just ahead of the Boardman.

What do you guys think ? The new Boardman......or a 2nd hand Trek 1.1 ? Is the Trek worth the extra €80/€100 ?

Chuchote

Good time of year to wait for a little, maybe, as the new 2017 bikes will be coming in, so you could a) get a new and perhaps better model, or b) get the older models at a better price when the 2017 bikes arrive?

mgbgt1978

Final update. Stretched the budget a bit and just picked up a 2015 Trek 1.2 for €370 inc. a few extras.
As new condition and a nice colour scheme.
Thanks for all the replies folks. Appreciate the help.

ted1

Just on the going to Belfast thing, there's no need as they deliver http://www.decathlon.ie/all-sports/cycle/bikes/road-bikes/road-sport-bikes.html

mgbgt1978

They do indeed deliver to Ireland.
However the Triban 500 is €333 on decathlon.ie compared to £250 (€298) on the UK site.
The Triban 3 is £150 (€179) on the Uk site but €400 on their Irish site.

Chuchote

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

They do indeed deliver to Ireland.
However the Triban 500 is €333 on decathlon.ie compared to £250 (€298) on the UK site.
The Triban 3 is £150 (€179) on the Uk site but €400 on their Irish site.

:eek:

mgbgt1978

The Triban 3 is on sale for half-price on the Uk site.
They must have forgotten to do the same for us.......;)

Bigus

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

The Triban 3 is on sale for half-price on the Uk site.
They must have forgotten to do the same for us.......;)

Yes but what sizes are actually left, very little I'd say.

mgbgt1978

45 & 48....on both sites. Still strange they didn't knock the 50% off the .ie site though. I'm sure they're both despatched from the same warehouse.

ted1

It's 199 not 400. You need to click into it

mgbgt1978

Ah, fair enough.
It was just that the UK site showed the 50% discount on the main page.

rtmie

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Final update. Stretched the budget a bit and just picked up a 2015 Trek 1.2 for 370 inc. a few extras.
As new condition and a nice colour scheme.
Thanks for all the replies folks. Appreciate the help.

Sounds like you've got a good deal and a good bike there. Enjoy!