Getting back on the saddle..

cormie

I've recently started cycling again. I used to do about 100 miles a week on a Dawes Chilliwhack (hybrid) and I recently did a temporary swap for a racer and I've been cycling a bit the past few days. I really want to get back into it properly and am contemplating getting myself a new bike.

I think I'd prefer a racer to a hybrid because I'll be using it on road more than off-road, 99% more. Some cons with the racer over the hybrid are that I'm getting a sore neck from having to look up all the time and it's quite hard to sit up straight. I also have bullhorns facing vertically up towards the sky on my Chilliwhack which I find are great for pushing yourself going up hill so I'd like these too.

I'd be cycling for leisure and fitness. I'm 6ft tall if that makes a difference. I'd like a good value bike but don't want to break the bank. I'd be selling my Chilliwhack to make up some of the money too. Would be interested in any feedback as to what type of bike I should buy (racer? urban? touring?) for under say €600. If I can get a much better one for €700 then that's ok. I haven't got a clue where I should buy it either? Online or locally?

Any feedback is appreciated:)

cunnins4

A friend of mine got one of these recently. Quite light and ya see a lot of them around town. I commute on a mountain bike, but I have a nice roadie for triathlons and leisure cycling. If it wasn't so expensive i'd commute on the roadie, but I can't afford to replace it if it gets stolen. Love the road bike. When I have the cash I'm gonna get the SCR 3 for commuting.

cormie

That looks nice alright. 26mm for tyres are pretty wide for a racer though aren't they? Is that even a racer or is it just a road bike? How would it be different to a racer? Could I get smaller tyres on that? Thanks for the feedback!

cunnins4

not really that wide. I've got 23mm tyres, that seems to be fairly standard but 3mm isn't really a big deal. Ya can put narrower tyres on it if you want, easy peesy. Yeah it's a racer/road bike/whatever ya want to call it. Sprinter's selling his SCR 3.0 in a thread below. Second hand could be a good option for you.

Don't forget to budget for pedals/shoes/lights (very necessary this time of year!)/mudguards/lock etc... You could be looking at an extra 150 quid depending on what you want.

Oh, and about buying online - Fit's quite important on road bikes. I bought mine online and hoped the fit would be okay. It seems to be. I just had to move the saddle back a bit as I was getting back pain. If you're only spending 600 quid the savings from online won't be that great, so buying local might be more advisable as then you have somewhere to go for servicing or any problems, especially if you're not great at fixing the thing.

The forum's a bit quiet at the moment, but i'm sure someone else will give ya some more input soon enough.

cormie

Thanks for pointing out sprinters thread, just gave him a load of questions so I might buy his depending on the answers:)

cormie

Jeez that was impulsive. Got that Giant one for €500 off sprinter:D You're to blame for that cunnins! lol