Noob Needs good road bike for triathlon on budget.plz help

FOLDnoSHOW

Hi im looking to purchase a new or second hand road bike on a budget (300ish, maybe could stretch to 400 if worth it) for a triathlon (6'2 and 13st). Ive been on the internetz all day trying to get an idea so far i found http://www.visp-sports.com/bikes/racer-pro-05.php which can be got on ebay for 200-250 euro, but from reviews online it seems might be a bad buy. Does anyone have any link or shop that stocks something for my needs, or has seen a bike that might be suitable, or maybe has a bike for sale that might be of use.I live in Dublin btw, thanks in advance for any direction/help 6'2 and 13st

kona

carrera valour is e450, probably your best bet, any racer under e400 IMO is going to be hassle, especially with training etc.
you can get this in halfords, you will need a large frame.58cm

try www.chainreactioncycles.com too as they have some nice stuff sometimes.

try trek, giant , specialized , raleigh even. they all have websites.

if e450 is too much go second hand:)

FOLDnoSHOW

what u think of the bike in the link..its on ebay.ie for a good price.not sure though as i know nothing of spec etc

niceonetom

do not buy that visp 'bike'. it is made from the absolute cheapest materials possible and i doubt it would take any abuse, nor would it be fixable when (and it is when not if) it goes wrong.

your budget is very small so i would encourage you to dig a little deeper if you can. if you plan on doing some tris on it you're (presumably) going to be spends a fair few hours on the bike, training, and if it's crap those will be painful annoying and unpleasant hours. if it's a decent bike they will be fun.

check out the "useful links" post at the top of the forum to get an idea of the range of shops that's out there - nearly everything will be out of your budget but you'll get an idea of the terminology etc.

advert.ie gets a few entry level bikes too so i'd keep my eye on that too if i were you. and gumtree.ie. and buy and sell.

fit is very improtant so, if you can ride the bike before buying it, do. at 6'2" your probably looking at a 58cm frame or bigger.

if you buy crap you'll probably have to buy twice.

feel free to post potential purchases here if you want this lot to appraise them

kona

i wouldnt pay e5 for that tbh.

gears aint on downtubes any more, the rear mech on that is a mountainbike mech(really cheap one).mountain bike freewheel too. the wheels look dubious, looks like a raleigh racer argos do for e300 tbh:D id say they are the same.

for e450, expect decent callipers, a double butted aluminium frame 7005 or 6061 grade, racing cranks, racing derailleur, racing gear ratios, gears and brakes on handlebars.:)

for another e100 youd save yourself ALOT in maintenance, and actually enjoy training.:D

i know i sound harsh and a snob but thats the straight up story:eek:

Quigs Snr

The ebay bike is a hideous abortion of a machine. A totally useless pile of crap with technology so dated it should be . If you want entry level in your budget look no further than...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=14991

Delivered free, you will need the 56 or 59. All the bikes at the sub 600 euro price point are much of a muchness, the BeOne will do fine for you.

kona

Quigs Snr wrote: »

The ebay bike is a hideous abortion of a machine. A totally useless pile of crap with technology so dated it should be . If you want entry level in your budget look no further than...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=14991

Delivered free, you will need the 56 or 59. All the bikes at the sub 600 euro price point are much of a muchness, the BeOne will do fine for you.

there ya go, in budget and solid looking:)
does anybody here ride a b1 racer and can give advice on the geometry??

kenmc

FOLDnoSHOW wrote: »

Hi im looking to purchase a new or second hand road bike on a budget (300ish, maybe could stretch to 400 if worth it) for a triathlon (6'2 and 13st). Ive been on the internetz all day trying to get an idea so far i found http://www.visp-sports.com/bikes/racer-pro-05.php which can be got on ebay for 200-250 euro, but from reviews online it seems might be a bad buy.

Yeek, what a monstrosity! Well if you do well in a triathlon on that thing you should be a shoe-in for the olympics! I don't do tri's myself, but if I did I'd be thinking at least 3-4 times what your budget is! A couple of friends of mine do it, the 'cheapest' bike amongst them is a canondale with ultegra gearing and mavic wheels. One of them has a 5k time trial machine! Seriously, if this is something you want to get into, I doubt this is the way forward... sorry if this is harsh.

kona

flat bars maybe a good option, as you dont sound like you are used to drops??

FOLDnoSHOW

Thanks for all the replys. Im a student so thats for the skimpy budget. anyone have good things to say about that beone bike? or any other ones for that fact. Also if anyone knows anyone who is flogging a bike in that price range, it would a very appreciated hookup.

FOLDnoSHOW

kona wrote: »

flat bars maybe a good option, as you dont sound like you are used to drops??

nah drops are what im after..ive cycled mates bikes with drops and owned an acient raleigh a while back that had drops.got nicked

FOLDnoSHOW

Quigs Snr wrote: »

The ebay bike is a hideous abortion of a machine. A totally useless pile of crap with technology so dated it should be . If you want entry level in your budget look no further than...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=14991

Delivered free, you will need the 56 or 59. All the bikes at the sub 600 euro price point are much of a muchness, the BeOne will do fine for you.

so you reckon this could be a winner? is it an aluminium frame or does that matter?..obv looking for as light as can be afforded

niceonetom

FOLDnoSHOW wrote: »

so you reckon this could be a winner? is it an aluminium frame or does that matter?..obv looking for as light as can be afforded

a winner? no. but it's the very bare minimum that might allow you to play.

there are others in the same braket but the real-world difference between them is going to be minimal. aluminium frame + sora gears, the rest will be superficial.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360031621&n=Giant%20Giant%20SCR%204 for example.

kona

FOLDnoSHOW wrote: »

so you reckon this could be a winner? is it an aluminium frame or does that matter?..obv looking for as light as can be afforded

yep, aluminium, and decent solid parts, and is IMO the best value, id doubt youd get anything near this spec new elsewhere. would make a nice commuter too:)

if you are used to drops(i cant get used to em)then your away:)

FOLDnoSHOW

Fair play to everyone in this thread.helped a ton.I think ill go with the beone-seems the only option.Thanks alot..ill post back to let know how im getting on.

kenmc

just bear in mind the beone does not include pedals - says so on the website. the giant does. I have a giant, never seen a beone, so can't compare them, but I am happy with my giant for what it's worth.

Quigs Snr

By the way, I would recommend the Beone because a mate got that exact one (in the graphite color), it seemed very similar to an old trek 1000 I once had. My missus is also selling her Giant SCR4 and having seen the bikes side by side, the equipment levels, weight etc.. are all very similar. No reason to pay 200 more for the Giant other than its prettier - don't get me wrong the Giant is a nice little starter bike too and worth every penny, but the Beone is such a bargain relativley speaking. Everything worked well and despite claiming otherwise on the site it arrived with pedals, awful pedals, but pedals, so you may be lucky, failing that a set in your Local Bike Store with toe straps should set you back no more than 15 euro or so. He got his for triathlons as well and rode it around last summer, he had a great time and the bike did the job that any 800 euro bike would do, to be honest. I have a BeOne mountain bike myself and its a great little machine, and yes I am a bike snob, I currently have 3 carbon road bikes all with Dura Ace and fancy wheels, but I still think the Beone is a super little bike for the money. I think for triathlon if you are not sure you are better off starting with something rock bottom budget (if it doesn't work out come summer time you will get all or most of your money back on the buyandsell anyway) and then upgrading once the bug bites you, than buying an 800 euro bike and still having to upgrade...

By the way, I think they are semi sloping in geometry and are semi-sloping. Thats why you have a chance of getting away with the 56 if like me you like a high saddle with plenty of layback and low bars with a lot of frame clearance, but likely the 59 would be better for your height