Newbie

naulpolan

Hi all
I'm new to this forum please be gentle!!
I have a quick question and would appreciate some help.
I returned to cycling in january of this year to try and lose weight -9 months on and 4 stone lighter I find I am hooked and recently completed the SK 100k cycle fairly easily.My current steed is a Giant CRS 2.5 which is a fine bike but I would like to move on to something more lightweight with dropped bars. I have looked at a carrera vanquish and it looks fine, the price is around €550 but are there any other/better bikes out there similarly priced or what should I be looking for? Would I be better to spend similar money on a secondhand machine? Your views/opinions would be greatly appreciated.Also what are the differrences between race/triathlon/sportive bicycles???

DualFrontDiscs

Well done!

You've lost alot of weight. Obviously, that's not just the cycling. It's about not spending money on cheap carbs, chocolate and alcohol. All this saved money should now be considered as 'available' to the bike fund. That's the way to think about it. Clearly

AstraMonti

Well done really, and welcome!

What DFD actually saying here is.. that since you decided to join in here, you will end with a bicycle that is at least double the budget you were willing to give :pac:

biomed32

fair play to you mate, only a recent take to cycling myself and have lost near to two stone.

was tempted to buy the carera vanquish at the start of the summer but since then i have held out and gotten a loan of a real nice bike. one of the main reasons i held out was the sora groupset and was under the impression that there may an updated model on the way in. was in halfords the other day and the bike now has shimano tigra at the same price so all in all seems to be a good starter bike for the money

kona

I dont say this much, but well done on that, losing that much weight in such short time on a bike isnt easy. well done.

The vanquish is a excellent starter, but you would be much much much better off paying a extra e200 and getting a Boardman Team racer, much better spec.

The shimano wheels on the Vanquish are very poor, Possibly the worst wheelset shimano have made. Other than that the vanquish is great for the €.

Dr_Colossus

Some going Naulpolan, keep up the good work and the weight down, makes cycling alot easier.

kona wrote: »

The shimano wheels on the Vanquish are very poor, Possibly the worst wheelset shimano have made.

Are these the Shimano WH-R500 wheels Kona, what makes them so poor in comparison to something else? Would you notice a difference in performance and in cycling? They're on a few other bikes I was looking at, Kelly's IRC 5.9 and URC 6.9 for instance. CRC have the wheels on sale for €62 for the front and €72 for the rear or €92 for the pair.
Thanks

kona

Dr_Colossus wrote: »

Some going Naulpolan, keep up the good work and the weight down, makes cycling alot easier.



Are these the Shimano WH-R500 wheels Kona, what makes them so poor in comparison to something else? Would you notice a difference in performance and in cycling? They're on a few other bikes I was looking at, Kelly's IRC 5.9 and URC 6.9 for instance. CRC have the wheels on sale for €62 for the front and €72 for the rear or €92 for the pair.
Thanks

They are constantly causing random punctures, if you weigh over 11 stone, you will be replacing spokes, in some cases by the week.
Id really stay away, or try get another set put on.

Dr_Colossus

kona wrote: »

They are constantly causing random punctures, if you weigh over 11 stone, you will be replacing spokes, in some cases by the week.
Id really stay away, or try get another set put on.

Thanks for the advise, will bear that in mind as I'm 15 stone 4. Any particular rims you'd recommend. Any views on the RITCHEY WCS Protocols?

Thanks and apologies for the thread hijacking.

kona

Dr_Colossus wrote: »

Thanks for the advise, will bear that in mind as I'm 15 stone 4. Any particular rims you'd recommend. Any views on the RITCHEY WCS Protocols?

Thanks and apologies for the thread hijacking.

Ritchey are good rims, Id defo go for them over this particular shimano wheelset.

Jumpy

Mavic Aksiums. Tough little bastards. Very cheap for their toughness.