Entry level road racer

jebuz

Hi folks,

Just looking for a bit of advice here. I've decided to purchase a bike using the bike2work scheme. I've entered the Gael force west race and would like to get into the road cycling anyway so that's what I'm going for a racer.

Can anyone advise what is important when picking an entry level racer and what bike stores would you recommend? I'm looking to spend about €600.

Thanks.

mike12

Hi,
The boardman bikes in Halfords seem to be the highest spec you can get for the money so they might be worth looking at.
Mike

jebuz

Brilliant thanks Mike, will definitely look into it.

funkyjebus

mike12 wrote: »

Hi,
The boardman bikes in Halfords seem to be the highest spec you can get for the money so they might be worth looking at.
Mike

The cheapest Boardman that is not a fixie is €879. Watch out as teh one for €600 is a fixie. Have a look at felt bikes. I paid 800 for mine and love it, they tend to give good value for their price. I'd stay away from Halfords if I was you, god forbid you had a problem with it.

Is your budget of €600 before tax decuction? so you only want to pay €480?

This would only cost €640 after tax deduction
http://www.eurocycles.ie/Road_Bikes/Felt_95_Team_Issue_2010/3613_p.aspx

That said there are plenty of great entry level. For that price I'd want a least a Tiagra.

jebuz

Hi yeah, the budget is 600 before tax deduction, but I'm willing to go a bit over that if I really think it will be worth it, is that a bit low for an entry level racer? I'm a complete newbie with all this.

Lumen

jebuz wrote: »

Hi yeah, the budget is 600 before tax deduction, but I'm willing to go a bit over that if I really think it will be worth it, is that a bit low for an entry level racer? I'm a complete newbie with all this.

A little low, if you want to get something decent. The Boardmans look great, and you get 15% off if you have an Axa insurance policy (voucher here).

funkyjebus

With out any accessories, it should be enough. What would be ideal for your price is a butted or very light alu frame, carbon fork, tiagra derailers front and rear & tiagra STI shifters. Thats the bones of a pretty good starter. Although for your price you might have to settle for Tiagra rear and soro front derailers. Which is what I have and what the link I gave you has for the f95 ( i got the 09 version, and am very happy with it, although I'd now like a better gear set, 105 or ultergra)

If you see a road bike with all taigra for the €800 mark jump on it (once it has the ideals above)

You get up to €1k for a bike on the CTW, if i did it again I use it all and maybe more (but at the time I didn't realise I'd get into cycling so much!!)

Plastik

You can get the 2010 Specialized Allez 16 for just over €600 - which is what I purchased recently while in the same predicament as Jebuz.

funkyjebus

While the Allez is a nice bike, it only has Shimano 2300 (the bottom of the barrell) front, rear derailers and shifters as well as being only an 8 speed. I does depend on what your looking for but, that doesn't seem to be great value for money as has the most basic of components. My opnion on it would be give it 3 months and you'll want to upgrade to a better drivetrain, and that'll cost near to the same as the bike itself. Nice looking though!

Actually there was a similar post yesterday and some guy had posted a link to a Bianchi which was lovely (entry level) I go for that over the Allez

jebuz

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. I think firstly I need to do a bit more research on racers, I'll be honest I don't understand a lot of the jargon you mentioned above, so understanding all that might be a good start and then I can work better on finding the right bike.

bryaner

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=44408

blorg

It is the lowest level but Shimano 2300 has got good reviews. €600 is pretty cheap for a racer with a carbon fork, from a respected brand.

Lemag

Have you tried studentcycles :P

Lemag

Lemag wrote: »

Have you tried studentcycles :P

That was a joke, btw. See the thread about Student Cycles erupting on this forum.

jebuz

Well guys, I went down to the local bike shop when I was home for the weekend, looks like I am going to go with the Giant defy 3.5 for €675, the main difference from the defy 4 being the carbon forks which I think justifies the 75 extra, especially since it's through the scheme and barely noticeable over 12 months.

I'm going to get the basic accessories also, mud guards, set of decent lights, hand pump, bottle and cage, and he is also throwing in a foot pump which is decent.

What do you think of that set up for a beginner? I'm also going to head to lidl today and pick up some of that cycling gear, looks decent.

elvis jones

I'd also like some feedback. I am thinking of the Defy 3 ????

I was looking at the Rapid but am moving towards the road bike now.

2 Wheels Good

Word of advice for Gaelforce, think of getting touring tyres as racing tyres/your wheels won't appreciate the offroad section!

ednwireland

pat_hurley@yaho wrote: »

Word of advice for Gaelforce, think of getting touring tyres as racing tyres/your wheels won't appreciate the offroad section!

cyclo cross bike then

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/c/cycle/7/Cyclocross_Bikes/

blorg

It has come up here many times before; I have never done it myself but the guys winning and placing in Gaelforce are all on road bikes. The off-road section is very short. (1) You would be surprised how much you can ride a road bike off road, you can certainly do it on a fire road, it's not pretty but you can hack it in a race (2) if you absolutely can't you can shoulder the bike and run with it. Wider "touring" (or worse, cross) tyres will slow you down more on the actual road section.

^my opinion, IIRC there MAY have been something about the off-road bike section being lengthened. So check that out. But if it is mostly road and you are aiming to do it as fast as possible get a road bike. I have a couple of tourers and cross bikes myself as well as my road bikes, I'm not just making this up.

A cross bike with rack/mudguard mounts or a tourer or audax bike with clearance for wider tyres can be a good choice however if you only want one bike and want something versatile, for commuting, multi-day touring carrying luggage, bit of light off road during a tour, etc. But if you are only going on day rides or racing, road bike it is.