advice needed!!

shamrock55

ok folks i have a few road bikes picked out could you give me some advice on which bike is best im only starting out and only have so much to spend but these are all similar price advice much appreciated;)

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/felt/z100-2011-road-bike-ec024149?query=felt%20z100

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/allez-24-2011-road-bike-ec025026?query=specialized%20allez



http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/11-compact-2011-road-bike-ec023938?query=trek%201.1

http://www.thebikelist.co.uk/giant/defy-4-2010

the giant and trek would be more in my price range
could someone in the know maybe let me know which bike is best thanks l;)

Kav0777

If you plan on getting the giant defy 4 you may be interested in this:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/giant-defy-4-2010/

I was in your position last summer and I got the allez 24, and I love it.

However, if i could start again I'd put a bit more money aside and go for this:

http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2105 or

http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2103

These bikes seem to have better quality parts for not much more in price.

shamrock55

thanks for that the allez 24 is a nice bike alright would it be a much better bike for the diff in price then the giant defy 4? the other bikes while are super would be out of my reach price wise for now;)

TheBlaaMan

A couple of observations:

You wont be able to get Evans to post any Specialized bike to Ireland. Other makes should be OK, but Spesh will not allow them to sell them into another territory.

You should probably avoid a triple chainring and opt for a Compact (double 50/34 or such like). I know you are only starting out, but you will get used to the slightly higher gearing on the compact; triples are (IMO) finicky to set up and get right and can be a pain to adjust. On the same topic, Sora is a better groupset than 2300, Tiagra is better again. Your budget should just stretch to Sora from what you are suggesting.


Also consider buying up north. These guys http://www.mcconveycycles.com are good to deal with, will ship a Specialized to the South free-of-charge and are competitive (I've no connections to them, BtW). This looks like a good deal (most sizes available)

shamrock55

thanks for that mate that specialized allez double 16 speed looks like a good offer as i dont know too much about bikes would you reccomend this bike are specialized a good brand and is 16 speed enough would it get me going in the world of road cycling:D

TheBlaaMan

Specialized are one of the top 4-5 brands. You'll not go wrong.
The small/inner chainring determines the 'easy' ratio in terms of gearing for hills. A triple typically is 30 teeth, a Compact is around 34. I've just noticed this one is actually a 'Double' which at 39 might be a bit tall for you starting out if you are not going to stay on the flat !

Why not give them a call and see what they can offer? Perhaps they might be willing to change the chainring?

Tenzor07

You were looking at a Felt, have a look at the offer on the 2010 version of the Z100: http://www.eurocycles.ie/Road_Bikes/Felt_Bicycles/Felt_Z100_-_2010/3603_p.aspx

If you head out to Eurocycles on the Long Mile you'll pick this one up and get full warranty support/advice as opposed to purchasing over the internet...and can also do the Bike2Work scheme if your employer supports it...

shamrock55

TheBlaaMan wrote: »

Specialized are one of the top 4-5 brands. You'll not go wrong.
The small/inner chainring determines the 'easy' ratio in terms of gearing for hills. A triple typically is 30 teeth, a Compact is around 34. I've just noticed this one is actually a 'Double' which at 39 might be a bit tall for you starting out if you are not going to stay on the flat !

Why not give them a call and see what they can offer? Perhaps they might be willing to change the chainring?

would it make much diff on mild enough climbs i dont intend on climbing mountains or anything and if they did change the chainring would that cost much

TheBlaaMan

shamrock55 wrote: »

would it make much diff on mild enough climbs i dont intend on climbing mountains or anything and if they did change the chainring would that cost much

TBH, stick with a Compact as you cant exactly avoid some steep bits. Dunno how much they will charge, or if they would even swop it out - call them and see!

shamrock55

could i ask you how can i tell if a bikes chainring is a double a treble or a compact you say stick with a compact how do i tell which bikes have this

TheBlaaMan

shamrock55 wrote: »

could i ask you how can i tell if a bikes chainring is a double a treble or a compact you say stick with a compact how do i tell which bikes have this

Take the first bike you linked... http://www.evanscycles.com/products/felt/z100-2011-road-bike-ec024149?query=felt%20z100
It has a triple chain ring or simply three cogs on the crank ('pedals'). These are denoted as "Chainrings: 52/42/30 tooth chainrings" These are the number of teeth on the rings.

This means that each of the three can (in theory, not in practice) link with any of the eight cogs on the rear wheel - the cassette - to give 24 different gear ratios in this case as there are 8 rings on the cassette. In the case of the Specialized you linked to, this is hinted at by the "24" in the model name. Higher spec. 'groupsets' have 9, 10 or even 11 rings. A Double has only two cogs on the crank - typically 52/30. A compact also has two, generally something like 50/34 which are a little easier to use unless you are a strong and accomplished rider.

Have a read here, here or here for some general information. Or just google or youtube some searchs and read away.....

shamrock55

fair play for your advice mate very helpfull
this is the only compact i can find for around this type of money,just found out that lance armstrong rode trek bikes(not this one obviously):D so they cant be bad would you know any other bikes around this price with a comact chainset or is this as good as ill get for the money?? http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/11-compact-2011-road-bike-ec023938?query=trek%201.1

just seen this http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/12-compact-2010-road-bike-ec019678?query=trek%201.1%202010

TheBlaaMan

Mate, you need to get yourself down to your local bike shop, or go try a few bikes. At the very least, assess what size frame you need.
Guy on here is setting something you might be interested in... http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056198547