Advice on new road bike

migualo

Hey lads,

I'm looking to buy my first road bike. I do 2 or 3 rides per week on my hybrid and I think is time to buy a racing bike.

I don't want to spend a lot of money and I'm not looking for something very professional either. My budget is max 400 Euros.

After two days searching online these are the two best offers quality vs price found on my budget.

Raleigh Airlite 100 2011
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/raleigh-airlite-100-2011/


Halcyon Cadiz 2011
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330626440027?var=540045892513&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649


Both bikes have almost the same specs. Do you think any of the two bikes above are fine for a beginner? Any other suggestion?

Thanks

funkyjebus

migualo wrote: »

Hey lads,

I'm looking to buy my first road bike. I do 2 or 3 rides per week on my hybrid and I think is time to buy a racing bike.

I don't want to spend a lot of money and I'm not looking for something very professional either. My budget is max 400 Euros.

After two days searching online these are the two best offers quality vs price found on my budget.

Raleigh Airlite 100 2011
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/raleigh-airlite-100-2011/


Halcyon Cadiz 2011
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330626440027?var=540045892513&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649


Both bikes have almost the same specs. Do you think any of the two bikes above are fine for a beginner? Any other suggestion?

Thanks

Id probably go with the raleigh of the two, it has a compact chainset and id rather buy from wiggle.

Surveyor11

€400 will get you something better second hand, have a look in the Cycle adverts here or on adverts itself.

Dubba

Surveyor11 wrote: »

€400 will get you something better second hand, have a look in the Cycle adverts here or on adverts itself.

I don't know about that, is there much difference between the Raleigh Airlight 100 and say a second hand Giant Defy 4, which would probably go for the same price

Review looks good:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-raleigh-airlite-road-bike-11-43790

funkyjebus

Dubba wrote: »

Surveyor11 wrote: »

€400 will get you something better second hand, have a look in the Cycle adverts here or on adverts itself.

I don't know about that, is there much difference between the Raleigh Airlight 100 and say a second hand Giant Defy 4, which would probably go for the same price

Review looks good:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-raleigh-airlite-road-bike-11-43790

There would be a massive difference in frame quality, you might also get sora or tiagra drivetrain and id imagine the wheels would be of better quality. That raleigh is good if you want a new road bike under 400, but its not comparable to a defy/allez, etc.

The fame quality and weight are very important. All other things can be upgraded, but your frame will stay.

migualo

The Raleigh airlite is 10.7 kg although they say on the bikeradar review that the frame is quite good for the price.

I sent an email to the guys in Halcyon asking for the weight but didnt get any answer yet. Halcyon is a new bikes brand from the uk and it seems they are making good bikes. See their website here: http://www.halcyonbikes.com/index.htm

How do you feel when cycling if a frame is good or bad? Is it only the weight?

petethedrummer

Dubba wrote: »

I don't know about that, is there much difference between the Raleigh Airlight 100 and say a second hand Giant Defy 4, which would probably go for the same price

I picked up a women's raleigh airlight once and it was heavy. And not only heavy but all the weight was to the rear. Most bikes are heavier to the rear but this was ridiculously so.

So of the two I would take a second hand Defy (or equivalent). But the raleigh will do a job.

Dubba

I have Giant Defy 4 and its a fine bike but also quite heavy at around 10kgs.

AFAIK Raleigh's AIRlite AL6061 Alloy frameset is the same material as the Giants.

The Defy 4 has a Shimano 2200 groupo which is pretty much the same as the Raleigh's Shimano 2300.
The sora or tiagra spec bikes like the Defy 3 & 2 cost more, around €500, at Donedeal anyway:
http://www.donedeal.ie/find/all/for-sale/Ireland/giant%20defy?source=all

Also the Raleigh is down 35% from €600 so I don't think its just a cheap POS.

Obviously if your going for a second hand bike make sure its in good nick - perfect gear shifting, etc.

Tonyandthewhale

I have no personal experience with the raleigh airlite 100 although I do have a raleigh touring bike which is a lovely ride (which I ascribe to tradition touring geometry rather than raleigh quality control) but otherwise a piece of ****.
The frame scratches like its made of butter which obviously results in unsightly rust if you get the least bit of rain or whatever. The quality control is so bad that the mounts for the brake cantilevers on the rear aren't even symmetrical.

Having said that, I'd go for the raleigh before that other ebay special. One of my housemates has a smiliar ebay bike (a coyote big sur). It's also a alluminium bike with a shimano 2300 groupset so on the face of it it's pretty much identical to the giant defy or whatever.
However its not as simple as that. The frame geometry is weird and awkward, the bike's built like a high gate. The handlebars are narrow and uncomfortable. The wheels are built on a set of 36 hole quando hubs, heavy, rough rolling and not as durable as that high spoke count might suggest. The tyres are low quality, kendas I think, they've been fine so far but they don't feel durable.
The headset bearings are rough and the handlebars don't turn easily (you can steer ok but if you lift it up the bars don't flop to one side as you would normally expect).
The brake pads are very hard and don't stop the bike as well as one might hope.
Perhaps most annoyingly is the fact that the saddle clamp doesn't hold the saddle in place without constant tightening and the saddle rails slide forward in the clamp.
Add to that the fact that none of the bolts, including the crank bolts were properly tightened on this supposedly pre-built bike and things start to look pretty un-satisfactory.

On the other hand I had a giant SCR 4.0 for several years and several tens of thousand kilometres and apart from usual wear and tear I never had any problems with it and it was a dream to ride, felt much lighter than it was, highly maneouverable, comfortable after a long day in the saddle, stiff on the climbs and quick to accelerate. I still have the saddle from that bike on my current road bike and the giant is now in the hands of a friend of mine who gets great use out of it.

To say that the raleigh airlite, or any of those ebay bikes are the same just because they're all alluminium 6061 bikes with shimano 2200 or 2300 groupsets is a nonsense which ignores the intricacies of frame design and bike building (although the raleigh is probably closer to the standard of the giant than the ebay bikes).

As for whether or not there's value second hand, of course there is, you just have to look a bit harder. Just as an example, during the summer a friend of mine was looking at a mint condition cannondale touring bike with a tiagra/deore mix and a serious set of wheels for only 300e. Only reason he didn't buy was because it was all the way down in Cork. Deals like that pop up all the time though. A friend of mine paid 250 for a road bike with a sora/tiagra mix last year and my current commuting bike was only 30e. Second hand is gold.

fat bloke

I think anyone on here will tell you that 400 beans doesn't buy you a great bike new. It's an unfortunate fact, and one which regular people new to cycling find hard to come to terms with. That's not to say you have to spend thousands. 400 euro can buy you a very nice bike second hand, and for that you have to do a bit of googling legwork, and you have to know your size, and you have to be a bit lucky. But it's definitely worth doing imo.

Or else stall on a little while and save some more money to up your budget. If you're already getting out on your bike 3 times a week, that's a lot of cycling, and for that you should treat yourself to a nice bike, one that'll work with you out on the road, and encourage you to keep at it. You'll never regret money spent on a bike imo, you'll only regret money you didn't spend.

migualo

Thank you all.

I have a clearer idea after reading your comments. I appreciate that you took part of your time to share your experiences. I'll wait and look for something better second hand.

I'll be checking this forum and donedeal.ie to see if any good bike under by budget comes on sale. Any other site, page where they sell second hand bikes?

By the way, I got an answer from one of the Halcyon Bikes retailers... The bike weights 14 kg! No wonder why they didnt publish this information...

MungoMan

i had a raleigh roadbike for 9 years which was quite similar to the Raleigh airlite (with the exception that mine had carbon forks and a Sora groupset).
I'd say I did 50'000 km on it, and finally, it was stolen a few months ago.

One thing I can say for sure is that the quality of the bike was very good, nothing ever malfunctioned, it was very reliable, as you'd expect.

I think if you get the raleigh,you'll have a good entry level bike which you wont have to spend money on for several thousand Kilometers.

With secondhands, you might find that you have to spend money on them relatively soon if some of the components are nearly worn out.

There are a lot of cyling enthusiasts on this site who will never recommend an entry level road bike, which I understand.

But if you want a good mechanically reliable bike which performs like a roadbike, and you are not taking part in road races, the raleigh is a good choice.

Dubba

I don't think you should be talked out of buying the Raleigh out of hand.

Tonyandthewhale's Raleigh experience is with a steel touring bike which isn't comparing like with like,
nor is comparing it to a friends ebay special with weird geometry and crap wheels.
If you look a bikeradar's review the Raleigh has a "semi-compact frame" which is "Specialized-like" and
"the Airlite has light wheels for its price", not too shabby imo.

Also MungoMan has good had good experience with Raleigh's build quality and to reiterate it not a sub €400 bike
it's a €600 on sale.

migualo

Thanks.

If I buy the Raleigh through wiggle.co.uk, would I be entitled to the government bike scheme?

smacl

MungoMan wrote: »

With secondhands, you might find that you have to spend money on them relatively soon if some of the components are nearly worn out.

There are a lot of cyling enthusiasts on this site who will never recommend an entry level road bike, which I understand.

But if you want a good mechanically reliable bike which performs like a roadbike, and you are not taking part in road races, the raleigh is a good choice.

True, there is far more risk buying second than new, but with that there are also some real bargains. For example, this Felt Z85 was nothing short of a steal for the lucky purchaser. I ended up buying this Ridley Triton which is a way older bike, but very light, with great gear (campag) and in fantastic condition for its age. If you're patient, know roughly what you want, like mucking about with bikes, and enjoy buying and fitting the odd upgrade yourself, second hand just might leave you with the bike you really want, rather than the only bike you can afford.

One other thing that new has however, which is not mentioned above, is a warranty. If it breaks through no fault of your own in the first year, you have some come back. New also has a choice of sizes / colours and accessories. I know it's a couple of hundred over your budget, but the Beone Storm at €636 for a 9.3kg Tiagra set-up seems like pretty good value at the minute.

Dubba

migualo wrote: »

Thanks.

If I buy the Raleigh through wiggle.co.uk, would I be entitled to the government bike scheme?

AFAIK you can. Have a look a the Bike to Work scheme - the Megathread for info:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056382170

Dubba

But if your availing of the BTW scheme and your in the higher tax bracket you could get a really nice carbon bike like a Focus Cayo worth €1000 for around €600 which would defiantly be worth it.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/focus-cayo-105-ltd-2011/

TheWorldisFlat

Surveyor11 wrote: »

€400 will get you something better second hand, have a look in the Cycle adverts here or on adverts itself.

To me, buying second hand bikes encourages theft.

Mr. Grieves

TheWorldisFlat wrote: »

To me, buying second hand bikes encourages theft.

That is a completely ridiculous statement.

Seweryn

TheWorldisFlat wrote: »

To me, buying second hand bikes encourages theft.

So what should I do with my second hand bike, if I want to replace it / upgrade it? Wait for bike scrappage scheme to be introduced?

Icyseanfitz

TheWorldisFlat wrote: »

To me, buying second hand bikes encourages theft.

:rolleyes:

Dubba

TheWorldisFlat wrote: »

To me, buying second hand bikes encourages theft.

Certainly there being a market for second hand bikes encourage theft, why else would they be being stolen, but I would have thought some fella flogging a stolen bike would be quite obviously shady as opposed to some legit transaction with a genuine owner/seller.