Advise on what bike to buy

new_cycle_fan

Hi i'm just getting back into cycling, have a car but i'm looking to take up road cycling and perhaps join a club later on. I'm just wondering if anyone could give me any advise on where to buy a bike and what would be a decent starter bike around the 700 euro range. I was wondering if it would be better to buy second hand or buy new and where would i get a good deal ie bike shops or online.

Thanks

Lumen

You may get good value second hand but if you don't know what you're looking at you could get fleeced - there are some chancers advertising old bikes for way over what they'd sell to experienced buyers. Anything used should be <70% of retail price.

If you want to join a club get a bike with drop handlebars ("racer") as flat-bar bikes (hybrids) are often not permitted on group rides for safety reasons.

The big brands (Specialized, Giant, Trek) all have entry-level bikes around that price, but there are alternatives that bike shops may punt as offering better value, e.g. Lapierre.

Or you could just get a really cheap bike from the volume sellers (e.g. BTwin Triban from Decathlon in Belfast) and spend the difference on shoes, clipless pedals, clothing etc.

new_cycle_fan

I was looking at Claud Butler bikes, would these be of good quality for a beginner or should i steer clear