Bike Recommendation - €800

Lemlin

Hi folks,

I'm looking for a road bike recommendation for around €800. The two main brands I have been looking at are Specialized and Giant. Two Giant bikes I have seen for €799 are:

Giant Avail 3
Giant Defy 3

I'm not sure of any Specialized bikes at the price point.

Anybody got any recommendations? Anybody know which Giant would be better?

gotthebug

Hav a giant defy 3 myself which I saw lately dat the 2012 model is down to €699 in lbs in limerick trying to sell off for the 2013 models to come in also the biggest different between the bikes defy is male and avail female version

JMcL

I have an Specialized Allez Sport that came in at just under the €800 mark a couple of years ago. The '12 model is in at €839 on the Cycleways website. Lovely bike, great to ride. The only downside is mine has Sora components (the shifters are a bit of a pain), the '12 is listed as have 10 speed Tiagra, which is nice!

Lemlin

Oh, I saw them both listed on a website where I clicked "men's bikes". Must of been an error. How have you found the Defy 3?

Oryx

I havent ridden a defy, but you see them a lot at tri's*. They are a popular bike. I guess just get the highest spec gears you can for the money, and ride the bike before you buy. The best bargain in the world is not a bargain if it doesnt fit or suit you.


*Yes I am a heathen.

gotthebug

Lemlin wrote: »

Oh, I saw them both listed on a website where I clicked "men's bikes". Must of been an error. How have you found the Defy 3?

Cycling for bout 2 months now and find it great hav done spins up to 100 km with no real pain after the first week but that was just me getting use to cycling the only problem I had with it was the tyres are very weak so if I was you change them sooner rather then later

Lemlin

Oryx wrote: »

I havent ridden a defy, but you see them a lot at tri's*. They are a popular bike. I guess just get the highest spec gears you can for the money, and ride the bike before you buy. The best bargain in the world is not a bargain if it doesnt fit or suit you.


*Yes I am a heathen.

That's the problem. I'm a newbie that knows nothing about the different gear systems so I don't have a clue what the best gear system I can get for the budget is.

Undercover Elephant

Lemlin wrote: »

That's the problem. I'm a newbie that knows nothing about the different gear systems so I don't have a clue what the best gear system I can get for the budget is.

Most are Shimano
Dura Ace > Ultegra > 105 > Tiagra > Sora > 2300

You can probably find a Tiagra groupset within your budget.

The main issue with the lower ones is that you can't shift to a smaller cog while in the drops. But tbh they are perfectly fine for a beginner. I did thousands of kms on an old 2200 groupset with no problems.

Lemlin

Undercover Elephant wrote: »

Most are Shimano
Dura Ace > Ultegra > 105 > Tiagra > Sora > 2300

You can probably find a Tiagra groupset within your budget.

The main issue with the lower ones is that you can't shift to a smaller cog while in the drops. But tbh they are perfectly fine for a beginner. I did thousands of kms on an old 2200 groupset with no problems.

Well the two bikes I have been reserahcing within my budget are:

Giant Defy 3 - http://www.mycycle.ie/GIANT-DEFY-3-2013-p/gdef3.htm
Specialized Sectuer Sport - http://www.mycycle.ie/road-bike-p/spsec.htm

From reading your recommendation above though, I should be going with the Defy 3 as it has Shimano Sora gears and the Specialized has 2300 gears.

Seaneh

Lemlin wrote: »

Well the two bikes I have been reserahcing within my budget are:

Giant Defy 3 - http://www.mycycle.ie/GIANT-DEFY-3-2013-p/gdef3.htm
Specialized Sectuer Sport - http://www.mycycle.ie/road-bike-p/spsec.htm

From reading your recommendation above though, I should be going with the Defy 3 as it has Shimano Sora gears and the Specialized has 2300 gears.

The specialized is insanely under specced for that price range.
You could get a bike with 105/apex/veloce for that price if you look around.



http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road-track-bike/ribble-7005-audax-winter-training-sram-equipped?part=SERIBB7005WINTERSRAM&sub=conf_SERC <--- infinitely better for the price. can even go a little cheaper and get a different groupset (€731 for Shimano Tiagra, €781 for Volace/Xeon mix).


Depending on your size you could get a Canyon Roadlite AL 6.0 / 6.0sl for €899.

Zippe

Lemlin wrote: »

Hi folks,

I'm looking for a road bike recommendation for around €800. The two main brands I have been looking at are Specialized and Giant. Two Giant bikes I have seen for €799 are:

Giant Avail 3
Giant Defy 3

I'm not sure of any Specialized bikes at the price point.

Anybody got any recommendations? Anybody know which Giant would be better?

Have a look at mcconveycycles.com has the best prices I think,i have got few bikes off the now and find them good to deal with, they have good prices at the min on bikes in stock,just try and ride one in the lbs 1st to be sure,cycle superstore might match there prices too if you push them,the defy is a good all round bike,most lads that cycle have had a defy at some stage,The defy has rack and mudgard mounting on the frame,


Zip,

Undercover Elephant

Lemlin wrote: »

Well the two bikes I have been reserahcing within my budget are:

Giant Defy 3 - http://www.mycycle.ie/GIANT-DEFY-3-2013-p/gdef3.htm
Specialized Sectuer Sport - http://www.mycycle.ie/road-bike-p/spsec.htm

From reading your recommendation above though, I should be going with the Defy 3 as it has Shimano Sora gears and the Specialized has 2300 gears.

I had that dilemma a couple of years back. I ended up going for the lower-spec Spesh, because it felt more comfortable and I thought I'd ride it more. Never regretted it. I'd recommend trying them out, rather than just going with what looks better on paper. (You might prefer the Defy anyway.)

But it was a lot cheaper than that. I agree with Seaneh - you should be able to get a lot more bike for €800. Specialized's lower end prices seem to have gone a bit mad.

Zippe

Undercover Elephant wrote: »

I had that dilemma a couple of years back. I ended up going for the lower-spec Spesh, because it felt more comfortable and I thought I'd ride it more. Never regretted it. I'd recommend trying them out, rather than just going with what looks better on paper. (You might prefer the Defy anyway.)

But it was a lot cheaper than that. I agree with Seaneh - you should be able to get a lot more bike for €800. Specialized's lower end prices seem to have gone a bit mad.

My brother has a specialized allez double with shimano 2300,he got it end of 2010 and it was the 2011 model,he has about 7500/8000 k done on it and never a prob with it so far,he did say it prob will need new wheels soon,I don't think there is much of a difference in the sora and the 2300 bar one extra gear,you would want to move up to the tiagra to feel the difference,the specialized is more of a race bike than the defy I think,I have used both in the past,the 2013 allez frame looks sweet,you would think it was carbon at first glance,the allez with 2300 can be got for €600ish,they are both very nice bikes,the best way is ride both of them and take note what you like and dislike about both bikes and take it from there,

Zip,

Seaneh

The ribble winter trainer with Tiagra for €730 is just about the best bike you can get for less than €800.

Lemlin

I was thinking about going for the Defy 2 and spending the full €1000 for the bike.

http://www.mycycle.ie/GIANT-DEFY-2-2013-p/gd213.htm

That said, I have no cycling gear so will need at the least:

Padded shorts.
Mudguards.
Lights.
Mitts.
Helmet.

Padded shorts are going to cost me €60. Mudguards €15. What's the cheapest I could get the other items in decent quality?

lochdara

bike prices are increasing 15% in 2013. So choose wisely.

sportsdirect.com for basic cycle gear.

PrairieDawn

why do you say bike prices were going to rise in 2013?
they do seem expensive alright....