New to cycling, need advice.

Altezza98

Ok, I'm new to the cycling/road bike world and am looking for advice. and would appreciate advice

Let me give you a small bit of info.
My main aim is to get a bike and use it for at least a year and complete a long cycle / triathlon on it next summer to raise some funds for a local charity that's my plan. It won't be full on training, but will be hard going. So the bike will be used for a mix of road use and on an indoor trainer.
I have had a road bike before which and I stress this, broke my heart and the dealer, a large organisation chain, ( I WONT NAME THEM) broke my heart and ruined and took the good out of what I was trying to do. The crank went in the bike after 60ish kms and I was blamed for doing it by peddling to hard, the seat was to high, the trainer did it and all the rest and I got messed around and made a total fool of for a full month :mad: Its a very long story so I will leave it there. :rolleyes:

Now I'm on a tight budget €550 MAX for a bike and would prefer new. I have all the gear that's needed. I want something I can trust and use and wont break after a few KM's. I'm a student and have all the bills most mature people have so that's the tight budget.

I was looking at this:

Spec of it is:

• Claud Butler San Remo 53/56/59cm
• Frame 6061 T4 T6 Aluminium
• Fork Steel rigid
• STI Gear Levers
• Shimano 2300 Rear Derailleur
• Shimano 2300 Front Derailleur
• 16 Speed / 8 Speed cassette
• Brakes Alloy duel pivot 57mm
• Wheels 32h Alloy double wall rim
• Chainset Shimano A050 39 52
• Tyres Kenda 700 x 23c
• Stem Alloy A Head
• Handlebar Alloy 31.8mm
• Saddle CB Tri Panel
• Mudguard Clearance

PRICE IS: €549


What would peoples opinions be of it or anyone have advice for me on a bike?

Roger Hassenforder

would you consider going 2nd hand?

Altezza98

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

would you consider going 2nd hand?

I'm very wary of going second hand being honest. I got so messed around and had such a bad experience buying in September of this year. I would prefer new because I would have some sort of come back

Roger Hassenforder

did you not get f**ked around buying new last time?

Cookie_Monster

does your budget also need to cover lights, maybe a pair of shorts, a saddlebag, pump, spare tubes, tyre levers etc? - that list would be a minimum of extras required IMO.

Altezza98

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

did you not get f**ked around buying new last time?

I did, but the bike above is in a local enough shop, where as the last time it was a big place, where no one wanted to know and ended up dealing with 6 different people . I'm not being smart, sorry if it sounds like I'm being awkward.

ratracer

I think for your budget you'll get much more bang for your buck buying second hand. Do you know anyone who could look over bike for you? I could prob guess where you're last bike came from, such a pity it took all the enjoyment out of it for you.

Altezza98

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

does your budget also need to cover lights, maybe a pair of shorts, a saddlebag, pump, spare tubes, tyre levers etc? - that list would be a minimum of extras required IMO.

I have all them, purchased them a few weeks back when I got the first bike

Roger Hassenforder

hopefully you'll find the love again, so you could regret buying it, it looks weighty

Altezza98

ratracer wrote: »

I think for your budget you'll get much more bang for your buck buying second hand. Do you know anyone who could look over bike for you? I could prob guess where you're last bike came from, such a pity it took all the enjoyment out of it for you.

I'm looking at the above bike because its local enough to me. The last bike I got, It was a two hour 150Km's round trip to sort problems and I had to make that trip 3times in 3 weeks and at least half an hour on the phone to people :mad:, so I want to buy as local (Thurles) as I can, that way if things go wrong I have some place to go...
I know might sound sad but €550 is a lot of money to me so I don't want to buy a dud again and for it to cost me more money sorting it

Roger Hassenforder

500 notes is a lot to most peeps!

Altezza98

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

500 notes is a lot to most peeps!

That it is.. It's a lot to most and me in this day and age.
Its a tight budget when it comes to bikes, especially if I want new and good add to the fact the way I was messed around I'm nervous about even getting another bike to be honest.

ratracer

It's definitley not sad, its dreadful that you were screwed over so badly last time. LBS does have a lot of advantages from that point of view. For the money that bike is prob sound, plus the peace of mind you'll have if you know said LBS is great. Happy cycling whichever choice you make.

smacl

Personally, I'd also tend to go for something nice 2nd hand, rather than something average new. The Claude Butler actually looks nice, but a 39/52 chainset on a heavy bike is going to make the hills a bit challenging. If you do go for this bike, I tend to ask them if they've got in with a compact chainset (34/50) which will be more suited to longer spins on varying terrain for those new to cycling.

prthomas

My nearly local bikeshop (Dungarvan) does trade-ins and thus sells secondhand which they will stand behind. They offered me a good deal on my Specialized Allez. Worth pursuing that avenue, you`ll probably be laughed at in some shops but persevere.

Altezza98

smacl wrote: »

Personally, I'd also tend to go for something nice 2nd hand, rather than something average new. The Claude Butler actually looks nice, but a 39/52 chainset on a heavy bike is going to make the hills a bit challenging. If you do go for this bike, I tend to ask them if they've got in with a compact chainset (34/50) which will be more suited to longer spins on varying terrain for those new to cycling.

Thanks for the advice. When you say group set that's the gearing yeah

@ prthomas: as for going second hand, it might be something worth thinking about. I wouldn't be 100% confident in going that route,, but I will think about it a bit more

smacl

Altezza98 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. When you say group set that's the gearing yeah

Yep, the gears on the cranks (pedals) effect how fast you go, and how hard you push, for each turn of the pedals. The smaller, the faster you have to turn the pedals to get the same speed, but the easier they are to turn. If your smallest gear on the front end is 39, it means going up steep hills will require more effort. Also true of the gears on the back, but these are easier and cheaper to change. Starting out, if you're going to be hitting hilly areas, having a compact chain ring (34 as your smallest gear rather than 39) will make climbing quite a bit easier. If you're a fit skinny lad, you'll probably get away with. If you're out of shape and/or carrying a few extra pounds, easier gearing makes sense.

Altezza98

Thanks for the advice smcl,, I'm 27 (not that age matters) and I would class myself as being fairly fit so the gearing on the butler may not be so bad for me.. Is it worth looking at for what I want to do on it!! The last bike I had you see I was assured would suit me perfect but ended up getting messed around and fobbed off and blamed in the end...

Paul Kiernan

Wiggle have some good deals on 2012 bikes. What height are you, this looks like great value but only available in small, say 5'4" to 5'7".

Altezza98

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

Wiggle have some good deals on 2012 bikes. What height are you, this looks like great value but only available in small, say 5'4" to 5'7".

Looks a nice bike but I'm 5'11"

Paul Kiernan

This is a bit above your price range but it's good value with 105 shifting and brakes, Fulcrum 7 wheels, carbon fork and FSA finishing kit. If you could track down a discount code it would help but only clothing codes available at the moment:(.

Can you buy under the Bike-to-Work Scheme?

Altezza98

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

This is a bit above your price range but it's good value with 105 shifting and brakes, Fulcrum 7 wheels, carbon fork and FSA finishing kit. If you could track down a discount code it would help but only clothing codes available at the moment:(.

Can you buy under the Bike-to-Work Scheme?

No cant get the Bike-To-Work, I'm a student. €550 is
my max/MAX budget,,

Paul Kiernan

Altezza98 wrote: »

No cant get the Bike-To-Work, I'm a student. €550 is
my max/MAX budget,,

Do you know anyone who can get the Bike-to-work??;)

Altezza98

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

Do you know anyone who can get the Bike-to-work??;)

I know what your thinking but no dude, it's not even an option for me

Altezza98

So all, is the bike above worth looking at for what I want to do with it?? Any links to bikes that are second hand worth looking at if I do go that route!! As close to Tipperary if possible...

Paul Kiernan

Altezza98 wrote: »

So all, is the bike above worth looking at for what I want to do with it?? Any links to bikes that are second hand worth looking at if I do go that route!! As close to Tipperary if possible...

I don't think that bike is a good buy:(. It's very heavy for a road bike at around 11.5 kg (mainly due to the steel forks). The problem is that €550 doesn't buy a decent road bike at normal prices. Your best bet is to find something heavily discounted (it's the perfect time of year for that) or buy second hand. It might be worth looking at UK bikes on Ebay? You could probably arrange a courier to pick up and deliver here for under €30.

Review here.

Paul Kiernan

Have you seen this? Good value at (or a little over:)) your budget. Review of the 2010 model here.

PersonalJesus

Decathlons btwin triban 3 comes in under your budget and is widely regarded as fantastic value. Delivered down mexico was for cirac 350 -380 eurors.

Altezza98

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

Have you seen this? Good value at (or a little over:)) your budget. Review of the 2010 model here.

Lovely looking bike may be what I want. Its abit over budget but sure we will see will wait for the new pics and then send a message . . thanks for that.