What road bike should I buy?

elainee

Hi,
Ok basically I have been cycling for the past 2 years I have a sports hybrid and now I want to make the move to a road bike now my max spend is prob round €800 mark I'm 5'9 girl basicly what should I be looking for I want a good bike.
Thanks!!:)

fat bloke

elainee wrote: »

.... what should I be looking for I want a good bike.
)

More money.


Stretch to a 1000 euro anyway and you'll be spoilt for choice

leeomurchu

http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3073#tab-reiter2

I was just looking at these bikes myself today.

They seem to have a good spec and some how they manage to keep the weight down for allu/carbon

Darkglasses

fat bloke wrote: »

More money.


Stretch to a 1000 euro anyway and you'll be spoilt for choice

And don't worry, if you do stretch to 1000, we'll go over that budget too :rolleyes:

I quite like the look of Scott's new range, i'm thinking of getting one of these myself. LBS is doing them for 850ish

http://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/products/227788022/bike-speedster-40-cd18-m54/

Also comes in a girly version, the Contessa.

http://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/products/227842019/bike-contessa-speedster-35-27-xxs47/

elainee

Cool thanks guys!
Just back from my local bike shop they showed me la Pierre women's bike 850 basic entry level bike with old style gear change on handle bars the guy seemed to think if I pay €950 I have a better selection he showed me cube and Scott mens bike more gears shimano supra.and the new style gears on handle bars he really seemed to think the new style gears r the way to go.

route66

elainee wrote: »

Hi,
Ok basically I have been cycling for the past 2 years I have a sports hybrid and now I want to make the move to a road bike now my max spend is prob round €800 mark I'm 5'9 girl basicly what should I be looking for I want a good bike.
Thanks!!:)

The CAAD 8 is probably the best out there in that price range. It's €875 in Cyclesuperstore: www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=56914 (but out of stock at the moment) and should be available for 800 with some haggling.

kenmc

What do you or he mean by "new style gears on the handlebars"? Surely he's not showing you bikes with downtube shifters for 800 euro+?

Darkglasses

kenmc wrote: »

What do you or he mean by "new style gears on the handlebars"? Surely he's not showing you bikes with downtube shifters for 800 euro+?

No what she means is that the Sora shifters have been greatly improved this year than last year, no more thumb shifting so its basically the same as last years Tiagra.

kenmc

ahhhh. clear as mud..
new model, not new style... the "on the handlebars" bit was what threw me...

Fengol

kenmc wrote: »

What do you or he mean by "new style gears on the handlebars"? Surely he's not showing you bikes with downtube shifters for 800 euro+?

Can you even still get downtube shifters on current bikes?
I remember there being an old Peugeot road bike in the house years back which had those.

stiofan85

Those new Sora shifters are pretty cool. I was in buying a Cube in Cyclesuperstore recently and was talking to the guy about them. The old thumb shifters were such a pain.

If you can stretch for the nicer shifters I'd say it's worth it.

Can you get the bike on the Bike to Work scheme? Save some moolah!

If it's true that this year's Sora are essentially last year's Tiagra...then is 2013 105 = 2012 Ultegra etc??? Reason I ask is I bought an Ultegra equipped bike about 5 years ago. I replaced it with the 105 Cube a few weeks ago, so I'm just wondering if the 105 on the Cube is better than the Ultergra groupset I had? It doesn't feel much different tbh.

kuro_man

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_777761_langId_-1_categoryId_212536

Keep any eye out, these are often discounted to €899, then get someone with AXA insurance to buy it for another 15% off, total is €765

mirwillbeback

elainee wrote: »

Cool thanks guys!
Just back from my local bike shop they showed me la Pierre women's bike 850 basic entry level bike with old style gear change on handle bars the guy seemed to think if I pay €950 I have a better selection he showed me cube and Scott mens bike more gears shimano supra.and the new style gears on handle bars he really seemed to think the new style gears r the way to go.

If you decide to go to Halfords let me know, I have a voucher for 1,300 that I'll sell for 950 as I don't really need to spend so much on the bike if I don't have to.

No probs if you don't but you seem to be more into cycling than me

elainee

Ahh thanks but I don't think I'd buy from halfords I'd prefer to buy off a proper bike shop if I'm honest!

Konkers

Jakers. U'll definitely get someone snapping your hand off for the voucher. Very generous offer. Combine that with the BTW and you'd be having a 1300 bike for 5/600 quid.

elainee

Called into another bike shop today and he recommended a felt bike€800 seems like a nice bike or else giant for 850 so many options!!:eek:

leeomurchu

elainee wrote: »

Called into another bike shop today and he recommended a felt bike€800 seems like a nice bike or else giant for 850 so many options!!:eek:

Any idea of the model?

The smaller bike stores will have certain brands that they'll recommend. No point recommending something they don't sell.

just keep window shopping and see if they'll let you try out a few before you buy.

I went into fitzcycles.ie the other day and they were very helpful limited brands but they offered a few test rides before I made up my mind. Nice touch I thought.

elainee

No clue they were out of stock today should b more in stock next week

leeomurchu

Probably one of these.

http://eurocycles.com/ie/product/felt/z95-white

Here's a slightly better one with a bit of a discount.

http://eurocycles.com/ie/product/felt/f85

http://vccycles.com/giant/581-giant-defy-3.html

Nice looking bikes either of these I'd be going with the second felt budget allowing.

Dermot Illogical

To be honest you're going to have to weigh up specifics such as model and groupset. Going into a shop and accepting advice on vague specs like old style/new style and picking based on what looks nice among their stock is a recipe for getting fleeced.
There are lots of good bikes in your price range. You owe it to yourself to get the best you can for your money.
Also, there's usually a bit of room for haggling as well if you're paying cash so don't just settle for the quoted price.

Plutonium Kun

The Specialized Dolce gets good feedback from women I know who cycle. But as you are relatively tall you may not need a womens specific bike. The Dolce equipped is 869 euro in Cycleways in Parnell Street in Dublin (there are quite a few Specialized dealers around).

http://www.specialized.com/ie/gb/bikes/road/dolce/dolcetripleequipped

This BeOne on Chainreaction looks a very good price:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=75418

as does this Corrotec:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=75534

elainee

Cool thanks for all the replys!

cython

Konkers wrote: »

Jakers. U'll definitely get someone snapping your hand off for the voucher. Very generous offer. Combine that with the BTW and you'd be having a 1300 bike for 5/600 quid.

And how do you suppose that could be combined with BTW, since the employer has to buy the bike for BTW? Short of you selling the voucher to your employer, and them in turn using it with Halfords (huge stretch), it's not gonna happen.

elainee

http://vccycles.com/giant/581-giant-defy-3.html

Got this giant in the end.picking it up next week are there any extras that i should get with the bike?
Decided to get toe strap pedals to start with can upgrade in time.

Plutonium Kun

elainee wrote: »

http://vccycles.com/giant/581-giant-defy-3.html

Got this giant in the end.picking it up next week are there any extras that i should get with the bike?
Decided to get toe strap pedals to start with can upgrade in time.

It depends on what you mean by extras? If you mean upgrades or changes, then the first item (assuming the saddle suits you) is usually the tyres - most cheaper bikes come with unbranded tyres, an upgrade to good quality tyres can make a very significant difference in feel and speed on the bike. I like Schwalbe Krylions, but there are plenty of other alternatives.

For other items, a really useful thing to get is a little saddlebag for your mini-tool and puncture repair kit. A good small pump is essential, and a decent track pump for home is a great thing to have to help you keep your tyres at a good pressure (its surprisingly hard to do this with a smaller pump).

happytramp

Plutonium Kun wrote: »

a decent track pump for home is a great thing to have to help you keep your tyres at a good pressure (its surprisingly hard to do this with a smaller pump).

This is 100%, absolutely essential. The first thing I would invest in after a good lock. These cost about 30 quid in most shops but I can't overstate their importance. Your bike will be faster, more comfortable and you will get WAY less punctures if you keep your tires up to a high pressure.

elainee

Great thanks for all the info