Which brand is best?? Please

rainbows7

Hi there,

I'm looking at 4 different brands.....

Castello Capri
Kellys
Fuji
Bentini

Can anyone please recommend? Tried to find reviews but websites showing are for bike shops under google and road bike review website poor too..

Urgent help greatly appreciated....

Many thanks.

FISMA

maryjoe wrote: »

Hi there,

I'm looking at 4 different brands.....

Castello Capri
Kellys
Fuji
Bentini

Can anyone please recommend? Tried to find reviews but websites showing are for bike shops under google and road bike review website poor too..

Urgent help greatly appreciated....

Many thanks.

Fuji makes a good frame. Out of the lot, they are the only one with which I have any experience.

Try and post some more data like: cost, group, model, and wheels. That should help narrow the search.

Bikerbhoy

Any particular reason why you are interested in these brands ?

rainbows7

No reason, apart from them coming up in donedeal in my searches.

Now considering Giant, Mens, 3
1.5 years old ...asking price 485. Good??
Must ask how many gears, but I assume good few, when Giant is a good brand.
Budget was 400!!

Help would be great as I'm clueless when it comes to bikes.

Tonyandthewhale

Kelly's and fuji are reputable brands. As far as I know Castello are a cheapo brand that wouldn't be worthwhile buying second hand and I've never heard of Bentini but I'm pretty sure it's more cheap ****e trying to pass itself off as Italian and swag.

When you say Giant 3 do you mean Giant defy 3 or giant rapid 3? Just saying giant doesn't tell us much, they're the largest manufacturer of bikes in the world so they produce a fair range of stuff.
You need to know what model it is, what size it is (this is arguably the most important, don't assume 'adult size' or any of the other donedeal bull**** you see means it'll definitely fit you), what condition it's in, the groupset, the finishing kit, the age and the wheels on it.

If you get that information you can make an informed decision on whether or not it's worth 400e.

Darkglasses

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

You need to know what model it is, what size it is (this is arguably the most important, don't assume 'adult size' or any of the other donedeal bull**** you see means it'll definitely fit you)

This. Don't pay too much attention to what the seller tells you, most of them say "It'll fit anyone 5'5 to 6'5" or whatever. Just ask for the exact frame size, and then look up from a different website what size of a person that size is generally aimed at.

rainbows7

It's a Giant defy 3
Size M. Guy seemed to know what he was talking about and it did suit me so I'm confident with size being right from riding it briefly and standing an 2inches just above bar which I'm told should indicate correct size.
Wheels looked like normal wheels to me... Am I to ask when last they were changed or what?
Is this still a good price from info provided?

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Kelly's and fuji are reputable brands. As far as I know Castello are a cheapo brand that wouldn't be worthwhile buying second hand and I've never heard of Bentini but I'm pretty sure it's more cheap ****e trying to pass itself off as Italian and swag.

When you say Giant 3 do you mean Giant defy 3 or giant rapid 3? Just saying giant doesn't tell us much, they're the largest manufacturer of bikes in the world so they produce a fair range of stuff.
You need to know what model it is, what size it is (this is arguably the most important, don't assume 'adult size' or any of the other donedeal bull**** you see means it'll definitely fit you), what condition it's in, the groupset, the finishing kit, the age and the wheels on it.

If you get that information you can make an informed decision on whether or not it's worth 400e.

rainbows7

What do you mean by groupset?
Finishing kit? = What comes with it? ie pump etc is it?
Bike is 1.5 years and looking like it's good condition
What should I ask about wheels? They looked fine...

Thanks so much for the replies

Quigs Snr

maryjoe wrote: »

It's a Giant defy 3
Size M. Guy seemed to know what he was talking about and it did suit me so I'm confident with size being right from riding it briefly and standing an 2inches just above bar which I'm told should indicate correct size.
Wheels looked like normal wheels to me... Am I to ask when last they were changed or what?
Is this still a good price from info provided?

2 inches above the bar means absolutely nothing. Especially on a Giant with its compact geometry. What height are you ? You would really need to be somewhere between 5'9 and 6ft ish depending on body proportions for the medium giant. 485 for the Defy 3 if its in very good condition is not an especially good or bad deal, its about right.

rainbows7

I'm 5.6.
When I stood on it, if felt fine, comfortable, neither too big or small. He had a small in stock but said it would be too small for me...

Information overload, yet very appreciative.
It was 800 new 1.5 year ago and looks in very good condition.

Quigs Snr wrote: »

2 inches above the bar means absolutely nothing. Especially on a Giant with its compact geometry. What height are you ? You would really need to be somewhere between 5'9 and 6ft ish depending on body proportions for the medium giant. 485 for the Defy 3 if its in very good condition is not an especially good or bad deal, its about right.

Quigs Snr

He's feeding you crap or he doesn't know what he is talking about. Either way he is certainly wrong and has a vested interest in this case in being wrong - its not uncommon.. a lot of old school bike shop owners even tend to size people up on bikes that are way, way too big for them because that was the style in the 80's/90's (whilst some of the others will size you up on a bike far to big, or small if thats what they happen to have in stock).

If you are 5 '6 you need a size S in a Giant - that will vary from brand to brand. Read the next line very very carefully:

Size matters when it comes to bikes. More than anything. Once its a decent brand, it's much of a muchness between them all as long as it fits. Nothing will affect your enjoyment of riding the bike more than the fit of the bicycle you are on.

5'6 is too short for a Medium Giant, you could put on short stems, maybe drop the bars right down etc... to try fudge a fit, but thats what it will be, a fudge. This one doesn't fit you.. walk away. Look for another bike in a size small. (depending on your flexibility anything from a 50 to 53cm effective top tube length should be in the ballpark). I am a little taller than you and ride/race on a smaller bike than you are looking at. I have a teammate who is at least 5 inches taller than you riding an M Giant.

Thats my tuppence worth, so whatever you do, whatever you buy, enjoy....

RobFowl

What Quigs said ....

HivemindXX

You asked what groupset meant. Here's a link to the page on wikipedia but the short answer is that it means the gears and brakes. You can make a rough guess as to the quality of a bike based on what groupset it has. The wiki page is handy because it lists the current groupset names from each manufacturer in order of quality. Note that bicycle manufacturers don't tend to make their own groupsets and it's likely that the majority of bikes you look at will have Shimano parts.

Bicycle sizing is kind of a nightmare in my opinion. There are a lot of variables in the frame geometry and it's hard to know what it all means in relation to you. Your height is only part of the equation, your inside leg length is very important too and arm length to a lesser degree in my opinion. You could try the web site of the bike manufacturer to see what size they recommend.

The most important thing is not to decide the bike is the right size for you just be standing over it in the shop. You must take it for a test ride, around the car park is fine, it doesn't need to be an epic journey although if the retailer is willing to let you take the bike for an hour or two to test it then why not. Get the retailer to adjust the saddle height for you and test it out. You should be able to comfortably put one foot down while remaining in the saddle while stopped without leaning over too far. You should not find your knees coming up around your ears when cycling. You should be comfortable with how forward you lean when you are cycling, you shouldn't feel like you are stretching to reach the bars, but since you want a road bike you don't want to be sitting up too straight because the bars are too close.

Basically you need to cycle it and make sure it feels comfortable to you. It doesn't need to be a perfect fit, you'll grow used to it and there is quite a lot of adjustment you can make by changing some relatively in expensive parts if you decide to do that down the road, but it should be a good fit from the word go.

rainbows7

Quigs & Hivemind thank you both so much for your time and great help with advice.

You're good people )

Thank you to everyone else too