Buying Road Bike whats important?

LaGlisse

Hi all, Im buying a road bike for triathlon. Trouble is I dont know much about bikes and get a bit overwhelmed at all the specs.
My budget is up to 800-1200Euro. Thinking if I go second hand I might get more bang for my buck and have less chance of needing to upgrade a I get into it, any advice welcome
Some other questions
How important is the groupset, will I notice a difference between TIAGRA, S100 and Ultegra.
I assume with my budget is better going for higher end alu frames rather than Carbon?
The milage on bikes on donedeal/adverts is bull**** in most cases i assume?

kenmc

full carbon ultegra for 1000 sterling, inside your budget, good groupset and carbon.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPULT2/planet-x-pro-carbon-shimano-ultegra-road-bike

happytramp

Do you want to buy in a shop or online? A bike shop will allow you to try out the bike first and usually provide better after sales service. Online will be better value for money but you won't get to try the bike out for size.

There will be generally be a noticeable difference in the groupsets that come on a 800 euro bike and a 1200 euro one. There are three different manufactures of groupsets. Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM each have a line of groupsets ranging from entry level up to pro standard. At your budget I'd recommend something mid-level ie Shimano-'105', Campagnolo-'Veloce', SRAM-'Apex'. You might get higher up by shopping online. However the difference won't be as noticeable between mid to high level stuff as it is from low to mid level stuff.

I'd agree that a good Aluminium with a carbon fork is the way to go. That said there's probably some good deals out there on carbon right now.

Mileage on second hand bikes isn't nearly as important as how well the bike has been maintained or the overall condition of the bike. I'd rather a well looked after bike that has been raced extensively rather than something that's been left out in the side alley for a year.

Seweryn

LaGlisse wrote: »

How important is the groupset, will I notice a difference between TIAGRA, S100 and Ultegra.
I assume with my budget is better going for higher end alu frames rather than Carbon?
The milage on bikes on donedeal/adverts is bull**** in most cases i assume?

The condition of the bike is important, if buying second hand, however the single most important thing is the bike fit, so make sure that the frame size and geometry is right. Other bits can be replaced and fine-tuned.

LaGlisse

happytramp wrote: »

Do you want to buy in a shop or online? A bike shop will allow you to try out the bike first and usually provide better after sales service. Online will be better value for money but you won't get to try the bike out for size.

There will be generally be a noticeable difference in the groupsets that come on a 800 euro bike and a 1200 euro one. There are three different manufactures of groupsets. Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM each have a line of groupsets ranging from entry level up to pro standard. At your budget I'd recommend something mid-level ie Shimano-'105', Campagnolo-'Veloce', SRAM-'Apex'. You might get higher up by shopping online. However the difference won't be as noticeable between mid to high level stuff as it is from low to mid level stuff.

I'd agree that a good Aluminium with a carbon fork is the way to go. That said there's probably some good deals out there on carbon right now.

Mileage on second hand bikes isn't nearly as important as how well the bike has been maintained or the overall condition of the bike. I'd rather a well looked after bike that has been raced extensively rather than something that's been left out in the side alley for a year.

Would prefer to buy in my local bike shop, however was thinking I might get more value going the second hand route. Like the look of that PlanetX Carbon posten by Kenmc, seems to be getting good reviews online

happytramp

LaGlisse wrote: »

Would prefer to buy in my local bike shop, however was thinking I might get more value going the second hand route. Like the look of that PlanetX Carbon posten by Seweryn, seems to be getting good reviews online

If you decide to go the online route do a bit of research into the brands sizing. Yes you can obviously get good value second hand. Lots of great bikes out there in your price range. Obviously size will be the limiting factor.... eg http://www.adverts.ie/road-bikes/cinelli-experience-road-bike-medium-53/4375034

LaGlisse

was thinking of taking a look at this, seems like value with all the stuff added?
http://www.adverts.ie/road-bikes/corratec-dolomiti-ultegra-2012-with-many-upgrades/4770873

happytramp

LaGlisse wrote: »

was thinking of taking a look at this, seems like value with all the stuff added?
http://www.adverts.ie/road-bikes/corratec-dolomiti-ultegra-2012-with-many-upgrades/4770873

Yeah that is very good value. Especially if he's throwing in all that extra gear which would probably run you about €200 to buy separately. I'd be extremely tempted at that price.

LaGlisse

happytramp wrote: »

Yeah that is very good value. Especially if he's throwing in all that extra gear which would probably run you about €200 to buy separately. I'd be extremely tempted at that price.

Was gonna have a lokk at this but it was withdrawn. Still looking.
Have to say Im starting to think I should be very wary with people selling Carbon road bikes, seems to be a lot of too good to be true deals to be had eg guy on donedeal selling a full carbon bike and dura ace groupset for 900 when it was bought for 3500. Would it be true that a lot of these could be damaged with the damage being hidden?

Buzwaldo

LaGlisse wrote: »

Was gonna have a lokk at this but it was withdrawn. Still looking.
Have to say Im starting to think I should be very wary with people selling Carbon road bikes, seems to be a lot of too good to be true deals to be had eg guy on donedeal selling a full carbon bike and dura ace groupset for 900 when it was bought for 3500. Would it be true that a lot of these could be damaged with the damage being hidden?

Not necessarily. The bike that cost 3500 a few years ago might be available new or similar model for 2000-2500 now, and if a few years old 950 may be its worth now. Good few second hand carbon bike around for sub 1000 now, but as always when buying second hand, caveat emptor.