Any value out there ??

kbarnesie

Hi,
Advice needed.
Going to start cycling to work.
20km each way.

Buying a road bike on Bike to Work Scheme..

What should I get......
I've been advised to look at a Scott 60 and saw a half price Carrera in Halfords yesterday for €399.

Any advice appreciated....

godtabh

The carrera was probably never worth €800. You get what you pay for

stecleary

giant defy 5 is a pretty good buy, a million of them out there and a much better buy than the carrera.

mirrormatrix

Personally, I wouldn't bother with a groupset lower than sora for a road bike. Cycle Surgery in Dundrum had a good sale on recently with the cube peloton for 750, but this might be over now.

Don't cheap out, 20k each way is a reasonable distance and you wont be bothered if your bike is crap. Spend the full grand, make up the balance that you don't spend on the bike with lights, jacket, mudguards, locks etc. etc.

There's a bunch of other threads on this already on the cycle forum. Have a look through those as well, you'll get loads more information

fat bloke

A bike on the Btw scheme for €399 is a waste of €601.

Seaswimmer

kbarnesie wrote: »

Hi,
Advice needed.
Going to start cycling to work.
20km each way.

Buying a road bike on Bike to Work Scheme..

What should I get......
I've been advised to look at a Scott 60 and saw a half price Carrera in Halfords yesterday for €399.

Any advice appreciated....

I do that distance as well and you need a decent bike especially if you are going over rough roads. I would spend as much as you can afford on a good road bike (with good wheels especially) and build up the accessories, clothing ect over time.

That kind of distance everyday takes a lot out of the bike.

Buy cheap, buy twice.

Pinch Flat

As an indication of what to expect, I was commuting on a Dolan preffisio (tiagra, mavic askium wheels, gatorskins) 40k per day. Great bike which was unfortunately nicked on me.

The replacement was a b'twin triban 5 - funds were tight and btw not an option. I picked it up for €500 when in France. It's sora group set which is what I'd also consider as a minimum. Replaced the stock wheels with shimano r501, decent tyres (conti Grand Prix), Crud mudguards, New saddle (stock one crap). So on the road for perhaps €750. That's before clothing, lock, helmet, decent lights, pump etc.

On that 40k per day commute, I replaced the entire drive train (cassette and chain) and bottom bracket (sora swapped out for ultegra one which is so far lasting longer) within about 8 months, so a crap bike with cheap components is not going to be up to the task.

this would be my bare minimum for a bike you're going to spend a couple of hours on per day.