Best value Road Bike in Dublin for under 400 euro

Tommo3434343

I was looking at getting a Carrera Zelos or Virtuoso in Halfords tomorrow but from looking around here, people seem to have a real problem with Halfords and think there is much better value elsewhere.

What road bike would people recommend me to get for under 400 euro? It will mainly be used for commuting (about 25km every day). I had a Virtuoso and it served me well while I had it.

Thanks for the help guys.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Go onto Donedeal and look at bikes priced up to €500 (haggling should bring it within your budget) You’ll get a non ch better and higher spec bike for your money and donedeal/adverts is full of bikes.

Out of interest what height/weight are you?

Tommo3434343

I'm 5'11'', about 80kg. I know very little about bikes so I'm hesitant to buy anything second hand as I wouldn't know what to look for. I'd feel safer buying new. I'm not looking for anything amazing, just a good solid bike for commuting every day in Dublin.

Type 17

As Cee-Jay-Cee says, go secondhand - if you plan on doing 25km a day, then €400 spent on any new bike (not just Halfords stuff) will be €400 wasted.
More expensive bikes aren't just lighter, they're more durable in bad weather. Cheaper bikes used heavily will degrade faster, and will cost more over time to keep on the road.

PS: Some bike shops sell used bikes which they've taken as trade-in's. They shouldn't have any major issues (and you'd have some comeback if they did).

Are you commuting to work? Bike to work scheme would give your budget a bit of a boost. Is that available to you?

cunavalos

I would agree with the advice to look at the second hand market for better value. There is excellent value out once you filter out the dreamers, chancers and dodgy characters.
I understand your preference for a hassle free transaction with a bricks and mortar shop, so one option would be to try a bike shop with a used section where they have given the bikes a once over.
The cyclesuperstore in tallaght offer a reasonable range http://usedbikes.ie/bicycle/user/profile?user_id=64
360 cycles in clontarf also have some trade in bikes for sale http://www.360cycles.ie/bikes/second-hand-bikes/

Cee-Jay-Cee

Just as an example of what you could get second hand for your approximate budget.

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/18224815

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/18428204

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/18287548

As for not knowing much about bikes, bring someone who does know a thing or two with you and even if you don’t know anyone there’s not much to check. Basically take the bike for a spin, make sure the gears change smoothly and quietly, check both brakes work and lift the bike and spin the front and rear wheels and check that they spin smoothly and freely and that there are no major wobbles (I wouldn’t mind a millimetre or two movement but not much more) If all those things check out then you should be good to go. Once you have it bought you can always drop it into a bike shop and ask them to service it and give it the once over.