Beginner Road Bike Recommendations

Shefwedfan

Hi, thank you everyone for advice so far. I started a thread earlier and I was looking at flat bar. I talked to two friends who are currently purchasing road bikes and plan on doing some cycling at weekend.

They are recommending I go for road bike so I can join. To give details again, I will cycle to work every few days, 20km round trip.

I have the bike2work scheme and they have just more or less given me 1k to spend in specific shop. The shop does Trek/Giant/Merida and Cube....

I had a Giant before, mountain bike and loved it. Apart from that I have no preference....thanks and sorry for been vague

lissard

The brands you list will all have an offering at the €1000 mark. For that you should get an aluminium bike with Carbon forks and a Shimano Groupset up to about 10 speed Tiagra spec.

The Giant offering is a bike called the Contend.
Cube has something called the Attain.

I would recommend just asking the shop to show you the various options and see which one you like. To be honest they are all likely to be good. I've had the Giant bike at this price point and I was very pleased with it.

saccades

Red ones are faster...

Shefwedfan

saccades wrote: »

Red ones are faster...

Excellent contribution again.....

It wasn't funny the first time and still isn't.....

Shefwedfan

lissard wrote: »

The brands you list will all have an offering at the €1000 mark. For that you should get an aluminium bike with Carbon forks and a Shimano Groupset up to about 10 speed Tiagra spec.

The Giant offering is a bike called the Contend.
Cube has something called the Attain.

I would recommend just asking the shop to show you the various options and see which one you like. To be honest they are all likely to be good. I've had the Giant bike at this price point and I was very pleased with it.

Thanks for advice.....they seem to have options between Shimano Sora and Tigra. Which would be the best? but is it much of a muchness?

Thanks again

ED E

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Thanks for advice.....they seem to have options between Shimano Sora and Tigra. Which would be the best? but is it much of a muchness?

Thanks again

ROI drops off hugely at the top but at the bottom it makes a difference.

Claris: probably worth saving a bit more
Sora: Works, but ewwww
Tiagra: Kinda sweet spot for bang/buck
105: A little luxury
Ultegra: Poor mans DI
DI2: Electrics on a bike, tis cheating
Dura Ace: Money > Sense

At €1000 ish budget IMO Tiagra makes sense rather than diverting funds to a frame thats a tiny bit nicer or shaving a few grams on other components.

lissard

Tiagra would be smoother shifting, 9 speed Sora might be a bit 'notchy' - i.e. you'll notice the jumps between gears. I started out with 8 speed Claris groupset and when I upgraded my bike I got an 11 speed 105 it was night and day. The other thing I've found is that 8 speed components are now harder to source as they are gradually being replaced. This is what will eventually happen to Sora so I'd be inclined to jump to 10 speed.

Trek sub €1000 I'd imagine it would be a Domane Al 2 or 3. This years 3 is lovely looking in the silver and blue but Sora group set. Reviews I've seen mention iffy breaks/pads seems to be a thing on the low end Treks to go cheap on the breaks.

Trek are good bikes, very good just better value to be had in others at that end of things.

Shefwedfan

Deleted User wrote: »

Trek sub €1000 I'd imagine it would be a Domane Al 2 or 3. This years 3 is lovely looking in the silver and blue but Sora group set. Reviews I've seen mention iffy breaks/pads seems to be a thing on the low end Treks to go cheap on the breaks.

Trek are good bikes, very good just better value to be had in others at that end of things.

The shop is recommending the Merida as high spec but price is lower due to lack of "name"

It has taken 2 months to get bike2work out of system so if I change shop now I potentially wont get till 15th July:mad::mad:

Fighting Tao

Bought a trek with sora last year as a commuter. If My other bike wasn’t 105 I’d have said the gearing is great. It is decent but I do notice the difference. However the breaks were horrendous. I wasn’t sure they’d stop me. So I watched out for a deal and got a 105 set to replace them. The replacement set cost me £44 STG and I sold the originals (used for about 30km) for €22.

Shefwedfan

Shefwedfan wrote: »

The shop is recommending the Merida as high spec but price is lower due to lack of "name"

It has taken 2 months to get bike2work out of system so if I change shop now I potentially wont get till 15th July:mad::mad:

Do you know what Merida model they were offering I'd imagine a Scultura or Silex ?

Shefwedfan

Deleted User wrote: »

Do you know what Merida model they were offering I'd imagine a Scultura or Silex ?

Thanks, I have asked this question....for the commuter option they recommended the below


https://www.merida-bikes.com/en_int/bikes/road-fitness-gravel/fitness/2018/speeder-200-9354.html

monty_python

I've no knowledge of different bikes but I got a planet x bike a few weeks ago and I'm delighted with it.
I'm a beginner as well. (Cycled mountain bikes as a kid) it's very light and easy to push on and from what I can see it's great value for money

Shefwedfan

Recommendations from the shop so far

They said go Cube as tire is wider than other bikes(28c). I requested a wider tire just for roads
Cube Attain Pro Disc
https://www.cube.eu/uk/2018/bikes/road/road-cyclocross/attain/cube-attain-pro-disc-whitenred-2018/
Giant Contend 1
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/ie/contend-1-2018
Trek Domane AL3
https://www.trekbikes.com/ie/en_IE/bikes/road-bikes/performance-road/domane/domane-al/domane-al-3/p/17497/?colorCode=black
Merida Ride 300
https://www.merida-bikes.com/en_int/bikes/road-fitness/road-comfort/2017/ride-300-6612.html

The Merida from the looks of it is last years model and its a sell off price exact to the grant. The others are all around 900 quid so leave a few quid to get extras like mud guards etc etc

They all seem fairly similar in spec from what I can see unless I am missing something? the Merida with a slightly higher spec

joey100

Personally at that price I'd stay away from disc's, I don't think cable disc brakes are worth the jump over caliper brakes. My advice would be go for the one you like the look of the best (including the disc one if it's your favourite). They are all very similarly specced and what you might gain on one you will lose on another, eg better wheels but own brand calipers. There isn't one of them bikes that stands out as being exceptionally better than any of the others in my mind so go for which ever you prefer. In my experience using the bike to work too shops will normally throw in a few extras like mudguards and stuff too.

If the bikes at 1000 euro are alot better it might be worth buying one of them rather than using the money on stuff you can pick up as you go.

Shefwedfan

joey100 wrote: »

Personally at that price I'd stay away from disc's, I don't think cable disc brakes are worth the jump over caliper brakes. My advice would be go for the one you like the look of the best (including the disc one if it's your favourite). They are all very similarly specced and what you might gain on one you will lose on another, eg better wheels but own brand calipers. There isn't one of them bikes that stands out as being exceptionally better than any of the others in my mind so go for which ever you prefer. In my experience using the bike to work too shops will normally throw in a few extras like mudguards and stuff too.

If the bikes at 1000 euro are alot better it might be worth buying one of them rather than using the money on stuff you can pick up as you go.

Good point about the disc brakes. thanks.......

Shefwedfan

Thanks everyone for the advice. Finally got bike purchased this morning and will pick up on Monday.

In the end after a lot of testing in the shop I went with the following: https://www.cube.eu/uk/2018/bikes/road/road-cyclocross/attain/cube-attain-pro-disc-whitenred-2018/

I did have a go on the flat bar again after testing the Cube but I really liked how the Cube felt....

The shop would have ready today but I brought the wrong car with me so I couldn't transport it :-(

I have to wait for Monday so

Mimojo

Sorry to hijack this thread, but rather than start a new one…

I too am looking for recommendations for a beginners road bike. Im 5ft 9” lady so looks like at 56”. From what I have read there isn’t a huge amount of difference between a women’s and men’s bike so that doesn’t bother me. I’m on a tight budget, BTW isn’t an option so looking at around €350-400. Looking at new at that price doesn’t look like I will get much in the way of a decent brand, so thinking second hand. Have found this on Done Deal which I think (in my extremely limited knowledge) looks decent, but would love some advice on it please.

I am a complete beginner, do a bit of running and gym so would consider myself semi fit, really just looking to get into cycling and see if I like it, live close to a long bypass so will be starting out there for the moment, the aim is for the next few months with bright mornings to get out a few mornings a week, and then have the bike for the window months with a turbo. That is the idea anyhow!

Don’t really want to fork out a lot of money at the outset, want something reliable and decent to get me started out, and if in time I decide I love it am then happy to buy something better and hopefully make use of the BTW at that stage.

Thanks a mill!

Shefwedfan

hijack away

I would recommend trying to go to a shop with loads of different brands, even if new....test them all and find which ones you like and which ones you don't....then it will narrow your second hand search as it is a mind field out there.....so many options

Mimojo

Shefwedfan wrote: »

hijack away

I would recommend trying to go to a shop with loads of different brands, even if new....test them all and find which ones you like and which ones you don't....then it will narrow your second hand search as it is a mind field out there.....so many options

Cheers for the advice. It really is a mind field out there, there are SO many brands, types and things to look out for. I know my budget is low but still hope to get something half decent to start me off at least

Shefwedfan

Mimojo wrote: »

Cheers for the advice. It really is a mind field out there, there are SO many brands, types and things to look out for. I know my budget is low but still hope to get something half decent to start me off at least

After you try some out it will help, each of them ride a little different so you will quickly figure out what you like.....

Budget is loads to be honest....due to the high supply you can pick up some bargains

HugoMyBoss

Mimojo wrote: »

Sorry to hijack this thread, but rather than start a new one…

I too am looking for recommendations for a beginners road bike. Im 5ft 9” lady so looks like at 56”. From what I have read there isn’t a huge amount of difference between a women’s and men’s bike so that doesn’t bother me. I’m on a tight budget, BTW isn’t an option so looking at around €350-400. Looking at new at that price doesn’t look like I will get much in the way of a decent brand, so thinking second hand. Have found this on Done Deal which I think (in my extremely limited knowledge) looks decent, but would love some advice on it please.

I am a complete beginner, do a bit of running and gym so would consider myself semi fit, really just looking to get into cycling and see if I like it, live close to a long bypass so will be starting out there for the moment, the aim is for the next few months with bright mornings to get out a few mornings a week, and then have the bike for the window months with a turbo. That is the idea anyhow!

Don’t really want to fork out a lot of money at the outset, want something reliable and decent to get me started out, and if in time I decide I love it am then happy to buy something better and hopefully make use of the BTW at that stage.

Thanks a mill!

56 will be a bit too big for you!.

Mimojo

HugoMyBoss wrote: »

56 will be a bit to big for you!.

Ok thanks. I was going off this chart, but I can see I am between 2 sizes

Shefwedfan

Mimojo wrote: »

Ok thanks. I was going off this chart, but I can see I am between 2 sizes

Im 5ft 9.....I think mine is 53....I am a bit of short arse :P

HugoMyBoss

Mimojo wrote: »

Ok thanks. I was going off this chart, but I can see I am between 2 sizes

I think a medium sized frame would suit, Im 5 11 and a 54.5 is good for me.

Fighting Tao

One thing I noticed while helping my wife pick a bike is that women hands are usually smaller than mens and it can be difficult using the brakes on a road bike. The giant Liv bikes have additional brake levers on the crossbar.

Mimojo

HugoMyBoss wrote: »

I think a medium sized frame would suit, Im 5 11 and a 54.5 is good for me.

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Im 5ft 9.....I think mine is 53....I am a bit of short arse :P

Fighting Tao wrote: »

One thing I noticed while helping my wife pick a bike is that women hands are usually smaller than mens and it can be difficult using the brakes on a road bike. The giant Liv bikes have additional brake levers on the crossbar.

Thanks for the advice all, much appreciated. By the sounds of things 56" will be too big alright, good to know. And also on the brakes issue, defo need to go into a shop I think and get advice, I def dont know enough to just chance buying something 2nd hand with my limited knowledge

Shefwedfan

Mimojo wrote: »

Thanks for the advice all, much appreciated. By the sounds of things 56" will be too big alright, good to know. And also on the brakes issue, defo need to go into a shop I think and get advice, I def dont know enough to just chance buying something 2nd hand with my limited knowledge

Where are you based? might get some tips on good shops!!!!

Mimojo

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Where are you based? might get some tips on good shops!!!!

Based in Ennis and work in Limerick so need to do some research on local shops nearby!