First cheap road bike?

[The Tot]

Am I too late to provide my input here?

£470 buys you a very good road bike with groupsets that you most typically see on £700 quid bikes

Had mine 2 months now and racked just a smidge under 300 miles on it - mostly on commutes.

It's less than 10kg for a 53cm frame and exquisitely well built! Neatly dressed welds, carbon fibre forks, shimano sora groupset. Shifts nicely and gets up to speed effortlessly!

If you were looking to spend £500, you can't go far wrong with the Merlin. A few lads have also got ribble bikes and vouch by them. Find a cheap used boardman and you'll be in for a bargain.

I was looking at Carreras at halfords, but for the same price, you get better equipment from the merlin.
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The Tot 2007 Yamaha R1 4C8 2002 Yamaha FZS1000 Fazer &
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[HJM]

Never too late mate, and appreciate the input.

Recently saw a post by you were you mentioned ditching the motorbike for a push bike, and it was that, which got me thinking.

My commute is so small, it is just not practical to use anything but my legs (walking or cycling).

What sucks is, im not in the position to buy both a push bike and a motorcycle, and i really want the latter.


Looks like used boardman are £400 upwards, which wasn't what i was looking to spend, seeing as it will be mainly used for small quite/empty roads to and from university. I don't necessarily need a top of the line bike, just something which will be problem free.

If on the other hand i was commuting into/around london via bike i would certainly consider spending £500 and see it as an investment. For my needs ect, it seems OTT.



Again, I appreciate the help mate.

All the best.

HJM
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"90% of all statistics are made up"

CBT-18/04/2013

[EuropeanNC30R...]

It's the worst time of year to buy a used bicycle, but still probably your best bet. I sold my Specialized Allez in good condition for £300 a couple years ago, keep an eye on ebay for local pick-up only bikes.

There's also a lot of traffic on the BikeRadar for sale section, you'll need to register to see it.

If you're going new Decathlon is probably unbeatable for £300.

[HJM]

Again guys, thanks for the replies.

Have been doing a bit of thinking the past few days, and i don't think i was on the wright path.

I wanted a road bike because they looked the dogs. No other reason other then pure aesthetics.

Yes, all of my 1.5mile commute is mainly on roads/pavements, but there are a few gravel paths and the likes, of which i dont think it would be best suited for a road bike.

There are also a few trails into some lovely country side and cycle routes all around, which again, are slightly offroad (i wouldn't class it as offroad, nor well paved).

Does this all warrent a mountain bike? Not at fuxking all lol, but practically, a road bike on these terrians which aren't the road it will come up short.

So was having a butchers and watched a video from the gadget show, i took an interested in the winner of their group test.

The B'twin Rockrider 5.0, Again from Decathlon, seems to be exactly what would sort my needs?

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-50-mountain-bike-black-id_8202062.html

The 5.0 is the cheapest but from the reviews they seem to be received bloody well, From what ive read the 5.1 has suspension and a better frame? but from what i've read the weight of the suspension outweighs the weight reduction from a better frame? - Most likely talking complete bollocks

For £100 quid i can't go wrong, no worries about it getting nicked, and it can take a beating.


As always, any help is appreciated.

Take care chaps,

HJM.
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"90% of all statistics are made up"

CBT-18/04/2013