Reply With QuoteYou will be perfect on a 56cm at that height usuallyOriginally Posted by peter2704
Ok reached the age of lycra and fancy getting into a road bike , now funds aren't massive and don't want to buy and find out its not for me and lose a load of cash.what bikes would we recommend and why? I think second hand is the way for me , although the btwin tribal is in the sale at 150 new but frame size no good .Size wise I am 5'11, 14 stone. Do i need a 56cm frame
Cheers peter
You will be perfect on a 56cm at that height usually
RIAC
Just buy one off ebay or the local paper from the last guy that bought it new and rode it half a dozen timesIt won't have accrued any wear and you'll save half the price if not more.
My daughter has the BTwin Triban 3 and we paid not far off £150 it secondhand.
For the money it's a belter, particluarly as it has a carbon fork which will make a difference to comfort once you start to increase the mileage.
You could probably find something better for your £150 on the secondhand market but, unless you know what you're looking for you, could easily buy a wrong 'un.
The Triban is basic but the gears, brakes etc will work and you will have the support of Decathlon for a first 'service' and if anything goes wrong with it. It will also give you a very clear idea if road biking is for you or not.
If your local Decathlon has one in your size (and 56cm is where I'd start at 5'11") I'd advise you to get down there and sling a leg over it. If it fits buy it.
Hopefully you'll love it and want a better bike. The Triban 3 isn't worth spending upgrade money one so you should get most of your £150 back selling it. Then you can buy something better (but more spendy). If you don't like it, you'll still get most of your £150 back to spend on watches or another new hobby.
What's with the different top tube angles ? Are some bikes more Sprint based or touring based ? Forgive questions , last now was a Peugeot talisman when I was 14-15 yes old , a long time ago
Horizontal top tubes went out some time ago. Everything these days will have a sloping top tube.
You're right that bikes can lean towards outright race performance (stiffness), sportives (comfort) etc. This is done through minor differences in geometry and the materials used. To be honest though... in the £150ish market this isn't something to worry about.
Buy the BTwin.
That bike is unbelievable value for the price.
Get one, seriously. I had one when it was double in price and loved it.
In fact, I've just checked on my daughter's bike and it has proper mudguard mounts and clearance so here's what you should do...
Buy the BTwin
Ride it over the summer and early autumn
Put mudguards on it for later autumn and winter
Next spring, treat yourself to a lovely new 'summer' bike and put the BTwin in the shed for winter (and rainy days in the summer).
Bear in mind that the bike is just the start, and by the name you've bought pedals, shoes, tools, bottle cage, bottle, kit, helmet etc, you'll be more than doubling your spend if looking at £200 ish bikes.
In terms of the bike, local Gumtree is a good place to look, although it's probably the worst time of year. The issue though, is that you could end up with something that needs money spending on it and it won't need much wrong to eat up another £200 or so.
£150 should quite comfortably get you a nice set of tyres and inner tubes. Not sure about a bike that'll be enjoyable to ride though.
Only kidding. For a new bike you can't get better. You might find slightly better second hand, but without a warranty and no guarantee that it's been looked after.
The BTwin sounds like good value but I would really try to get yourself along to a shop to try one out. I have worked my way through a handful of bikes and each one was purchased after trying out three or four different makes. My current road bike by Williers was bought after trying out a Giant, a Cannondale, a Specialised and a Bianchi, all very similar to look at with similar specs but each one felt so very different. Given you want to get into road cycling, I would advise caution that you don't simply pick up the first bike that comes your way, only to feel uncomfortable riding then give it up.
I echo comments that you should budget for helmet, gloves, glasses, pump, tubes, tyres, tool kit, chain oil, bottle and cage, Quadlock phone mount, cycling apps, cycling club membership, etc, etc. I have been putting serious miles in over the last couple of years and it is highly addictive.
Even second hand you will struggle to get better than the Triban for £150. It's highly likely that anything decent at that price second hand will be needing something done. Even just a new tyre or brake pads but maybe cassette, chain or worst case scenario wheels which will soon see the price rise even you buy and fit the parts yourself.
Take the advice of going and trying bikes out. I'm 6ft and find most 56cm frames too big for me. My first bike was a mail order job from Ribble and everyone said "56cm is the size for you". Turns out my upper body is the size of someone about 5ft 8 as I have a short reach. I tend to ride 54cm.
£150 for a complete bike is a bargain... I've paid more than that for a set of pedals (on more than one occasion !)
Unfortunately the btwin frame is only avaiable in 52cm or 61cm both too big .I am not stuck at 150 I just used this as an example bike/price. Seen a Carbondale caa8 for 399 but I could get it on finance over a year , the othr was a forme carbon framed 499 , again financed.this is abit more than I fancied paying but it looks well
The Cannondale CAAD8 is a bargain... their alu frames have always been excellent, light, and comfortable.
This one ?
http://www.rutlandcycling.com/323873...2obBoCwlHw_wcB
Do you happen to know which store the 61cm frame is in?
Edit: I've checked and apparently it was a batch of 48cm frames found down the back of the sofa in the French warehouse.
Last edited by AlphaOmega; 23rd June 2016 at 12:09.
I had a CAAD8, it was a great bike.
Have a look at paul's cycles, they always have great deals on previous years models
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p...ng-Road-Racing
Halfords also have an end of line sale on plus you can get cash back via quidco and a 10% discount if you join the British Cycling Federation
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike...endoflinebikes
I'm currently in the market for an adventure/gravel bike for myself
My advice is try before you buy - height is not a sure fire accurate way of assessing the right frame size - a wrong sized frame will always feel uncomfortable and be a waste of money.
You might have long legs and short body or vice versa. Or long arms.
My other half is your height and he rides a 54cm (the guidelies say he should ride a 56cm) as he feels more comfortable. He tried both 54cm an 56cm.
Yep that one ,shame only in black
Yep, I saw that on the website but wondered if you'd seen a 56cm in store.
according to web page all sold out ,only if any in store.Unfortunately none near me
I ride a Rose ProSL 3000, shiny black wih very subdued grey logos. With a few red bits (headset spacers, seat clamp, quick releases, valve caps, a red fleck in the bar tape) it looks so much more refined than some machines with garish splashes of colour all over. If you want a good helmet cheap the Specialized S3 can be had for £55, down from £100, very light and comfortable. http://www.irvinecycles.co.uk/SS3-15.html I just bought one to replace my old one.
F.T.F.A.
Yes me too. And it depends on the geometry of the bike. My De Rosa was a 56 on Trek and Cannondale Ive gone with 54s and on Cervelo its 56!
It was talking to a roadie at a drink stop on a mountain bike ride that got me to thinking I would like a black road bike, if I got one. He was riding a beautiful black Cervelo!
not against black ,just wondered about on road visibility
The bike frame is a pretty small proportion of what's visible - stick some lights on the bike and reflective gear on the rider and you'll have done everything you can - I very much doubt frame colour makes any difference (as I've gone for none-more-black as a colour scheme on half of my bikes, I'm very much hoping that's the case)
Ok .tried a couple of bikes over the weekend and like watches you end up paying more than you budgeted.
Loved the cannondale caa8,54 frame and a great fit but the carbon FROME was ordered (not sure if any good,never heard of he make )so we will see how it goes.one thing that struck me was how things have moved on since I last had one , the cannondale was light , and worlds away from my old Peugeot talisman .......next hurdle is equipment , not really into lycra
Once you get over your wife/partner/kids laughing at you, you'll never look back
Oh, and then there's clipless pedals. If you haven't tried them before you'll only do the fall of shame once.
Last edited by benny.c; 27th June 2016 at 10:19.
I had a B'Twin Nework 500 that I just sold recently after using it for a year. It was a 3 speeder and more of a commute/city bike.
I'm pretty sure that my next bike will be a B'Twin road bike however I do plan on buying something better than Triban 500 series that they offer since I heard that those don't have the best gear shifters and such.
In my opinion Btwin offers great price/performance ratio and the bikes that I've seen are all made in the EU so no cheap asian crap.
If you want to get the most bang for the buck I'd agree with others that it's best to go second hand, but not just any second hand but buying a bicycle from someone that is experienced and passionate about bikes. Such people take good care of them. There's also the guy that sells his bike because he got it as a gift and doesn't want it or has used it 2-3 times and decided it's not for them.
Last edited by ordo; 27th June 2016 at 10:31.
Did you mean Forme?
Yep sorry forme bikes ,any good ?
Which model did you buy?
forme axe edge sport 2.0 LE carbon frame I think
I've done it twice, once I unclipped the left foot and somehow went over to the right, had to sacrifice my knee to save my di2 derailleur.Once you get over your wife/partner/kids laughing at you, you'll never look back
Oh, and then there's clipless pedals. If you haven't tried them before you'll only do the fall of shame once.
I've done it twice in public and once on an MTB in the middle of nowhere
I've seen these at crazy prices for a carbon bike. The other components are pretty low spec on them so most of your £ is going to the carbon frame. In saying that, you are still getting a Shimano equipped carbon road bike for the price many sell an aluminium bike with the same kit for.
Just keep that BB30 bottom bracket out of the rain though.
Yep, at 499 I am happy with my first bike,is the bb30 weak or just not water resistant?
Last edited by peter2704; 27th June 2016 at 22:25.
That's a bargain at £499. I have the same Sora groupset on my wet/winter bike and it works flawlessly. I would however advise changing the brake pads. I was never happy with the stopping power of the Tektros, and fitted some Clarkes pads which are much better. Koolstop are good as well.
Slight thread dis-rail...
Oddly (or maybe not oddly) I seem to reach for my cross bike (CAADX 105) if I want to go anywhere quickly around the city (front hydraulic disc conversion and fatter tyres that soak up the Gloucester bumps). I haven't put a leg over my full carbon Litespeed since last September. The slightly more relaxed geometry of the cross bike (still have drops to get down out of the wind) make it more forgiving, the tyre options let me gravel track and canal path if I want to and, to be honest, it's not significantly slower on the road with the right tyre choice.
The number 1 go to practical bike for me is my fluorescent orange powder coated Pashley Post bike with massive built in basket - goes to the shops most days and is happy to come back from Sainsbury's with three full bags of shopping in the front. It does weigh roughly the same as a village church however.
Yesterday I agreed an offer with the seller to buy this and the Pashley will be going on the block;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bullitt-Da...vip=true&rt=nc
Picking it up on Friday in Bournemouth. I cannot wait! Will be tricking the machine out with some modular bits for the front, including a 'child pod' with a windshield that I've been sketching up in my head.
If you've never ridden a Bullitt but fancy leaving the car at home a little more then I can't recommend one highly enough - they are fast yet can handle huge loads. Even light enough for some bike touring.
That is a splendid looking bit of kit Beaunidle. Very similar to the cycles I saw parents carting their kids around in Amsterdam. There is absolutely no way I would take my kids out on one of those in this country though, seeing as cyclists are already a target for the mouth breathers.
Ordered this today. Thanks to all for such a superb thread.
nice one,if I hadnt bought the FORME then the cannondale was next
Nice one !!!
Any suggestion on buying a pre-owned 500ccm bike? What brand and where to buy? And since I never bought or owned a motorcycle - what things do I need to check out in order to be sure it will function as it should?
Oh FFS stop speed posting and read the fricken thread before you append total tosh to get your post count up. IT WILL NOT WORK.
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