| Archive for justcycling.myfastforum.org Just Cycling |
| fede40 |
Fed's coming out: advices needed (it's cycling related...)hi all,well, as ashameful as it can be, I never actually had a road racing bike. my only cycling related success(ish): climbing Stelvio, was achieved on a MTB (ridiculously heavy one...). thanks to the fact that I work for a fancy company which tries to be as green as possible, I'm entitled to the "cycle to work" scheme. i.e. My company will pay for a bike+accessories and I pay back over 12 months. I'd end up saving about 40% of the whole package value. now, that's where I need you cyclists, I need some advice on what I should be looking for. I'm pretty clueless bikewise (I can tell what colous I like, that's about it) and also accessories-wise. I know I want padded shorts... I know I'll need a helmet and possibly a lock... that's pretty much it... so fire at will!!! cheers peeps 
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| berck |
What type of bike are you looking to get? If you are actually going to use it to ride to work, you may want to stay away from racing bike and get a commuter type bike. | ||
| fede40 |
the idea is to use it also to go to work. I realize that racing bikes aren't quite the most comfortable ones to do it, but I like to think that I'd use it to keep in shape and, who knows, eventually I'd join a club... also you can't climb Muswell hill on a commuter bike 
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| Spoo |
Fede,
Is this the Halfords (Boo! Hiss!) scheme? Its a saving but the downside is you have to do it through halfords and the choice is limited. I did it a couple of years ago @£400 when in the same situation as you and went for 2007 version of this (which given that I also only knew about colours was red rather than blue ): http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wc...10001_partNumber_771394_langId_-1
Got mine for £270 and the other stuff swallowed up the remaining £130 It has done the trick for me (used for commuting when i can, odd weekend rides ~20-40miles, evening rides ~15 miles, 1 Oxford to Cambridge) Its not required too much maintainence (couple of punctures, new bottom bracket) and I've added clipless pedals so i can recommend it if you want to use it similarly although I'd suggest you store it indoors as the nuts bolts on mine were starting to rust (symptom of a cheaper bike i guess). If you've got a bit more cash and are doing it through Halfords I'd check out the boardman bikes they have (as they're pretty much the only premium option) Alternatively they say they can order any bikes in for you. I would check this though as a mate here at work wanted to do that but would have had to go an pick it up from a warehouse miles away. My halfords things worked for me as a starting point but I would definitely recommend going to your local bike shop to see what they can offer in your price range as you'll get minimal set up support and limited choice at halfords. My next purchase will be with a LBS when I'm satisfied enough that I'll have time to do a new bike justice. Hope that helps |
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| fede40 |
cheers Spoo,
nope my scheme is slightly different. and I'll be shopping either at Evans or at Cycling surgery (or whatever it's called). budget is definitely higher than that (who needs eating when you can get a bike...): that is I'll end up paying some £400 in a year or so but will be able to buy equipment for £700. |
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| SlowRower |
The Halfords scheme isn't too bad, if you want functionality for money. My mate's just got a Boardman MTB at roughly half price (£400ish vs £800) and it was very competitively priced to begin with, given the spec. It's a strange looking steed, though. It just doesn't look quite right, in an inquantifiable way. |
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| Spoo |
Good news Fede. I started low as I hadn't had a bike for 6-7 years at the time so didn't want to get carried away. It sounds like you're a step further on from that in terms of price range so Evans or Cycle surgery should be fine. SR - In fairness to Halfords I was happy with my transaction there and my little Carrera has seen me right and is still going strong. Even if the bloke in the bike shop keeps saying 'well it is a pretty cheap bike' whenever I take it in for a check over  (Nothing to do with his room full of high end Treks, Cervelos and Specializeds he wants to flog I imagine  ). The Boo! Hiss! was more for the big business v LBS angle tbh
The Boardmans look quite nice in Halfords, its just the rest of the choice thats a bit lacking if you want somethign decent. Fede- Have you any idea what your thinking of buying with your £400-700? I'd be interested to hear how you get on as I have been tempted to make the step up myself. |
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| fede40 |
well after going to both Evans and Cycle Surgery in Holbon, I've been offered different things.
Evans has a Pinnacle and Cycle Surgery offered me a Giant defy 3 (or 2.5) right now, despite being more expensive, I'm tempted by the Giant |
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| Drongo |
Well, Giant do offer very good value, in this country at least. I don't like to admit it, but it's true. I'd say the frame is likely to be good, since (at least in Australia) a higher model Defy generally just gets better parts, but the same frame.
I'm not sure about the fork on the Giant. If it's aluminium, it will take the bumps a little harder than if it's carbon fibre. I don't know anything about the Pinnacle, really. It seems a similar spec. The Tektro brakes are not the best, in my view, but it seems they both have them, so no real difference there. Just make sure you do the usual things: ride the bike around for a bit before you buy (and if they don't let you, go elsewhere), and make sure you're fitted properly (frame, stem, seat position, etc). Go at a time that isn't super busy (not Saturday afternoon, for example) so you get better service. And then ask: which do you prefer to ride? Do budget for a decent D-lock, too. You don't want to be paying for a bike you no longer have. Good luck! |
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| fede40 |
the 2.5 has a carbon fibre fork, I think the 3 does too.
for the ride, I'll pop in on tuesday and try to arrange it, they didn't have a frame my size already set up the other day. D-lock is already in the mix although I have a bike shelter at work
I think the guy said the upgrades in the higher end defy series were lighter wheels, better Shimano set, lighter seat post |
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