New to Cycling - Need a road bike under £600

[cornish]

Hi,

My son has taken to riding my Halfords special mountain bike that I put road tyres on years ago to get his once a day exercise under lockdown. He has his 20th birthday coming up later this month and has said that he has been bitten by the cycling bug and would like to look at a proper road bike.

I have had a look around and I know nothing about bikes but have done some reading and the following are in budget:

2020 Specialized Allez
2020 Giant Contend 2
2020 Boardman 8.6
2020 Triban Rc120/500 - depending on which is better value

There seem to be a few sales starting to happen and the Allez and Contend are dropping down in price which is good as I don't really want to spend mega ££ as I can see this being a phase that will stop at some point especially if it rains. But he does seem really keen and has managed a decent trip out this afternoon and says he is really getting into it.

So, please be gentle with me and offer opinions on which way I should go with his first bike. Also, any help with the sizing as he is 6ff 2" so I am guessing the ML or L size from the various companies may work. I believe that Cycle Surgery is still open as seen as an essential go I may end up there at some point in the future.

Many thanks

[Woody John]

Gumtree. Large frame.

[Master Bean]

A quick look at all of those bikes and they all look good to me. Granted I'm just a random on the internet giving advice but each buy has a solid claris groupset. Some have bigger tyres for more comfort so it depends where you'll ride it. A size large or a 58 or 60 depending on what feels right. I'm 6ft4 and ride a 58cm Trek.

[lauda]

Any of those bikes that you've listed will be a decent choice for a beginner.

A recent budget bike test I read rated the Carrera Virago as their best buy (although that is £800) but the Triban RC120 Disc came second and is only £400 so seems like a total bargain.

[deeen]

Also keep an eye out for discounts - for example if you join British Cycling first you can get 10% of at Halfords (Carrera, Boardman).

[AlBondigaz]

I've ordered a 2020 Triban RC120 from Decathlon last week - it should be here between 12.40 and 14.40 today according to the text I received this morning.

I bought it really for my turbo trainer set up as I can't get out on the MTB and do anything serious at the moment. I figured that spec wise it was about right for that and some occasional bit of road riding.

These guys seem to like it - https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/road-bikes...

[PushedDover]

AlBondigaz said:

I've ordered a 2020 Triban RC120 from Decathlon last week - it should be here between 12.40 and 14.40 today according to the text I received this morning.

I bought it really for my turbo trainer set up as I can't get out on the MTB and do anything serious at the moment. I figured that spec wise it was about right for that and some occasional bit of road riding.

These guys seem to like it - https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/road-bikes...

hell of a glowing report !

[mike80]

I've had a couple of bikes from Decathlon, one of the benefits is if you are near a store it's quite easy to get minor maintenance done. I got into a right mess with the gears on my current one and they sorted it right there and then for free.

I had the old B'Twin 500SE as my first road bike and it was great for me at just under £300, so I'm sure their newer bikes are good too.

[Sa Calobra]

Buy my Cannondale carbon Synapse disc off me! Size 58cm too.

A decent secondhand bike would be a good shout.

[cornish]

Thanks for all the replies.

I think I will either go for the Triban for £379 or look for a secondhand one as I am not sure I want to drop £600 on a road bike that my son may not use once he is out of lockdown.

I have a couple of Giant Defy 5 local to me on Gumtree (Bristol) coming in at about £260 that say they have carbon forks but I can't see from the Giant website archives that carbon was standard. Can anyone comment on whether a Giant Defy5 from a few years ago will be as good a starting bike as say the Triban?

thanks again

[Le Chauffeur]

As Sa Colabra has offered - great bike for sale, and I’m sure he will do you a good deal. You will get a lot more for your money with a second hand bike and should the biking bug drop away, the bike has already lost its main value so should sell on for similar price to what you bought it for.

I started on a second hand bike, my second bike was also second hand and got a bargain on both.

I won’t mention the third bike too much but was new and far from cheap. Daren't look at the sale price when it goes into the September sales.....

[monty999]

Le Chauffeur said:

As Sa Colabra has offered - great bike for sale, and I’m sure he will do you a good deal. You will get a lot more for your money with a second hand bike and should the biking bug drop away, the bike has already lost its main value so should sell on for similar price to what you bought it for.

I started on a second hand bike, my second bike was also second hand and got a bargain on both.

I won’t mention the third bike too much but was new and far from cheap. Daren't look at the sale price when it goes into the September sales.....

Good advice. My next door neighbour is going through the same process of dipping his toes into road biking from mountain biking.I gave him the same advice, look for a good 2nd hand rather than new. The £1k bike for £400 will still be a used £1k bike for £400 in 6 months should he not take to it. A new £400 bike will be a 2nd hand £200 bike then.

[cornish]

Hi,

Good advice and I think I am now in the mindset of a second hand better quality bike.

Sa Colabra Can you drop me a pm with details and if you can ship to Bristol.

Cheers

[Le Chauffeur]

Cornish - did you manage to get a bike sorted out?

If so, how’s it going?

LC.

[cornish]

Hi,

Still not managed to source a bike as the lockdown is preventing travel.

Also, as he is 6ft 2" and needs a Large/XLarge (58+) size frame the number of bikes for sale is minimal which is adding to the frustration.

His Birthday on Tuesday so not going to meet that deadline but he doesn't seem over bothered and wants t to wait for the right bike. He likes the idea of used and is. now looking at carbon frames etc. as he wants the best bike for the money - don't know where he gets that from.

Fair play to him though he is knocking out 30 miles + on my old Carrera mountain bike with road tyres - seems to like it.

We got stopped on Sunday as I thought it was a good idea to go out with him in his car to charge the battery and crossed the border from South Gloucestershire into Gloucestershire and the Police were waiting. Very nice officer explained the essential journeys recommendation, asked why we were out, told us a battery would charge if he takes his car to work and took his details so if he gets stopped again it could be a fine. Sort of put me off travelling to pick up a bike..

Will find one once the lockdown is over.

cheers