Thinking of a roadie for 2011

[Rob13]

Whilst in NZ earlier this month, it was great to see so many people out on bikes. I've thought for a while about buying a road bike but worried that the novelty might wear off. Then I watched a programme over there about Sportives and thought it might be an idea to enter one as a challenge and a goal to keep me motivated. I'm 29 now so should be in peak fitness but I'm not.

I don't want to spend a fortune to begin, maybe up to £500 max so is probably be looking at eBay for a bargain. I like the look of the Boardman Road Comp, and had it sized not so long ago. The small felt ok as the medium felt a bit stretched out. I'm 5'8 and average proportion so not the tallest.

Could any of you offer advice to someone like me who is looking at a fresh challenge for the new year? Any tips on Sportives in Yorkshire/Durham? Bikes?

[R500POP]

If you want a real challenge go SS.

[Anthony Micallef]

Im 5' 8" too, what size frame are you going for?

[Rob13]

Boardman comp is described as 50cm I think the medium is 54cm.

The height wasnt the issue, it was more the reach to the bars. The medium did honestly feel too long, however I havent ridden a road bike for more than 10 years.

[R500POP]

Rob13 said:

Boardman comp is described as 50cm I think the medium is 54cm.

The height wasnt the issue, it was more the reach to the bars. The medium did honestly feel too long, however I havent ridden a road bike for more than 10 years.

Just going by your height I'd say a medium was the right size, a stem is an easy change if the reach is too far out, I'd go & spend some time getting Hellfrauds to adjust a small & a med to check the fit.

[Roman]

List of Sportives:
http://www.cyclosport.org/events2011.aspx

I think the Ron Kitching in June, 3 counties challenge or Trans Pennine in July or York 100 in Aug would be OK as starter sportives.

Boardman would be good, otherwise you should get a nice Tiagra or 105 equipped little used bike for your budget.

New alternatives (slightly over budget but you can get a big improvement in spec for little more £ at this level):

Superb value 1st road/sportive bike at this price:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/pilot-20-...

Most popular winter training bike for UK club riders more 'racy' geometry (lower front):
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/specialedition.asp?a...

Again with more traditional racy geometry:
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Bikes/Road...

Edited by Roman on Thursday 23 December 11:05

[louiebaby]

Now is the perfect time to be looking! Places will be looking to shift their 2010 stock to make for the new 2011 kit, so you might pick up a bargain somewhere. If you're looking second hand, for Shimano the components are:

Sora, Tiagra, 105, Ultegra, Dura-Ace

Going from "a bit poo," "OK," "good," "very good but getting pricy" up to "how much?"

Someone might be able to rank up the Campag and SRAM stuff, but I'm not sure myself.

[Rob13]

Im aware of the groupsets as I did a fair bit of homework in the summer on kit, however I keep being told time and time again that its wheels I should be looking at, not groupsets. I fancy at least Tiagra as I dont like the idea of the Sora shifters.

I'm not sure at this price point, there is a vast difference, but I'm staying away from Specialized after having a bad experience with them on an MTB.

The LBS does Scott, Giant & Trek. There is another which sells Cube and another which sells Orbea.

[Roman]

All the brands you mention are good.

Unless you go for an older higher quality 2nd hand (typically Ultegra equipped) bike which may come with handbuilt or quality branded factory wheels you will find that bikes in your price range come with cheaper factory built or budget brand wheels and tyres which makes them difficult to gauge in terms of quality & performance.

It will be easy to upgrade to decent folding tyres and better budget (£100-200) performance wheels (handbuilt or Prolite, Xero, Halo etc) at a later date.

Edited by Roman on Thursday 23 December 12:44

[Raven Flyer]

R500POP said:

If you want a real challenge go SS.

Real men ride SS that has the wrong gear for all of the route.

A used (aluminium) 2008 Team with Ultegra would be in your budget and an excellent first roadie.

[anonymous-user]

I picked up a Boardman Road Comp yesterday in the Halfords Christmas sale for £560. Pretty good value IMHO, Shimano 105 rear gear, Tiagra front gear & levers. Gets good write ups. Bike was reduced from £699 to £62X then another 10% off in the sale...
I didn't want to wait for it to be built so its sitting in a box in my dining room! Waiting for a few hours to set it up & for the ice to melt so I can get some fresh air!

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 27th December 20:21

[mchammer89]

Go SS/fixed, the money you save on mechs, cassettes, levers etc. can be spent on more useful things like a nice frame and wheelset.

[anonymous-user]

seriously, why is anyone recommending a fixie or a single speed when the guy has expressed an interest in riding sportives in yorkshire?!?! only if your sole objective is to put the guy off cycling forever more in one ride would you recommend a fixie when was the last time YOU rode a sportive on a single speed/fixie or do you just ride your £250 ebay special deathtrap with fluoro rims around the city centre like the rest of them?

"real men ride fixies"..... no they dont, wannabee messengers, lazy commuters who cant be arsed to clean a bike after a ride and art students ride fixies. real men ride sportives and audax's on dawes galaxys with mechs and mudguard, deal with it.

second hand boardman or spesh allez would be a good buy, otherwise the giant defy range is worth a look as is the trek 1.2 series. single speed and fixies are a fad for wannabee messengers and art students...

[Rob13]

Definitely wont be going fixie or SS! Jim, I too have seen the deal on the Boardman and its so tempting its hard to try and resist. Its still full of snow up here so I dont know when it'll clear (its due to dump more on us tonight!) but i'm really tempted to just go and buy one tomorrow. There's one not too far away in my size.

Whats needed to be done to build it up myself? Done a fair bit of bike maintenance myself over the years so I'm not afraid of putting one together.

[mchammer89]

pablo said:

seriously, why is anyone recommending a fixie or a single speed when the guy has expressed an interest in riding sportives in yorkshire?!?! only if your sole objective is to put the guy off cycling forever more in one ride would you recommend a fixie when was the last time YOU rode a sportive on a single speed/fixie or do you just ride your £250 ebay special deathtrap with fluoro rims around the city centre like the rest of them?

"real men ride fixies"..... no they dont, wannabee messengers, lazy commuters who cant be arsed to clean a bike after a ride and art students ride fixies. real men ride sportives and audax's on dawes galaxys with mechs and mudguard, deal with it.

second hand boardman or spesh allez would be a good buy, otherwise the giant defy range is worth a look as is the trek 1.2 series. single speed and fixies are a fad for wannabee messengers and art students...

My last sportive that I rode fixed was The Ride To The Horns during the summer there. The steep downhills did make me wish I chose SS but for the ascents fixed was awesome.

My fixed was a Langster, perfect for what I used it for as it was a frame with road geometry with track ends, personally I never understood why people choose track frames for road riding, but each to their own.

There's a difference between standing with a flouro lo-pro with chopped risers looking like a dick on Brick Lane and actually using one for sensible reasons.

Personally I rode fixed for training and it worked a treat, if it wasn't for serious space constraints i'd never have sold it.

Typical touring/audax will suit the job very well of course, but that's no reason not to look at the alternatives.

One quick question, what has your experience of riding fixed/SS been?

P.S. Real men use capital letters at the start of their sentences

[anonymous-user]

Rob, according to the chap in Halfords all you need to do is put on the bars/front wheel/seat. The gears are already set up. We'll see. I have a feeling the extra 10% off has expired though...

[Rob13]

Well I've reserved the Boardman at local store. The guys on the phone seem to know what theyre talking about so hopefully I've got a decent Bikehut team.

I got the bike, a set of Shimano SPDs and a set of race guards all for £570 inc Quidco cashback. I've got to say that does seem like a pretty unbeatable deal for the spec.

Need a pair of shoes and some shorts/leggings or tights to get out and about.

Anyone recommend a seat bag to store multitool/pump/spare tube?

[anonymous-user]

Rob13 said:

Well I've reserved the Boardman at local store. The guys on the phone seem to know what theyre talking about so hopefully I've got a decent Bikehut team.

Boardman bikes are excellent value, they are rated very highly in most bike magazines. Some people turn up their noses at them because they are (at the moment) only sold through Halfords.

If Boardman were some little company based in Yorkshire people would be all over them even though they would cost at least 40% more.

[Rob13]

el stovey said:

Rob13 said:

Well I've reserved the Boardman at local store. The guys on the phone seem to know what theyre talking about so hopefully I've got a decent Bikehut team.

Boardman bikes are excellent value, they are rated very highly in most bike magazines. Some people turn up their noses at them because they are (at the moment) only sold through Halfords.

If Boardman were some little company based in Yorkshire people would be all over them even though they would cost at least 40% more.

Well I have looked for about 4 months and never found any other bike which is comparable on weight or spec for the price. I look forward to the snow clearing around here so I can get some miles in!

[mchammer89]

el stovey said:

Rob13 said:

Well I've reserved the Boardman at local store. The guys on the phone seem to know what theyre talking about so hopefully I've got a decent Bikehut team.

Boardman bikes are excellent value, they are rated very highly in most bike magazines. Some people turn up their noses at them because they are (at the moment) only sold through Halfords.

If Boardman were some little company based in Yorkshire people would be all over them even though they would cost at least 40% more.

+1 Great value bikes. Similar to the Focus bikes that you get through Wiggle, ridiculously well priced.