Miks15
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| posted on 10/4/10 at 07:11 PM |
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road bike - help
Hi Guys,
I know there are a few cyclists about so i thought id ask here.
Basically im looking for something cheap, but that works well on the road. At the minute i have an offroad bike with big knobbly tyres and front and
rear suspension so basically its pretty crap on the road.
I want something that i can use to comfortably get to and from uni on (only about a mile) but id also like to use it for fitness. With the possibiloty
of mabye doing some tri or biathlons (not competitively).
So im basically going through ebay but havent the foggiest what to look for.
So is there anything i need to avoid?
Anything in particular i need?
What sizes are there? (Im about 6'1)
Cheers Guys
Mikkel
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hillbillyracer
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| posted on 10/4/10 at 07:42 PM |
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I got into using my bike to go to work on when the weather's ok & the odd ride out & got my old 10 speed racer out & got it all ship
shape. I took it up the road to try it (& myself!) out & came back thinking how in the name of god did I go so fast 10years ago on such an
uncontrolable & uncomfortable contraption?!!
I asked about a few mates & was given a 10 year old Raleigh mountain bike which needed new tyres. New road type (fairly smooth) tyres on &
it's been just the ticket, done a good few hundred miles on it. It's geared a bit higher than most mountain bikes which are a bit short
for road use. I've just ordered new sprockets & chain for mine for under £40 as they're worn out so it doesnt cost the earth to change
the gearing & tyres will be about £30-40. Plenty redundant mountain bkes out there that could be had cheap for you to do a similar conversion
on.
You can just go out & buy a hybrid bike, that's pretty much what mine is now but most of the cheap S/H stuff are mountian bikes & for
less than £100 you can do all the converting to hybrid spec & you're replacing many of the bits that would be worn anyway so not that far
from a new bike.
[Edited on 10/4/10 by hillbillyracer]
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Miks15
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| posted on 10/4/10 at 08:51 PM |
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thanks but id rather not have another mountain bike, quite fancy a proper road/race bike, but if i cant find anything in a suitable price range i will
consider a mountain bike
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TimEllershaw
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| posted on 10/4/10 at 10:03 PM |
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There is no reason why you can't stick some skinny road tyres on your mtb, but if you fancy a bit of triathlon then a good road bike is the way
to go.
Keep an eye on local bike club web sites. Peeople are often happy to shift their old bike to someone just starting out.
size : look for something about 59cm ( in the old days this was measured from the middle of the bottom bracket up to the top of the frame seat-tube
under the saddle, but as a lot of modern biked have a sloping top tube, it is often now quoted as the distance to a fictitious point as if the top
tube was horizontal "centre-top". can get a bit confused. )
As with so many things, getting it to fit You is just a question of trying a few. Pop into a friendly bike shop and sit on some. A good bike shop will
be happy to help you find a size and geometery even if you are not buying.
How much do you want to spend ?
Depending on how cheap you want to go, you may be able to get something with an aluminium frame an funky oval tubes. Steel is cheaper / older but in
reality for the money will probably be just as good. Try to compare weights if you can. Under 10kg would be a good effort.
Gears, components, etc. Try for something with Shimano kit. Bottom end are things like shimano Sora and Tigra, then 105 above them. Any of these will
be fine. Go for 8 speed or higher if you can. Expect to get STI shifters, where are gear levers are built into the brake levers.
Wheels can make a big defference, but are easily changed. Expect 700c size. If you are going to be commuting one it, don't go for anything too
flimsy.
A quick ebay seach shows too many to choose from, but I would go with something like this:
ebay
or the Boardman bike are a good bet this could be a good buy :
Boardman
PM or email me if there is anything I can help with.
cheers,
Tim.
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Miks15
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| posted on 11/4/10 at 08:52 AM |
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Many thanks Tim.
I will keep a look out. I dont really mind a steel frame or whatever. Trying to keep costs as low as possible and i am not really going to be
competitive on it anyway.
Thanks again.
Mikkel
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franky
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| posted on 11/4/10 at 09:13 AM |
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last winter I got a specialized allez sport, basically as good as you can get on a budget(£600ish). A friend as a boardman of the same price and
thats a nice bike to ride too.
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