£500 for a road bike... which to get?

geordie_ben

I'm on the hunt for a good road bike for my first one.

I've got £500 to spend, and if possible, would like to do it thru CycleScheme

If you had £500 to splurge, which roadie would you buy and why?

Only_a_ginger

I'd definitely recommend a Boardman.

I got mine, Boardman comp hybrid, about 4 years ago through cycle to work.

It's brilliant...and it's even survived being knocked off with only a wheel needing replacing!

You can get the hybrids for less than 500, not sure about a road bike though (just checked, you can, £499 for a road sport).

The only downside were the tyres it came with, got punctures in both very quickly...but they are easy to change!

liz545

A lot depends on what local bike shops have in stock, with the cycle to work scheme you can be limited to using certain retailers. That said, for your budget the Pinnacle Dolomite 1, Triban 5, Trek 1.1 or Specialized Allez are all good value entry-level bikes. Before you buy anything, get down to a bike shop and go for some test rides - that's the best way to find out whether a bike's right for you, before you put your money down!

custardy

Only_a_ginger wrote: »

I'd definitely recommend a Boardman.

I got mine, Boardman comp hybrid, about 4 years ago through cycle to work.

It's brilliant...and it's even survived being knocked off with only a wheel needing replacing!

You can get the hybrids for less than 500, not sure about a road bike though (just checked, you can, £499 for a road sport).

The only downside were the tyres it came with, got punctures in both very quickly...but they are easy to change!

thats not a road bike

However Boardman do now do a capable £500 road bike

anotheruser

I was looking at the £499 Boardman in Halfords.
MX2012/13 one I think.

Looks quite nice but it's a hybrid not a true road bike. Can't really afford the £500 at the moment though.

custardy

anotheruser wrote: »

I was looking at the £499 Boardman in Halfords.
MX2012/13 one I think.

Looks quite nice but it's a hybrid not a true road bike. Can't really afford the £500 at the moment though.

its nice but more MTB than road hybrid
so it depends on you distance
bee fine for a couple of miles
more than that and I would go with the more road biased hybrid or road bike

geordie_ben

I'm on a hybrid at the moment (kind of) so defs only looking at roadies

armyknife

I'd suggest you visit the local bikeshop with the staff you'd trust to give good advice.


I'm sort of working my way towards getting a road bike and so far the couple of pieces of advice I been given are spot on.

Namely "I though your hybrid would suit you well" I have a boardman hybrid that I hadn't used a great deal, but am now clocking uo a fair few miles on and getting used to a more aggressive forward leaning position along with smaller tyres.

And secondly, "go hire a road bike for a day and see if you can get on with them", I've not yet done this but using my faster hybrid is preparing my back and muscles for a more road orientated style, so will soon give it a go.

If I'd just gone out and bought a road bike straight away, I now know I'd have found the experience so unpleasant in terms of positional strain and ride comfort, that I'd have probably used it a couple of times before giving up on the idea.

As it is, I can see myself getting on well with a road bike next spring/summer when I get one.

Marco_Panettone

Go to as many shops as you can and test ride as many bikes as possible. Try some that are out of your budget too - it'll help you know what you get for the money. As for a personal recommendation the Triban series at Decathlon are excellent for the price and well worth a look.

Get the one that fits you best and the one that feels like 'your' bike - this is the one you'll ride and enjoy most.

jaffa30

imho I would wait till beginning of sep ( poss end of aug ) and get a 2013 at a very good price as the 2014 models ( in most cases ) would have hit the shops by then...

Ezmondino

agree with jaffa. Couple of years ago I got a £500 Giant for £350 because the next years model just came out.