Looking for a decent Road Bike

dandelionclock30

If you dont have secure parking and have to leave it on the street for longer than 10 minutes I would just get a very cheap bike for £50.00. Any decent bike will either be stolen outright or have the components stolen off it.
With power tools the best locks take around 10 minutes to remove. Bike theft is rife all over. I've had an expensive bike stolen and I wouldnt wish it on anyone.

liz545

Evans own range Pinnacle Dolomite is well specced for the money. You can also test-ride bikes at Evans, which would be a good idea to help you to work out whether it's the right bike for you.

fred246

One of the things that changes massively on bicycles is the cycling position. The classic Pashley Princess style ladies bicycle normally has the handlebars way above the saddle. The racing bike normally has the saddle higher than the handlebars. The beginner really needs to see which sort of position suits them best.

stupot101

Out of stock at the minute, but the spec of this is unbeatable at £300:

http://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-performance-road-pr7-bike-73113.html

For me, the perfect commuter is a cyclocross style road bike. Disc brakes, rack/mudguard mounts, clearance for 28 or even 32c tyres. All of them will be out of your budget though. Has your work got a cycle to work scheme?

Suggestions:

GT Grade AL Claris (105 version just got a 5/5 review on Bike Radar) £650
Boardman CX £600
Pinnacle Arkrose One £700
Whyte Somerset £800
Revolution Cross from Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative £425

fred246

There are tons of out of stock bargains on the internet. I think the companies do it on purpose to get you onto their internet site and you subconsciously think they must be a good value retailer because their price appeared the lowest. I don't think there is any requirement that they EVER sold the item for the advertised price.

Generali

When I was in London I rode a hybrid for a while. It was a Marin that cost ~£300 and I was very satisfied with it.

The longest ride I did on it was probably 100 miles although it was mostly used for commuting a handful of miles each day.

Get good insurance. I used to reckon on getting through a bike a year. One copper recommended that I went to Brick Lane to buy my bike back!

£300 is about the entry point for where you get a bicycle rather than a toy. Having said that, I did the Three Peaks Challenge (link) and plenty of people finished that on £100 mountain bikes wearing trainers and board shorts!

WLM21

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

If you dont have secure parking and have to leave it on the street for longer than 10 minutes I would just get a very cheap bike for £50.00. Any decent bike will either be stolen outright or have the components stolen off it.
With power tools the best locks take around 10 minutes to remove. Bike theft is rife all over. I've had an expensive bike stolen and I wouldnt wish it on anyone.

I second this statement 100%

I use an old road bike (Raleigh Winner) whenever I go to town and always lock it. However, if it was stolen (although it probably won't be) I could easily replace it. It only cost me £20.

Nebulous2

WLM21 wrote: »

I second this statement 100%

I use an old road bike (Raleigh Winner) whenever I go to town and always lock it. However, if it was stolen (although it probably won't be) I could easily replace it. It only cost me £20.

The trick is to have a bike that looks cheap, but runs well - good well-oiled chain, well-maintained gears, good wheel bearings. People on cycling forums talk about a 'pub' bike, which is just what you are describing.

Marco_Panettone

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

If you dont have secure parking and have to leave it on the street for longer than 10 minutes I would just get a very cheap bike for £50.00. Any decent bike will either be stolen outright or have the components stolen off it.
With power tools the best locks take around 10 minutes to remove. Bike theft is rife all over. I've had an expensive bike stolen and I wouldnt wish it on anyone.

I've locked a bike outside in the evening near Leicester Square daily for about 5 years now - never had a problem with theft yet...

Innys1

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

If you dont have secure parking and have to leave it on the street for longer than 10 minutes I would just get a very cheap bike for £50.00. Any decent bike will either be stolen outright or have the components stolen off it.
With power tools the best locks take around 10 minutes to remove. Bike theft is rife all over. I've had an expensive bike stolen and I wouldnt wish it on anyone.

I'd agree with this, but only up to a point.

There are some very strong locks out there which would take more than 10 minutes to remove with any power tools. Of course, they aren't cheap. The rough rule of thumb is to spend 10% of the cost of the bike on security.

There's other free things you can do to deter theft too - chain within close view of a CCTV camera (if you can), don't leave chained overnight unless you have NO other option and chain both wheels and the frame to the bike stand.

Oh yes, bike theft is rife, but that doesn't mean you have to be a victim.