This bike any good?

IronWolf

I'm looking to buy a road bike around the £700 mark mostly for recreation, some weekend bike rides and maybe some casual racing.

I've never had a road bike before, only a hybrid which was essentially a mountain bike with a little seat.

I came across this bike for £650, reduce from £1,000 which seems quite good for the money, is it any good and are there better ones around for this kind of money?

Kona Zing 2014

Frame :Kona Race Light 6061 Aluminum Butted
Fork:Kona Carbon Race by Deda
Headset:FSA No.44e
Stem: Kona Road
Handlebars: Kona Road Compact
Front Brake ektro R312
Rear Brake ektro R312
Brake Levers:Shimano Tiagra
Gear Shifters:Shimano Tiagra
Front Derailleur:Shimano Tiagra
Rear Derailleur:Shimano 105
Crankset:FSA Vero 34/50t
Cassette:Shimano Tiagra 12-28t 10 spd
Wheelset:Shimano R501A Wheelset
Front Tyres: Continental UltraSport 700x25c
Rear Tyres: Continental UltraSport 700x25c
Saddle:Kona Road
Seatpost: Kona Double Clamp w/offset

Cycrow

not sure i would pay £1000 for it, but at £650 its not a bad spec at all.

Is this second hand or new ?

you wont get much better with £650/700 for something new

brat

Looks pretty decent for the price. Bike Radar doesn't rave about it at £999, but I think they would at your price point.

Bike Radar also mention the Rose Pro SL-2000, which, if you can stretch to £800 will be a nicer bike.

IronWolf

Its brand new, think its cheap because its 2014 rather than 2015.

I've also found a Giant Defy 1 for £700, does this look better?

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
FRAME: ALUXX SL-Grade Aluminium
FORK: Carbon Composite, OverDrive aluminium steerer
STEM: Giant Connect
HANDLEBARS: Giant Connect
FRONT BRAKE: Tektro TK-R540 Giant Specific, Dual Pivot
REAR BRAKE: Tektro TK-R540 Giant Specific, Dual Pivot
BRAKE LEVERS: Shimano 105
FRONT DERAILLEUR: Shimano 105
REAR DERAILLEUR: Shimano 105
SHIFT LEVERS: Shimano 105
CASSETTE: Shimano Tiagra 12x30, 10-sp
CHAIN: KMC X10
CRANKSET: Shimano R565, 34/50
BOTTOM BRACKET: Shimano, Press Fit
WHEELSET: P-Elite C Wheelset
FRONT TYRE: Giant P-R3, Flat Guard, Front and Rear Specific, 700x25
REAR TYRE: Giant P-R3, Flat Guard, Front and Rear Specific, 700x25
SADDLE: Giant Performance Road, Men's
SEATPOST: Giant Connect Composite, 30.9

I was told that wheels are important but it seems hard to judge which wheels are better than others.

Edit: actually nevermind, the Giant is the wrong size, think I need an extra large

AndyBSG

The Shimano 105 group set on the Giant Defy is one level up from the Tiagra groupset on the Kona but there isn't really too much to separate them all honesty.

Personally i'd go for the Giant as the Defy is regularly voted one of the best value entry level road bikes around.

http://www.mcconveycycles.com/ do the size you're after and have it in stock for the same 700 price

IronWolf

AndyBSG wrote: »

The Shimano 105 group set on the Giant Defy is one level up from the Tiagra groupset on the Kona but there isn't really too much to separate them all honesty.

Personally i'd go for the Giant as the Defy is regularly voted one of the best value entry level road bikes around.

http://www.mcconveycycles.com/ do the size you're after and have it in stock for the same 700 price

That's the one I found but they only have it in Large, I need XL I'm 6'5''. Tbh I dont think I need anything above Tiagra, how much difference do gears really make?

The thing I've been focussing on is wheels but it seems they all come with crappy wheels, so I may just go for the cheaper Kona which is apparently a good frame and then upgrade the wheels after a couple of years if I feel the need to.

Actually I'm getting very tempted by the Rose Pro, looks a lot better deal than what I've seen around so far.

Marauder999

At the price point you are never going to get any decent wheels.
To hit a specific price you find that most of the manufacters target specific areas to cut prices and provide cheaper alternatives to what you may expect. Wheels, crank and brakes are the main areas of cost cutting.

To start out with Tiagra is more than good enough for a group set IMHO.

I would be tempted with that Rose bike myself for that price.

IronWolf

Well I think I've decided to go with the Kona, I almost ordered the Rose but it takes 5 weeks to be made and delivered and tbh I dont need something above entry level, at least to start with.

AndyBSG

With any entry level bike my advise would be the same. Make sure you are happy with the frame and the fit of the bike as these are the things that you can't really 'fix'.

When it comes to groupset if you are happy with the bike and decide a couple of years down the line that you do want to upgrade then groupsets and other components are all fairly standard and can be upgraded by any decent LBS.

It certainly makes much more economical sense doing it that way than spending a fortune on a top of the range bike which is then gathering dust 12 months later!

IronWolf

I went with the Kona Zing, took it out for a ride yesterday and it feels good, no idea if the sizing is optimal but I got the biggest frame they make and it feels good.

I think the frame must be good and pretty light, as overall it weighs 9.3kg and apparently the wheels are very heavy and I could shave off 1.3kg by upgrading them.

The gears are Shimano Tiagra and I've noticed that quite often they didn't always shift when I clicked the switch, they did that rattling thing where they keep trying to change but dont. Never had this happen on my cheapo hybrid, and it happened so often that Im wondering if there is something wrong them? It happened every 3-4 shifts it would just rattle and not change gears.

wongataa

It sounds like you need to adjust the gears to get better shifting. It's not hard to do and there are many guides available on the internet. It is a good skill to learn as gear adjusting is occasionally required as things wear/bed in.

You can also download the Shimano installation instructions for your kit from the Tech Docs section of the Shimano website. I use those when adjusting my bike's gears.