New to road riding

S

steel ribs

Likes Dirt
After having a bad stack on the DH bike I am looking at purchasing a road bike for fitness whilst the arm recovers.
Have been shopping around for a while and wouldn't have a clue on what to get... Budget is $1,500 as i'm not sure if I could get into it.

Tossing it up between:
a) buying a frame then all the components separate.
b) Get a second hand bike off ebay or here. Either Giant or Felt
c) Purchase a cell bike for 1300? http://www.cellbikes.com.au/BEST-Fu...oad-Bike-2012-Only-8-2kg?sc=21&category=12632

Any suggestions?

Cheers, Ivan
 
F

Fifteen.Hundred

Likes Dirt
steel ribs said:
After having a bad stack on the DH bike I am looking at purchasing a road bike for fitness whilst the arm recovers.
Have been shopping around for a while and wouldn't have a clue on what to get... Budget is $1,500 as i'm not sure if I could get into it.

Tossing it up between:
a) buying a frame then all the components separate.
b) Get a second hand bike off ebay or here. Either Giant or Felt
c) Purchase a cell bike for 1300? http://www.cellbikes.com.au/BEST-Fu...oad-Bike-2012-Only-8-2kg?sc=21&category=12632

Any suggestions?

Cheers, Ivan
Click to expand...
All good options with different pro's and cons. Below are my opinions

Option (a) is a fun process, but time consuming. could potentially eat into your recovery time that you could be out riding.

Option (b) is my most prefered (seeing as you are not totally sure if road riding is for you) there are lots of options around that price range and if you decide a roadie isn't your thing, you may be able to on sell the bike for only a small loss.

Option (c) probably won't get you alot of bike brand new. The Cell is not a bad option but brand snobs may skim straight past it if you decide to sell it ,potentially taking a bigger hit financially.


There are usually plenty of Giant's on Ebay and the brand name almost guarantees a sale. Felt's are a good product too ( i have a 2012 F4) not quite as common or popular on Ebay which could mean a potential bargain.

Might be a good idea also to look over the geometry charts of the bikes you are interested in. I know the Felt F series are pretty agressive in their geometry - the giant TCR not so much. Depending on your flexibility, a Felt F series may not suit your style of riding.

Well thats my 2 Yen worth.
 
S

steel ribs

Likes Dirt
Might be a good idea also to look over the geometry charts of the bikes you are interested in. I know the Felt F series are pretty agressive in their geometry - the giant TCR not so much. Depending on your flexibility, a Felt F series may not suit your style of riding.

Well thats my 2 Yen worth.[/QUOTE]

thanks mate.
Any thoughts on Malvern star bikes? some carbon frames going on ebay.
 
F

Fifteen.Hundred

Likes Dirt
steel ribs said:
thanks mate.
Any thoughts on Malvern star bikes? some carbon frames going on ebay.
Click to expand...
From what i'm led to believe, spec wise, brand new Malvern Star bikes are ripping deals and people have been known to buy them and strip them for parts, then sell the frame. This may be what you are seeing on Ebay.

I don't know much about their frames but i can say that they were good enough for one of Australia's top road teams to use and win on regularly.

I see a few Avanti Quantum bikes on Ebay from time to time. Their frame design hasn't changed too much over the last 3 or 4 years and i haven't heard of any QC or longevity issues with them. Being a not so prestigious brand they usually go pretty cheap.

There is also a nice Fondriest TF2 1.0 on there at the moment for $1K even if you like something different. Unfortunately it's not in Sydney.
 
G

g-fish

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Bike fit and frame development play a big part in the ride of road bikes. I own a reid falco (picked it up for free), which is very similar to the cell/malvern star/other generic brands. And is a seriously bad ride, the frame flexes a lot under power and it's impossible to get comfortable on it. Though they're cheaper, youre much better off going with lower componenets on a better frame than the opposite. Would you buy a cell downhill bike? Probably not..

For $1500, you can get a really good quality alloy road bike with shimano 105, which is all the bike you will really ever need. Carbon is nice, but expensive and at this money you're better off with a good alloy frame IMO. Though you might pick up a bargain since we're coming to the 2012/2013 change over.

For the money, I don't think you can go past the Avanti Giro 4, it's a great riding bike, decent wheels for the money, full 105, carbon seatpost and from a good company. Shop around, see what people can do for you. Try to get at least shimano tiagra, but 105 is the best bang for your buck. The most important thing is to be sized properly onto the bike, road bike fit is much more important than mtb fit.
 
S

steel ribs

Likes Dirt
thanks guys. True definitely wouldn't get a Cell mtb.
Avanti seems to be the way to go. hows the Avanti Cadent 1.0? comes with the 105's 2012 selling for $1,300
 
Lanky Love

Lanky Love

Likes Dirt
For $1500 you could pick up a very nice bike. I just watched a friend at work spend a similar amount on a new Cannondale bike which is very poorly equipped compared to the second hand bikes on the market. Having just built up a new bike with an old frame I can tell you its not a cheaper option, but worth it if you really know what parts would suit you specifically (something you will only really know after spending time on the bike).
 
struggles

struggles

Likes Dirt
Lots of nice bikes for $1500 maybe look at a cyclocross bike too. That way you can still go bush on it.

When you do get it though remember when riding a roadie that you must ignore all other cyclists you see on the road.
 
S

steel ribs

Likes Dirt
Yeah I would prefer specialized. Happy with the enduro I have.

Note to self. Must remember not to nod, nor stop if I see a fellow road rider if he is down with an injury or flat. Simply just speed up and pretend I'm been chased.
 
Russell Boothey

Russell Boothey

Likes Dirt
Gday,

Try and pick up a second hand bike locally, yesterday i picked up a 2006 lapierre x lite full carbon, full dura ace running gear and only 6 months of riding on it all for $1300 im SOOO STOKED. Just ask around and something should pop up.

Good luck mate.
 
McRae200008

McRae200008

Likes Bikes
Reply!

Mate, If your not fully going to get into road riding and you want something that can keep your fitness up head for an alloy framed bike running shimano 105's. 105' are an entry level racing group set that actually works well and is reliable (I run it myself) Be careful when buying road bikes second hand as they can lead to trouble. For an average bike funning 105's (alloy) you could pick up for under $1500 especially as the new 2013 giant bikes are coming out in 3-5 weeks, therefor get in quick these couple of weeks for a sweet deal on a new bike! Don't go for the shitty little brands of road bike, usually they have bad welding and pad compositing jobs/use bad quality metal in the frame. Aim for something that is noteworthy/popular and has been tested/modified over many years like Giant or Cannondale, I work at a bike shop and these two bike brands produce the best road bikes for 'quality' I have seen. Cannondale is usually a little more expensive than giant due to the grade of metal they use and the extra care they take putting the bike together, but giant promotes producing a cost effective well performing bike.

So for you need I suggest you buy a brand new road bike running (105's) made from alloy (more durable than carbon and as you have been doing DH you can sometimes forget that roadies are fragile :).

Hope this helps, cheers.
 
S

steel ribs

Likes Dirt
Cheers

Thanks heaps for your help guys.
But i think for now i shall throw some 1.6 continental road tyres on my hardtail and just ride that for now.
Too much to spend on something that i am not sure i'd get into. And the benefit of that is, i can still hit the dirt, jump up and down gutters and not worry so much about punchers!
 
Capone

Capone

Likes Dirt
I just got into the roadie game for riding to work and general fitness when the tracks are wet and muddy and have a few tips


- Cheap carbon is a waste of time, spend the money on alloy (By cheap i mean the entry level stuff like giant composite, its better to get the advance as the weight savings then start)
- If your used to running XT, XTR, X9 or XO then look at Ultegra level gear as a baseline, 105 is entry level you expect that crisp shifting feel that the better stuff provides
- If its a commuter swap the stock tyres out ASAP, i went with Schwalbe Durano with smart guard and couldnt be happier, plenty of rocks and glass have been ridden over and not a puncture to date
 
FatGuts

FatGuts

Likes Dirt
I will add, I did the smooth tyre mtb thing on the road & it sucks. They are slow. Fun if you are not in a hurry but if you are commuting & need to get there then they are no good.

I then did the Avanti Giro thing, loved it except it was fragile. Ok for commuting but eventually I killed the frame. It was old though as it had old RX100 running gear. It went OK once I bought some good wheels but it was always skitterish on any sruface that was not smooth hotmix (well to me anyway).

Then I bought the Speciale.....................Yep, its a bit heavy, yep it has wider tyres that only run 50psi but I can still punt it around lake Burley Griffin & to & from home at the same pace & it is oh so much more comfortable & stable in conditions that are not ideal.

It even jumps gutters..................
 
wilddemon

wilddemon

Likes Dirt
FatGuts said:
I will add, I did the smooth tyre mtb thing on the road & it sucks. They are slow. Fun if you are not in a hurry but if you are commuting & need to get there then they are no good.
Click to expand...
Really? Coz I am doing the smooth tyre mtb thing on the road at the moment, and I think it is really fast... maybe i only have a 5" dual susser to compare it to? well, when I can afford it (one day :() I'll get me one of those "not cheap" carbon bikes that Capone is talking about and feel like I'm stepping into a Ferrari. I look forward to that day. Neverending story of n+1. Til then, a couple extra psi in the tyres, a couple extra pumps of air into the forks and crank on! Still, some terrain (road) around where I live an mtb is just about required...
 
FatGuts

FatGuts

Likes Dirt
wilddemon said:
Really? Coz I am doing the smooth tyre mtb thing on the road at the moment, and I think it is really fast... maybe i only have a 5" dual susser to compare it to? well, when I can afford it (one day :() I'll get me one of those "not cheap" carbon bikes that Capone is talking about and feel like I'm stepping into a Ferrari. I look forward to that day. Neverending story of n+1. Til then, a couple extra psi in the tyres, a couple extra pumps of air into the forks and crank on! Still, some terrain (road) around where I live an mtb is just about required...
Click to expand...
I thought so too until I did it. I was at a point where I was going along really well but getting smacked up by almost everybody on a road bike.

I have a 30km commute & the first ride on the roadie I knocked 5 minutes off, I managed to get to the point where I could do it in under an hour (57 minutes is my best). My MTB at the time was a fully rigid Specialised & yep the smooth tyres made a couple of minutes there too but I regularly could not get much better than about 1:06 (& still cant).

Interestingly if I ride the X29, it is about the same time as the Specialised. It rolls faster on the flats but is slower up the hills. More fun though taking the cross coutry short cuts & jumping the gutters :p
 
M

MTB Wanabe

Likes Dirt
I did the roadie tyres on the mtb for awhile also. The only reason I went back to a roadie was I wanted to do some road racing also. Never had a problem with the guys I ride with on the mtb (Merida 96). I actually found that I was the one setting the pace in our little group. Same as a friend of mine. He regularly makes the local triathlon group work pretty hard and he is on a carbon GT hard tail with entry level wheels.

You could also use the fact that you have to work harder, using a mtb, to stay with the group as a training goal, kind of like slightly handicapping yourself

A roadie can also be a bit harsher on the road than a mtb but by riding a mtb you will be placed in a mtb specific position which is probably better for training specificity for mtb racing. I'm also going to use my mtb for race prep about a week or so prior to a big race just to get my body used to the slightly different position the mtb puts me in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top