£1.5-2.5k road bike buying advice

[cougie uk]

You're overthinking things.

It doesn't matter too much what bike you get at those prices. You can ride a winter bike or a gravel bike whilst your pal is riding their race bike.

Don't fall for the marketing of one bike being x% faster than another. It's really the rider that makes the difference.

And it depends how serious you are about the racing. A £1k TT bike that puts you in an aero position will be faster than a superbike due to your position.

It'll be crap for social rides though so spend a grand on a Boardman or something.

I'd presumed you were a teenager talking about going to Uni. Sounds an interesting challenge though.

 

[Chislenko]

Thanks all. I’m not a complete newbie in terms of training, I’m fairly used to long rides, have completed an Ironman all on my 15 year old Specialized Allez.

so ideally I’d like treat myself to a road bike, not a tt bike, that will give me a bit of an edge in a race compared to the allez, but something also suitable for a social ride.

I appreciate it’s a bit of a minefield but I would rather get a higher spec second hand bike rather than a lower spec new bike. I was thinking a canyon aeroad or giant propel advanced, which I though would be good in a race, but wondered if they would be ok on a hilly social 100-160k ride?

thanks for all the tips so far…appreciate it’s a bit of a loaded question

I treated myself to a "better, lighter bike" some years back but the majority of my "fastest rides" / PB's on Strava segments still exist from the days on my Allez.

I think if you have other plans to consider (Uni etc) you may be best hanging on to your money and persevering with the Allez.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I have around £1.5-2.5k to buy a second hand road bike.......

I really have no idea what I’m looking for......

I will have to sell it in a year or two so I don’t want anything that will depreciate too much as I need to fund University.

If you have no idea what you are looking for, then why have you set an arbitary price range, particularly one which is pretty high for a used machine?.
Most people buy their first bikes at the low end of the market, ride them for a while, decide if they really like cycling after all and then buy more expensive bikes later on.
You would be much better off starting with a £500 machine, and the worst case scenario is you are £500 out of pocket.
Anyone buying now then selling in a couple of years is almost guaranteed to suffer heavy depreciation as prices are currently abnormally high. Once the after effects of the virus calm down, the market will normalise like markets always do in the end. The more you are on the hook for now, the more you will lose in future.

 

[fair weather cyclist]

Most people buy their first bikes at the low end of the market, ride them for a while, decide if they really like cycling after all and then buy more expensive bikes later on.

That's what he's doing. He said he's done his fair share of cycling and an ironman triathlon on a specialized allez.

 

[willkl]

Haha, thank you everyone. I seem to have made this a complicated question when I didn’t mean to.

To clarify, I’m 37, have plenty of riding experience (on my old allez). I have £2k kicking around my bank account and wanted to treat myself to a nice bike for the summer before I got to Uni next year (as a mature student) upon which I will sell the bike. I will be riding it in the Kent hills but also in amateur duathlons where I hope with the help of a slightly faster bike I could get near the front of the race.

so to make the question a bit more relatable…if you had £2k to buy a bike to race and for long rides…what would you get?

 

[vickster]

A lighter carbon bike, probably not an out and out race model (something more endurance oriented). Keep some of the budget for better wheels. The Ultegra Van Rysel with a wheel upgrade would be ok, you'll maybe get £1500 back from your £2k outlay (but sell in spring not autumn/winter). Keep the original wheels and sell the upgraded ones separately. Not that I'll ever race
Maybe something like a Giant TCR or Trek Emonda? if wanting used and not the Van Rysel

Bearing in mind, if you race and crash, can you afford to write it off or repair (although new or good used components are in short supply) (or get good insurance which could cost several hundred at least through a specialist insurer)

 

[cougie uk]

If you want to be near the front of any race you'll need a TT bike. Aero is king.

 

[cougie uk]

A lighter carbon bike, probably not an out and out race model (something more endurance oriented). Keep some of the budget for better wheels. The Ultegra Van Rysel with a wheel upgrade would be ok, you'll maybe get £1500 back from your £2k outlay (but sell in spring not autumn/winter). Keep the original wheels and sell the upgraded ones separately. Not that I'll ever race
Maybe something like a Giant TCR or Trek Emonda? if wanting used and not the Van Rysel

Bearing in mind, if you race and crash, can you afford to write it off or repair (although new or good used components are in short supply) (or get good insurance which could cost several hundred at least through a specialist insurer)

I think the op is talking of triathlon and duathlon - so not as dangerous as say crit racing. Crashes are rare.

 

[vickster]

No idea, never done any of it. It was just an observation that if pushing it in any sort of race maybe more likely to crash? I’d insure a bike anyhow if I need to sell it on again, recoup funds! (Esp against theft from organised events)

 

[cougie uk]

I've never had a bike nicked from transition. It'd be a crappy race that let that happen. Have heard of bikes getting nicked at sportives though- leaving them for a minute for a wee and some chancer swoops.

 

[vickster]

No but it could be nicked at any other time, and he's hoping to sell it on...best not to have 2k tied up in a bike and then be out of pocket if something were to happen to it and be uninsured (check terms of home insurance as a starter if not looking for race cover)

 

[willkl]

Thank you, this helps.

How big is the difference between an aero bike vs endurance? Would an aerobike such as the canyon aeroad be that bad on hill climbs (something like Toys Hill in Kent?). Or is this marketing?

 

[raggydoll]

This video is 5 years old but should still be relevant and show the differences:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9mzy4lg2A0

 

[Grant Fondo]

Thank you, this helps.

How big is the difference between an aero bike vs endurance? Would an aerobike such as the canyon aeroad be that bad on hill climbs (something like Toys Hill in Kent?). Or is this marketing?

Hi Will are you after a 58cm?

 

[DRM]

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/outlet-bikes/pro-bikes/ultimate-cf-slx-9.0-team-katusha/50008753.html
https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/outlet-bikes/pro-bikes/aeroad-cf-slx-9.0-team-movistar/50023544.html
Here’s a couple of proper race bikes for you, but you’ll need to save up a bit first, in all honesty it doesn’t matter what road bike you have, it’s the engine, and the bottle to barge your way to the front in a sprint finish, it needs to be comfy, pretty decent spec and have decent wheels and suitable gearing for the terrain.
I don’t think I’d blow £2.5k on a used bike to sell it shortly after, prices are stupid at the moment and I think you’ll suffer terrible depreciation now people seem to be getting back to work.