2nd hand / refurbished racers

[4F]

OK so we have some common ground here. I think its fair to say we both agree then that 2nd hand is the way to go unless you have £ 750 burning a hole in your pocket however a 20 year old bike is hardly "outmoded" as essentially the bicycle design has not changed much since its invention.

The bloke who cycled around the world rode a bike fitted with a rohlhoff hub which for the type of journey he was making was ideal as they are virtually maintenance free and seen as the thing to have for major journeys such as this and of course were not around 20 years or so ago.

Withoubt doubt sti shifters are a major development in cycle development but at the end of the day downtube friction shifters work perfectly well and it is a tribute to their technology when some new bikes (admittedly lower end of the price scale) are still manufactured with this system.

 

[Over The Hill]

Phew!

I think we are sorted then.

I would only add that if you get lots of gears you will probably not use all of them but as a beginner you will probably not use the eight from the big front ring but when you are super fit in a year's time you will not use the eight on the granny ring, so the greater range will enable the bike to adapt with you and be suitable to a trundle to the shops or a hack over a mountain pass.