A bargain road bike

[Fletch456]

Zexel - That store is opening in MK, next week. Your LBS may be your preference but I know the guys who will be staffing the store and they are really good and...buy before 30/04 and get 10% of a bike in accessories. So for a 4.7 that is £230 worth....http://sn142w.snt142.mail.live.com/default.aspx?n=888061831

 

[zexel]

Thanks for that.

No, didn't ride, 'thankfully', my other half was with me and it was hanging on a rack the furthest back. I did touch it though! What's that all about?!

I say thankfully, because to ride it, I may as well written the cheque out before going in the shop.

Thanks again for all the info.

Please DON'T tell us how it rides

 

[Fletch456]

Thanks for that.

No, didn't ride, 'thankfully', my other half was with me and it was hanging on a rack the furthest back. I did touch it though! What's that all about?!

I say thankfully, because to ride it, I may as well written the cheque out before going in the shop.

Thanks again for all the info.

Please DON'T tell us how it rides

O hard...feels sluggish too! ;-)

 

[Fletch456]

Zexel - somehow though it's hard and sluggish you understand..I just did a little 10m out my back door in fastest time yet. 39min compared to fastest before of about 42-43min

 

[rob andrew]

Hi everyone, if like me you are on a small budget for a road bike then I recommend a Viking torino. I purchased one of these in sept last year and can't get enough of the thing. It keeps up with exspensive bikes and seems to have the same parts as more pricy bikes. People who have had a go on my bike can't tell much difference between my bike and there ££££ bikes. So save yourself some dosh. There on eBay for about 300ish

Hi ... Thinking of getting one of these. Do you have any idea whether fitting a rear pannier rack is possible? Does it have threaded eyelets? Thanks!

 

[biggs682]

This is the kind of snobbery that turned me away from several local bike shops.

it always annoys me as loads of cyclists , will only ride the latest multi thousand pound bike and any other bike is rubbish , how wrong they are

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

it always annoys me as loads of cyclists , will only ride the latest multi thousand pound bike and any other bike is rubbish , how wrong they are

There is a preconception from some people that if you ride a bike over a specific value, you are believed to think that any other bike is rubbish, how wrong they are

 

[Cyclist33]

Hi Zexel - very happy to share - especially if it saves you or anyone else time when looking at bikes. It's not a quick process when visiting a shop I found.

Current bike - alu frame / carbon front fork Terry Dolan frame that is 5-6 years old with Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels. Until a few months ago I didn't know that carbon takes out a lot of the bumps that I feel. For more than one reason I am going for the Trek 4.7 even though I didn't intend looking at them cos I am a bit of a snob, they put their name 12+ times on the frame and I've respect but not a lot of love for Armstrong. The bikes I tried out on roads that had rough and smooth surfaces and aimed for small holes deliberately - the differences in their ride are:

Willier Mortirolo - Did a decent job of taking out bumps but managed to be hard too. Then I am told it is more of a race bike and it kind of makes sense.
Spesh Tarmac SL3 - Rode the SL2 (my budget) that a friend has but only on his drive so thought I may like this. It was very stiff and probably faster than some as a result but the number of bumps I could feel reminded me too much of my current bike.
Spesh Roubaix Expert - The Expert was above my budget but available to try - the contrast to the SL3 was huge, it was almost comparable to the titanium I tried last year - which had felt like it put a thin layer of rubber between me and the road. Though I could feel some stiffness too.
Trek Madone 5.2 & 4.7 - Compared to the 2 Specialized the Trek was in the middle. I tried the 5.2 as they had one in close to my size (I am 6'3") and a week later a 4.7, which I am buying. They felt very similar to each other which Trek say they aim to do throughout the range; took out a lot of bumps entirely - a lot more comfortable than the Tarmac and not quite as cushioned as the Roubaix but similar.
Scott CR1 Pro - I tried this towards the end of last year so from memory would say it is closest to the Treks. It felt twitchy too - though a friend has a 5-6 year old CR1 which he says is twitchy, this could mostly if not entirely be due to the fact that it was a 56cm and I need 60cm.

The comfort from the ride and set up is important to me as I don't intend to ever race and want to do more and longer sportives and have some real niggles in my neck. I am also buying the 4.7 because of other reasons including liking the shop and the guy who served me, his knowledge and how he will set the bike up for me. I am not knowledgeable enough to have confidence in how I would do the latter. Such as when I got back from trying a Trek the first time he changed the stem length. I didn't like the feel when I got out of the saddle, it didn't feel stable - he said it would be down to weight distribution and I felt overstretched - he was right the bike changed hugely for the better.

Hope that helps.

Yes but for all that to be meaningful in terms of describing the difference in the frames, you would have to test ride each bike with the same BB, chainset and wheelset fitted.

Stu

 

[gbb]

Its all relative, you can enjoy riding a 'cheap' road bike, but you can feel the difference when you get on a more expensive one.
I'm sure the Viking is fine at its price point...it's no good comparing it with a more expensive bike, that's pointless.
My first roadbike was a Raleigh Chimera, £280 about 15 years ago, heavy chro-mo frame, basic components, Sora, cheap wheels. I rode thousands of miles on that bike, the wheels rarely needed adjusting, never needed truing, it just went and went. A bit uncomfortable over distance and it didn't like poor road surfaces, lots of vibration.
Once I got an alloy Bianchi....I LOVED riding that even more, but my 40 mile circuit times hardly changed, but my riding experience did. Smoother, more comfortable, lighter....but not faster, not appreciably anyway.

Nowt wrong with cheap bikes...so long as its durable.

 

[Schmilliemoo]

Apparently the triban 3 at £300 punches well above its weight. No idea other than reading reviews

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Apparently the triban 3 at £300 punches well above its weight. No idea other than reading reviews

Yebut everyone seems to have one, I'd rather have something that stands out a bit!!

 

[Schmilliemoo]

Aye you make a fair point. Same reason I never wanted a ford fiesta or a Suzuki bandit

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Apparently the triban 3 at £300 punches well above its weight. No idea other than reading reviews

People suggests the Triban punches against its weight, but its not uncommon to see people recommending changing the wheels which are apparently so good they might as well be made of chocolate which then brings it into the price range of a £550 - £600 bike and im not so sure it punches exceptionally well in that price range.

 

[Schmilliemoo]

Again fair point well made. I've also been reading reviews on the mango bikes. They are steel frame and single speed but people rave about them. Thinking of getting one just for the sheer novelty value. This would be mine...

Www.mangobikes.co.uk

 

[redcard]

Read reviews of £550-£600 bikes and you'll see almost all of them also recommend upgrading the wheelset.