Help me find my new Bike!

[markypoos77]

Hello everyone

Thought this would be a good place for recommendations for a new Bike for me.

I am looking for a new bike to commute to and from work and to cycle round to shops/parents house, etc.

- I am looking for a Road Bike,
- 18 - 20" in size
- ideally one that Halford's stock as i have a 15% off voucher to spend there
- I don't want to spend more than £400
- Obviously I want the best specs possible for that amount of money
- One that is easy on the eye with a bit of colour would be great too
- Minimum of 16 gears

I have been looking at these two models and it appears that the Blue one is the better model - please correct me if i am wrong (although if i am right in thinking this i am confused as to why the yellow bike was previously £500)

http://www.halfords....yId_165710#dtab - yellow

http://www.halfords....tegoryId_165710 - blue


I am a bit of an amatuer when it comes to bike specs as havent really owned a previous bike so any feedback, advice or recommendations would be really appreciated!

Many thanks all - Mark

 

[corshamjim]

My guess is the TDF one was more expensive only for some marketing reason. I've not seen either of them in the flesh so-to-speak.

The Yellow (TDF) one seems to have smaller handlebars, and narrower (700x23) tyres. The other one has not quite so narrow tyres (700x25) tyres.

Road bikes can be a delight to ride as they're light and nimble, but personally for commuting and general purpose gadding about I'd go for a hybrid with mudguards and low-maintenance hub gears. Something like the Carrera Subway 8 is (with the current discount) just within your budget.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_551225_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

 

[cyberknight]

I have both so i can give you an insight...


My tdf ( yellow one ) is a 2008 model i use for commuting ,it has a different gear changer but is basically the same

my virtuosso is a 2009 model and is the same as current spec.

The virtuosso i have is made of 7005 aluminium whereas the tdf is made of 6061 and the 7005 ( the blue one) is a harsher ride but when the bike is set up correctly you do not notice it.
The yellow one has according to the specs has the same componentry but is made of 6061 which i found to be a little more comfortable ride , not by much though but has larger tubing to account for the fact that 6061 is a softer alloy to give it comparable strength.

Imho not a lot to choose between them , both bikes are set up the same and both ride very similarly but i use the tdf as a commuter even though mine did not come with a rack mount at it was an ebay second hand bike so i do not mind thrashing it a bit more.

The virtuosso got a cracking review a couple of years ago in cycling plus ..


http://www.bikeradar...tuoso-09-34691/

I Would only say they them both out and see which you prefer, things like tyres are going to be changed anyway to suit you.

You could come around and try them if you wanted , but i assume you live to far away ..

If i had to choose , based on the specs listed now , assuming that they have the same shifters, brake calipers and mechs i would go for the tdf.

I had a subway as well for a while and they are great bikes, very solid but obviously slower , i sold my subway as i wanted to only run 1 sort of bike with more interchangeability of parts.

 

[festival]

BEWARE.

Let me tell you how halfrauds pricing works.

Over the last few years they consistently raise prices by substantial amounts only to reduce them back to something more reasonable making it look like a bargin. What other cycle retailer does this? None.
e.g. these bikes have not changed spec since they were introduced over 3 years ago, and they are basically the same bike.They were originally priced around £329 for long periods of the time or less. Now we are meant to believe they are worth up to £449.
Come off it, they are having us on. Even with rising costs in materials and shipping that's some price hike.

They are worth around £329 but you really don't get much quality in a road bike at that price e.g. wear and tear & comfort.
Even with your discount I have my reservations, will the bike be set up corectly? I doubt it.

I would suggest the subway 2 if you have to buy from them, not the subway 8 which has hub gears which are limiting for all but short, flat rides and very expensive to fix ( and most staff dont understand them).
At £299 its decent enough and will do the job you described, but the pricing is again a bit misleading.

 

[cyberknight]

I forgot last night...

Do you live within the area of a decathlon shop?

If so forget halfords even with your discount as you can get their entry level road bike which matches the specs of both these bikes for less than £300, i saw one the other weekend and if i had to buy a new bike in this price range then it is the one i would go for.Reading the specs it even gets a carbon fork !!
It has a triple chain ring at the front which gives lower gears which are great for the big hills, i have always ridden doubles and it can be hard work on real hills with a full load.

linky
http://www.btwincycl...an-3-170478497/

the june issue of cycling plus has a review of sub £500 in it including the TDF .

As festival says some halfords can be a bit dodgy dependent on the staff, luckily mine were ok but if you think it is a problem then it might be easier to just get it delivered and set it up yourself as it is fairly easy to do.

As far as prices go raw materials really have gone up that much in some sectors , i work in the automotive industry and you would not believe the rising prices in raw materials over the last few years especially steel , even aluminium has doubled in price over the last few years and then factor in the extra ordinary rising costs of transportation linked to fuel prices.