New to cycling, few questions.

[JaggyNI]

Hi guys,

Looking to get into road cycling as a hobby, a way to keep fit and also a way to clear my head!

My question is, is it viable to buy a road bike for around £200 without buying something that will break on me? Part of the appeal would also be upgrading the bike bit by bit until I get the perfect setup for me; which sounds quite fun in my opinion! So yea basically I wanna know if there's a bike out there worth buying for £200ish? Or should I just go for it and shell out that extra bit?

Thanks!

 

[boydj]

You need to have a frame that's worth upgrading if that's a route you want to go down. You'll not get one at that price. Better to fork out a bit more to get a reasonable, but cheap bike from somewhere like Decathlon. Then if you get the bug you can sell it on and buy something better.

 

[JaggyNI]

Thanks for the reply mate.

I've seen this recommended around the forums http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-id_8167038.html would it be good for me?

 

[Peteaud]

Thanks for the reply mate.

I've seen this recommended around the forums http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-id_8167038.html would it be good for me?

Good bike for the money, i am looking at one myself.

 

[JaggyNI]

Cheers mate, congrats on near 3 months off the cigs by the way! Just noticed in your signature.

 

[Peteaud]

Cheers mate, congrats on near 3 months off the cigs by the way! Just noticed in your signature.

 

[biggs682]

loads of good used bikes out there for £200 and a lot less that are great starting points and ideal for upgrading as you go along , where are you based in uk ?

if local to nn8 feel free to ask for help

 

[JaggyNI]

I'm in Northern Ireland mate, thanks for the offer though! My Uncle is actually big into cycling and actually competed at a decent level when he was younger so I'm hoping through his contacts he'd be able to get me something decent at a knock off price haha, I just thought I'd ask here to see what all you guys had to say!

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

!?

 

[JaggyNI]

What's the !? for? Haha.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

I'm in Northern Ireland mate, thanks for the offer though! My Uncle is actually big into cycling and actually competed at a decent level when he was younger so I'm hoping through his contacts he'd be able to get me something decent at a knock off price haha, I just thought I'd ask here to see what all you guys had to say!

This!?

 

[JaggyNI]

Sorry if I'm being thick, still don't really get it haha.

Is it because I should have just gone to my Uncle first rather than posting on here? Don't see him or talk to him regularly!

Again apologies for my stupidity!

 

[LarryDuff]

Don't worry Jaggy, sometimes english people just don't get what we're talking about.

I got a triban 3 from decathlon in Hollywood and its a grand bike.

 

[JaggyNI]

Haha thanks, think that's what I'm gonna go for... payday on Friday!

 

[ShaunGo5]

The cost is not as important as the fit. Your best bet is to take a few weekends and go to different shops and test ride different bikes at different price points. Without looking at the price tag as the end result, ride everything from a £200 to £2000 bike. Get a feel for the size, the comfort of the seat post, the balance and feel of the ride. Once you determine what size frame you need, what sort of ride you prefer, and what kind of mileage you want to get out of your bike, then start looking at price point. Something I will advise is to look at E-bay. You can sometimes get a great bike for a little bit of money, and those are usually the fixer upper types. And I do agree, one of the most fun parts of cycling is that you can always tweek and upgrade features and functions of the ride. Hope this helps.