new to cycling, help needed please

[kingy_88]

first off i am new to this site so please take it easy and break me in gently.
i bought a race bike from my LBS about 6 weeks ago and have been riding it to work every day which is about 4miles round trip. i used to ride a mountain bike so i have got used to the dfferance between the 2 over the last 6 weeks.
basically the bike i bought was a old raleigh bike (80quid) just to get me started and now i want to move up the ladder and buy a bike that will last and see me some good miles. my budget is around the £5-600 mark, i was thinking of buying a second hand bike to get a better spec rather than buying brand new. my knowledge of bikes is very minimul so some guidence would be apreciated.
after buying a cycling magazine i read a reveiw of 5 bikes the Carrera Vanquish (549.99), Pinnacle Sentinal 1.0 (549.99), B'Twin Sport 2 (499.95), Raleigh Airlite 300 (549.99) and the Trek 1.2 (549.99) which are all within my budgets or very close.
The review read that theTrek and B'Twin machines where best but the B'Twin just piped the Trek being 50quid cheaper and just as good a bike for the first timer, also i think the B'Twin looks very nice.
Im just after peoples oppinions on the bikes and wether a B'Twin would be a good purches for me also thinking maby the B'Twin Sport 3 which i 600quid with a better spec.


after looking on a few websites i came across people saying that the trek 1.5 is a good bike to start with and after reading some reviews sounds a good bike. i will be taking a trip to some bike bike shops over the weekend to hopefully help my knowledge.
any advice would be greatly apreciated.

 

[accountantpete]

As regards road bikes £400-£600 gets you an entry level tool. The bikes circa £600 with say a mirage groupset will be easier to upgrade with better wheels in the future,however the frame will only be reasonable.If you want a decent frame then S/H is the way to go.

 

[HJ]

The best way to decide which bike is to find a good LBS and ride as many as you can, then buy the one that feels right. At the price level there are plenty of good bikes, but only you will know which bike is the best for you and the way to find that out is to ride them...

 

[upsidedown]

Don't know about the bikes, but Decathlon's after-sales service is very good. They have an unlimited returns policy on their own goods and the dealings i've had with their mechanics have been ok.

 

[rich p]

The entry level bike that gets consistent rave reviews is the Specialized Allez at about £500

 

[Paulus]

The entry level bike that gets consistent rave reviews is the Specialized Allez at about £500

+1. Have a look at these

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/allez-16-2010-road-bike-ec019545
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/allez-24-2010-road-bike-ec019546

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/allez-sport-double-2010-road-bike-ec019409

The third option here is a little more expensive, but the Sora groupset is a little better than on the other two i've shown you. The frame on these bikes is quite good and you can easily upgrade the groupset when necessary.

 

[kingy_88]

thank you for your comments i think it will be between the trek and specialized, and as said i will try and have a ride on some to see which feels better.

 

[Randochap]

You say you are using it for commuting to work, so you might want to consider if the bike you buy will accommodate a rack and mudguards.

 

[aJohnson]

I'd just go to the LBS, try a few bikes and get the one which is the best fit in your range. I have a trek 1.5 which I love, I'd highly recommend it as an entry level bike.