Please recommend a sub £500 road bike - Trek 1.2 maybe?

[mikeyw]

Hi,

I'm a fairly decent mountainbiker (Trek 4700) who wants a road bike to do some decent miles on (up to 50miles a time)

We operate the cycle to work scheme at my place of work so i'd like to take advantage of this and get a fairly decent entry level road bike.

I've heard the Trek 1.2 gives a lot of bike for the money - are there others worth considering ?

Just noticed this good deal as well :-

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/gt/r-series-4-2007-road-bike-ec014435


TIA,
Mike.

 

[Young Un]

you may be able to get 2008 bikecheap seeing as the 2009 ranges hav been launched. id recomend getting something with tiagra shifters as you will notice the difference of it over sora/2200 when you ride on the drops.


or if ur budget could stretch a little theres this - giant scr2

or it could shrink a little to this but this only has sora shifters - giant scr3

 

[mikeyw]

Thanks - could someone explain the difference between Tigra / Sora ?

 

[balzer69]

with a budget of £500, the following consistently get good reviews.

Giant SCR 1.5 £499

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Giant-SCR-1.5-2008.5-Road-Bike_15388.htm

Specialized Allez £499

http://www.dalescycles.com/product_p/specallez1808.htm

Trek 1.5 £499

http://www.juliescycles.co.uk/index.php/product/bikes-jc/trek-jc/trekroadbikes-jc/14030002-jc.html

 

[rich p]

Thanks - could someone explain the difference between Tigra / Sora ?

They do the same job but Tiagra is the next up in Shimano's range in terms of quality. Sora used to be only 8 speed but I think they may do a 9 now. Sora shifters have a thumb press operation witha push lever while Tiagra have a 2 lever operation. Some people (my wife) prefer the sora shifters.

 

[mikeyw]

Thanks for you help guys - are the bikes at the £500 level all reasonably good ?

Is it a case of diminishing returns as you go up the price ladder paying for lighter & better quality components ? I'm assuming there's not a wonder feature that only appear on expensive bikes ?

 

[Bassman]

I went through this same scenario recently (budget £500-£600) and mostly everything is pretty similar standard spec . I got a Bianchi Via Nirone with Campagnolo Xenon shifters for the reduced price of £535 and this seemed WAY better than everything else at this price point. Great frame, quality components and easy to upgrade later with better parts if you wish.

Other recommendations:
Trek 1.2 or LeMond Etape - pretty much the same bike out of the same factory. The LeMond has been withdrawn from UK and I've seen it discounted to £400. They also take mudguards which is handy for the wet weather we've been having.

Scott S60 - nice looking bike but I prefer last years blue colour scheme than the grey they have this year. Usually around £479

Giant SCR - I normally like Giant but didn't go for this. Strange riding position and just doesn't look as nice as the other mentioned bikes.

Specialized Allez - gets good reviews but I found it a bit boring/bland. Didn't look like a "real" thoroughbred like the Bianchi, Scott or LeMond.

Ribble (ribblecycles.co.uk) - build your bike online choosing one of their quality frames and choose the exact parts you want. You'll get a very good bike for your £500 and you'll be able to choose either Campagnolo or Shimano shifters. I would have gone this option had I not seen the Bianchi at the discounted price

 

[Bassman]

I recommended Bianchi in an earlier post - just seen some cracking deals advertised.

Bianchi Via Nirone (Shimano Sora) Colour Black - £449
Bianchi Via Nirone (Campagnolo Xenon) colour not specified but this model is usually the traditional Bianchi celeste - £495

www.hargrovescycles.co.uk

Note on Bianchi sizing - the Via Nirone model has a slightly curved top tube and is similar to other sloping top tube models from other makes, often referred to as "compact". However, the way Bianchi sizes is slightly unusual. the size is from centre of bottom bracket to a "virtual" centre top tube line as if the bike had a straight (horizontal) top tube. You can find all the dimensions on the bianchi website.

My 53 cm model is actually only 50cm to the top of the seat tube and about 46 cm centre bb to centre where seat tube meets top tube. I'm 5'8" (173 cm) with a 30" (76 cm) inside leg.

My bike is the Celeste colour which I love but I have to say the gloss black with white & grey decals looks very, very nice. At those prices I'm tempted to buy a second one as my winter bike. I wish I hadn't just spent £400 on something else for the winter!

 

[mikeyw]

Guys - thanks for the advice...a cyclist at work mentioned this which is over budget but aledegly preety good?...would you concur ?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...mb_33980-33957-124465_parentcategoryrn_124465

In case the link doesn't work it's the Boardman comp at £599 - saw it a lunch and it's as light as feather with reasonable compenents.

Is this a better option for the extra cost ? ( will only be a small increase on the cycle to work scheme)

 

[the_oaf]

I can also recommend the Bianchi Via Nirone w/Sora.

I bought it about a two months ago after commuting on a Specialized Crossroads for 3 years in London, abut 15 miles per day. Really happy with it. Budget was the same as yours (about £550), not sure if road bikes were for me......I looked at the Trek 1.2 as well, but it just didn't have the same 'character'. Its hard to explain.

I know its entry level, but it looks the business and is fast and reasonably comfortable, though it has taken me 6 weeks to get comfortable/used to it after the upright hybrid. It comes with Look Keo pedals, but I changed these for SPD. The sora gears are good enogh for me as a newbie commuter.

Definitely look at the sizing as mentioned above. I'm 5'11 but got the 55cm frame which is a touch too small for me I suspect.....I think the LBS was trying to get rid of stock (quite fairly) but wasn't fitted correctly (you know who you are, independent bike shop in Putney!).

One thing though.....once you buy it and get into it, you'll want another better bike. It is oddly addictive.

 

[mikeyw]

Well been a frustrating few days - managed to buy a Boardman comp on offer at a silly £440 but when I tried to put it through the C2W scheme they wouldn't do it as Halfords operate their own separate scheme....bedgrudingly i admitted defeat and went to my LBS who I have to say were superb, ended up with a 2008 Trek 1.2 on offer at £400...they did extensive measuring and will set the bike up optimumly for my dimensions and service it fo free in 3months...i doubt Halfords would have done any of this.

I think for my level the difference between the 2 bikes won't be that noticeable so just waiting for the C2W voucher to buy it with now.

 

[zacklaws]

I bought a Trek 1.2 back in October and love it too bits, it may not be the best bike on the market, but without doubt the best I have ever ridden. I reguarly go for rides up to 60 miles on it and get no aches or pains at all on it.

I find it fast and very manoverable and is very stable. Somewhere on line is a very good review explaing how safe and stable it is but it takes some finding. What I like about it is if I prang it, it should not be too expensive to replace the parts, Sora derailers are only about £12 for instance so would not become a major headache if the components were more expensive.

 

[mikeyw]

Thanks Zak - i think i'll like the 1.2, the only bad i'm hearing is the brakes are cr@p

 

[zacklaws]

I heard that too, but I find no problem with them. They are advertised as "unbranded" but I also read that they are Shimano so I do not really know.

If the brakes are cr@p then they are a thousand times better than my old bike, I would imagine a Kamikase pilot would be proud to ride my old bike yet I cannot work out why they are so bad, new blocks, cleaned the rims etc made no difference, even a new wheel.

The first day I rode my old bike to go to work after I had done a lot of mileage on my Trek 1.2 and got used to it, I got such a shock, I sat on the saddle, shot straight down the road unstoppable, out of control wobbling all over and ploughed through some roadworks and when I got back on track promptly ploughed into the neighbours hedge.

That shows how good the brakes on the Trek are and how stable a ride which I had got used too.

 

[jay clock]

I have one and posted about it here http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20040&highlight=trek - It has been an ideal winter bike with rack and small panniers for local trips and also one club run (no panniers!)

Also, although I have a road bike with Ultegra kit I cannot for the life of me see how anyone can really quibble about the relative merits of Sora vs Tiagra on a £400 bike.

Re the brakes, yes they were crap, but that was the hard Shimano pads and new rims. Having cleaned it all up, I then put new pads on and they are fine. The bottom bracket creaked like hell, even after tightening it, but the LBS replaced it and now it is fine

Happy cycling