tsddave
New Member
- Location
- Bergen, Norway
I am new here, so hello to all 
I am a British 40 year old male living in Norway.Where I live is a very mountainous region and it is almost impossible to find a flat surface for long.
Cycling is very popular here and you can get a very good workout no matter where you go!
I have been releasing some youtube videos which I think will show those interested in the types of rides I have been doing.
My home page is:- http://www.youtube.com/user/davejheath
I decided just before start of the summer this year to get myself a bike to replace running as my knees were giving me issues.
I bought myself a 2nd hand "Merida matts pro mountain bike".The bike is a triple and has a total of 27 gears. Since then ive been cycling twice a week and having a better time than I could of ever imagined! My sunday session has been built up to 3-5 hour rides (depending on how steep the upward climbs are mostly!) and my in the week session is 1 hour but I make it at as fast a pace as I possibly can.
This is pretty much all road cycling. I would do more but to be quite honest my legs always need a fair rest for some days in between..I hope that as time goes on this will improve.
Afew weeks back I bought some continental slick tires to replace the off road ones and I am really enjoying the speed boost they have provided.
The thing is though I really want now to buy myself a proper road racing bike for even more speed and fun.
I encounter many of them on the roads and cycle paths and they simply soar past me on my mountain bike and do it showing very little effort also!
Ive been doing alot of reading and I have to say the cannondale bikes seem appeal to me the most something like a caad 8 (I could stretch to a brand new caad 8 ) would be in my budget. Having said this there is a large market for 2nd user bikes here and I am also tempted by the full carbon bikes from brands like specialised, trek and giant. I am thinking that give it another month or so and the real cycling season will be over here and bikes should get cheaper. I will mostly ride my mtb in the winter (but I guess I will have to use the gym static cycles when the snow comes) but it seems that I can get a better deal on a racing bike during this off season.
So really my questions are as follows:-
I am far from a rich man!
Which brand and models should I really be looking at? Do I need a triple (my mtb has triple but I dont use it if im honest!)
Should I buy a carbon bike with some years on it over a new alu framed bike?
What shoe and pedal system should I get? I need something I can get out of fast in case of an emergency (there are some very crazy roads and drivers here!)
Any help or advice will be very much appreciated!
I am a British 40 year old male living in Norway.Where I live is a very mountainous region and it is almost impossible to find a flat surface for long.
Cycling is very popular here and you can get a very good workout no matter where you go!
I have been releasing some youtube videos which I think will show those interested in the types of rides I have been doing.
My home page is:- http://www.youtube.com/user/davejheath
I decided just before start of the summer this year to get myself a bike to replace running as my knees were giving me issues.
I bought myself a 2nd hand "Merida matts pro mountain bike".The bike is a triple and has a total of 27 gears. Since then ive been cycling twice a week and having a better time than I could of ever imagined! My sunday session has been built up to 3-5 hour rides (depending on how steep the upward climbs are mostly!) and my in the week session is 1 hour but I make it at as fast a pace as I possibly can.
This is pretty much all road cycling. I would do more but to be quite honest my legs always need a fair rest for some days in between..I hope that as time goes on this will improve.
Afew weeks back I bought some continental slick tires to replace the off road ones and I am really enjoying the speed boost they have provided.
The thing is though I really want now to buy myself a proper road racing bike for even more speed and fun.
I encounter many of them on the roads and cycle paths and they simply soar past me on my mountain bike and do it showing very little effort also!
Ive been doing alot of reading and I have to say the cannondale bikes seem appeal to me the most something like a caad 8 (I could stretch to a brand new caad 8 ) would be in my budget. Having said this there is a large market for 2nd user bikes here and I am also tempted by the full carbon bikes from brands like specialised, trek and giant. I am thinking that give it another month or so and the real cycling season will be over here and bikes should get cheaper. I will mostly ride my mtb in the winter (but I guess I will have to use the gym static cycles when the snow comes) but it seems that I can get a better deal on a racing bike during this off season.
So really my questions are as follows:-
I am far from a rich man!
Which brand and models should I really be looking at? Do I need a triple (my mtb has triple but I dont use it if im honest!)
Should I buy a carbon bike with some years on it over a new alu framed bike?
What shoe and pedal system should I get? I need something I can get out of fast in case of an emergency (there are some very crazy roads and drivers here!)
Any help or advice will be very much appreciated!
