Which bike to choose - confused!

[leroy]

Not long after starting to ride again, the bug has got me and I am thinking of getting a new bike

I have been kindly given a £100 voucher for halfords, but still, my budget will be (including voucher) £300.
I know I wont be getting a top end bike, but I would like the best for me.

The choice I am most struggling to make is whether I should get a hybrid or a road bike from Halfords. I have been on MTB from young, but mostly on roads, so the idea of going faster on roads appeals.

So questions!

1. Would I notice a big difference in speed between a Road Bike and a Hybrid, or just a small difference?
2. Is the transistion from flat bar to drop bar going to take a while to get used to?
3. For commuting which style would be best?

Road bikes I am looking at -
Carrera Virtuoso
Carrera TDF 2011
Carrera TDF special edition
I am struggling a lot with these, as I cannot seem to see any differences between them - although I may not know what I am looking for as much as you guys. Especially the two TDF - are they identical?



Hybrid bikes I am looking at -
Carrera Gryphon
Carrera Subway 2
I have always heard that the Subways are good hybrids, but not heard much about the Gryphon - any comments?

I appreciate any help you can give me!

 

[Paulus]

Morning Leroy, The Carrera TDF special is slightly lighter, and has slightly better components on it as opposed to the other Carrera. You would notice an increase in speed riding on drops because of the riding position, but, you don't have to ride on the drops, there are different positions to hold onto the bars, ie. on the tops, or on the brake hoods or to the side of the hoods. You would soon get used to the feel of the bike. Road bikes make ideal commuting bikes.

 

[leroy]

Morning Leroy, The Carrera TDF special is slightly lighter, and has slightly better components on it as opposed to the other Carrera. You would notice an increase in speed riding on drops because of the riding position, but, you don't have to ride on the drops, there are different positions to hold onto the bars, ie. on the tops, or on the brake hoods or to the side of the hoods. You would soon get used to the feel of the bike. Road bikes make ideal commuting bikes.

Thanks for the reply (took me a while to find it as I presume topic has been moved!)

Perhaps leaning towards the road bike then. Im doing a 160 mile trip over two days soon, being geared towards speed would there be a big difference in comfort?

 

[uphillstruggler]

you could always try flogging the £100 voucher and use it to get your self along to Decathlon, as their entry level Triban 3 is a better bike for the same money.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/triban-3-173178017/ have a look at this link

and you wont have to part with additional money to get the thing set up correctly.

best of luck what ever you choose.

 

[leroy]

I have looked at those before (online anyway) - what better components do they have over the carreras? the website doesnt seem t ogo into much detail.

It is an option, but i'd have to find someone else who wants to spend £100 at halfords first ;-)

 

[LosingFocus]

I moved from an MTB to a Carrara Virtuosso back in May this year and Ive not had a complaint about it for the cycling Ive been doing (just fitness stuff really). The change from flats to drops was a lot easier than I expected, and I now use all the positions I can on the bars - tops, hoods, drops... - when out to suit the conditions. The geometry is the thing that took the most getting used to - I found I felt I was stretching to reach the handle bars and wasnt OK with the more aero body shape; but both of these turned out just to be "teething" troubles with riding in a different way.

Also, take the put downs of Halfords with a pinch of salt. My local one was excellent, the bike was set up really well to suit me and everything was perfectly set - the only thing I have had to do since Ive had it set-up wise is to raise the saddle (personal choice after getting used to it) and flip the stem (again, personal choice, but Im going to flip back soon). It's true that you may well get some bad Halfords out there (what with them being a massive company and employing thousands, it only stands to reasons that some of the staff employed to work in the bike section wont know their stuff), but dont write them off before popping along.

 

[leroy]

Thanks, that's great advice on the drop bars.

As for Halfords, with the voucher I am kinda limited to them, but my local has done some work on my current bike and I've been happy with it - the service is a different issue, but the quality seems good. I am lucky that i have a few to choose from around North Manchester

 

[billy1561]

I personally have found the road bike to be more comfortable than my hybrid and certainly quicker. Having said that though I use the hybrid to commute as I feel the road bike is more likely to be stolen.
Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[johnnyh]

I've owned a Carrera Virtuoso for approx 3 and a half years now, and it hasn't ever let me down.
Whilst not my "best bike", it does its fair share of work and is still a nice ride.
My thoughts on it here

What ever you get, enjoy!