Advice on buying a road bicycle sought.

[scbk]

You can be a man on a bike without being a cyclist!

 

What terrain are you looking at riding on? For general pottering about, I think a hybrid is a good compromise

[Stere]

 

I did a 250 mile ride in a day in demin shorts &   t shirt & normal trainers  was an audax ride

 

Home| Audax UK - The Long Distance Cyclists' Association

WWW.AUDAX.UK

---

Audax UK long distance cycling home page

 

All the gear might  give very marginal speeds gains though but isn't needed.

 

I don't mind the idea of a hybrid but they all are designed  using very poor quality parts unless you go for the very expensive ones

 

Cheap heavy frames & poor quality groupsets etc make a bike that  feels  unpleasant to ride.

 

Road bikes tend to be better vfm.

 

Also id look a gravel bikes like the one Big J has.

 

Gravel bikes are like the modern trendy  version of the  old cycle  touring bikes like that dawes galaxy.

 

 

Edited February 5, 2024 by Stere

[carlos]

dont know much about road bikes really, but have you looked second hand ? could get better bike for your money if it has been maintained but components can add up if you have to replace them.

try some out in a local bike shop, or not sure where you are based but when i was looking at an mtb bike some of the direct selling brands in germany were very hard to beat on value for money,and seemed to be able to ship to ireland no problem. radon bikes, canyon bikes are a couple of brands, i recon they do road bikes but not 100%.

carl

[Stere]

Yeah thoose brands are good.

 

Also Ribble cycles is good.

 

Trek and Specialized etc are overpriced.

 

 

 

 

[organic guy]

wife and I have gravel bikes, brilliant for touring, can add a little luggage and set out for a week. or use as a road bike.

Only lycra I have is a Friesian cow coloured top!

[difflock]

Thank you OG.

The massive plethora of nomenclature and jargon is truly perplexing and bamboozling  me.

Started to get my head round some of it.   . 

I have zero notion of being a speed merchant, but nor do I want a bike that is any heavier than it needs to be. 

On mostly flat terrain, up and down the Bann valley and round the Nth Antrim essentially.

And would like mudguards and a minimalistic carrier for limited clag.

Edited February 6, 2024 by difflock

[doobin]

1 hour ago, difflock said:

Thank you OG.

The massive plethora of nomenclature and jargon is truly perplexing and bamboozling  me.

Started to get my head round some of it.   . 

I have zero notion of being a speed merchant, but nor do I want a bike that is any heavier than it needs to be. 

On mostly flat terrain, up and down the Bann valley and round the Nth Antrim essentially.

And would like mudguards and a minimalistic carrier for limited clag.

There are greatly diminishing returns as regards weight once you start spending a lot of money.

 

The most important weight to save is rotating weight- starting at the outside edges. Lightweight kevlar bead tyres (which are then a compromise as regards puncture resistance) and decent carbon wheels will make it feel a lot quicker off the mark. But then you're into durability concerns, and I don't think such a setup would be right for you.

 

Have you considered an electric bike?

[Vedhoggar]

Giant at the moment have £500 and £400 off Tough Road SLR 1 & 2 bikes, which are gravel bikes with straight bars, they are a bit like old school mountain bikes, the geometry makes for a comfortable ride, the components used are good, these bikes were selling at £1500 and £1300, the bikes come with a 700 x 50c tyre but going to ride on tarmac a lot  700 x 40/42 or 700 x 45 would be faster tyre, there are more comfortable seats to be had be it’s personal choice. These bike come in S, M, L & XL and as a guide for your leg length it would be M but sit on and if possible try out bikes at a dealer, if you sit on a bike with leg fully extended and foot flat on pedal when in down position it will be about right size but also handle bar reach needs to be considered. 

[Stere]

Im all for light weight folding tyres rather than the  rigid  wire bead ones a  new bike often comes  with makes a big difference.

 

 

 

It used to be thought that narrow  23mm pumped up to over 100 psi tyres were best and that  was  normal for road bikes.  But more  recently people have realized wider tyres aren't  really slower its tyre supleness  high TPI (thread per inch), thats more important. 

 

 

 

Continental GP 4000 28mm are very popular choice.

 

They can do over 6000 miles before going bald.

 

Wider tyres say in 32mm -40mm are very nice esp on rough back roads.

 

GravelKing Slick TLC Folding Tyre

WWW.PANARACER.CO.UK

---

The GravelKing Slick TLC is for cyclists looking to expand their cycling horizons. Need a fast tyre with a bit more bulk for...

 

The lower lower psi & bigger air volume  absorbs more road buzz.

 

Thats a big plus for gravel bikes as they have more clearance on the frame for the  wide tyres & fitting mudguards.

 

Also more gravel frames come with the bolts to fit a  pannier rack .

 

 

The lower lower psi & bigger air volume  absorbs more road buzz.

 

 

 

Thoose giants look ok & decent spec. One  thing poor are the wired  tyres but easy to swap.

 

Also I dunno much  about the pro wheel  crankset &  bottom bracket spec & durability. Cheap press fit  bottom brackets on modern bikes can cause alot of issues.

 

Some brands have gone back to  the more durable threaded BSA (Birmingham Small Arms  🙂)  bottom brackets.

 

I prefer  drops bars as I find it  nice to have the choice of hand postions esp when theres a headwind and also the shifters on drop bars seem more ergonomic to me.

 

 

Edited February 6, 2024 by Stere

[organic guy]

Ours are giants, put couple thousand miles on them with few issues