New road/race bike??? Which one

crees22

Hi all,

Spring next year I am thinking about buying a new Racing bike. Not that there is anything really wrong with the one i have at the moment, just getting itchy fingers! I have seen a few around that takes my fancy but dont really know what bikes are thought to be good/crap! I cant help but fall in love with the good looking ones, but that doesnt mean to say they are any good. Im hopefully gonna have between £300-£400 to spend, so if you have any reccomendations i would love to hear from you.

P.S... Is this bike worth a look?

http://www.falconcycles.co.uk/produ...s.id=1&p.id=237

Is it much of a handicap to have the flat handlebars?

Cheers.....Chris

shokhead1

I dont think that is any kind of a racing bike.Are you going to race or just want one.I would say first,why flat bars?Then i would say that a road racing type bike would start at the very least,$1100-1200 bucks.

tomdavis80

I agree. The flat bars are going to hurt you in aerodynamics and that can cost you minutes in a race. Keep the traditional form of the bars for roadbikes. Secondly, it depends on how serious you are on racing or competing or riding. If you're just riding, buy an aluminum 500-800 dollar roadbike, if you're looking for a good bike for racing seriously, look for $1200 or more.

Thomas Davis

Daremo

That's not a road bike ..... its a high-end hybrid bike ............

Go check out your local shops, see what they have.

Expect to pay arpund $700 and up U.S. for a somewhat decent bike.

Start there, learn how to ride in a group, and get your fitness up. When you are at the level where a $1000 + bike will help you, then buy it. Otherwise, if you don't really get into the sport, you will have wasted a lot of money ........... and if you DO get into it, you'll have a beater bike for riding when it is crappy weather out!

__________________
'05 Aussie version Giant TCR C Zero ...... finally went over to the dark side and riding a carbon bike. But you can't beat a 17 lb. ride!!

Eagleman 70.3 half ironman - 6/11/06 - here I come!!

crees22

Firstly im new to biking and yet to do any competitions, so am many looking for a good bike to use in my own time touring the countryside at the moment.

Its not a hybrid, been to view it and its only the handlebars that stand out as being different, the tyres/wheels are way to narrow to be classed as a hybrid bike.

Whats your opinion on fausto Coppi bikes? i know there not cheap but have had my eye on a couple of the cheaper models.

chris

__________________
Cycling > Lifes stress relief

king_matt87

wel to start with in southern UK 30-400 hwould be a fair few AUSD ok wel thee r bikes then there bikes. I have 1 of the and then thee r bikes pic below MERAID IKE Gross Venus C7 full record goupset. but stay away from breands like trek and cannondale not becasue they r bad but very over priced. giant, merida, avanti, raceline so there r many good bikes out there. people say I"M GETTING A GIANT CAUSE THEY R GOOD. well any bike runing campagnolo Record will be good. and then there is a cheap giant that has ike shimaNO sora 4 1/8 teh price tahst y. shop around i got my bike real cheap i built it up my self and got evey thing i wanted 4 like 1/3 RRP

Attached Thumbnails

 

Daremo

Trust me, it's a hybrid .........

Straight bars, triple chainring, 8-spd, and the sizing is in inches, not cm .........

I managed the service department in a few shops for five years, and have sold every level of bike ...... this is a hybrid. I bought a high end hybrid, and it was similarly equipped.

Italian bikes rock ............. they are some of the best out there. But that is coming from someone who has owned two newer Colnagos, and now rides a Mondonico/Torrelli ...

But they are expensive.

Look into Giant if you want a new bike reasonably priced. They offer a lot of great models, especially for the recreational riders. They also have some really bad azz racing bikes ..... I'll probably be getting a TCR composite for my graduation present from grad. school.

__________________
'05 Aussie version Giant TCR C Zero ...... finally went over to the dark side and riding a carbon bike. But you can't beat a 17 lb. ride!!

Eagleman 70.3 half ironman - 6/11/06 - here I come!!

shokhead1

I have a flat bar bike and its not a hybrid.Also noticed it didnt have any shocks fork or seatpost,most hybrids do dont they?

crees22

Ok thanx for your opinions, seems as though there are far more bikes oy there that I didnt know exsisted. The bloke at the bike shop in town was shocked when i refered to that Claude Butler as a 'Hybrid', he insisted it was a racer! I wouldnt mind a test drive to see the difference. Ive allways thought that a hybrid means that they can handle light off road terrain aswell as being suited to the road, would i be right in thinking that? Coz if that is what is meant by a hybid, that Claude Butler can't be one. Ive been to look at it, and ok it might not be a pure racer by any means but it certainly isnt sturdy enough to handle any off road, you should see the wheels and tyres on this bike.

Heres another bike i like the look of, whats your thoughts?
http://www.faustocoppibikes.co.uk/ Its the Torino im interested in.

Chris

__________________
Cycling > Lifes stress relief

Daremo

A hybrid bike is classified as a bike that is multi-purpose. One that does really have some light offroad capability usually, yes. Traditionally hybrids did not have suspension, even though they usually do now.

But that bike is NOT a road bike. Plain and simple. It would not do you any justice to try and keep up with other roadies with it.

There are so many other true road bikes out there that are much better suited to actual road riding.

The point of having drop bars is so that you have multiple options for your havd position so that you can get more oomph out of your pull, so that you can alter your positions so that you don't get tired, and so you can get more aero for fast descents, etc.

There are a few road bikes that have triples, but they are a lot different than this one. If anything, this looks like a touring style bike, but that is still not one that I would want to do a century on!

Try a different shop if this one is pushing this bike on you. The one thing I hate is a pushy salesmen. It was something I never did when selling, because it alienated the customer. They should find out what you are really looking to do, and sell accordingly.

Just my opinion.

__________________
'05 Aussie version Giant TCR C Zero ...... finally went over to the dark side and riding a carbon bike. But you can't beat a 17 lb. ride!!

Eagleman 70.3 half ironman - 6/11/06 - here I come!!

Dimboy

Dawes are a make in Coventry, UK that make cheap road bikes, my neighbour has one.

__________________
Regards,
Adam

shokhead1

Some people dont think its a true road bike if it isnt superlight,under 20 at the very least.Triple or double means nothing towards is it or isnt it a road bike.Just as manny trips as doubles on road bikes,some rideis use both.I suppose a true road bike has drop bars but i've seen some flat bar bikes that are just as much a road bike as one with drop bars.Also no problem doing a 50/100 with flatbars.

crees22

Visted another cycle store yesterday in the heart of London, I was actually really supprised to see so many flat handlebarred road bikes in the shop. About half there range consisted of these style bikes but many was well out of my price range, was a quite classy place and no doubt being in London being overpriced. The difference he told me was just that they wasnt a true racer, slightly higher flat bars means a more upright position, other than that he said they was the same. I will have to take a ride on one, as I must say i do like the more aerodynamic seating position of my present bike and dunno whether I will like it any different.

Please someone!! Fausto Coppi bikes - any good?

Chris

__________________
Cycling > Lifes stress relief

Tuschinski

That's really hard to tell as long as we do not know the model and specs. generally you should look at National brands for the best price/performance. If I were English I you check out Dawes and Raleigh.

If you can spend a little bit more, but do not want to spend an arm and a leg: In the Netherlands/Belgium Ridley stands out as having a pretty good price/quality and enormous customisation. They can be shipped with custom paint jobs for no extra charge (depending on the extravagance tough). A Ridley can be just as cheap as a mass-production bike (if you are lucky/have a nice dealer) OR is just a little bit more expensive. Coppi, Merckx etc are a lot more expensive (and I don't even want to talk about Pinarello/Colnago). The quality of a custom bike is generally mcu hbetter (and it is YOUR unique bike)

http://ridley-bikes.com/en/index.php?pagina=dealers/uk

Try to go to a race-specialist, they should be able to help you best. The first LBS you visited should be avoided at all cost. He was trying to rip you of. The second shop sounds a lot better, but still doesn't feel like a real race-specialist (I might be wrong).

-Any good Bike-shop will gladly order a bike they normally don't carry!

__________________
Just a signature for identifying purposes