Cycling

I couldn't think where to put this so I put it here.

Having been advised by the doc to do some cycling to rebalance my muscles I am now seeing this as an opportunity to go and spend some cash! (don't tell the wife).

Currently I bike with a mountain bike and also have an indoor machine, but would like to try some fast road biking.

Can anyone advise any good reading, web-sites etc that can give me a bit of background as I am completely out of touch with road biking? I need to get a bike capable of climbing big hills (my mountain biking is often in first gear). How much cash would I have to look at spending? Who are the reliable names in road biking nowadays? How can I justify spending a large sum of money to my wife (excuses to include - "How it isn't a large sum of money relative to other expenditure items" and "why the purchase is really to her benefit and not for me at all" and poissibly "some vague but long term promise of foreign holidays"

Comments

  • Have a look on www.bikemagic.com and the forums there. Magazines loke cycling plus are good, and because I do triathlon I find 220 magazine good as well.
  • P.S I have a Coppi road bike which is good enough for time trialling and triathlon and just generale training...and you can get some good deals on last years models - look for something with light wheels (a must) an aluminium frame and 16 spd STI either Shimano or Campagnolo, but most important get it sized correctly.
  • NessieNessie ✭✭✭
    220 mag is good, but the bikes in it are wildly expensive (around the £1000 mark upwards) which won't sit well with the "it was a bargain really" tack.

    If you have a good bike shop locally, they may have a small ads board where customers can sell their old bikes as they trade up for a newer better model. You can pick up a pretty good one that way. I got a £450 Giant racer for £125 and it had only done 100 miles (guy had bought it for his son, who then decided he didn't like cycling).

    You get a lot more road bike for your money than mountain bike, so unless you are aiming for the Tour de France, £300 would get you something perfectly useful for cross training.
  • Check out www.xpedia.co.uk. They had some amazing specials on for the Tour, dont know if they still have them though. They are brilliant to deal with as well, and by far the cheapest on nearly everything.

    Gareth
  • drewdrew ✭✭✭
    Martin, I've just bought myself a new bike. I simply didn't tell my wife until after I'd bought it. She didn't talk to me for only 3 or 4 days!

    Buying a bike is quite a personal thing. Some of my friends have been quite happy racing on bikes that were falling to bits, whereas others must have the latest equipment.

    If you do intend doing some duathlons then I would suggest you buy a good quality bike. At this stage the frame is probably the most important consideration as the rest of the bits can be upgraded at a future date, if required.

  • Martin

    I recently bought a Giant OCR 2, which has a nice stiff compact frame and a nice turn of speed for an affordable £525. This bike also got good write-ups in the press (220 magazine & cycling plus).

    All in all I find it very usable for both training and triathlon racing.

    Will
  • georgegeorge ✭✭✭
    I spent a lot ( and I mean a lot ) of money on a top of the range 15lb super Bianchi bike last year and while its nice to ride and be seen to ride too, I still have to turn the pedals just as hard as any of my other bikes and still don't go any faster than some of the old guys on sheds !!! Try CYCLING WEEKLY. Its a Road racing specific magazine and at the back there are always two or three pages of second hand racing bikes advertised from £200 upto £2000 . Otherwise , take Nessies advice and find a local bike shop and they could point you in the right direction. Let us know how you get on. Good Luck .
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