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Dear all,
I am the proud owner of a 2009 Specialized Myka Pro. (It has horrible butterflies on it, but is a good mtb.) I put road wheels on it and used it for commuting for a while, and then got frustrated with that. I'm starting a Masters in October and want something that will serve a better purpose as a commuting bike (10 miles each way), plus I'm getting into triathlons now as I'm bored of running marathons.
I have a low budget (£500-600 max) and have been into Evans Cycles today to talk hybrids v road bikes. I live in London, and have been advised that taking a drop handlebar road bike on the roads is suicide, but I would argue that my mtb was just as dangerous on account of how slow I am on the thing.
I have also been advised by a friend to get a hybrid such as the Trek 7.2 or 7.3 which he reckons is fine for racing and commuting. But when I looked at it in the shop the handlebars look wide, and the bar ends you can add don't seem sufficient to me as there is no underneath bit. (Sorry, I'm not great with the jargon yet - getting there!). Also, the shop assistants in both Evans and Cycle Surgery were adamant that a hybrid was definitely a worse choice than a road bike "because of the geometrical proportions". I pointed out to one of the assistants that I could perhaps adjust the seat and handlebar positioning of a hybrid to give myself a more aerodynamic racing position, but he didn't seem convinced at all.
At the moment, I'm leaning towards either the Fuji Newest 3.0 or the Specialized Allez Compact 2013. Both are currently £550 in Evans.
I am a bit confused though as to whether I really should just save some money and get a hybrid. I would be incredibly grateful for advice from anyone who has been able to read this far. Thank you very much for bearing with me! 😀
road bike will be better for triathlon. hybrid might be better for commuting (personal preference). they'll both do the other job just maybe not so well.
Personally i'd have the road bike.
have been advised that taking a drop handlebar road bike on the roads is suicide
rubbish.
Merlin do some good road bikes at well less than that. merlincycles.com.
Excellent custoemr service too.
Some presumption on my part
You've said that you have run marathons... so I'm guessing that in doing more than one you were actaully racing the maras rather than just doing them to complete them..... If this is the case
You will very quickly "out grow" a commuter bike when taking part/racing tri.
Thanks very much Thomthumb and Willard!
Willard - I haven't come across Merlin before - just looked at the website. I've been told to keep an eye on "quality of components", would you say they're good quality compared to Specialized or Fuji? From my understanding, Specialized is better than Fuji but both are quite high.
drop bars are probably slightly more tricky in heavy traffic for a new rider.
from what ive seen over recent years, some hybrids are as close to a road bike as you can get without drops and some are as close to an mtb as you can get, just with bigger gears and slimmer wheels..... so dont discount a hybrid on name alone.
suggest that you want something commute specific - rack, full guards, reflectoreised, theft-proofed, and something for Tri, lighter, less 'comfortable'....
I would go 2nd hand commuter and brand spanky new race machine
Boardman hybrid, true road wheels and tyres, just change rear cassette for gears and bobs your uncle, with the bonus of disc brakes for the commute
Drop-bars aren't suicide in London; most of the time I commuted on the hoods. They are narrower so you can slip through smaller gaps as well....
Are you planning on commuting through the winter? In which case I would be tempted to agree with soobalias; get a cheap (off E-bay or simmilar) commuter bike with mud-guards and the like; something you won't mind locking up outside. Keep then a road bike for racing / training.
If you really can only choose one then road bike but budget for some winter tyres with a bit more grip for wet roads / grit / grime.
Jodes,
I'm not too up to date on road bike components, so I would recommend asking some from here to give you the low-down. However, I will say that Merlin make good bikes at decent prices. I'm very happy with the bike I bought from them last year, both with the build quality and the components on it. They also have very good customer service.
Chaps, anyone know anything about road bike bits and would care to educate us?
mrs xiphon picked up a Specialized Dolce for around £600 from Leisure Lakes. She bought it for Tri's, commuting and long rides.
Depending on your physical build, you may find a WSD bike more comfy?
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Thank you all very much.
In response to questions - I do do marathons but I'm no elite athlete. I'm currently working towards a sub-4- hour PB so really just a recreational runner hoping to become a recreational triathlete and improve over time.
Thanks for suggestion of 2 different bikes - this would be lovely but as you guessed I can't find the space so it has to be 1, I'm guessing an entry level road bike by the sounds of it.
If you really can only choose one then road bike but budget for some winter tyres with a bit more grip for wet roads / grit / grime.
This makes sense to me. I will indeed be commuting through the winter. I need to save money on the Tube and want to be more environmentally friendly with my travelling.
Willard, I've just read a bunch of reviews on Merlins, they seem to have very good reviews but they aren't sold by the big stores - Evans etc - which means I might have trouble with warranty etc - also need to physically try it for size as I am a midget (5'3"ish). Although, it may even be worth driving up the M6 to see them in person if customer service is as good as you say - bad customer service is something I cannot cope with!
I also don't really feel confident buying a bike second hand a) because I would be afraid in case it was stolen and b) because I feel I don't know enough to spot any potential problems with the bike (beyond the obvious "is it rusty" and "do the brakes work") 🙄
xiphon, thank you for posting that. May I ask, how does Mrs Xiphon get along with the flat handlebars during triathlons?
I definitely need to take into account the frame length. I'm quite evenly proportioned but on the wrong bike can definitely end up stretching too far to reach the brakes... not a good scenario...
Boardman hybrid, true road wheels and tyres, just change rear cassette for gears and bobs your uncle, with the bonus of disc brakes for the commute
Thanks Hustler... I was just wondering whether I really need disc brakes as they seem to add extra weight? Hadn't even considered the Boardman - only Halfords seem to stock it, will go and try one out!
Unfortunately, 2nd hand road bikes are selling for a lot at the moment. The only bargains tend to be older stuff, or bikes that need a lot of work doing.
I'd stick with buying new. Evans aren't too bad in my experience and theres a lot of branches around London.
There own brand Pinnacle bikes are good, this would be fine with some full length mudguards (btw they price match the internet)
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/dolomite-three-2012-road-bike-ec035888
Alternatively, take a trip to Decathlon. Their 300 quid road bike recently won a grouptest, plus they do more expensive versions.
If you join LCC ( http://lcc.org.uk/ ) you get 10% off i think, plus free 3rd party insurance.
Does anyone by any chance have any views on this?
[url= http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-zw95-2012/ ]felt road bike[/url]
In response to questions - I do do marathons but I'm no elite athlete. I'm currently working towards a sub-4- hour PB so really just a recreational runner hoping to become a recreational triathlete and improve over time.
Nothing to do with the original question, but this might be of interest to you if you're London based.
[url] http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2012/07/30/iron-distance-research-study-get-involved/ [/url]
[b]jodes82[/b]
It has drops, not flat bars - but you can use the tops (flat), hoods or drops... so your hands don't get tired in the same position.
The Dolce came with a [b]second[/b] set of brake levers - which can be used in addition to the two underneath the 'hoods'. Somehow a single brake inner cable works with two levers each side.
Probably designed that way for women who ride on the top 99% of the time - they still need some way to pull the brakes on!
Some WSD road bikes come with both sets of levers pre-installed.
Have a look at this webpage -> http://www.ltrsports.com/wp/index.php/3-reasons-why-giant-liv-womens-road-bikes-are-great/
Having mulled this over (probably more than I should be) I wonder if a flat bar hybrid is the best option. Are you considering aero bars for the triathlons? In which case you could just add them for the races to a flat bar bike; I did this for a season and it was actually pretty good. Key thing is to make sure the gearing is high enough on the hybrid.
Disc brakes on the hybrid would be great for those wet winter days and would save your rims / pads.
I think you have to accept that your probably going to be compromising in this case so you need to decide which way you are leaning. Do you want....
road bike:
Pros - Fast for the triathlon; fine for summer commuting; good for training
Cons - Not going to be great for winter riding; could be exciting on wet roads
Hybrid:
Pros - Can be optimised for winter with rack etc, perhaps more comfortable / easier to get used to.
Cons - Slower in the races but perhaps not much; not ideal for road training.
Or are you going to get so into tri you end up wanting a tri bike in a years time anyway....
Horatio - very interesting - thanks! I think I will join LCC although maybe I should wait till I'm a student and get it for £17!
The Decathlon store looks VERY interesting, I'll take a trip down there next week I think on my next day off.
yes I think second hand prices are through the roof and as I said I'd probably miss something vital and end up breaking my neck because of it. Brand spanking new gives me peace of mind.
I seriously love this forum!!! So grateful for all of the advice. It's amazing! 😀 😀 😀
xiphon - that is a very good point. Yes, I have tiny hands - so braking is definitely easier if that second set of brakes is there. The Giant looks good. I sat on one in Evans today but I think it was a man's one. Will have another look.
sweaman2 - thank you for thinking for me 🙂 I am starting to think a hybrid might be a better option, because it's cheaper and does most of what I need anyway. If I can get a hybrid with drops it would be ideal - I don't think I will need aero bars for the first few triathlons I do - I am too much of a beginner and I feel like it would be something I would buy later on when I improved. Also, I'm tight on money now but in 2-3 years' time I will definitely be able to afford something more expensive for triathlons. (If I turn out to be good at them.)
Cons - Not going to be great for winter riding; [b]could be exciting on wet roads[/b]
EEK.
Decathalon all the way. You can save money and buy the Triban 3 (carbon forks,) or blow your budget on the upgrade Triban 5:
[url= http://www.decathlon.co.uk/C-359113-road-bikes ]Linky[/url]
I was looking into this recently as well.
* Comes in a good range of sizes (very important)
* 10.5kg
* Carbon fork
* Shimano 2300 is entry level but reliable
* Amazing value bike - perfect for getting up to speed with the triathalon.
Here's a discussion about the bike on another cycle related site, with some hi-res pictures:
[url= http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=17113516 ]Another Linky[/url]
However, if you want female specific, maybe look at Boardman bikes on eBay from last year?
By exciting on wet roads I mean that coming from a mountain bike the difference between 1.5+ tires / disks and 26mm tires / rim brakes means that you just need to recalibrate stopping expectations.
Nothing that can't be adapted to.
Sweaman - I see! Makes sense.
Will go into Decathlon and have a try next week. Am actually rethinking my policy on second hand bikes. There are a few on Ebay that are half the price of a new one. So if I only spend £300 and get it serviced I'll be able to justify upgrading again in about a year. May be the answer 🙂