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Winter Bike

Is it possible to buy or build a winter bike for £250, if yes to build can you please put on all of the components Id need and if not can you think of anywhere I could get a winter bike for that price not fussed if the frame is steel or aluminium.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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15 comments

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whars1 | 9 years ago
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Second hand is the way to go - I got a [well] used Riddle Aluminium Audax a few years ago for 185. Have been doing 5000km a year on it for a few years now as a commuter around London and has been great value and I'm happy to leave it anywhere when locked.

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mtbtomo | 9 years ago
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Halfords have a Carrera TdF road bike on offer at £250 at the moment, Its supposedly half price, but anyway, it doesn't look bad with Shimano Sora (or maybe Claris) groupset.

I wouldn't buy secondhand gears cos you just don't know how much wear they've had. So that would exclude complete secondhand bikes for me.

You might manage a self build for £250 but you probably won't source all the bits for winter - waiting for the right bits and the right price.

Planet-X sometimes sell SAAB frames at £50 - £100 for a starter.

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Blue_Brevatto | 9 years ago
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One thing to note is that at this price-point any accessories you need are going to be a much larger fraction of the total budget. It is not clear from your OP how much kit you already have but if you are serious about cycling regularly in the winter then you are going to need full-length mudguards, good lights, spare lights, and then the usual pump/inner-tubes/tyre-levers. Plus some luggage unless you are happy using a rucksack. And that is without starting on the extra clothing you might want!

If you already own (or have separately budgeted for) all that stuff then that is fine. But if not then those essential extras are going to take up a large fraction of £250 and to be honest what you will be left with will only be enough for a second hand bargain. Certainly not any half-decent new bike.

If you are looking 2nd hand then I don't think you should focus on specific model/brand recommendations - you will have to take whatever is available. Just keep trawling as many web-sites as you can. I have never bought on e-bay but I have watched a few auctions and I agree with someone up-thread - the bikes often seem to go for crazy money at the final whistle. E-Bay is definitely a sellers market IMHO. Using the classified sections of cycling web-sites is probably better - but most of the bikes will be a lot more than £250. But you could try posting WANTED notices in some of them and see if you get any replies. road.cc has it's own classified section as does cyclechat, cyclingweekly etc.

It also wasn't clear from the OP if you definitely wanted a road bike - i.e. if you need to cover long-distances quickly. If not then I would agree with the comment earlier - consider a hybrid as you might get better value and it might come with mud-guards and fatter tyres that you otherwise need to buy.

Lastly I am not sure I follow your logic when you said you didn't want to buy a new bike in case you wrecked it. Be assured that if you ride regularly in winter you WILL wreck it (but you probably knew that!) but all that should matter is how much you paid for it. I don't see the difference between trashing a new £250 bike and trashing a 2nd hand £250 bike. The new bike has the advantage that it should last longer before anything needs replacing whereas a 2nd bike will have components of varying ages/mileages - some of which (purely by law of chance) will be just about to fail. OTOH the overall spec of components on a 2nd bike costing £250 should be higher than on a new bike at same price.

One last comment with regard to "self-build". I am not sure quite what you envisage here - and you may know a lot more about this than me as I have never built a bike from scratch. But I think it is very, very, unlikely you will be able to buy a complete set of compatible parts and assemble a bike for £250. It is just the way the bike market works that the sum of the parts always costs a lot more than the whole. Unless of course you use a lot of second hand parts - but unless you really know what you are doing that will probably be a false economy.

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BeatPoet | 9 years ago
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I'd go second hand for that budget. I have an old Carrera Vanquish which I use. Decent bike. Shimano 105, Tiagra brakes, 6061 aluminium and 22lbs. I'm sure you'd get something similar for not far off your budget on ebay.

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Beatnik69 | 9 years ago
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Decathlon are very good when it comes to sorting things out under warranty. My rear wheel started clicking, I dropped the bike in and they replaced the wheel, no trouble.

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bamilton wackad... | 9 years ago
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Binky | 9 years ago
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If you are spending £300. just buy a new bike and use it. Least you know what you are getting yourself into and if a problem does happen, the shop has to make good.

Seems a waste to spend the same amount of cash on a second hand bike that you don't know how it has been treated, only to spend a whole heap of more cash making it usable.

Never been a fan of second hand bikes, not a snob, just like knowing that i'm the only person who has used it so it and that i am covered by warranty.

PS
Maybe i bike that can take tires of 25 and upwards

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mtbtomo | 9 years ago
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They're £280 now aren't they?

2nd hand Triban then?

Always seemed to me that second hand road bikes were bad value at sub-£500. Some people wanting £100+ for 20 year old bikes with down tube shifters. Or still £200 for a Carrerra that was £300 new..... or maybe its the number of people that look on ebay that keeps prices a bit unrealistically steep.

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Beatnik69 | 9 years ago
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I have a Triban 3 (the older version of the 300 but basically the same bike). I intend using it as my winter/commuting bike having just got the Alur 700. It's a great wee bike. As long as you keep it clean and don't hit too many potholes it should serve you well. The wheels probably will be the first thing to go.

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JoeLavo | 9 years ago
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Can't stretch to £300 and don't particularly what a brand new one now thinking about it because I want one I won't be worried about wrecking, second hand or self build is my stance now.

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JoeLavo | 9 years ago
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Can't stretch to £300 and don't particularly what a brand new one now thinking about it because I want one I won't be worried about wrecking, second hand or self build is my stance now.

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mtbtomo | 9 years ago
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I don't see any issues with a Decathlon Triban not being strong enough. Maybe the wheels or other components would only last a season, but if you want a "proper" winter bike then you might want to look at a singlespeed / fixie??? Wheels and drive train get manked up and worn out by winter so there's a balance between cheap and durable. And its probably at the cheaper end of the scale.

However, all the cheap(ish) bikes I've ever bought for winter bikes have felt like dogs compared to my best bikes, so I've ditched the concept of a winter bike from my collection and just run the bikes I enjoy riding. That includes a singlespeed, but it is still a bit numb compared to the race bikes.

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bamilton wackad... | 9 years ago
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Pick up an old steel frame and whack some mudguards and decent tyres on it. It doesn't matter if it doesn't looks great, as long as it runs well. If you look in the right places you should be able to spend less than £250.

Alternatively, ebay is littered with hybrids that people have picked up in the hope of getting fit, then hardly ever riding. I have a decent one with Nexus hub I'm looking to sell if you're in London  16

Otherwise, if you're looking for a winter trainer rather than a runaround, the Triban would be your best bet. Spend a bit extra and throw on some Roadracers.

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JoeLavo | 9 years ago
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Want something a bit stronger which will survive British winter

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therevokid | 9 years ago
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have a look at decathlon ... The Triban 300 ... ?

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