[myideal]

Hi,

I have been cycling for years on a very old roadbike, however decided that now is the time to upgrade and look for something new. I would ideally like some advice from all of you experts on cycling tech as to what is the best entry bike, offering value for money and practicality.

My cycling tends to be around 50 miles, some steep climbs however mostly flat, so clearly looking for something that can cope with all that.

The bikes that I have seen so far are;

 

Carrera Vanquish

B’TWIN TRIBAN 500 SE

 

What I would like to know is which of these two bikes is the best? Also are their any obvious weaknesses that I should consider of these? Finally can anyone suggest anything better?

 

I know a friend has told me about having 11 gears ideally, however suspect these are expensive and not found on most entry level bikes?

 

I should also add that I have a thrid option of buying a used bike. I have been offered the chance to buy a Carrera Karkinos. It appears to have had changes made to it as its got; 32-11t shimano rear cassette. 50-34t fsa front. Shimano Sora shifters. Campagnolo khamsin asymmetric wheel set. Columbus Tusk carbon forks.

Is this any good? How much should I be paying for a 2nd hand bike like this?

 

All help is really welcome.

Topic

[kil0ran]

The Karkinos has better kit

The Karkinos has better kit on it than the 500SE – question is how long has it been on there and how well has it been maintained? Its only a bargain if you don’t have to replace cassette/chainrings due to wear.

 

I’m a big fan of the Tribans. The 500SE is a couple of years old but got very good reviews when it was released. If you can stretch the budget then the Triban 540 is a better option.

 

As others have said its a buyers market for a secondhand bike, and you’d get a much better bike for the money than you would if buying new. 

[mike the bike]

Another source of decent

Another source of decent bikes at reasonable cost is Edinburgh Cycles.  When I was a regular commuter I bought four bikes from them over the years and they were all great.

Look at their Revolution range, which includes road bikes, hybrids, cyclo-x and probably some more.

Best of luck.

[keirik]

Quote:

The other 10% incidentally, put a load of miles on their alloy bike, get hooked, and go out and upgrade to carbon, either relegating the alloy to wet weather, or selling it to put money towards the carbon.

 

what is this selling thing you speak of?

Old bikes are meant to be hung from the rafters in the garage slowly moving towards the back as a nice shiny new one takes it’s place near the front.

 

I ridiculed a friend this weekend for having 11 bikes in his garage, but later realised he has 4 cyclists in his household, whereas there are 5 bikes in my garage and only one cyclist.

 

[Griff500]

For a second hand bike at

For a second hand bike at this sort of price, you really are in a buyers market.  ebay for example is awash with good entry level bikes, typically hydroformed aluminium, ~10Kg, Claris or Sora gears with very low mileage. Lots of folks approaching middle age, putting it on a bit around their waistlines, decide to get fit again, rush out and spend £600 on a Trek Series One or bottom end Giant Defy for example (both good bikes). In 90% of cases, the bikes end up lying at the back of the garage unused, until the next garage clearout when they are put on ebay at half price.

The other 10% incidentally, put a load of miles on their alloy bike, get hooked, and go out and upgrade to carbon, either relegating the alloy to wet weather, or selling it to put money towards the carbon.  If you don’t fancy ebay, (I wouldn’t buy without seeing) ask round your local cyclists and I am sure somebody will have something decent in their garage. (For example I have a beautiful 2 year old, 1500 mile Trek Series One in my garage which I loved riding, but is unused since my Addict arrived, and although I tell myself I am saving it for rainy days, if somebody showed up at my door with a wad of cash, I would probably be tempted.) 

[Dnnnnnn]

Merlin’s PR7 has had rave

Merlin’s PR7 has had rave reviews, looks better (IMO) and is more ‘exclusive’ than the Halfords or BTwin (although the flipside of that is that you can only find it at Merlin). Of the latter two bikes, the BTwin is probably the better bet. It’s had great reviews. 

Halfords have been selling last year’s Boardman bikes at good discounts – they’re worth investigating, as are other end of line offers.

The Vanquish isn’t a bad bike, and could be a good buy if it’s reduced and you’re really strapped. Halfords service, including setting up the bike, is often poorly-rated though. And there’s bike snobbery too, which there shouldn’t be but…

You certainly don’t need 11 speed. The price premium really isn’t worth the modest benefit. 10 speed is becoming affordable – see BTwin’s Triban 540, for example. But 8 speed on the back is fine if your budget is tight – you can still have a reasonable range of gears and replacement chains and cassettes cost buttons.

Difficult to say what the secondhand Carerra (or any used bike) is worth: a lot of it depends on the condition and would need an experienced eye cast over it. If it’s likely to need new parts (+labour, if you can’t do the work yourself) in the next few months then that could wipe out any ‘bargain’. 

[Author]

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