[Adamski]

Hi folks 🙂

 

I am looking to change from a hybrid to a road bike for my daily commute and weekend rides with the family.

 

I don’t have a large budget but would appreciate some advice.

 

I have about £500 to spend but can go nearer £700 if I wait until nearer Xmas 😉

 

I would also need full mudguards and a rear pannier rack.

 

Any thought on the following (or other suggestions):

 

BTwin Triban 520 Sora/540 105

Boardman SLR 8.6 Claris

Genesis Delta 20 2017  Tiagra

Roux Menthe 2016 Sora

 

Or. . . Wait for the new BTwin Triban Adepts coming out in Sept/ Oct? 

http://road.cc/content/tech-news/237871-sneak-peek-decathlons-2019-disc-braked-triban-bikes-plus-2018-performance

 

Thanks for any help you can give

 

Adam

Topic

[Adamski]

Not my first bike, just wanto

Not my first bike, just wanto change from a hybrid (Ridgeback Meteor) to a road bike. I have decided on the Triban 540 but will get my local mobile bike mechanic to check before I go far 😉

 

Thanks again for all advice.

 

Adam

[froze]

Without riding them because

Without riding them because we don’t have those brands in the US, so by process of elimination I would eliminate the Boardman and the Genesis simply because the reviews were not as high as the other two; then I would eliminate the Roux because it only comes with Sora; that leaves the B’twin and it leaves the 540 because it comes with the Shimano workhorse 105 group.

 

IF this is your very first bike, and you are now getting into something physical that you normally don’t do religiously like running or going to the gym, then I would suggest you get the lowest costing bike you can find, why you scream?  Because about 73% of the population that takes up a new physical sport/hobby quit before 6 months are up, and those that spent big money on something like gym equipment, a bicycle etc end up having expensive garage art.

[Podc]

Just to add another fyi…

Just to add another fyi… friend bought a Btwin recently. Set up very well by the store, but the wheels were rough. Stripped them out and the cones were way too tight and although there was plenty of grease, not much of it was on the bearings. Spin fine once sorted.

[Beecho]

Boardman bikes: a hit!

Boardman bikes: a hit! Halfords building them: hit and miss.

Just an FYI.

[Kapelmuur]

My 540 came with a long cage.

My 540 came with a long cage.

[Canyon48]

Adamski wrote:

Kapelmuur wrote:

The Triban 540 is a very good bike for the money, but you might want to check the gearing if you’re used to a hybrid.

36 x 28 is the lowest gear which may be difficult if you have loaded panniers and a hilly commute.

 

Good point Kapalmuur, I’ll,see if f Decathlon will,change the cassette in store at purchase.

 

Thanks

 

Didn’t realise it had 52/36 with 11-28.

Silly combination for general riding! I use 52/36 11-28 on my Canyon for flat-out road rides and it’s great. For commuting, you need at least 50/34 with 11-28, but preferably 11-32 (at least that’s what I use).

One note, you can’t just change the cassette, unfortunately. Changing to an 11-32 cassette would require changing the rear mech to a long cage too (I assume the bike comes with a short cage). Unfortunately, that is £60 in parts alone…

[Adamski]

Kapelmuur wrote:

The Triban 540 is a very good bike for the money, but you might want to check the gearing if you’re used to a hybrid.

36 x 28 is the lowest gear which may be difficult if you have loaded panniers and a hilly commute.

 

Good point Kapalmuur, I’ll,see if f Decathlon will,change the cassette in store at purchase.

 

Thanks

 

[Kapelmuur]

The Triban 540 is a very good

The Triban 540 is a very good bike for the money, but you might want to check the gearing if you’re used to a hybrid.

36 x 28 is the lowest gear which may be difficult if you have loaded panniers and a hilly commute.

[Canyon48]

The BTwin Triban 540 with

The BTwin Triban 540 with Shimano 105 is amazing value for money – the 105 gears are miles ahead of Sora and Claris. Out of those options, I would certainly recommend the Triban 540.

If you are planning on commuting often (including in the rain) then I would suggest you wait until the Adept disc version is released – there are pros and cons to this though. Discs will be slightly heavier and cost a bit more, however, discs give far superior performance in the rain and they take much less maintenance once setup. In addition to this, disc brakes require less cleaning and don’t cover everything in black brake dust (or sludge if it is raining), neither do they wear through the bike rims (a very common problem I’ve seen on bikes people use for commuting).

 

[kil0ran]

All of the Tribans are great

All of the Tribans are great value bikes and the frames are worth upgrading as budget allows. Out of the box the only thing I’d change would be the calipers – £35 for a set of used 105s and about half an hour to fit them. 

If you want to keep the budget to an absolute minimum and want to buy new then consider the Triban 100 – perfect commuter and will take on off-road stuff with family too.

[peted76]

I think those Btwin bikes are

I think those Btwin bikes are greast value, they get good reviews.

Personally, I’d buy second hand, but I’d get someone who knew about bikes to help me do it, buying s/h can be a bit daunting /hit and miss otherwise.

 

[Sniffer]

http://road.cc/content/buyers

http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/207635-14-best-ps500-ps750-road-bikes

and

http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/217632-10-best-2018-road-bike-bargains-under-ps500

These might help.  Wouldn’t go as low as a Claris groupset myself.  Triban’s get a good name usually.

There will be people on here that would say go second hand and there can be good deals.

If you can access it a Cycle to work scheme can help that budget too.

 

 

[Author]

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