After a Racing bike £500-600

[Andrew Whaley]

I'm sure you've been asked this a thousand times before so apologies in advance. I'm completely new
to cycling and inspired by the recent 'Tour of the Peak' and a desire to break up the monotony of my
running, I've decided to buy a road bike.

I've got a budget of less than £600 and have worked out that for this I should be able to get a
'reasonable' bike. The two models that I'm currently considering are the Orbea Aspin and the Dawes
Giro 400 which seem similarly specced. Are there any other strong contenders in this price range I
ought to consider ? Which of the two I've mentioned would you experienced riders go for ?

Another question; can you recommend a magazine that would be informative for beginners ? I tried
Cycling Weekly but that was just full of race results - I was hoping for more technical articles and
product reviews.

Thanks

Andrew

 

[Vernon Levy]

> Another question; can you recommend a magazine that would be informative
for
> beginners ? I tried Cycling Weekly but that was just full of race
results -
> I was hoping for more technical articles and product reviews.
>
Bicycle magazine is quite a good read. It's a new mag aimed at beginners and returners to the
activity after a long absence. I think it hits its intended audience accurately.

Vernon

 

[Therealslimshad]

Andrew, Both of them are good bikes that you won't go far wrong on; I had a Dawes myself and it was
great but now have a Orbea Maramolda which is superb though a bit above your budget. A Specialised
Allez or a Giant OCR are other possibilities. Some makes have a very dedicated following and the
subject of choice is highly personal, even when on paper the bikes look pretty similar.

I admire your reasons to get cycling - exactly the same as mine when I got going at it about a year
back. You'll find that you can get just as much aerobic workout without the constant ****ly injuries
you get with running. I used to do a lot of running but kept getting lower spine problems. Cycling
is also great fun, and that ultimately is what it is all about.

Slim

"Andrew Whaley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm sure you've been asked this a thousand times before so apologies in advance. I'm completely
> new to cycling and inspired by the recent 'Tour of the Peak' and a desire to break up the monotony
> of my running, I've
decided
> to buy a road bike.
>
> I've got a budget of less than £600 and have worked out that for this I should be able to get a
> 'reasonable' bike. The two models that I'm
currently
> considering are the Orbea Aspin and the Dawes Giro 400 which seem
similarly
> specced. Are there any other strong contenders in this price range I ought to consider ? Which of
> the two I've mentioned would you experienced riders go for ?
>
> Another question; can you recommend a magazine that would be informative
for
> beginners ? I tried Cycling Weekly but that was just full of race
results -
> I was hoping for more technical articles and product reviews.
>
> Thanks
>
> Andrew

 

[Davo]

Look in the Classified section of cyclin weekley.........some nice bikes in there for sale....Tech
info come at different times of the year in CW...

If you seen tour of the peak..maybe your close enough to get to J James at Chesterfield.........
some crackin bikes at good prices in there

hope this helps......... just **** says my other half..............

"Andrew Whaley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm sure you've been asked this a thousand times before so apologies in advance. I'm completely
> new to cycling and inspired by the recent 'Tour of the Peak' and a desire to break up the monotony
> of my running, I've
decided
> to buy a road bike.
>
> I've got a budget of less than £600 and have worked out that for this I should be able to get a
> 'reasonable' bike. The two models that I'm
currently
> considering are the Orbea Aspin and the Dawes Giro 400 which seem
similarly
> specced. Are there any other strong contenders in this price range I ought to consider ? Which of
> the two I've mentioned would you experienced riders go for ?
>
> Another question; can you recommend a magazine that would be informative
for
> beginners ? I tried Cycling Weekly but that was just full of race
results -
> I was hoping for more technical articles and product reviews.
>
> Thanks
>
> Andrew

 

[Chris French]

In message <[email protected]>, VERNON LEVY <[email protected]> writes
>
>
>> Another question; can you recommend a magazine that would be informative
>for
>> beginners ? I tried Cycling Weekly but that was just full of race
>results -
>> I was hoping for more technical articles and product reviews.
>>
>Bicycle magazine is quite a good read. It's a new mag aimed at beginners and returners to the
>activity after a long absence. I think it hits its intended audience accurately.
>
Though I mostly browse it in the newsagents, Cycling Plus seems fairly good, and they do have a fair
whack of stuff aimed at the more 'performance' side of things
--
Chris French, Leeds

 

[Ric]

"Andrew Whaley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm sure you've been asked this a thousand times before so apologies in advance. I'm completely
> new to cycling and inspired by the recent 'Tour of the Peak' and a desire to break up the monotony
> of my running, I've
decided
> to buy a road bike.

Have a look at the Giant range. They are such a big manufacturer that they have a lkot of leverage
when purchasing components, so price for price their bikes tend to be better specced than smaller
manufacturers. Having a Giant is a bit like driving a Ford though, if you care about brand name
oneupmanship.

 

[Andrew Whaley]

Thanks for the tip Ric, I had a look at the Giant Range and the model that seems closest to the two
that I mentioned is the OCR Team which is £750 !

The cheaper models have steel forks rather than carbon and Shimano rather than Campagnolo groupsets.
Perhaps I'm not comparing like with like but on the face of it, it looks that Giant are 25 to 50%
more expensive.

"Ric" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Andrew Whaley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I'm sure you've been asked this a thousand times before so apologies in advance. I'm completely
> > new to cycling and inspired by the recent 'Tour
of
> > the Peak' and a desire to break up the monotony of my running, I've
> decided
> > to buy a road bike.
>
> Have a look at the Giant range. They are such a big manufacturer that they have a lkot of leverage
> when purchasing components, so price for price
their
> bikes tend to be better specced than smaller manufacturers. Having a Giant is a bit like driving a
> Ford though, if you care about brand name oneupmanship.

 

[Alex Graham]

Andrew Whaley wrote:

> I've got a budget of less than £600 and have worked out that for this I should be able to get a
> 'reasonable' bike. The two models that I'm currently considering are the Orbea Aspin and the Dawes
> Giro 400 which seem similarly specced.

The Giro 400 is a bit yellow and green. Quite nice forks though, and it is indeed campag specced.
Beware of cheesy plastic ergo levers though!

--

-Alex

----------------------------------
[email protected]

http://alexpg.ath.cx:3353/cycling.php http://www.westerleycycling.org.uk
----------------------------------

 

[Woody]

Two of my friends have bought bikes from Ribble with required spec in that price range and have been
very satisfied. Beware however as concensus on this ng is that they are poor at customer service for
mail order and a trip to the shop in Preston would be better.

My winter bike is a 5 year old Giro 300 I have had from new and it is still going strong with very
little replaced. So unless the quality has deteriorated in the last few years the Dawes should also
be a good buy.

Woody

 

[Kevin Stephens]

Check out the Scott AFD Expert, around £500. I like it and so do many others

If you intend doing hills seek out a triple front cog (like on the Scott). Make sure you get
a good fit

"Alex Graham" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Andrew Whaley wrote:
>
> > I've got a budget of less than £600 and have worked out that for this I should be able to get a
> > 'reasonable' bike. The two models that I'm
currently
> > considering are the Orbea Aspin and the Dawes Giro 400 which seem
similarly
> > specced.
>
> The Giro 400 is a bit yellow and green. Quite nice forks though, and it is indeed campag specced.
> Beware of cheesy plastic ergo levers though!
>
>
>
> --
>
> -Alex
>
> ----------------------------------
> [email protected]
>
> http://alexpg.ath.cx:3353/cycling.php http://www.westerleycycling.org.uk
> ----------------------------------