Hi
I hadn't realised I'd not been here in so many years. I'm (finally) thinking about buying my first road bike, but I have no idea what I'm looking for. The main use of it will be to bike 9 miles to work and the same back, four days a week. I also bike down some nature trails, but these are all concreted though some have a few bumps in. I have a mountain bike currently - that's what it's always been called but it's just one of those cheaper ones I've bought from Decathalon. It's worked fine for years but I want something more.
I'm also looking to build up to doing a Lands End - John-O-Groats in the future (this will probably be a year away).
I've been recommended a few bikes - a trek bike (though I can't remember which one, though it was priced around £800), and another one a Whyte - again around £600/£800. I wanted to get a bike with drop handles (don't know why but I've been told by a bike shop today that that might not be necessary / desirable due to back issues - something I hadn't heard before).
For a completely new rider is this the sort of price range I should be looking in? What sort of thing do I need to be looking for / avoiding?
Any advice, no matter how small, would be really appreciated
Thanks
Sam
I hadn't realised I'd not been here in so many years. I'm (finally) thinking about buying my first road bike, but I have no idea what I'm looking for. The main use of it will be to bike 9 miles to work and the same back, four days a week. I also bike down some nature trails, but these are all concreted though some have a few bumps in. I have a mountain bike currently - that's what it's always been called but it's just one of those cheaper ones I've bought from Decathalon. It's worked fine for years but I want something more.
I'm also looking to build up to doing a Lands End - John-O-Groats in the future (this will probably be a year away).
I've been recommended a few bikes - a trek bike (though I can't remember which one, though it was priced around £800), and another one a Whyte - again around £600/£800. I wanted to get a bike with drop handles (don't know why but I've been told by a bike shop today that that might not be necessary / desirable due to back issues - something I hadn't heard before).
For a completely new rider is this the sort of price range I should be looking in? What sort of thing do I need to be looking for / avoiding?
Any advice, no matter how small, would be really appreciated
Thanks
Sam