Hi folks,

Am returning to cycling after a 15 year absence, went out last weekend on my MTB, I find that I seriously need three things:

1. Drop 10kg or more in weight
2. Achieve a much greater level of aerobic fitness (which was never that great but I could ride a 25 mile t/t in 61 mins or tackle 50 mile offroad days with gusto)
3. A new bike

So, given that I'm not after racing, but live in a moderately hilly part of Essex (rolling hills, not Lake District stylee), I want to do 20-50 mile rides, good weather only, and have £1500 or so to spend, what might people recommend?

Ideas welcome.

PS. I already have loads of bikes but as we know, you can never have too many  Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

I had an Orbea Aqua for my first one which was around £700 new and then got an Orbea Onyx which had a full carbon frame and Shimano 105 gear set and was about £1350 and I like this a lot and still have on my turbo trainer. I then went mental and bought a silly bike which is awesome but can wholeheartedly recommend Orbea. Has lifetime warranty on the frame as well.

cheers Alex

2018 Skoda Kodiaq vRS
2009 Caterham Supersport Race car
2007 M5 Touring
2005 Range Rover Vogue SE Supercharged
2004 SL55 AMG

Last edited by zarnd on 5th Aug 2014 3:35pm. Edited 1 time in total

Quote:

So, given that I'm not after racing, but live in a moderately hilly part of Essex

N+1...I like that

Sounds like a sportive would be a good bet for you, have a look at Ribble or Merlin for some good Sportive deals.

If you have an MTB just change the tyres to something less knobbly and pump them up rock hard. I've done it with one of mine (yes, you can never have too many) and its great rolls really well. I have never got on with "drop" handlebars as I find them uncomfortable and/or unnerving and it sounds like you just need a bit of exercise not really a new bike, but hey, as I said earlier you can never have too many. Geoff

Sportive looks like a good idea.

I'm changing the wheels on the MTB this weekend, that's going to help a lot but it weighs a lot too, about 35lb. Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

Ribble Gran Fondo with Ultegra 11 speed groupset and Ultegra 6800 wheels for under £1550

That looks like a relative bargain... Ultegra at that price is pretty unusual Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

supershuttle wrote:

If you have an MTB just change the tyres to something less knobbly and pump them up rock hard...

Just changed my MTB wheels out for lighter ones with skinny-ish road tyres, what a diff.  Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

Have a look at the Giant Defy models. Good quality and kit for the money.

My local shop is a Giant stockist, in fact they stock little else... So if I went there I'm pretty sure I'd get a Giant. Others' views? Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

There's a lot of brand loyalty, so expect some bias in people's views.

A good friend of mind owns a bike shop. He's been in the industry a long time, and is well regarded (Shimano send one of their technicians to spend three months a year at his shop - I believe they only do that with two shops in the UK).

Anyhow ...

He stocks Giant, amongst other brands. When I was looking, he recommended Giant due to a combination of factors; they're the largest frame manufacturer in the world, which means they have the scale to invest in R&D and tooling ahead of most, if not all, others. Many other manufacturers outsource their frame production to Giant. What does all of this mean, £ for £ a Giant frame can often be of a better quality than some/many others.

It persuaded me, and I have to say I'm very happy with the Defy.

The Giant name isn't trendy, but I think it'd work well for your needs (i.e. not looking for a boutique bike).

Lots of other great bikes around of course.

Thanks, that's good insight. I think the scale of the market now compared to last time I bought a new bike (1993) is pretty daunting. Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

I know how you feel. When I bought my road bike last year it was my first road bike ever and my last bike was a MTB in 1998.

My advice would be to narrow down to a few brands that seem to be respected/good quality and then pick based upon componentry (though this can always be changed) and a colour scheme which appeals to you.

Giant bikes are well respected. The second hand Giant Omnium frame I bought a couple of weeks ago was originally going to be a run about fixed bike using parts from another fixed gear bike I have, but the quality of the frame is way too good for running around on the road so I have now decided to build it up as a proper track bike and will use it at the velodrome.

Oooh,a trackie. N+1 strikes again.... Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey