Starting out, What bike? - Triathlon Week

08-23-2004, 07:39 PM

Hi,

Doing my second tri (sprint) in a couple of months and am considering
buying a bike.

I am skint and need a cheapo option for around £500.

I was thinking of the Giant OCR3 then getting a set of Look pedals and
some tri specific shoes?

Any opinons or other options would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Picky

08-23-2004, 07:39 PM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Picky) wrote in message news:<e37435f0.0405150741.6a33ac2d@posting.google. com>...
> Hi,
>
> Doing my second tri (sprint) in a couple of months and am considering
> buying a bike.
>
> I am skint and need a cheapo option for around £500.
>
> I was thinking of the Giant OCR3 then getting a set of Look pedals and
> some tri specific shoes?
>
> Any opinons or other options would be much appreciated.
>
> Cheers
>
> Picky

A mate uses a Giant OCR3 and finds it fine, I also use Look pedals and
no problems there. If you are limited to £500 it's worth looking at
secondhand options - try eBay for starters, if you're not happy
bidding for something you've never seen then most good road bike shops
have some secondhand bikes for sale. Cyclists spend a lot of money
buying the latest gear and so you should be able to pick up some
bargains for the kind of money you want to spend. You'll certainly
get much better quality frame and components, you need to assess how
much life is left in them. Frames last a long, long time unless
they've been in an accident. Component wear varies but from personal
experience I've got a Cannondale which is 4 years old and done >10,000
miles, the only parts I've had to replace are the tyres and brake
blocks a few times and the cassette, chain and cables once, plus had
the wheels trued a few times. It was £1200 new and probably only
worth a few hundred now but it's a lot better than a new £500 bike.

Good luck!

08-23-2004, 07:39 PM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Picky) wrote in message news:<e37435f0.0405150741.6a33ac2d@posting.google. com>...
> Hi,
>
> Doing my second tri (sprint) in a couple of months and am considering
> buying a bike.
>
> I am skint and need a cheapo option for around £500.
>
> I was thinking of the Giant OCR3 then getting a set of Look pedals and
> some tri specific shoes?
>
> Any opinons or other options would be much appreciated.
>
> Cheers
>
> Picky

I'd advise going secondhand, for that kind of money you'll get a much
better bike provided you can find something that is the right size and
has been reasonably well looked after. eBay's worth a go, as long as
you feel the seller is a genuine cyclist who has given up the sport or
bought themselves a new bike (most of them are, especially for good
road bikes). If you're not comfortable with eBay then most decent
road bike shops will have a few secondhand bikes in. Good quality
frames and components last a long time if they're looked after - my
Cannondale is 4 years old and has done >10,000 miles but is still
running fine, the only things I've replaced are the tyres and brake
blocks a few times and the cassette, chain and cables once. Bike was
£1200 new and probably only worth a few hundred now but it goes a lot
better than a new bike for the same money.

Other thing to consider is that if you buy a secondhand bike for
£4-500 the components may be a bit worn but you'll get a pretty good
frame, and if you want to spend more money on good components it'll be
worth doing. If you buy a new bike for that kind of money the frame
is going to be bottom end of the market and not worth bolting good
components onto. Just my opinion of course!

Good luck

08-23-2004, 07:39 PM

Treks are a great starter bike, too, for lesser cost... Or, even a
bianchi...

:)
You don't even need pedals.. just get adapters.. you don't really even
need aerobars, but if you want a pair, you can find an inexpensive
pair online.

Cheers!

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (rookie) wrote in message news:<eff2adfa.0405170742.21a69967@posting.google. com>...
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Picky) wrote in message news:<e37435f0.0405150741.6a33ac2d@posting.google. com>...
> > Hi,
> >
> > Doing my second tri (sprint) in a couple of months and am considering
> > buying a bike.
> >
> > I am skint and need a cheapo option for around £500.
> >
> > I was thinking of the Giant OCR3 then getting a set of Look pedals and
> > some tri specific shoes?
> >
> > Any opinons or other options would be much appreciated.
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Picky
>
> A mate uses a Giant OCR3 and finds it fine, I also use Look pedals and
> no problems there. If you are limited to £500 it's worth looking at
> secondhand options - try eBay for starters, if you're not happy
> bidding for something you've never seen then most good road bike shops
> have some secondhand bikes for sale. Cyclists spend a lot of money
> buying the latest gear and so you should be able to pick up some
> bargains for the kind of money you want to spend. You'll certainly
> get much better quality frame and components, you need to assess how
> much life is left in them. Frames last a long, long time unless
> they've been in an accident. Component wear varies but from personal
> experience I've got a Cannondale which is 4 years old and done >10,000
> miles, the only parts I've had to replace are the tyres and brake
> blocks a few times and the cassette, chain and cables once, plus had
> the wheels trued a few times. It was £1200 new and probably only
> worth a few hundred now but it's a lot better than a new £500 bike.
>
> Good luck!

08-23-2004, 07:39 PM

I'm sort of in your situation...I just bought a used Trek Hilo 2000
for $600 with full Ultegra and altho the bike had seen some use the
components and frame were in excellent condition.

I bought the sidi T1 shoes off of eBay new for $119 along with some
Speedplay Zero pedals for $185.

Good luck training!

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Picky) wrote in message news:<e37435f0.0405150741.6a33ac2d@posting.google. com>...
> Hi,
>
> Doing my second tri (sprint) in a couple of months and am considering
> buying a bike.
>
> I am skint and need a cheapo option for around £500.
>
> I was thinking of the Giant OCR3 then getting a set of Look pedals and
> some tri specific shoes?
>
> Any opinons or other options would be much appreciated.
>
> Cheers
>
> Picky