Hello,
I have been looking round the shops in my area and stumbled upon this bike in canadian tire…(^^).
I am a total newbie in biking and would like to purchase just an entry level bike - nothing to fancy, im not competing anywhere but would like a road bike.(i mountain bike for some time now - and its not that great on a track). If anyone could look over this bike(link) and tell me if there is any faults or things i should be aware of…
It still is a bit more expensive then wat i am looking for - but i would just like to get your opinion if this is the right direction im looking in.
I would have to say from looking at the pciture, I have no idea if this is worth the money but here it goes…
I am a skeptic when it comes to a road bike that is this inexpensive…
I would find out how unassembled this thing comes and how much it has to be put together…
Find out exactly what their return/warranty covers. Quality frames do not usually just crack, however I have seen cheap bikes crack…
If money is your biggest concern I would look for a used bike in your area or roadbikereview.com
In my opnion it is better to get an old bike that is going to last 5 or 6 years than a new bike that is going to last a year or less…
I would get some slicks tires for your MTB and save money for something reliable.
Here is a simple suggestion. Take a list of all of the components to a local bike shop and investigate what a similar bike would cost (new or used). We have a cyclepath close by who are very customer oriented. I have looked for this bike in every CTC that is in our area and have not found one to take a look at. One word of caution, when listing the components make sure that they are exact. Due to the explosion of the Kids of Steel triathlon series CTC may have contracted lower line components to keep price down.
I am a newbie as well and have bought my fair share of stuff from “crappy tire”, I can’t say as a bike to be used for Tri’s would be one of them. IMHO you would be better off with a good used known brand name in good condition. You will save some cash and get a bike with decent heritage and parts which you can take to your local bike shop and get service without being looked down on or ignored if you come in with a crappy tire special. If you need help with service or to start changing parts to make it more aero, steeper etc. for Tri’s you definitely won’t get that at CT. Because it’s a road bike you will want to change some thing’s around for Tri so finding a Tri geek who is upgrading will allow you to possibly buy a Tri ready bike at a discount from new price.
Tnx alot 4 ur advice guys,
that is what i decided to do- go look for a used bike, but can you tell me
what brands of bikes should i look out for? Maybe its a bit of a broad question - but considering i will not buy the new bike but more like 4-10year one. Maybe there is some brands that have stood the test of time or good/acceptible for begginner?
PS: i do not see any diff betw road and Tri bike, can some1 point them out to me? Also im not looking for Tri bike - only road…
Thanks again for reply - and once again excuse the newb questions,
If you are planning on doing Tri’s get a Tri or a road bike which can be morphed in to more of a Tri geometry (see the articles on this site for way more on all of this than I know), a road bike won’t allow you to get as aero and riding on clip on aero bars won’t be very comfortable being streched out on a long cockpit road frame. If you are looking for places with bikes for sale (Not sure where in the Kingdom of Chretien you live) try the provincial Triathlon websites, the ATA website has a for sale section for people to list stuff for sale as does the Alberta Bicycling Assoc. Another place with used bikes and equip (tends to be alot of MTB stuff but some road/tri as well) is MEC (mountain equipment co-op), I am guessing other provinces Tri and or Cycling assoc’s have similar? Your local bike shop is a great place to start and build a relationship with as they can really help you out down the road,as rickeh stated Cyclepath in Calgary is very customer oriented and I go there almost every trip to Cow town. Hope this helps, as I stated I am still new (~1 year now) and learning daily. As one of the earlier posters stated doesn’t matter what you ride, as long as you ride I still see lot’s of MTB in Tri’s which is something that gains my respect every time.