Beginner's Road bike

"Bob Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,

I'm trying to get road bike on a budget. I'll be using it for training and
having a go at triathlon, but not serious racing. I've found the following
...

Trek 1000 (2004 model), £400
Lemond Etape, £495
Giant OCR3, £425 (shame about the colour ...)
Smith UK Custom Road, £330 (reduced from £500 - poor selling or a good
deal??)

Anyone got experience of any of these or any other advice?

I'd go for either the Trek 1000 or the Giant OCR.

Evans are doing the 2004 Trek 1000 very cheap, but only if you ride 43cm.
D'oh!
http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=4234

Buy A Bike have the Giant OCR 3 up at £340, which ain't a bad price.
http://www.buyabikedirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=294
also the 1400 is at 600 quid if you can stretch that far; It's certianly
worth the money.

Which ever you go for, I'd make it a triple chainring, although I'm sure
people are about to disagree with me.... but they probably like pain ;o)

Bob Smith said:

Hi,

I'm trying to get road bike on a budget. I'll be using it for training and
having a go at triathlon, but not serious racing. I've found the following
...

Trek 1000 (2004 model), £400
Lemond Etape, £495
Giant OCR3, £425 (shame about the colour ...)
Smith UK Custom Road, £330 (reduced from £500 - poor selling or a good
deal??)

Anyone got experience of any of these or any other advice?

TIA

Bob

Groupset.. we need to know about groupset.

dave said:

Bob Smith said:

Hi,

I'm trying to get road bike on a budget. I'll be using it for training
and having a go at triathlon, but not serious racing. I've found the
following ...

Trek 1000 (2004 model), £400
Lemond Etape, £495
Giant OCR3, £425 (shame about the colour ...)
Smith UK Custom Road, £330 (reduced from £500 - poor selling or a good
deal??)

Anyone got experience of any of these or any other advice?

TIA

Bob

Groupset.. we need to know about groupset.

In fact we need the full set of groupset groups. Grouped in a set, or
setted according to group.

James
--
James Annan
see web pages for email
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/
http://julesandjames.blogspot.com/

James Annan said:

dave said:

Bob Smith said:

Hi,

I'm trying to get road bike on a budget. I'll be using it for
training and having a go at triathlon, but not serious racing. I've
found the following ...

Trek 1000 (2004 model), £400
Lemond Etape, £495
Giant OCR3, £425 (shame about the colour ...)
Smith UK Custom Road, £330 (reduced from £500 - poor selling or a
good deal??)

Anyone got experience of any of these or any other advice?

TIA

Bob

Groupset.. we need to know about groupset.

In fact we need the full set of groupset groups. Grouped in a set, or
setted according to group.

James

But let us not delve too far into set theory 🙂

dave said:

James Annan said:

dave said:

>
Groupset.. we need to know about groupset.

In fact we need the full set of groupset groups. Grouped in a set, or
setted according to group.

James

But let us not delve too far into set theory 🙂

Or Group Sets ;-)

--
Tony

"I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
Anon

Tony Raven said:

dave said:

James Annan said:

dave wrote:

>>
> Groupset.. we need to know about groupset.
>

In fact we need the full set of groupset groups. Grouped in a set, or
setted according to group.

James

But let us not delve too far into set theory 🙂

Or Group Sets ;-)

Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apologies for the HTML post!

TREK 1000 (2004):

Frame Alpha Aluminum. Seamless drawn round tubing. Custom butted 1-1/8" head tube. Stiff, powerful elliptical chainstays. Cold forged replaceable derailleur hanger. Trek Road Comfort geometry.
Fork Alloy w/alloy steerer
Wheels Alex AT450 rims w/stainless steel eyelets; alloy hubs; 15G stainless, black spokes
Tires Bontrager Select, 700x28c
Saddle Trek CRZ+
Seatpost Alloy suspension
Handlebars Bontrager Comfort road
Stem Alloy AHS, adjustable rise
Headset AHS 1-1/8" semi cartridge, sealed
Shifters Shimano Sora STI
Front derailleur Shimano Sora
Rear derailleur Shimano Sora
Crankset Bontrager Sport 53/39 or 52/42/30 with cartridge BB
Cassette Shimano HG-50 12-25, 8spd
Brakeset Alloy dual pivot
Pedals Alloy/nylon road w/toe clips
Extras Bar top brake levers, gel handlebar tape

LEMOND ETAPE:

Frame Sloping geometry LeMond 6066 fully-butted aluminium performance | 1.5cm headtube extension

Fork Bontrager Carbon, Alloy Steerer
Headset Slimstack, Direct Connect
Bottom Bracket TruVativ, Isis splined
Crank Bontrager Select 53/39 / Triple 52/42/30
Pedals Alloy road, sealed, w/clips and straps
Front derailleur Shimano Tiagra
Rear derailleur Shimano 105
Shifters Shimano Tiagra STI
Cassette SRAM PG-950, 12-26, 9spd
Chain Shimano HG-53
Wheel system Alloy QR, Alex AT450, 15g ss
Tires Bontrager Select, 700x25c
Brakes Alloy, dual pivot, cartridge pads
Brake levers Shimano Tiagra STI
Handlebar Bontrager
Stem Bontrager Select
Tape Bontrager Powercork Gel
Saddle Bontrager Race Luxe
Seatpost Bontrager Carbon

GIANT OC3:

Frame New OCR, semi-sloping top tube, 6061.
Rear shock No
Front fork Composite straight blades, w/ alloy 1-1/8" threadless steerer, for short brake arms
BB set Tien Hsin BB
Crank set Shimano FC
Chain KMC Z51
Pedals VP-383A
Head set TH NO. 11AQ 1-1/8" threadless semi-cartridge semi-integrated
Handlebars New Giant Comp alu drop bar
Handlebar stem New Giant Comp Ahead alu
Brakes Tektro, Dual Pivot, alu, short arm
Hubs Formula RB31 alloy
Rims Alex DA22
Tyres Kenda K193
Derailleurs (front/rear) Shimano Sora Triple
Gear shifters Shimano Sora STI 3x8 speed
Cassette SRAM PG 8 speed
Saddle Velo VL
Seat post Giant Comp Alu
Extra Waterbottle and cage
Weight 10.65 kg

"James Annan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

dave said:

Bob Smith said:

Hi,

I'm trying to get road bike on a budget. I'll be using it for training
and having a go at triathlon, but not serious racing. I've found the
following ...

Trek 1000 (2004 model), £400
Lemond Etape, £495
Giant OCR3, £425 (shame about the colour ...)
Smith UK Custom Road, £330 (reduced from £500 - poor selling or a good
deal??)

Anyone got experience of any of these or any other advice?

TIA

Bob

Groupset.. we need to know about groupset.

In fact we need the full set of groupset groups. Grouped in a set, or
setted according to group.

James
--
James Annan
see web pages for email
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/
http://julesandjames.blogspot.com/

Bob Smith said:

Hi,

I'm trying to get road bike on a budget. I'll be using it for training and
having a go at triathlon, but not serious racing. I've found the following
...

Trek 1000 (2004 model), 400
Lemond Etape, 495
Giant OCR3, 425 (shame about the colour ...)
Smith UK Custom Road, 330 (reduced from 500 - poor selling or a good
deal??)

The Giant is good value for the money. There are various other options around that
price, but if it was me, I'd go second hand. You'll get a very nice second hand bike
for 500.

Buy a copy of Cycling Weekly and have a look at the small ads.

--
Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt
The struggle of people against power is the struggle
of memory against forgetting - Milan Kundera

I would like to do that but this is my first road bike, and I'm a bit
worried not knowing what I'm getting. Also I have no idea what size to get
.....

"Arthur Clune" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bob Smith said:

Hi,

I'm trying to get road bike on a budget. I'll be using it for training
and
having a go at triathlon, but not serious racing. I've found the
following
...

Trek 1000 (2004 model), 400
Lemond Etape, 495
Giant OCR3, 425 (shame about the colour ...)
Smith UK Custom Road, 330 (reduced from 500 - poor selling or a good
deal??)

The Giant is good value for the money. There are various other options
around that
price, but if it was me, I'd go second hand. You'll get a very nice second
hand bike
for 500.

Buy a copy of Cycling Weekly and have a look at the small ads.

--
Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt
The struggle of people against power is the struggle
of memory against forgetting - Milan Kundera

in message <[email hidden]>, dave

(') said:

Bob Smith said:

Hi,

I'm trying to get road bike on a budget. I'll be using it for
training and having a go at triathlon, but not serious racing. I've
found the following ...

Trek 1000 (2004 model), £400
Lemond Etape, £495
Giant OCR3, £425 (shame about the colour ...)
Smith UK Custom Road, £330 (reduced from £500 - poor selling or a
good deal??)

Anyone got experience of any of these or any other advice?

Groupset.. we need to know about groupset.

Behind this joke is a more or less serious point. A bike consists of a
frame and components. The component kit consists of some relatively
simple components - fork, saddle, seatpost, stem, handlebars, rims,
spokes - and some more technical and precision ones - transmission
parts, bearings, brakes, shifters, hubs.

The technical and precision components come from a very few
manufacturers. Two manufacturers - Shimano and Campagnolo - make
complete kits of quality components, known as groupsets. Another
manufacturer - SRAM - make almost complete sets, but not for high-end
road bikes. A number of smaller manufacturers make specific parts,
often cranksets or hubs, of high quality.

Frames for mass produced bikes, these days, come mainly from a very few
far eastern factories; only a few 'bike manufacturers' any longer
actually make their own, and they are mainly very small and very
specialist companies.

And in any case in the price of a bike the groupset normally represents
the bulk of the price - frames are relatively cheap. So when judging
the value-for-money of a bike, don't look at the name on the frame,
look at the name on the groupset.

The Giant, in the list above, really does have a frame made by Giant.
It's a fair bet that the Lemond and the Trek have frames made by Giant,
too. All of them have aluminium frames. All of them have at least their
deraileur mechanisms from Shimano. At this price point most of the
other components are no-name or less well respected makers.

Having identified that,

Bike Deraileurs Other
Trek 1000 Shimano Sora Front mech not specified
Lemond Etape Shimano Sora/Tiagra Carbon fibre fork
Giant OCR3 Shimano Sora 'Composite' fork
Smith UK Custom Shimano Acera/Sora Cro-Mo fork

The Shimano road groupsets are, in ascending order of quality, Acera,
Sora, Tiagra[1], 105, Ultegra, Dura-Ace. From that, it's easy to see
that the Lemond, with Sora/Tiagra transmission and carbon fibre fork,
is the best specified bike there.

However, of course, if it doesn't fit, it isn't any good for you - so
_do_ try before you buy.

[1] Thanks, Jon

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
.::;===r==\
/ /___||___\____
//==\- ||- | /__\( MS Windows IS an operating environment.
//____\__||___|_// \|: C++ IS an object oriented programming language.
\__/ ~~~~~~~~~ \__/ Citroen 2cv6 IS a four door family saloon.

That's exactly the sort of thing I needed to know - thanks! Going to have a
look at the Trek & Lemond this weekend (my local shop doesn't stock Giant).

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>, dave

(') said:

Bob Smith said:

Hi,

I'm trying to get road bike on a budget. I'll be using it for
training and having a go at triathlon, but not serious racing. I've
found the following ...

Trek 1000 (2004 model), £400
Lemond Etape, £495
Giant OCR3, £425 (shame about the colour ...)
Smith UK Custom Road, £330 (reduced from £500 - poor selling or a
good deal??)

Anyone got experience of any of these or any other advice?

Groupset.. we need to know about groupset.

Behind this joke is a more or less serious point. A bike consists of a
frame and components. The component kit consists of some relatively
simple components - fork, saddle, seatpost, stem, handlebars, rims,
spokes - and some more technical and precision ones - transmission
parts, bearings, brakes, shifters, hubs.

The technical and precision components come from a very few
manufacturers. Two manufacturers - Shimano and Campagnolo - make
complete kits of quality components, known as groupsets. Another
manufacturer - SRAM - make almost complete sets, but not for high-end
road bikes. A number of smaller manufacturers make specific parts,
often cranksets or hubs, of high quality.

Frames for mass produced bikes, these days, come mainly from a very few
far eastern factories; only a few 'bike manufacturers' any longer
actually make their own, and they are mainly very small and very
specialist companies.

And in any case in the price of a bike the groupset normally represents
the bulk of the price - frames are relatively cheap. So when judging
the value-for-money of a bike, don't look at the name on the frame,
look at the name on the groupset.

The Giant, in the list above, really does have a frame made by Giant.
It's a fair bet that the Lemond and the Trek have frames made by Giant,
too. All of them have aluminium frames. All of them have at least their
deraileur mechanisms from Shimano. At this price point most of the
other components are no-name or less well respected makers.

Having identified that,

Bike Deraileurs Other
Trek 1000 Shimano Sora Front mech not specified
Lemond Etape Shimano Sora/Tiagra Carbon fibre fork
Giant OCR3 Shimano Sora 'Composite' fork
Smith UK Custom Shimano Acera/Sora Cro-Mo fork

The Shimano road groupsets are, in ascending order of quality, Acera,
Sora, Tiagra[1], 105, Ultegra, Dura-Ace. From that, it's easy to see
that the Lemond, with Sora/Tiagra transmission and carbon fibre fork,
is the best specified bike there.

However, of course, if it doesn't fit, it isn't any good for you - so
_do_ try before you buy.

[1] Thanks, Jon

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
.::;===r==\
/ /___||___\____
//==\- ||- | /__\( MS Windows IS an operating environment.
//____\__||___|_// \|: C++ IS an object oriented programming language.
\__/ ~~~~~~~~~ \__/ Citroen 2cv6 IS a four door family saloon.