blackhead wrote:
> After Googling "recommend bicycle uk" and coming up with nothing, I
> hope you don't mind me posting this question here.
>
> I'm after a racer, with curved handle bars and am curious as to what
> you would recommend. I'm not after something that is £200 more than
> something else simply because it's 1 pound lighter. I just want
> something that is enjoyable to ride, comfortable and reliable rather
> than something to train me for the Tour De France.
We do need to know more than this. How experienced a cyclist are you, how
far do you regularly ride, what are your riding targets over the next few
years? Do you actually intend to race, and if so, time trials, crits,
australian pursuit? Do you intend to ride audax?
> So what would you recommend in the following price ranges?
>
> less than £200
>
> £200-300
>
> £300-400
>
> £400-500
Frankly, nothing.
A bike - any bike, but a racing bike in particular - is made up of three
main bits: the frame, the wheels, and the mechanical parts often lumped
together as 'the groupset' Once you realise that you'll be able to see that
rather than a wide range of bikes in the under £500 area, there are
actually only a few different 'value propositions'.
Under £500 you are buying
* An aluminium frame
* A low end Shimano groupset - 105 at best
* Cartridge bearing wheels
There's nothing in principle wrong with any of these things. And if you're
buying something to sit in the back of your shed except for a few sunny
days in summer, it may be the best choice for you.
If you're going to be riding significant distances, though, either a carbon
fibre or a steel frame is preferable to aluminium because it will transmit
less vibration to your hands and butt. People say that carbon or steel will
give you a comfier ride - I'm not sure that this is true, but they do damp
vibration a bit. And if you can't afford a carbon frame, carbon forks are a
huge improvement over aluminium ones, and some improvement over steel.
Better groupsets essentially give more precise gearchanges and don't go out
of adjustment so quickly. You should be looking for Campagnolo Veloce or
Centaur, Shimano Tiagra or Ultegra, or SRAM Rival. Obviously all three
manufacturers produce better groupsets, but you get very nearly as good
engineering in the middle groupsets with very much lower prices. I'd tend
to avoid bikes which have a mix of components from half a dozen different
groupsets, though; they're scraped together from whatever was left in the
parts bin.
> And does the weight of a bicycle really matter when compared to that
> of the rider?
Yes.
> 5Lbs weight difference between two bikes isn't going to make much
> difference if the rider is 168 Lbs is it?
Not in flat country, no. In theory it shouldn't make much difference in hill
country either, but experience shows that it does.
--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke)
http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
; gif ye hes forget our auld plane Scottis quhilk your mother lerit you,
; in tymes cuming I sall wryte to you my mind in Latin, for I am nocht
; acquyntit with your Southeron
;; Letter frae Ninian Winyet tae John Knox datit 27t October 1563
