I am looking for a decent road bike (cycle). I commute 20 miles a day already by bike and want to upgrade. I fancy something like a Boardman but anything considered. If anyone knows of anyone selling something at reasonable price drop me a line. It needs to have an XL frame as I`m 6ft3. Wants to be light too, around 9-11kg. Bit of a long shot I know on here but it`s worth a go!
Nick

Adi T should be your man for this sort of stuff.

I have a Trek 1.1 in a large frame and that's around the 10Kg mark and it does feel like a racing car compared to my hybrid.


Why not check out your local gumtree.
Prices are generally keener than ebay and you're guaranteed to get stuff locally.

I'll ask tomorrow as i'm out on a club run - my mate has a Giant and a Ribble he may be looking to sell. He's around 6ft / 6ft 1" so will see if thats a large or XL frame.

What do you class as a reasonable price btw? My bike new is around £2,500 (and 7.3kg) so for something like that £1500 would be reasonable at a few months old.

[Edited on 13/5/11 by Paul TigerB6]

Her indoors will shoot me if I spend 4 figures! Realistically I could budget up to £500. Nearly bought a bike today but when I sat on it (Large Size) it was just a bit too small. Gutted as it was a lovely bike and great price too. Should get a nice second hand Boardman, Bianchi, Trek, Scott, that sort of thing for my budget.

Be careful on sizing as you may be surprised. Some bikes are longer than others so what you generally find is one XL will feel totally different to another. Effective top tube length is generally what determines the correct size for each model. I was between a 54cm and 56 frame so went for the 54cm and fitted a longer stem (by 1cm) to get it properly fitted (by a pro).

With a budget of £500, seriously consider a new bike and look for a 2010 end of line bargain from the likes of Evans Cycles etc. Worth a trawl through the websites. Also worth trying a good local bike shop as many offer free fitting.

i got a giant defy 3 for 525 great bike for the money I 'm very happy with it, the specialized didnt suit me, more comfortable position on the giant for me.

It's always worth asking at your local bike shop. They often have secondhand bikes or know of any for sale. There's good stuff on e-bay but you'll have to trawl through to find them and it's always a punt.

At £500 you'll be better looking at older kit than newer lower grade stuff. There's plenty of kit out there thats had very little use.

I`ve also looked at a Carrera Tour de France road bike currently for sale in Halfords of all places. It gets rave reviews and normally is £450 but you can get it at the moment for just £280, a serious saving for what appears to be a good entry level bike. The only thing that concerns me is the largest size they do is `Large` which is equivalent to a 58cm frame. I`ve tried one of these out for size too and had the seat post raised up to its minimum level mark. I reckon I could do with another max 2 inches in height. The seat post has a length of 350mm. Would I get away with buying a 400mm seat post to give me the extra length or will the seat be too high for the handle bars?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_786805_langId_-1_categoryId_165710#dtab

Nick

Don't do it. 58cm frame will be too small. It'll be too short in the top tube evan if you get a longer seat pin in. Have a look at Evans site if you fancy new. Get the best bike you can afford rather than the best saving. There's a big difference in quality between £500 bikes and £750 ones. Anything under £500 is close to being a toy and at 20 miles a day will soon start to show it.

Does your employer take part in the bi ke to work scheme? Basically it works out you by the bike from your salary BEFORE tax. So save a lot.

We`ve been battling for the last 3 years to get my employers to take on the Cycle to work scheme but with 3000 to 4000 employees they won`t do it due to the cost implications. You will always get those that have never been on a bike jumping on the band wagon wanting to grab a bargain! Having waited 3 years now it`s time to upgrade from my current hack. I`m doing a sponsored 100 mile ride in August which is why I want something now to train on and get used to for the event. I `ve already looked at Evans site, some nice stuff but £500 is tops I can pay really. I`ll keep my hack to use in the winter months and just use the road bike through the summer season.

I put in an order for a new 2011 Giant Defy 3. I looked at all the shops near me, and online for second hand bargains.
I think having a shop's service behind you, and looking after you is worth the price difference between a second hand bike you don't exactly always know the quality of, and a new one.

Mine was £620 but I got them to throw in some cycling shorts, trip computer and inner tube (the 2011 bike alone is £595). Having looked at the reviews, it seemed a very good buy for the price.

I know your budget is £500 but for £550 they had a defy 4, main difference being alloy instead of carbon forks.

I wanted to spend £500 ideally but I stretched it a bit, and I think it'll be definitely worth it, but I'll let you know when I get it on Tuesday!

I too am doing a charity ride, from London to Brussels (240 miles) in 24 hours, for the British Heart Foundation with 2 uni mates. Fancy sponsoring each other?

James

My giant defy 3 was from cyclestore.co.uk had the best components for the money. I also liked the bianchi that is about 500. Good luck.

Hi just read your post, ive got a road bike hanging in the garage which ive not used for years and would be willing to sell . just been and checked and its a Ribble with carbon forks , mavic ksyrium elite wheels , ultegra bits and a flite sadle all are in very good nick . carnt remember the frame size but im 6' 2". if your interested £400. and i could email some pics.