• Hey Ollie,

    I can't give recommendation for bike shops as I took my own bike with me from a different town, but I am sure others can do.

    From the description of your current miles and experience you would benefit a lot from a road bike and I am sure you will love it.

    Somethings to keep in mind when buying your first road bike

    • Go to shops where a bike fit is included with the bike price (or negotiate a deal). Bike fits are absolutely essential for comfortable riding both in leisure rides as in more challenging sportives/races. I am not a fan from buying from the internet, especially not for your first bike. Bike fits and small personal adjustments can make a huge difference, and shops have experience with this. Also if something needs tweaking after a few rides they will easily help you. So I would approach a few shops and ask for the price including a full fit and checkup.
    • Arrange for a 2nd check after 2 months as your position on the bike will change a bit when you just started riding seriously.
    • Go for something that feels good, rather that looks fancy. I for example didn't fit on a female frame, but perfectly on a specific male frame. It is all about your body dimensions (hence the importance of the bike fit).
    • For that price range you should be able to find something nice.
    • Many people look at weights but I would start with the Gears Groupset first. So if you can get an upgrade from Shimano Tiagra to 105, but a slightly heavier bike, I would go for the group. This will make an large difference how easy you change gears and therefore how quickly you can react to a change in elevation, speed, wind etc. Note that I am not saying you should go for Shimano, Campagnola have some really nice sets as well.

    Hope this helps. Good luck and hopefully we will see you soon on a ride.

  • Interesting that we hold opposite views over frame vs groupset...

    I currently have a full alloy winter bike that I upgraded to run full ultegra. I don't think it's really any better than it was with shimano 2300, just looks more pro (and means I have the same components on both bikes for when I break something and need a donor for the race bike!). I really really want a new winter frame now though and wish I'd done more research before buying a full alloy bike!

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