My first road bike was a Merida Racelite...

Bought it off a bloke on eBay who had ridden it once and didn't like it. Came with pump, lights, lock, shorts & jerseys. He bought it for £800 and I got it all for £300.

EBay is full of bikes like that - people who just didn't get on with a road bike 'cos they were used to flat bars or mountain bikes or completely new to cycling. You can pick up a real bargain on there but be careful, although you can usually see if someone is genuine or not by the condition of the bike.

I bought 'cheap' to start off with in case I didn't like it and ended up out of pocket. I live in Shropshire and there's plenty of hills but I loved it - no better way of seeing the countryside.

After 6 months I sold the Merida and bought a Cannondale Synapse. There's not just one type of road bike - Aero, sportive (endurance), race and now gravel/adventure bikes. I thought about the type of riding I did (hills - 60/80 miles a time and went for the comfortable but still a bit racy Synapse.) Never had a bit of discomfort on any ride no matter how long/tough. It cost me £1700 new but I've done 12,000 miles on it so I feel I've got my money's worth.

To give you a sample of what my clubmates ride around the £1000 mark - Specialized Allez (good frame and you can upgrade components as and when), Giant Defy, Giant TCR, and as Tricky recommended a few have Ribbles - they are great value for money.

And then you have to decide disc brakes v rim brakes.

Sorry for the long post - hope it's helped a bit.

Posted By: Wild Edric on April 3rd 2017 at 10:33:35

Message Thread

Wrath road bike of choice (NCFC) - Claygate_Canary, Apr 3, 09:35:26
- Lincoln Navigator (n/m) (NCFC) - usacanary, Apr 3, 13:34:06
- For 1k (NCFC) - 51eve, Apr 3, 13:30:45
  - would also recommend mango bikes (n/m) (NCFC) - 51eve, Apr 3, 13:31:42
- Grifter...3 speed (n/m) (NCFC) - yellowman, Apr 3, 12:06:11
  - I had one of them, they were fab. (n/m) (NCFC) - DrDublin, Apr 3, 12:34:46
    - Did you put smartie lids in yer wheels Dubbs? (n/m) (NCFC) - yellowman, Apr 3, 12:37:02
- Ducati 1200 Multistrada Pikes Peak (n/m) (NCFC) - fareastcanary, Apr 3, 11:51:30
- does your company have a bike for work scheme? great way to fund an expensive purchase (n/m) (NCFC) - Jumbo1, Apr 3, 11:15:56
- Rose or Canyon (NCFC) - Mecagoenti, Apr 3, 10:54:25
  - VIMTO. Great advice. I would just add set a budget and decide what kind of riding you're (NCFC) - col canary, Apr 3, 13:18:40
  - One thing I would say is to try the bike first to see if it's right for you. Rose & Canyon (NCFC) - Wild Edric, Apr 3, 11:12:46
    - sure, I guess that's one of the ways why they offer such (NCFC) - Mecagoenti, Apr 3, 11:31:35
- Carbon fibre Ribbles are cheap. That's what I got for £750 (n/m) (NCFC) - Hulk Rules, Apr 3, 10:35:55
- I've got a 1979/1980 Peugeot racer - make me an offer! (NCFC) - Jumbo1, Apr 3, 10:35:43
- My first road bike was a Merida Racelite... (NCFC) - Wild Edric, Apr 3, 10:33:35
  - VIMTO (NCFC) - col canary, Apr 3, 13:21:21
- Are you a mamil ? (n/m) (NCFC) - CROYDONCANARY, Apr 3, 10:19:01
- depends on budget - Decathlon and their B'twin range is best for VFM (NCFC) - Ralf Scrampton, Apr 3, 09:50:54
- For value you can't beat Boardman. (n/m) (NCFC) - avenging canary, Apr 3, 09:46:48
- Budget. All comesw down to that. (NCFC) - Tricky Hawes, Apr 3, 09:45:07
  - Was thinking c£1,000 (NCFC) - Claygate_Canary, Apr 3, 09:50:03
    - 'nother option here (NCFC) - Tricky Hawes, Apr 3, 10:00:27
    - that'd put you on this one then (NCFC) - Ralf Scrampton, Apr 3, 09:53:20
    - By "pre-loved" you mean shagged by someone else? (n/m) (NCFC) - Old Man, Apr 3, 09:51:13
      - Absolutely :-) (n/m) (NCFC) - Claygate_Canary, Apr 3, 09:59:43
- Check out this bad boy (NCFC) - Old Man, Apr 3, 09:40:48
  - Wtf do they think they've done to the seat and the bollock crunching gearstick (n/m) (NCFC) - Mickdundee, Apr 3, 18:41:25

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