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Permalink Reply by Shav Bird on August 20, 2012 at 18:43

i dont think its matters what bike/groupset you get unless you really like/love riding. You need to establish that feeling first or you won't ride, and you will waste money on a new bike that will sit in the shed gathering dust in my personal opinion.

I would find a cheap run of the mill bike that does the job ok. Something on Bike exchange, ebay, gumtree for as cheap as possible. Get used to riding, get used to how your body reacts when riding it and if after a few months you actually do love riding and the bug bites, then consider what to get next.

Too many times I have heard stories of people who want to get into cycling for all the wrong reasons, buy up a top of the range bike and all the gear, ride for a few months, dislike it and it ends up in the shed or on ebay because cycling wasn't what they thought it was.

For me, establishing the love for riding is the first thing you can do to solidify your choice and confirming what you outlay on a brand new ride isn't going to be wasted in the shed.

If you are just commuting or once a month kind of social rider, you may not need to spend 1k on a bike. Knowing what kind of riding you do/want to do is key before forking out on 'something' for the sake of it. After that its all a matter of personal choice.

Take that how you like.

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Permalink Reply by Richard on August 20, 2012 at 19:15

I agree totally with you Shav.

Funny though, I'm reminded of my uncle, who was a committed swimmer, in his sixties. He was walking past a bike shop one day, waiting for the wife as you do, wandered inside and wandered out with over $10,000 worth of kit (that included the bike apparently). Now both of them do triathlons, so that sort of foolishness can work, but by cripes I wouldn't recommend it.

The other note for Heath is that because so many people dive in and throw a lot of money at a racer (and kit) and then find they don't like cycling, it's often quite easy to find a darned good bike at a darned good price with very few kms on it. It's not immoral to benefit from someone else's mistake is it?

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Permalink Reply by Shav Bird on August 20, 2012 at 19:21

Definitely not immoral Richard. Someone's misfortune for purchasing without thinking is someone else's benefit. I'd rather be on the beneficial side of the deal than the person hurting and only getting a fraction back on what they spent.

I only know this due to the amount of money I have spent over the years on cars. Good lord I could have afforded my own cycling team by now. LOL (slight exaggeration)

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Belperio on August 20, 2012 at 19:50

I have been riding for about 4 months on a roadie... up graded from mountain biking to road biking and am loving all of it and am looking forward to my second group ride this weekend... biggest thing i found (and didn't allow for in my budget!!) was all the kit... its almost half of the price of the bike again!!! but hey you only live once.. and IMO there is nothing quite like hitting the road and over taking cars down a hill!!!! hehe good luck and enjoy the FREEDOM!!!!  

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Permalink Reply by heath on August 20, 2012 at 20:25

Wow all good advice I'm even more confused! :-) I think what your saying makes
perfect sense Shav & Richard I should maybe I will pop down the bike workshop and grab a cheapy while looking on the net for something I want to pop up if my interest is still this keen. Thanks everyone for your help appreciate it. Keep your ears open too ;-)

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