UKC

.. at £500. Good deal?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-f95-sora-2013/

I know very little about road bikes, but am fed up try to cross-train on a heavy old mountain bike when all my friends tell me how much more fun I'll have with a road bike.

In reply to tony: its ok. If I was in the market for a bike priced similarly I'd opt for the ribble sportive as its better spec and you can customise bar width crank length and cassette ratios.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/

In reply to sleavesley:

Thanks for that. I did wonder about the Ribble options, but I haven't a clue what customisation choices would be good, bad or indifferent.

In reply to tony: use the competitive cyclist fit calculator to give you an idea of what size frame, stem you should have. You can compare that with geometry of the bikes.

In reply to tony: you also have the option of the 12-30 cassette as I'm pretty sure there are some hills up where you live!

In reply to sleavesley:

thanks - I can see I need to do a bit more research!

In reply to tony: my first bike was ill fitting as it was an off the peg bike that was to fit the "average" person. It needed a longer stem and wider bars to fit me properly of which the bike shop didn't offer.
As a contrast my last bike I built myself is a frame size bigger as a longer stem and wider bars. Completely different ride, so much more comfortable than being cramped.

Do your research and then commit although do it quickly as I'm not sure how much longer ribble are doing that price.
I'd opt for the compact living where you do as well.

In reply to tony: Have a look at the other current first road bike thread, Tony and the Be One bike that chap is asking about. Similar sort of price, much better components with Shimano 105. As I say on that thread I think there's a big difference in performance between the two.

The other place to look is Planet X who have mega competitive prices with a direct to consumer model. A bit like the Alpkit of bikes?

In reply to TobyA:

Thanks Toby, I do have a lot to learn. How, for example, do I know which components are better? And what does 'better' actually mean in this context?

In reply to tony: shimano group sets go sora, tiagra, 105, ultegra, dura ace in order of ascending quality and price. So a 105 groupset (gears and brakes) is quite a lot better than sora. It'll be lighter and the bits will last longer.

In reply to andy:
I found Sora to be poor quality, very heavy and short lived. Get the best deal on a bike with Tiagra or preferably 105 components. Aluminium frame is fine but should have a carbon fork. Any money spent over £500 to reach this spec will be very good value

In reply to andy:

Excellent! That's the kind of list I need! Many thanks.

In reply to tony: Sora is sub-Tiagra where this guide starts http://www.chainreactionhub.com/road/980-our-guide-to-shimanos-road-groupse... The new Sora shifters are meant to be much better though than the older ones I have on my CX bike, + the front mech that I don't like on my CX is made by another firm entirely called Microshift, but still it is the entry level stuff. My 105 gears just move quicker, more accurately and with less pressure when I'm changing them.

In reply to tony: the only problem with reading all this is before you know it your riding a carbon bike with full ultegra or SRAM force with a big smile across your face. Unless you convince yourself its going to be a winter bike and commuter.