Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Hey all!

I finish my life as a uni bum soon and will finally be earning an income! I'm looking for my first road bike that will be used most of the time to commute a 30-50km round trip plus the odd weekend ride. I've never bought a road bike before (currently have slicks on a hardtail MTB) and am finding it hard to narrow things down. I think from what I've read an alloy frame makes sense in terms of durability and my weight - around the 100kg mark at 6'2". Budget is around the 2 grand mark but will pay more if consensus suggests it to be a wise move!

In summary: First road bike, commuter, I weigh 100kgs at 6'2", budget of around 2k

1) good bike store for a new road rider - closer to the hillarys area the better.
2) carbon vs alloy given it will be a commuter + rack + my weight of 100kg.
3) any particular marques and models that I should steer away from/gravitate towards

Thanks, and apologies if this has been asked 1000 times before (I saw similar threads in the search, but not quite what I was after)

off the top of my head :
TBE osbourne park
choice cycles leederville
Wembley cycles

Malaga Cycles, good range and will setup a number of bikes for you to ride and compare

Bike force Joondalup and Joondalup city cycles are both on winton road. There's another on Joondalup drive near the edgewater train station but I'm not sure of the name and have not been there. Also bike force in woodvale on Whitfords ave east of the train station a couple of kms.

I'd put bike force Joondalup first based on some recent service we received, but it's been a while (year or two) since I've been to the woodvale store so can't comment on their staff.

Bf Joondalup is great + 1

Sent from my MB526 using Tapatalk 2

http://alscyclesurgery.com.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is in Heathridge. Quality customer service.

Magnum9 wrote:Malaga Cycles, good range and will setup a number of bikes for you to ride and compare

+1 for Malaga Cycles.

Jason gives good customer service. Although is parts and servicing charges cab be on the expensive side.

The Saturday morning group rides are good too.

R12RT wrote:

Magnum9 wrote:Malaga Cycles, good range and will setup a number of bikes for you to ride and compare

+1 for Malaga Cycles.

Jason gives good customer service. Although is parts and servicing charges cab be on the expensive side.

The Saturday morning group rides are good too.

+1

Although they do only sell Felt and Cube, i think

Bought my first road bike from them, bought my second from another shop but always take it there for servicing, even straight after the other shops complimentary first service.

MarkG wrote:http://www.malagacycles.com.au/

I think their website may need updating.

Mrfenejeans wrote:

R12RT wrote:

Magnum9 wrote:Malaga Cycles, good range and will setup a number of bikes for you to ride and compare

+1 for Malaga Cycles.

Jason gives good customer service. Although is parts and servicing charges cab be on the expensive side.

The Saturday morning group rides are good too.

+1

Although they do only sell Felt and Cube, i think

Bought my first road bike from them, bought my second from another shop but always take it there for servicing, even straight after the other shops complimentary first service.

Felt, Cube, Giant, Scott, Avanti

Elite Racing Cycles (I think that's their name...) on the corner of Newcastle & Beaufort Streets, Perth. They specialise in racing bikes, pretty much nothing under $800 last time I had a look...

Elite it is.
Mostly they do Bianchi, BMC and EMC.

Not quite close to Hillarys as the OP requested, but yes - these guys are the bestest. Unless an emergency, elite are the shop of choice for me. They even let me bring my Scott inside

Go see Del (AT) wanneroo cycles. Prindiville dr, wangara. Well priced

2) carbon vs alloy given it will be a commuter + rack + my weight of 100kg.
3) any particular marques and models that I should steer away from/gravitate toward

Given your budget and stated purpose (medium distance commuting) I strongly suggest that you short list your possible bikes; then find local stockist. Most stores mostly have race bikes or variations on what you already have.

For your budget you should be able to get a CroMo framed bike- a much, much better choice for a long distance loaded commuter.
The Surly longhaul trucker is the glamour child in this space but Raleigh,
Fuji, Gemini and many others have solutions in this space.

If you can't fit mudguards and 25mm (or preferably 35mm) tyres it's not going to be much fun to commute on.

Check places likeBikes for the rest of us for leads.

Finally RUN from anyone trying to convince you that the incorrectly sided only bike they have on the floor "will do".

If you want to venture a bit closer to Perth, check out the guys from Riders Choice, they are at the bottom end of Oxford St Leederville. I have dealt with them for quite some time now and find them to be excellent.

Graeme

Thanks for the advice/recommendations everyone - looks like I've got a few weekends planned now!

GraemeL wrote:If you want to venture a bit closer to Perth, check out the guys from Riders Choice, they are at the bottom end of Oxford St Leederville. I have dealt with them for quite some time now and find them to be excellent.

Graeme

Cyclemania are also out closer to Perth too Charles st north Perth. They are my fav but not really NOR so to speak.