Flat bar road bike for newbie

[Cianboy]

Hey All,

I have been cycling to work for the last 6 months or so using an old Flat bar road bike that I bought from a friend. I have finally decided to buy a new bike but have been stumped by the sheer amount of options out there.

My budget is up to $750 I have been scouring the internet and these forums and have found a few that I think may suit me. The commute is around 15-20 k round trip depending on which route I take

Avanti Blade 2.0
Giant CRX 4
Apollo Exceed 2009
Apollo Allegro 2009

I was leaning towards the Apollo Exceed/Allegro: has carbon forks and I have heard this can make a difference in terms of comfort.

Can anyone tell me the difference between the two Apollo I looked at the specs and they are near identical?

I am 5'10 and weigh around 74kg

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Also I occasionaly jump off a curb or two is this a complete no no when I get my new wheels??

Cian

[fatherofmany]

I'm 43, 6'2" and 84kg. Bought a Blade 2.0 in June (happy birthday to me!) love the ride... but I did change the tyres to 28mm armadillos, a tempo S1 seat and use clipless pedals. I will be changing the seatpost to a solid soon, dont think the suspension post is doing much anyway.

Love the ride, recently did a 100km ride with no issues.

15-20 on a Blade 2 is an easy, comfortable ride and a good choice in my books.

[Cianboy]

I did change the tyres to 28mm armadillos, a tempo S1 seat and use clipless pedals. I will be changing the seatpost to a solid soon

Lol I have so much to learn!

Thanks for the advice. The tyres on the Blade in the shop did look wide in comparison to the Giant's and since I may end up on the occasional bit of gravel I might just go with the blade.

[cjrich]

I had a 2008 Blade2 until I sold it late last year to finance an upgrade to a drop bar roadie. I would definately buy another Blade without hesitation.

I did change the stock Kenda K-West tyres as I found them very puncture prone. I put 28mm Vittoria Randenours on and never got another puncture.

[Boognoss]

The Blade 2 is a good bike. The original tyres are made of cheese, but otherwise it's good value for money.

[Cianboy]

Plenty of Blade fans I see. It is now joint favorite with the mysterious Apollo, Does anyone know anything about these bikes? They seem to be a highr spec for a similar price... However I know that if its too good to be true it usually is.

Cheers,

Cian

[richiec]

Check out the elusive though superb Norco VFR range. Brilliant.

[hartleymartin]

One school of thought is to start with a good frame and then attach quality parts. I've just bodged up an old mountain bike with riser handlebars, a comfort seat, racks and panniers for carrying my gear. It nicely takes me the 6km each way to TAFE and back, and I've even taken it on longer rides exploring cycleways around the Fairfield and Liverpool area. I plan to take it on a 100km round-trip from Mittagong out to Goodman's Ford and back.

[Vlad99]

I have a CRX Zero and love it ...
But it is out of your price range.
What I love about CRXzero.
1.Carbon fiber Forks ...Same reason jump gutters ocassionally.
2.Hdro Disc Brakes...stop on a dime.
3.Mavic SpeedCity rims
Rims still perfect after 2 years of abuse.
Need new tyres though.

My budget wass $1000. But had a offer I could not refues

[Cianboy]

Well I finally got round to buying a bike, I had been looking on eBay and ended up finding a 2006 CRX1 for $800, it was in really good nick, no scratches, new Michelon pro 2 tyres 23mm, speedo, shimano shoes etc....

I went 2nd hand because of the gap between what I could afford and what I wanted

I have had it for around a week now and I love it, so much faster and easier to ride than my old bike.

Thanks for all of the advice.

Cian