Brand-X Road Bike?

[Bradeyy]

Looking at getting my first road bike for exercise, was a frequent runner doing 5ks often but had some joint pains/numbness. I was looking around on gum tree etc but would be hard not to get ripped off as not really sure of the second hand market. Found this on wiggle looks to have good reviews? from what I can gather it would be around $630 or so, would this be a good first road bike? Is this a good deal? Interested to hear from some people who know what they are talking about as I really don't any suggestions welcome, cheers

Here's the bike I was looking at: http://www.this link is broken.au/brand-x-road-bike-1/

[Ross]

It's a very basic bike, only 7 speed (x2), most bikes these days are at least 10 speed (x2).
Tektro brakes aren't the best, had them on a previous bike and upgraded to Shimano and the difference was like night and day.

Don't forget to factor in the $200 freight so that brings the price up to ~$600, you may find a better specced second hand bike on Gumtree etc for around that sort of money. But obviously a second hand bike bought privately won't have warranty, though if you have a warranty issue with a bike from Wiggle you may have to ship it at your expense back to UK (which could cost 90% of the original cost of the bike)

[Arbuckle23]

For that price, these would be better

https://www.bicyclesonline.com.au/polyg ... bike~63450

https://www.reidcycles.com.au/osprey-road-bike.html

Others will talk down the Claris, but I did nearly 3000 km on my beginner bike with Claris gearset & Tektro brakes without issue.
Was enough to get me keen and then buy a better bike.

Spend a little more on these sites and improve again

[Bradeyy]

Thanks for the replies guys, after a bit more reading online I went with the Reid Osprey 2018 and I see you have linked that as well. Hopefully I can put it together okay haha

[RobertL]

Thanks for the replies guys, after a bit more reading online I went with the Reid Osprey 2018 and I see you have linked that as well. Hopefully I can put it together okay haha

I bought an Osprey flat bar last year. The flat bar and drop bar are the same spec, except for the obvious differences, and the one you bought is a new frame for this year.

I'm pretty happy with mine. I bought it mainly for commuting, but I wanted a "fast" flat bar and I didn't want to spend too much money. I even do a bit of training on it while I'm commuting. I get some funny looks overtaking people at the crit track on a flatbar with bright red panniers. One guy asked me if I was training for a bike tour.

The Claris gears are pretty good. They are sturdy and reliable, but not as slick as the better groupsets. I read reviews about people not liking the Tektro brakes, but they seem OK to me because I think that the flat bar levers give better leverage.

I'm a heavyweight at around 105kg when I bought it and the rear wheel couldn't take that weight + rack and panniers so I had to replace it with something sturdier.

I notice that it now comes with 25mm tyres. Mine has 23mm Kendas and the ride is a bit harsh. I will upgrade to 25mm and something a bit more comfortable - but not until these ones wear out.

Apart form that, it's pretty much done everything that I've asked it, so I'm happy.