Road Cycling - Help a poor Englishman find his first bike...

I am a newbie, looking to get into road biking. I'm not going to ask you what bike I should get, cos I know that's been answered a dozen times. However, looking through the responses, they all seem to say that going to the local bike shop is the smartest thing to do and try some bikes out.

My problem is I'm in England, and my local bike shop doesn't even sell road bikes, and to be honest doesn't look really credible anyway...So, does anyone know of any really good 'local bike shops,' in England. I'm in Reading, so London is no problem, but I would be prepared to go much further if it was worth it.

Thank you in advance! :)

How about looking at some bikes at Ebay? You may be able to find someone pretty close to you selling one to look at. Since your local bike shop doesn't sell road bikes you may be able to get a good used bike and learn how to tune the bike yourself.

http://sports.listings.ebay.co.uk/Cycling_Road-Bicycles_W0QQfromZR4QQsacategoryZ22680QQsocmdZListingItemList

Caversham:

http://www.awcycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s6p0

My problem is I'm in England, and my local bike shop doesn't even sell road bikes,
Thank you in advance! :)

Welcome! hmmm...I understand that your weather is similar to Seattle's conditions. Could it be that your bike shops know that road bikes don't hold up as well in the weather?

Rather than buying sight unseen, I'd like to suggest that you ask other riders in your area for advice. They may know of UK shops that are worth traveling to. When asking for help, you may want to account for rain and humidity.

===My setup looks like this:====
TREK 5200 with full fenders (gasp)
Front and rear lights (with waterproof seal) that do well in fog
Lots of automotive reflectant
Water resistant grease and oil for chain
Tires that can handle rain and sleet

Waterproof bag
Mountain bike gloves
Waterproof jacket + pants
Waterproof Mountain cleat/shoes for walking + riding
Regular jersey for sunny days

England has several great bike makers. Bob Jackson, Thorne, and others. Go find some other bike shops and test ride some of those bikes. I think the Brits have a very sensible approach to cycling; I like that you can buy a ready to roll bike complete with fenders rack and sometimes even a decent saddle.

I almost miss commuting to work along the A4 from Slough to Maidenhead with the spray from the road soaking me before I even rode 100 feet. Yep, the one time I visited Seattle it really reminded me of home :)

I don't think I would purchase from ebay. You don't know what shape the bike would be in and it may not be your size.

My Bike: I just bought it today it is a Trek 1500. I rode it 5 miles and I love it.

Thanks for the replys guys, really appreciated. When I do finally get a bike lets hope the weather doesn't let me down heh?

Also cheers for hilighting the potential impact that the weather can have on buying a bike, would'nt have even of thought of that one before!

Definitely test ride bikes before you buy and don't be afraid to keep asking the bloke at the shop to keep adjusting things and then going out again for a quick spin. At the end of the day you want to be 100% happy and anyways, the shop will make a nice profit if you go with them.

You may that a UK forum has better local information. There are local riders at cyclingplus.co.uk who will know not only which bike shops sell road bikes, but which are good. Cycling Weekly mag also has lots of LBS adverts.
You shouldnt have to go too far to find a decent lightweight specialist in England.

Yep, the one time I visited Seattle it really reminded me of home :)

Ha ha yeah! I'll bet! Thankfully, we're in the "dry season" right now... :)

>>>Definitely test ride bikes before you buy

This is a good idea and take it a step further by test driving bikes on a rainy day. The store will probably be less busy and you'll get more time with the sales people. Also you'll be able to see how that bike handles in "surprise weather". Also try to run it on a hill and over some good old fashion English pot holes and bumps to check how it rides.

In short: See the bike under bad conditions so there are less disappointments if you get into some challenging conditions.

Oxford has a good selection of bike shops - not too far away from Reading There is Bike Zone in the city centre, Also Bee Line and CycloAnalyst on Cowley road. fROM Memory, Bee line have the biggest selection of road bikes, from a TreK 1000 all the way to Pinarellos and Colnagos at £3000+. CycloAnalyst have a good range of Giant and Saracen bikes. Bikezone have Trek, Cannondale and (I think) some Peugeot.

Hope that is useful.

Cheers
Ed

Thanks again everyone for the replys. Ed, do you know if any of these bike shops have a web site adress. Oxford really isn't that far away, and the variety sounds the most promising lead so far...