I am new to cycling and me and a friend are going to attempt a cycle from london to Rome for charity. We both are students and need to buy good but cheap road bikes as we are both students and therefore limited funds. Could someone advise me if one of these two bikes would successfully get us to our destination, despite them being so cheap. We understand they won't be the best bikes in the world, but we just need something which will do the job. any help or advice would be appreciated!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160737574471#ht_1006wt_958

or

https://www.bikes-by-mail-order.co.uk...source=message

thanks

Good Luck, Maybe the World Bank will be a sponsor ...

you want an Old early 90s mountain bike with a rigid fork.
then you need to tear it down and rebuild it with new bearings grease , cables, housing etc.

How much luggage will you carry?

I second the older mountain bike option. Don't even have to go back to the nineties. Tons of nice 10 year old hardtails around here cheap. I wouldn't even worry so much about a rigid fork as long as it has a lock out.

BTW, your second link is broken, but I'm nit impressed at all by the first bike.

I do not think these bike will do the job! If you want to buy a perfect fit bike, you had better to test it

Rebuilding a 10 year old mt bike for your tour is a better idea than the cheapo bike on ebay.

My gf rides one with a rigid fork and she really likes it on pavement. It works well on dirt roads too, as long as they are reasonably graded. Pot holes and wash board roads will be tough on any bike, including one with front suspension.

Is this charity ride financed in advance by you and 100% of the donations go to charity?
I've heard of people skimming off the cost of their tour and then giving the residual to charity. Shame!

Yeah, thats the idea, 100% to charity, hence why the budget for a bike is so tight. I'm thinking it could end up being very tricky if i'm on a crap bike. But oh well, better than running.

Fit is First.

If the one in the first link fits reasonably well, it should get you to Rome with minimal trouble, assuming you aren't gonna be packing much extra weight. Most likely you'll need to replace the tires with ones more puncture resistant.

Actually, a box store hybrid would likely get you there for half the price.

Building out an old frame can get really expensive, depending on how worn the components are.

I'm skeptical of Charities with high overhead costs, resulting in most of the donations
consumed in office Staff and CEO salaries and overhead.

I assume you're going to be riding over the Alps. That first bike looks like it has a compact double with a 28-tooth cassette, although the specs don't say. If you've got a lot of mountains to climb, you'd probably be better off with a triple. Maybe you're young and strong and wouldn't have any trouble on this one, but personally I would never attempt it on anything but a triple with fairly low climbing gears. And if this tour is unsupported (you're carrying your own gear), even more so. In fact if that's the case I wouldn't even consider this bike.

Another problem is knowing how it fits you. If you can't ride it before ordering it, stay away. You do not want to ride from London to Rome on a bike that does not fit you correctly. Small differences in frame size can have a big detrimental effect on your ride. Different manufacturers use different frame tube measurements, even if the seat post length is the same. Don't buy something you can't test ride first, and after you find the right frame size, consider having a knowledgeable bike shop adjust the fit to you. Either that, or read up on bike fit and do it yourself.