My first road bike was a Merida Racelite...

Bought it off a bloke on eBay who had ridden it once and didn't like it. Came with pump, lights, lock, shorts & jerseys. He bought it for £800 and I got it all for £300.

EBay is full of bikes like that - people who just didn't get on with a road bike 'cos they were used to flat bars or mountain bikes or completely new to cycling. You can pick up a real bargain on there but be careful, although you can usually see if someone is genuine or not by the condition of the bike.

I bought 'cheap' to start off with in case I didn't like it and ended up out of pocket. I live in Shropshire and there's plenty of hills but I loved it - no better way of seeing the countryside.

After 6 months I sold the Merida and bought a Cannondale Synapse. There's not just one type of road bike - Aero, sportive (endurance), race and now gravel/adventure bikes. I thought about the type of riding I did (hills - 60/80 miles a time and went for the comfortable but still a bit racy Synapse.) Never had a bit of discomfort on any ride no matter how long/tough. It cost me £1700 new but I've done 12,000 miles on it so I feel I've got my money's worth.

To give you a sample of what my clubmates ride around the £1000 mark - Specialized Allez (good frame and you can upgrade components as and when), Giant Defy, Giant TCR, and as Tricky recommended a few have Ribbles - they are great value for money.

And then you have to decide disc brakes v rim brakes.

Sorry for the long post - hope it's helped a bit.

Posted By: Wild Edric, Apr 3, 10:33:35