Noobie

Would somebody please be able to steer me in the right direction?
I'm after a nice Peugeot classic racer or something of the sort as a nice starter-upper bike but don't want to get ripped off or end up with something that's far too good for what I need it for.
Any help or direction appreciated

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A bit more info might help, such as what sort of money you are looking to spend and what size you're looking for for starters; there are places such as Bicycle Links, which is down by The Waterfront now I believe, that you'll be able to pick things up pretty cheap but they might need a bit of work. I guess going down that route would depend on your mechanical prowess but I'm sure many people on here would be happy to give you advice etc. if you needed it. There's also the Norwich Cycling Swap/Sell (or something along those lines!) Facebook group where bargains frequently pop up; also if you're a tall gent/lady I know @invertedcriss was selling a bike that met your criteria perfectly.

I hope that helps and welcome to the forum :)

P.S Welcome to the forum... The Norwich section is the most friendly part, we promise!

Right @jdp @thross?

Ha, yeah we're nice. I'd recommend the Dandy Horse on Magdalen St, as well as Bike Links on King St. Best thing would be to go and just have a chat with Matt at DH or Jason at BL and see if they have anything 'out back' - both shops have loads of stock hidden away, so might have just what you're looking for. They're both top chaps too, so will be glad to help.

I second DH, I left them out as I didn't think they still had their 'out back' stock!

Hi Rikki thanks for the fast reply. I am a mechanic by trade but never worked on bikes so wouldn't mind a nice little project. I would like to spend around £200 on something just to get going with the possibility of upgrading parts as and when. I would say I'm a small/medium sized guy. I'll take a look on the Facebook group you mentioned. I'm actually living in Great Yarmouth (sorry). Been keeping an eye on eBay/gumtree for a nice Peugeot but really don't know if I'm getting ripped off or not. I will check out the stores you mentioned and keep my eye on the classified section of the Norwich page.
Thanks for your help

Just spoke to a lovey woman on the phone at bike links and am going to go have a look around tomorrow afternoon. Thanks

No worries. I think Links also have a Facebook page that they put their current bikes for sale on. I should mention that when I said 'cheap but may need work' I was referring to something they hadn't restored yet, I wasn't knocking their skills!

If you can't find anything on the Norwich Swap Facebook page you can always pop a 'wanted' post up. I'd personally suggest popping to Dandy before going for something in Links also, you might end up on missing out on something there if you happened to go for the first one you saw (coming from someone who's bought far too many bikes that the realised weren't right!)

I'd personally look for a bike privately gumtree, eBay etc.
£200 will get you a lot more privately than it will through Dandy etc.

oh and if you are thinking Peugeot. avoid anything carbolite. Its not light in the slightest.

Not Peugots but on gumtree at the moment:
http://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/raleigh-winner-retro-racer/1120727588
http://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/raleigh-stratos-1982-racer/1120765639

Thanks. I'll keep this in mind. What Peugeot would you recommend for the price range I'm at?

Thanks a lot. The Raleigh winner is exactly the sort of thing I'm after. Would you say that's a good price?

there is also a guy in bacon ash that sells some reasonable bikes for not a lot of cash.
What is your budget and what sort of size you looking for?

I'm after a medium sized bike around £100-200 to start with and customise/upgrade parts as and when

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLAUD-BUTLER-VINTAGE-1960-70-ROAD-BIKE-531-/181775219043?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a52a5b963

how about this 531 frame so will be ideal to upgrade as you see fit

Fairly standard for that type of bike on gumtree I think. Best to check how much work it needs as that might bump up the price. It looks in good nick from the photos though.

Found anything yet @Lorennnn ?

I have Rikki thanks yeah. I don't know how to copy a paste a discussion but I should have this turn up at my door next Monday. Looking forward to my first race bike

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Great, it looks perfect for your requirements. Enjoy!