My mate needs a new bike.

He's signed up to do a Lands End 2 John 'o Groats bike ride and needs a bike asap to start training. Budget £500ish. Any recommendations? Anyone got anything for sale?

I suggest he finds out roughly what size and type bike he requires.
Is he loaded touring, trying to set a new speed record for it or something in between?

i doubt hes doing anything serious* as he doesn't have a bike.....whats the deal ben,is it some kind of charity thing?...........or am i just a dick for assuming?
*trying to set a record

c'mon aidan, how do you expect me not to make a smart arse remark with stuff like that!

you're a dick :p

you know what dale.......i agree. :)

A bike like your Ribble Audax would be good would it not HIppy? As long as you are B&Bing it. A bit over 500 but seems like a good bike.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/details.asp?D=X&Cat=RIBBLE&Section=XRIB&GenCode=RIBBXRIB0670

same frame cheaper set up here.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/details.asp?D=X&Cat=RIBBLE&Section=XRIB&GenCode=RIBBXRIB0660

Load of variations http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/list2.asp?D=X&Cat=RIBBLE

Yeah, I'd probably say the ribble audax too. Mirage or Tiagra for ~£520, or 105 for £600.

aidan i doubt hes doing anything serious* as he doesn't have a bike.....whats the deal ben,is it some kind of charity thing?...........or am i just a dick for assuming? *trying to set a record

I also doubt it is serious but the creative way in which I expressed "we need more info!" should make up for the lack of blatantly obvious point making. Or something. :)

I would have suggested it (the Ribble Audax). Shit, if I get a new road bike I might even sell mine to the guy :)
But I wanted to get more info out of Captain Vague first (that's you benny boy!) :P

Cheers for the tips. Sorry been out trying to work with a killer hangover (see Icy Roads thread). He's doing a charity thing set up by Reuters (who he works for) and it's a 10 day thing (100k a day?) B&Bing it. Doubt he will have to carry any gear, but I'll check.

charity thing! ohhh yeah!

A friend of mine has a Ribble audax and he thinks it's great. Had no problems with it.

i could lend** him a r500 cannondale caad4 58 ish frame maybe a tad small for me at 6ft but nice smooth bike perfect for a journey like that