What do you consider as the best sub £500 complete road bike available

Fuxxake, panty wetting. Sympathy? Or advice? We gave some, have none. Buy a bike, or don't.

...and he's right. Personally I'd get the kona.

Me too. Partly because I like Kona at this price point. But mainly because it looks classy for a cheap roadie.

^ I think you are swayed by the matching blue bar tape

I picked up a Caad9 105, pretty much as new, from eBay for £600. Second hand can be a good way to go.

^ I think you are swayed by the matching blue bar tape

Got me.

wow caad9 are now in the price bracket
go for cannondale lightweight stiff aluminium my fave bikes

... And my advice is always buy what you can afford, and what you like the look of, and forget about asking people here for opinions, as they are all arseholes. So trust your own judgement, rather than strangers.
...

Harsh, but fair.

Can you get something from ribble for that? Components are important on a road bike, frame less so as long as it fits

hugo, if your going to do the funny lets rewrite someone's words, the least you can do is follow forum convention and add FTFY underneath..

Can you get something from ribble for that? Components are important on a road bike, frame less so as long as it fits

Ribble is'nt on the high st, is it though.

Ribble is'nt on the high st, is it though.

"sad okay jpg"

hugo, if your going to do the funny lets rewrite someone's words, the least you can do is follow forum convention and call someone a cunt..

ftfy

^ beat me to it.

But I think you'll find it's you're a cunt.

Kona Zing (even 2011 version is a good value at £650 from £900)
Specialized Allez
Fuji Team 3.0

Go to a shop, test ride them all.

Make a decision.

End of.

Buy 2nd hand is the best advice here... £500 get's you a hell of alot of 2nd hand, not very much at all new....

I'd be comparing warranty and what you get in terms of servicing thrown in at that price point if i was buying new- and of course seeing if I could get a £1,000 2010 model for £500 in 2011.

Nothing is going to be outright dreadful at that price point, it may well come down to paint colour and if it has a lifetime frame guarantee.

For what it's worth I bought a £500 Allez new, sold it to a mate a year or so later for £300 and bought a £2,800 Cannondale second hand (but essentially NOS) for £1,100.

2008 SP Allez with full Tiagra groupset;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Allez-Road-Bike-/250858986677?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3a685c5cb5

£375.

tiagra/sora is absolute lowest groupset you want.
But watch out you don't end up with even lower end hubs/bottom bracket/headset; otherwise you will very quickly find they are in need of replacement (12-18month I would figure) and cheapest wheels worth having are £150 etc etc.
Spend now so you don't have to spend later.

You will find plenty of 'bought for christmas, not used much' kind of bikes, though strangely you pretty much only get those in the roadie market. MTB/BMX/city/hybrids all get used regardless.

+1 for the kona, equipment aside, at least it doesn't look like a cheapy.

Dammit has it though, its all about what the warranty will cover. Some shops offer 1-2yr free servicing inc a chain, cables, outers and brake blocks. Doesn't sound like much, but thats £50-75 of mechanic time + £30-60 (retail) of parts (and hassle taken care of) should not be sniffed at.

There's a groupset lower than Sora, it doesn't even have a name, we called it the 2300.

Tiagra I feel is a decent entry levels groupset, hell the brake hood design is pretty similar to the old 105 until it have the same design as the Ultegra/Dura Ace.

Seriously EBay is your friend.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RALEIGH-AVANTI-CARBON-TEAM-RACING-BIKE-52CM-105-TEN-SPD-/160620102741?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item2565b44455
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BOARDMAN-TEAM-ROAD-BIKE-2011-carbon-Forks-105-Mavic-/130549911880?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item1e65619148
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Basso-Laguna-Veloce-Bike-2010-/200630301932?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item2eb67f74ec
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2010-Bianchi-Via-Nirone-7-Veloce-57cm-road-bike-/160623354160?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item2565e5e130

basso is noice!

http://www.echelon-cycles.co.uk/index.html

The entrant.

Get yourself a second hand bargain from ebay, at that price It's pointless buying brand new.

I think to be honest I'll be buying my next road bike second hand, especially since you can get full carbon ultegra for around 1k.

I am in a similar scenario, looking for a bike for £500ish. I went in to a Specialized shop yesterday and they said that the 2012 allez is coming out soon, so I might hold off and get the 2011 when it comes out, but is there any word as to when the 2012 allez will be released?

The main problem is the sizes, will there be one in your size by then?