after being asked to do the Coast2Coast ride up in the lake district this summer by a friend, my thoughts (and hours researching) of buying a single speed (which would have been fine for my day to day london commutes) have now shifted to buying a racer.

Now, 400-450 seemed an ok amount to spend for a single speed, but im realising it really aint much for a racer. and i dont want to go over 500.

so ive been looking around ebay. just got outbid with 4 seconds to go on a lemond versailles which went for 460 yesterday. annoying.

But i guess my question is, am I better off getting a new scott speedster or a lemond etape (both of which are more than i want to spend) or a better specced second hand bike?

Anyone trying to get rid of a racer in decent condition? or know of someone? wanting to spend 450ish...

its frustrating, cos i just wanna get out riding... but the budget just seems to be going up and up...

i've got a v good condition bianchi.
see thread "selling kidneys"

my first road bike was a giant scr2.0. got it for £430...cant remember from which online shop tho. the setup was light and components good enough to carry me through some sportives and 000's of kms.

loads of bikes out there <£500

[COLOR=#800080]http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetai...GTR%204%202008[/COLOR]
Within your budget, but not the right cache for you?

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/pr...eche_Bike_2008
Don't know what makes you don't like, so added this in case you don't mind it.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetai...n=Tifosi%20CK3
Full campag including campag wheels.

I have a mate who did the Coast2Coast on a BMX. All I can say is HTFU!

you can get a decent trek or giant for £500

You'll get nothing made of carbon for a monkey, at a push you'll get carbon front and rear with a 105 groupset second hand for that.

How tall are you? What size frame are you after? I have a few different road bikes from the last 7 seasons of riding I could part with, space is becoming an issue. For something aluminium with a carbon fork I'd be looking at much less than £500 probably closer to £250

It's always nice to see/hear the word 'racer'. Jumpers for goal-posts etc.

i aim to please...

Im 5 11 so probably looking at around a 55cm frame?
dovoneil- id be interested if you have anything appropriate....

GrandeAnse2Grenville - The second 2 bikes look interesting... ill research into those babies...you mention whether brand is a problem. I dont think it is for me, but should it be? id rather one of those than a giant or trek... think im just abit of a knob and dont want to have something everyone and their sister is cycling round on. naaaamean?

rustie- H TFU? been puzzling me what H stands for. cant keep up with you internets people.

I'd go the secondhand route, as long as you know what you're doing and what's suitable for you. Otherwise, go down to a decent bike shop and let them look after you - this way, you've a much better chance of getting something suitable. Getting something that fits and is comfortable is really important.

I've been riding for a few years now and my main bike I got off ebay a couple of years ago for £550. A look carbon frame with full ultegra groupset and a decent set of wheels. It's a really nice bike!!!

Other bargains exist. For example, ebay item 160239685440 went last week for £499. (Unfortunately too small for me otherwise I would have bought it!). Gorgeous custom dave yates steel frame, full campag record groupset. Only needed wheels to make it complete but this would have made a really superb bike for not a lot of money. Sure, it's done some miles and the frame is a few years old, but steel frames don't die and a good groupset keeps on going.

Only thing is, to find bargains, you need to look for the niche stuff that people haven't heard of. So this requires some research/knowledge and you need to know what you're doing.

If you go to your bike shop, £600-800 is sufficient to get you something quite decent.

Hope this helps!

Oh yes they do. (some of them)

Well, OK, they do. Sometimes. I had a 531 frame that rusted through at a boss that wasn't correctly welded.

Steel frames don't generally die ;-)

Courant

Or aluminium, titanium, carbon ones, etc. (not so sure about magnesium)

The bicycle frame's a fantastically resilient piece of engineering on the whole :)

on the hole?

What do you mean?

But if you prang a carbon or a thin aluminium, you have issues. And you have to watch some of the bonding on older carbon frames. Not to say they don't make good frames, but when you're buying secondhand, a well looked after steel frame presents far fewer risks.

Apart from internal corrosion, which is harder to spot than a dodgy bond.

so, wiggle is in portsmouth. I cant seem to find stockists of the Lifosi CK3 in london. anyone know of one?

Try Tifosi...

[edit] ah, beaten to it :D

god knows why i typed an L, not even close... but yeah I was searching with a T....