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Solved Road Bike (57/58cm)

kyoazu

Maximum Pace
Nov 5, 2014
69
36
Road Bike (57/58cm)

Hello, I'm a beginner to cycling looking to buy my first road bike in Japan and thought I'd ask you guys seeing as you're all more experienced than myself!

I'm based in Utsunomiya. I've been making trips around the city and the prefecture (30-60km) and now I'm looking for a good bike to make longer distances with (100km+) and maybe explore some of the nice hills around Nikko and the Tochigi (although this isn't too important) Basically, I'd like something that would be good for a beginner to the sport like the Cannondale CAAD8, Specialized Allez Elite etc. Budgetwise, I'm thinking 80-100,000 yen but I'd be open to more or less expensive options.

I've had a look at Yahoo Auctions but I haven't managed to find anything within my frame size or budget sadly.

Some extra info:

I'm 186cm with an inseam of about 33.5 inches.

I'd like to buy a complete bike if I can; I don't have any experience with building a bike and from what I've seen, it's definitely not as easy and slotting things together in place.

I wouldn't mind paying more for a Tiagra or 105 groupset. I've used Sora on a Giant Defy 3 and while it was fine, I think it would be better to pay more for better shifters.

Any advice would be welcome and appreciated. If there's any extra info that would make it easier to help me please let me know! Thanks :)
 
There are a bunch of options you can go with. Your budget - with some patience should yield you a nice bike you should be happy with.

I am selling a 58 "vintage" frame with modern components in the classifieds now. It fits easily in your budget.
https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/threads/1980s-somec-58cm-complete-bike.5693/

The parts are well above tiagra/105, but the frame is more 'comfort' oriented and less performance oriented.
If you intend to race, I would not consider my bike at all. If you think hours in the saddle might be more your thing while checking out all the back roads around you, it might be the ticket.

I am 188cm and the bike is just a tad small for me, so might be right up your alley for fit.
 
Someone else on the board was recently looking into buying a complete Boardman bike from Wiggle. They apparently arrive mostly assembled and the assembly you do is very basic (easy to check that though). The Boardman Team 105 looks to be around 100,000. I'm guessing customs duty will be something like 3.8%, but someone else here should know for sure.

Check this yahoo auction link though, it shows there are definitely a few bikes there that might be within your budget, frame size and spec requirements (105).
 
Someone else on the board was recently looking into buying a complete Boardman bike from Wiggle. They apparently arrive mostly assembled and the assembly you do is very basic (easy to check that though). The Boardman Team 105 looks to be around 100,000. I'm guessing customs duty will be something like 3.8%, but someone else here should know for sure.

I am 185cm and bought a similar Boardman Team Carbon (with 105) back in May 2012. Exchange rates were more favourable then but the bike itself came to around Y110,000, and then there were extras like pedals, bottle cages etc. Was very easy to re-assemble, and I paid no cutstoms duty (think I got lucky though). Was a great purchase, highly recommend it for the budget.
 
There are a bunch of options you can go with. Your budget - with some patience should yield you a nice bike you should be happy with.

I am selling a 58 "vintage" frame with modern components in the classifieds now. It fits easily in your budget.
https://tokyocycle.com/bbs/threads/1980s-somec-58cm-complete-bike.5693/

The parts are well above tiagra/105, but the frame is more 'comfort' oriented and less performance oriented.
If you intend to race, I would not consider my bike at all. If you think hours in the saddle might be more your thing while checking out all the back roads around you, it might be the ticket.

I am 188cm and the bike is just a tad small for me, so might be right up your alley for fit.

Thanks for the info, that looks like a great bike. Can I ask why your bike isn't suitable for racing? I'm a bit interested in racing in the future, not so much at the moment.

Someone else on the board was recently looking into buying a complete Boardman bike from Wiggle. They apparently arrive mostly assembled and the assembly you do is very basic (easy to check that though). The Boardman Team 105 looks to be around 100,000. I'm guessing customs duty will be something like 3.8%, but someone else here should know for sure.

Check this yahoo auction link though, it shows there are definitely a few bikes there that might be within your budget, frame size and spec requirements (105).

That looks like a great bike! Definitely interested, I'll keep this one in mind.

Thanks again for the Yahoo Auctions link. I saw a couple of nice bikes but for some reason I can't register for a YahooID at the moment.
 
It can be raced - as in there are no rules saying it cant.
It was in fact a racer at one point, but newer/stiffer/lighter bikes have become the norm.
If you want to race to test yourself, the bike is fine.
 
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This bike is seriously awesome. I'd buy it in a second if it weren't too small for me.

hat and beard is absolutely correct. I had the good fortune of riding this bike as I waited for my Trek to arrive from the US. The drive train shifts smooth as silk! I enjoyed many hours of riding in comfort during a tour of the Shikoku island. If I could sneak it past my wife, I would be a two bike owner.
 
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