CHEAP THRILLS
SERIOUS BIKES THAT WON’T BREAK THE BANK
The Virago is from Halfords’ Carrera brand, but can a carbon bike at that price really be any good?
It’s not unusual for wheels to cost more than the bikes featured here, which range in price from £400 to a still reasonable £800. For that price tag, you’ll get a widely available bike with a carbon frame and fork.
The least expensive bike on test here is Triban’s RC120 Disc, which comes from the same family as the RC120, which I recently awarded top marks. This time around, cable disc brakes accompany a Microshift 8-speed set-up and tubeless-ready wheels, which look like they are arriving en masse in 2020.
The Vitus Razor is a £500 bike with 8-speed Shimano Claris, and is currently on sale at Wiggle for a very appealing £400.
It’s a similar case for the Merlin PR7, a racy entry-level road bike that’s reduced from £650 to £475 and features 9-speed Shimano Sora and Mavic CXP 22 rims. By far one of the most wallet-friendly routes into Sora.
GT has a mountain biking history. It has produced high-end road bikes and even a revolutionary track bike for the 1996 Olympics. Its 2020 GTR Sport is a lively allrounder with thru-axles, mechanical disc brakes and GT’s distinctive triple triangle, although the seatstays aren’t welded to the seat tube.
My final entry is the joker – an £800 road bike with, if you can believe it, a carbon frame and fork and Shimano Sora. The Virago is from Halfords’ Carrera brand, but can a carbon bike at that price really be any good?
We put all five bikes to the test to see how much bang you get for your buck with these entry-level bikes.