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    Looking to buy a bike for small commuting and fitness, I found this Giant Fastroad 1 in my local Giant store.Is it good for a beginner, or should I consider something different? My budged is under 2000 euro. Link for the bike https://www.giant-cork.ie/ie/fastroad-1-2024

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    1. Der-Schildermeister on

      This is what some manufacturers call a „Fitness Bike“, basically a road bike with a flat bar (typically very straight like on a mountain bike). This is basically a mix between a touring bike and a road bike, leaning more into the sportive side while still keeping the more upright seating position (although it won‘t be anywhere near as comfort oriented as a city bike or even a touring bike). Frame geometry is typically directly taken from road bikes.

      It is a decent sports option, if you don‘t like drop bars, but by default most of these (like the one you picked) aren‘t very good commuters, just like a road bike typically isn‘t.
      On shorter distances, the speed difference between this and a touring bike is negligible, while comfort definitely suffers. On longer distances, the more aerodynamic position on a road bike in the drops means significantly reduced power requirements, as well as fewer hand positions in order to relief stress on your wrists.

      As for the price, this one is okay. It comes with decent equipment that should work properly for a long time (with maintenance, mind you). It has some necessary bits and pieces for adaptation to different needs (e.g. the mounting points for a rack are there), but a pretty big point in your case is the lack of mounting points for mudguards. For the rear wheel, this can be worked around with the mounting points for the rack, but in the front, the lack of any sort of opening near the fork crown is an issue – not a great thing for riding to and from work on that emerald isle of yours… 😉

    2. rui278 on

      You absolutely don’t need to (and shouldn’t) spend this much on a bike for commuting and some fitness (riding for like 1h/sub 50k once in a while).

      If you want a road bike with dropbars: Go to Decathlon and get an RC 500 or even an RC 120. Specialised allez, Giant Contend, Trek Domane. Even

      If you want a normal city bike, also go to Decathlon or your local bike shop and pick something up in the £500 to £800 range and it will serve you well

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