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I am interested in purchasing my first road bike. Specifically the Radon R1 4.0 or the Radon RPS. Does anyone have any experience wit these bikes? There are a few tests on-line but unfortunately I don’t speak German and the Google translate function wasn’t much help!

Being my first road bike I don’t want anything too uncomfortable!

I’m approx. 170cm short with a 77 cm inseam. I’ve tried a couple of bikes and seem to fit a 53-54cm effective top tube. I was thinking of going for the 53cm frame. I would really appreciate any help or advice.

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    Are you thinking of purchasing online or from a bike store. Purchasing online is pretty tricky, especially considering frames with the same measurement for the top tube can fit quite differently between different brands and different models. For your first road bike, you would probably be much better off buying from a store where you could take a test ride first. Even if the bike is the right size, you may not like the way it handles. Every bike is different.
    – Kibbee
    Jul 31, 2012 at 12:47
  • Welcome to Bicycles.SE. It seems like your question in its current form might be a little better suited for a forum. Could you clarify what your specific answerable question is?
    – amcnabb
    Jul 31, 2012 at 15:13
  • Thank you for the responses. I suppose my question is in two-parts: First, does anyone have any experience with brand of bike? Secondly, based on the geo of this bike would it be likely to fit?
    – Donncha
    Jul 31, 2012 at 15:32
  • For your conventional diamond frame (if there is such a thing anymore), the fundamental measure of "fit" is "stand-over height" -- you should be able to stand over the bike with your feet flat on the ground and the top bar "comfortably" below your crotch. And once you've found a "conventional diamond frame" that fits, the seat tube length can be measured and used to "size up" other frame styles. This, of course, doesn't give you a perfect fit for "reach" and other metrics, but it does put you in the right ballpark.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Jul 31, 2012 at 21:11
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    Based on the specifications I'd say it's worth stretching to the R1 if you can afford it. The components are a decent upgrade in pretty much every area.
    – Mac
    Jul 31, 2012 at 23:59

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Radon is a well reputed German bike company. They sell their bikes through it's online store, but you can by them at a store in Bonn, too. At the shop you can ride a bike for testing it. At the store you can buy many bike parts and clothes, too.

They typically get very high ratings in tests, it is not a cheapo company, they sell good quality and their bikes are well balanced, i.e. not a few high end components in visible places and the rest junk. The downside is that it is not easy to test their bikes.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a bike through an online store if I didn't know the bike was a perfect fit for me.

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We bought (through the internet) 2 Radon hardtail bikes, one MTB 29 for me, and one 26 for my partner.

Bikes (both) are excellent. Problems that I've had:

  • Pedals, they could be better. They broke and I asked for a replacement. They provided the same pedals for free. After few months the same symptoms, but for now I am still using them since it is not dramatic. I understand that it will be solved when I buy better pedals.

  • Gears, at the highest position the chain touches the mechanism. I have to adjust (yet)

My partner's bike, no problems. At the price offered, this is a must-buy (unless you don't care for 200€ of difference).

From a visual point of view, I was expecting something just more ugly than the (my) reference Cube. Based on the photos, that was clear. Once in person, they are way more beautiful than what I was expecting.

Conclusion: If I was buying another bike now? With my budget, Radon without any doubt. With a bigger budget? I don't know. I have no reasons to move from Radon. I would have more problems in deciding between a 26 and a 29 than deciding about a

About sizes: I followed the indications of Radon webpage. No problems with that. It is true that I "think" that the size is the correct one. I could be with a wrong one and since I cannot compare with a previous MTB, I don't know. So far, it seems to fit without problems.

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The best way to know if a bike is suited for your needs is to get on it yourself. Almost any bike can be adjusted to fit an average adult (170 is still "average") so the physical fit isn't my concern. Since this is your first road bike, I would strongly suggest getting on one before buying it anywhere, online or in a real bike shop. There are things like headtube angles, toptube height and other things that become a factor that simply reading the description will not help you decide if it is right for you.

I bought 3 or 4 bikes before I started ordering online, and that was only because the shop I frequented did not carry the bike I needed. And I only decided I needed that particular bike after I had been riding for 10 years, tested my friend's bikes, read tons of reviews and saw that this bike was the one I needed.

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Radon uses many identical parts (e.g. frame) licensed from CUBE but they sell them at lower prices. In the best case you get a high class bike at reasonable prices.

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I'm happy with my Radon R1 4.0! Their bikes usually receive high ratings in German bicycle magazines and I would personally recommend it. It's a good no-nonsense combination of Ultegra, 105 and FSA components with Mavic Aksium wheels.

The R1 are currently in end-of-season sale, so you can get a real bargain. Not worth going for the RPS me thinks.

I wouldn't bother too much with sizing details. Even a test ride won't tell you too much about a bicycle. As long as you are sure that you want a racing geometry, get the right frame size and adjust details to your personal preference. See this page and the linked document for sizing of Radon bikes: http://www.radon-bikes.de/xist4c/web/Correct-frame-size_id_9343_.htm

The company behind Radon bikes has been around in Bonn (my place of birth) for at least 20 years. My bike was delivered to England, but as someone else noted, you can buy and test ride it in their shop in Bonn (or in Majorca, if you fancy a holiday trip).

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