Originally Posted by Redbullet

I never understood the concept of "starter bike". It sounds as "temporary", before buying a "real" bike. If someone likes this sport and wants to practice it, he / she will want soon to replace the "starter" cheap bike with a better one - which will be a double expense. I would choose directly a good bike. The "low" price good bikes are those build by a "second tier" known brand, using good group sets such as SRAM Rival or Shimano 105 (Campagnollo would be more expensive for similar quality). I would choose rim brakes to reduce the price. Aluminum frame should further keep the price down (versus Carbon). That being said, the price would probably rise toward 1300-1500 EUR, but that should be for a decent and durable setup. I think even Decathlon has something in this area.

By the way, Triban RC120 has a durable frame, but, overall, the bike is heavy. I use an older type of that Triban (with rim brakes and aluminum fork) on a smart trainer. The Microshift shifters lost their functionality after 6000 km equivalent on trainer, although I used them for mild shifting. I had to replace them with Shimano equivalent. For comparison regarding durability, I used SRAM Force 22 on my road bike 6 times more km than Microshift, under very heavy shifting. But they still work as new.