Bike/frame suggestions

sloboy

Just working up my long list of bike candidates for this years irrational purchase.

Now, the benchmark bike/frame is probably the S-Works Roubaix SL, so as you can guess, I'm a fastish, longish leisure rider. Don't race, but do try to hurry. A few sportives a year, kind of thing. Reasonably flexible, but have a modest position on the bike - bars maybe a couple of inches below the saddle.

Currently ride a Lemond Steel/Carbon spine bike and appreciate its stable smoothness.

Budget - hmm - depends what takes my eye. Say 1000-2000 quid for the frame.

Longlist at the moment:

S-Works Roubaix
Cannondale Synapse
Colnago CLX
Argon 18 Helium
Kuota Kharma or Khan

What else should be on their - or what doesn't fit the brief on that list ? Are the Wilier's too harsh ? Should I just keep saving until I can buy a C-50 ?

All views and experiences gratefully received !

wildmoustache

I want to Dennis to respond and tell you to buy the one with the best colour scheme.

dennisn

wildmoustache wrote:

I want to Dennis to respond and tell you to buy the one with the best colour scheme.

First off I'll need to know how much a quid is as compared to the almighty "dollar". Which
isn't really all that almighty anymore. Seriously, when I bought my latest bike I had a choice
of a red Cinnelli or a blue Gios, both in steel. They were basically the same bike and cost
pretty much the same. I went for the blue because it appealled to me at the time and there appeared to be no real difference in the two bikes(pretty much same spec's all the
way around - give or take a little). What else could I do? I mean, when the wife says
you've got this much money you go with what you can get. Plus the fact that I do like steel
bikes, although I am considering titanium as soon as I find a good excuse to tell the wife
as to what's wrong with my 4 year old Gios. Could use some help here.

Dennis Noward

wildmoustache

dennisn wrote:

wildmoustache wrote:

I want to Dennis to respond and tell you to buy the one with the best colour scheme.

First off I'll need to know how much a quid is as compared to the almighty "dollar". Which
isn't really all that almighty anymore. Seriously, when I bought my latest bike I had a choice
of a red Cinnelli or a blue Gios, both in steel. They were basically the same bike and cost
pretty much the same. I went for the blue because it appealled to me at the time and there appeared to be no real difference in the two bikes(pretty much same spec's all the
way around - give or take a little). What else could I do? I mean, when the wife says
you've got this much money you go with what you can get. Plus the fact that I do like steel
bikes, although I am considering titanium as soon as I find a good excuse to tell the wife
as to what's wrong with my 4 year old Gios. Could use some help here.

Dennis Noward

I would like to add a Ti and a steel bike to my stable (only have alu and carbon right now). Would love one of the old chrome looking colnagos but with new record and some nice wheels.

to the OP, they're outrageously expensive but your budget is big ... whatabout a colnago extreme power in the black, red, white and green italian colours. Full record and Boras all round. you'd never recover financially but it would be the best bike in the country pretty much.

a little over £2 to a $1.

redddraggon

wildmoustache wrote:

a little over £2 to a $1.

Don't you mean a little over $2 to £1?

dennisn

wildmoustache wrote:

dennisn wrote:

wildmoustache wrote:

I want to Dennis to respond and tell you to buy the one with the best colour scheme.

First off I'll need to know how much a quid is as compared to the almighty "dollar". Which
isn't really all that almighty anymore. Seriously, when I bought my latest bike I had a choice
of a red Cinnelli or a blue Gios, both in steel. They were basically the same bike and cost
pretty much the same. I went for the blue because it appealled to me at the time and there appeared to be no real difference in the two bikes(pretty much same spec's all the
way around - give or take a little). What else could I do? I mean, when the wife says
you've got this much money you go with what you can get. Plus the fact that I do like steel
bikes, although I am considering titanium as soon as I find a good excuse to tell the wife
as to what's wrong with my 4 year old Gios. Could use some help here.

Dennis Noward

I would like to add a Ti and a steel bike to my stable (only have alu and carbon right now). Would love one of the old chrome looking colnagos but with new record and some nice wheels.

to the OP, they're outrageously expensive but your budget is big ... whatabout a colnago extreme power in the black, red, white and green italian colours. Full record and Boras all round. you'd never recover financially but it would be the best bike in the country pretty much.

a little over £2 to a $1.

Friend of mine just recently got t-boned by a car. He's ok but his steel Colnago is scrap.
So what does he do when he could have bought just about anything? You guessed it,
another steel Colnago. What is it with us older guys? Must be to old to change or just
too bullheaded. No wait, it's our wives fault. They have been keeping us down all these
years. Permitting us to have only a pitance of the money we earn and not understanding
our bicycle addiction. Wow, glad I got that off my chest.

Dennis Noward

wildmoustache

redddraggon wrote:

"wildmoustache wrote:

a little over £2 to a $1.

Don't you mean a little over $2 to £1?

[/quote]

haha, yes.

a_n_t

sloboy wrote:

Are the Wilier's too harsh ?

harsh?

like riding a sofa mate!

andyp

sloboy wrote:

What else should be on their - or what doesn't fit the brief on that list ? Are the Wilier's too harsh ? Should I just keep saving until I can buy a C-50 ?

Yes. Given your current bike and the type of riding you do then saving up for the C50 is the sensible thing to do. Sometimes you have to follow your instinct, save for a while and be rewarded for your patience with your dream bike. If you don't you'll always have a nagging "what if?" at the back of your mind.

John.T

You could do a lot worse than a 2008 Trek Madone Performance fit. Slightly longer head tube than the Pro but the same race handling. 5 series OCLV Black is £1400 for the frame and it rides superbly. Not sure of the price of the 6 series OCLV Red but it is very light. My 5.2 with Ultegra SL and Bonty Racelite wheels weighs 16.5 lbs and this is pretty basic kit. Dura-ace and some trck wheels would bring it down to close to UCI illegal.

aracer

If Dennis isn't going to jump in...

Get whichever one fits you, or you can get a good fit on. If you can get a good fit on all of them, pick the one which looks nicest, as there's probably very little real difference otherwise. If you're worried about the frame being harsh get some fatter tyres and run them at lower pressure.