Tifosi CK Audax vs Kinesis Racelight

CanterburyTailwind

Hi - as you can see, I'm new to this forum, but have been lurking around and reading some excellent advice (and LOLing a fair bit as well!). I'm currently riding a 25 year old Dawes (ahem) 'Lightning' which I inherited, but am looking for a quicker, lighter bike this year.

I tried out a few at my local lbs (the fabulous Downland Cycles in Canterbury - call in on them if you're ever in this neck of the woods). I liked the feel of the Racelight, but they also suggested the Tifosi (which they didn't have in stock). Does anyone have any experience/knowledge of these?

I'm looking for a fast commuter that can take mudguards and rack for around £700. The other option is going with a Giant SCR2 - I tried one of these a friend had and was impressed at how much bike technology had moved on in 25 years!

Any views/opinions gratefully recieved!

giant_man

From all accounts the Racelight is a good winter frame, better looking and imo better quality than the Tifosi. The Tifosi looks well I don't know, flimsy compared to the Kinesis, and I see a lot more Racelights than Tifosis.

CanterburyTailwind

Thanks Giant Man; that's really helpful. My gut feeling was for the Racelight as a Google search didn't turn up much info/refs to the Tifosi, which makes me kind of worry...And I'm a bith loathe to buy something I haven't tried out. I might ask if they can order one for a try out, but at the same time I don't want them to have have to order a bike that I might not buy...

acorn_user

What frame does your Dawes have? Some of the Reynolds frames were very nice. How about a Dawes Audax as a modern version? They are very nice.

Or you could go for an Italian made bike like the Condor (Agio?) or a Faggin... Saw a Kinises, and it did look nice.

http://www.faggin.de/seiten/produktseiten/uomo.html

John C.

I have a racelight and I like it. I've done several 150+ mile rides on it and still been comfy, I will say though that I am currently looking to downgrade it to a winter bike selling my other alloy/carbon bike and go back to a steel racer. Comfort. You can't beet steel. Saying that the only fault, if you can call it a fault with the racelight is it requires deepdrop brakes which are not as good as shallow drop. For this reason if you buy the racelight ( and it does look like sex on wheels from the back) buy the best brakeset and levers you can afford.

CanterburyTailwind

Thanks for your thoughts Acorn. Yes, the Dawes frame is nice, and looks very well made: the joints don't seem to be welded so much as hand carved! However, it is heavier than I want, and has always been too large: it's a 25.5 inch, or 65cm I think, which is too large for me as I'm 6', and the cross bar is wedged against my crotch - :oops: - when my feet are on the ground. But, despite this, it's been fine for my 20 mile commute for the past couple of years.

Anyway, thanks for the idea of Condor and Faggin. I've heard of the first but not looked into it (I thought they were out of my range!), but not heard of the second.

Good to hear from an owner John, and glad the Racelight gets your vote of confidence. So is the brake difference very noticable between deep drop and standard? But I probably wouldn't notice, as I've been used to mid-eighties putty-style brakes that mean you have to begin braking about a mile before you actually want to stop...Does any bike that takes full mud guards have deep drop brakes?

PS not thinking of selling your Racelight are you?

sean65

I'm asking a lot from my next bike and after test riding a load of bikes with a similar spec to what you're after, I've just ordered a Condor Fratello.

Steel frame, comes with gaurds and mountings for a rack if you want one. You can choose your spec from any of the Shimano or Campagnolo group sets and Condor Bikes in London will measure you up on their jig to make sure you get the right fit from not only the frame but the components as well.

http://www.condorcycles.com/

Have a look through their site. Just another option to make your choice more difficult.

CanterburyTailwind

Thanks Sean...just what I need! I'm trying to whittle down choice, not increase it! But I'll have a good look at the Condor. Is the steel not noticably heavier than the aluminium then? As I said above, I'm used to an older steel bike, so maybe newer steel ones are a bit lighter than they used to be.

sean65

Once you're rolling you won't notice the difference. Maybe on the steepest of climbs but to be honest, steel frames seem to ride lighter just because they're more comfortable and less 'pingy'.

Since the cable installers have ripped open the roads to install cables and left badly filled trenches on nearly every road in the country which just happens to be just on the part of the road where cyclists ride, you'll welcome the comfort offered by steel frames, especially over distance rides.

Here's a review of the bike but you could get a cheaper specced one for £800. I opted for the Veloce.

http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/artic ... 04/v/1/sp/

mercurykev

I'd recommend the Thorn Audax Mk3 - £300 for a frameset or £900 built up.

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/audaxmk3.html

Pretty light, nippy, steel frame - very neat welds and excellent customer service. I've got 2!

giant_man

That seems pretty good value mercurykev, love to see some pictures mate

acorn_user

giant mancp wrote:

That seems pretty good value mercurykev, love to see some pictures mate

300 pounds does seem good value... except that a number of British frame builders can get very close. Woodrup, Bob Jackson, and in my own neck of the woods, Trevor Jarvis are all capable of making frames in that range or a little more. The Thorn is a very different bike to the Kinesis too. The Kinesis seems like a race bike with mudguard clearance, whereas a lot of the alternatives are audax bikes with more relaxed geometry, and in the Thorns case, lots of touring type braze ons.

John C.

Sorry not selling. If I were building again I would look at fitting a disc on the front as there is a big difference in power between long and short drop brakes . As you would be buying a fork anyway there would be no extra charge just a different fork, the wheel would be just a different wheel and then the extra cost of the brake, under 50 pounds. It would add a little extra weight but if you are not racing, an extra water bottle weighs nearly 2 lbs how much does your rack weigh and how much does you rack pack weigh.

CanterburyTailwind

A disc break seems a bit over the top - I don't think I've ever seen a road bike with one. But you're right about the weight: with a pannier loaded with general work cr*p, my bike pretty much doubles in weight

sean65

most disc breaks make such a nasty noise when it's wet that you naturally back off the power because of the noise which negates their only real advantage.

I was a bit confused when I tried the Condor Fratello because the breaks were a lot better than the Heritage I'd ridden just before. The Heritage breaks were much weaker which seemed strange for a bike that's designed for carrying greater weights.

I had a close look at the Thorn bikes as well. Very nice. Quite fancied the idea of the Raven Sport but couldn't stretch that far.

giant_man

There you go. Road bike. With discs.

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum ... hp?t=38124

Lucky Luke

I too ride a Racelight winter bike and I wouldn't let the fact you need to fit long drop brakes to the Kinesis winter bike put you off if that's what you fancy . I fitted some Tektro long drops and they're fine no problems at all .

CanterburyTailwind

Thanks Luke - good to know it shouldn't be a problem. But I'm impressed with the bike build that you linked to, Giant Man - nice looking! Never seen the site before either - I can imagine the weight thing getting a bit obsessive...which would be crazy for someone like me who uses his bike most of the time for fast commuting, but wants something lightweight for speed on leisure runs.

Zygite

Ah, Mr Tailwind,

My Ribble audax/winter trainer has been very good to me for the last year- eats up the hill at St Stephens and the one round the back of Chartham Downs and loves the long haul along Stone Street - you'd get change from your 700 notes too.

Oh, and may I second your praise of Downland Cycles.

CanterburyTailwind

It's good to hear from a local! If the Ribble has no problem with St Stephens hill then it sounds pretty good to me! Did you feel a twinge of guilt not buying locally? Or should I banish such sentimentality from my mind??

BTW LOL at your tag line (or whatever you call the thingy at the end of your message!)

elaine dey

I owned a Tifosi audax frame up until this winter. 3 years use including club runs and commuting to work so it had a hard time. Didn't think the finish on it was very good - chipped very easily and the finish seemed to dull and look tatty. I found I was getting through a few headsets/new bearings due to water getting in. The back brake had to be a long reach one. It didn't ride as good as the Surosa frame and forks I've bought for this winter - £140 bargain and looks cool with its matt black finish. I can use my normal chorus brakes on it too.

Zygite

I did twinge - and next time I will probably buy locally. At the time there was a sale, they let me pay over 6 months...I was young and foolish etc etc. No regrets, though she's languishing in the shed this week while I'm doing the muddy run in on the Crab and Winkle for a change....

Cheap is not a Dirty Word in my house.

blackhands

Yep - I've got a Surosa audax frame which I use as a winter bike. good value -

Tailwind if you want to have a look at it then PM me - I also live in Canterbury.

CanterburyTailwind

Cheap is certainly not a dirty word in my house either! Cheap is good - as long as it's combined with quality, reliability and a bike that doesn't weigh as much as my house! Thanks for your thoughts on the Tifosi, Elaine: I think I'll steer clear of it, as the response to this thread has been at best muted. But now I've got another contender to deal with which I hadn't heard of before! Too much choice! Surosa...looking at their website it does look good, well specced (and with a variety of choice) for a good price. Thanks for the offer to have a look at yours Blackhands; I'll look round some more and will be in touch if I want to explore the Surosa avenue further.

mercurykev

Here's a pic of one of my Audax Mk3s - used for commuting:



The other one's built up with Campag Ergos and has slightly tighter gear ratios.

blackhands

mercurykev wrote:

Here's a pic of one of my Audax Mk3s - used for commuting:



The other one's built up with Campag Ergos and has slightly tighter gear ratios.

How much power do you lose with that saddle?

mercurykev

You would be surprised how little - it's all to do with seat post height - too low and you bounce about like a bouncy thing. However, get the height right and you get a remarkable smooth ride with no decernable loss of power. It's all about comfort and soaking up the Edinburgh cobles ;-)