cube, Specialized or Trek

hopper26

Hi i no this topic comes up alot but i hvae been looking at these three bikes, Cube peleton £699, Trek 1.7 £799 and the specialized allez elite at £799.

Has anyone got any thaughts about these. The Cube looks pretty good value. Any other makes or models. Budget is up to £800

thanks.

sicrow

Allez Elite for me but only you can decide, ride each one at your LBS and you'll know after that which one you want

muz250

think for the price range all three bikes will be pritty much the same, You best deside what one you like the look of best and see how it rides for yourself, then buy it.
I not an expert but the groupsets are all the same rougly so the cube seems to be the better value for money, looks good in imo also.

Also depends If your just getting started into road riding I,d spend less money on the bike, make sure you get something respectable that can last you a year or two because youll probably want to get something real fancy if you get into it. If its a bike you are planning on having for a long time then get the one you like best and spend the extra money if you have it.
Seems to me like ribble bikes do very good specs for the price, but there site dont have many pics to get a good idea of what the bikes look like.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/SpecialEditionBikes.asp

take a look at this link and compare the specs It has the same groupset as the bikes you have listed, nothing on its rubbish and its only £515. Of course you won,t be able test ride it and the site ordering system is a bit intimadating if you dont know alot about bike parts but am sure you can just e mail, or phone them and they will tell you whats best for you. Iv seen some pics of them on these forums also and they look good.

I just started and got myself a trek 1.5, I spent £600 on that but its not as good as the ribble. Its a nice lookin bike right enough but spec wise not great. And am already looking at bikes for £1500 now that am getting more into it.

Suppose the most important thing is that it fits well, But if its your first bike I,d go for the cheapest good bike you can get, because youll just end up wanting something much more expensive anyway. You will also be able to use the cheap bike as a winter / crap weather bike.

daz51

I agree with Muz250,

Becareful how much you spend if you are a begineer, remember it does not matter what bike you have, it depends if your a fit enough rider to use it.

A friend of mine bought a Madone Trek as he as got more money then sense and its a waste of time. He had no core fitness and he thought the bike would make him a good rider.

I just wave as i fly past on my Allez which cost £1200 cheaper

hopper26

how abot the Boardman comp at £599 this has had had good reviews.

willbevan

I wouldnt go for the boardmap as its 9speed, or the allez for the same reason (even though they are nice bikes)

I bought my first road bike being a decathlon speed 2 16s (170 quid, 8 speed sora), and its doing me great... but i wish i had got a compact (i changed to one) or a triple, oh and 10 speed...

The other two are 10 speed, they all look around the same spec to my uneducated biking eye, all 105, all resonable wheels.

Mind you if 9 speed doesnt bother you, then all are pretty good! Reason i mention that, if you want to go 10 speed later, then you wil have to change the shifters, which i would say is the majority of the cost.

Don't know what your cycling experience is, but the cube is a triple, always better to have to many gears rather than two few , well most of the time

davelakers

hopper26 wrote:

how abot the Boardman comp at £599 this has had had good reviews.

Excellent bike. Mine has been bloody good!!

simon74

I've got a Trek 1.7, best £800 I've ever spent.

cframe

I've certainly had no complaints from my Trek 1.7 so far either, did an 85mile training ride the the Etape Caledonia last a couple of weekends ago and the bike felt fine the whole way through.

durhamboy

Like a lot of things, spend what you can afford. Take a bit of care to make sure that you'll not be looking for an upgrade too quickly.

Next, take it for a ride. Get fitted properly. Give several bikes a chance - and don't start with what you think your favourite is. Try a bike slightly down the price range also if you wish - just so you can feel the difference.

I bought a Trek 1.9 a couple of weeks ago - having been more of a mountain biker for years. I tried that and the Specialized. Both were good - very good. But just preferred the Trek in the end. Better frame and what I think are better components.

Don't spend forever agonising either - otherwise you'll miss some great rides this summer!

thamacdaddy

I checked out the specialized and looks like a solid bike, I do like the treks and have considered the 1.7 but I am very interested in the cube peloton at the moment. I saw somewhere posted someone said they use old frames but I don't see why this is a major problem given that a good frame is a good frame no matter the year.

I think the component mix you get for the money on the cube is pretty nice. Anyone else got one?

ff5743

got a peleton front fork gave problem but got it replaced under warranty.Good bike though cant fault it .Used it throughout winter with no problems.Check out Chain Reaction for cheap prices

LingfieldXC

just booked myself a test ride on a 1.7 for teusday. Really hope the weather is better by then.

redddraggon

LingfieldXC wrote:

Really hope the weather is better by then.

Where the hell in Lingfield? It's like summer here....

LingfieldXC

I'm at boarding school in tonbridge but live in Lingfield (NR Edenbridge) Are you form the area then?

thamacdaddy

ff5743 wrote:

got a peleton front fork gave problem but got it replaced under warranty.Good bike though cant fault it .Used it throughout winter with no problems.Check out Chain Reaction for cheap prices

I have finally done it an ordered it as my first road bike. After doing the roads on my mountain bike for the last 8 months I thought it was about time. I did 70 miles this weekend on it and the hills were plentiful and pretty painful. Looking forward to doing those rides again on the CUBE.

I tried to find it in stock locally to try it for fit but I compared specs with the SCR 2 that I was on last week and the 58 was roughly if not a bit smaller top tube and ST measurements than the 55cm scr so I am confident it will be right. I am 6ft anyways and the only thing that worried me was top tube length due to the fact most of my height is disproportionally legs so knowing that the fit on the scr was good with an ever so slightly longer tt I am hoping its a good calculated risk.

Anyways can't wait to get out on it soon!

LingfieldXC

Test rode the 1.7 today for about an hour and a quarter. I really enjoyed it.

Having never been on a road bike before I found it incredibly twithcy for the first mile or so but then I got used to it and settled down. I was surprised at how comfy I felt on the drops.

I am not sure wether to go straight for clipless when I buy the bike tho. I am afraid that I might fall over and scratch the bike or sommet. I probably will just go for it tho.

I plan to pick the bike up on saturday then ride home on it. Only 3 junctions for 15.6 miles. Might then go for a bit of a go on some hills if I feel up for it.

I do feel a bit nervous about spending so much money on my first road bike but seeing how much I enjoyed it and how big a smile it gave me I do not think that it will be a problem.

My LBS (cycle-ops) where really helpful.

thamacdaddy

Just got my new Cube Peloton.

Needs a bit of tweaking with the set up and gears but loving the lightness and power you get over the mountain bike on the road.

Some pics here if you fancy a gander.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/lastline/s ... 286240796/

davelakers

That is a bonny looking bike Sir.

Enjoy..

ridingscared

Just picked up this thread cause I'm looking at getting a Cube now,like you its my first roadie .How are you getting on with it? Was it money well spent?

beakyboy

The Trek, I got the 1000 a year ago, I know I know, budget, cheap level entry but, I love it, upgraded pedals and wheels and it's a great bike. I deliberated a long time trying to decide and in the end went for the Trek, besides, if Trek are good enough for Lance.........!

thamacdaddy

ridingscared wrote:

Just picked up this thread cause I'm looking at getting a Cube now,like you its my first roadie .How are you getting on with it? Was it money well spent?

Best thing I have bought in recent years bar my house to be honest. The difference between road and mtb on road imo is huge and my commute times dropped, fitness gone through the roof and obviously I do a lot more cycling. The bike is much easier to maintain than my mtb ever was bar having to spend longer cleaning the brake block cack off the rims every weekend.

I had some issues with clicks but this was a case of regreasing some parts namely headset and seat post. I did the manc to blackpool on it in July and loved the ride. Took a bit of getting used to the position in terms of letting my muscles adjust but now I can't imagine going back to a mtb position for cycling.

I think in terms of brands its all personal preference. For the price the peloton in my opinion was a cracking deal coming with a hollowtech style external BB drivetrain (FSA) and full 105 gearing/brakes etc. The wheels are loud though but I heard this is because the fulcrum use campag freewheels and campag wheels sound the same. No complaints from me.

dcvh007

Thinking of buying a Peloton. Haven't had a road bike before and just wondered if this will be a good choice..? Also, I'm thinking of doing a charity bike ride next year sometime... Lands End to John O Groats... would this bike be suitable for such a trip?

Any help or advice greatly appreciated...

D

il_principe

Amazed no one has mentioned Focus. For this moeny you could get the excellen Variado Expert from Wiggle. Focus are another German brand (like Cube) and represent excellent VFM, they've just signed up to sponsor Milram in 2009 as well.

I have an 06 Variado and it's a great bike. Otherwise I'd go for the Cube or the Spesh, I just don't like Trek bikes very much, test rode a Madone last year and wasn't that impressed (compared to the other's I test rode in the same price bracket), although TBH you won't go wrong with any of the ones you've mentioned.

il_principe

Amazed no one has mentioned Focus. For this money you could get the excellent Variado Expert from Wiggle. Focus are another German brand (like Cube) and represent excellent VFM, they've just signed up to sponsor Milram in 2009 as well.

I have an 06 Variado and it's a great bike. Otherwise I'd go for the Cube or the Spesh, I just don't like Trek bikes very much, test rode a Madone last year and wasn't that impressed (compared to the other's I test rode in the same price bracket), although TBH you won't go wrong with any of the ones you've mentioned.

S2driveruk

thamacdaddy wrote:

Just got my new Cube Peloton.

Needs a bit of tweaking with the set up and gears but loving the lightness and power you get over the mountain bike on the road.

Some pics here if you fancy a gander.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/lastline/s ... 286240796/

Have got to say that is one seriously good looking bike...so much so I went off in search of one. Unfortunately it seems none left in the country in my size :-(

My search continues for my first road bike, if only i could make my mind up what i wanted.

gtitim

Bianchi Nirone is same sorta price...

frenchfighter

Bianchi are much better bikes, and look MUCH better than a Spec or Trek. Not very expensive either and look like they should cost twice the price.

http://thumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp/@0 ... mp_vel.jpg

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bia ... e-ec016053

il_principe

frenchfighter wrote:

Bianchi are much better bikes, and look MUCH better than a Spec or Trek. Not very expensive either and look like they should cost twice the price.

Perhaps they are in your opinion... not sure that's true though. Nothing wrong with Spesh or Trek although neither would be my first choice these days.

frenchfighter

Sure it is my opinion?!

Spec and Trek are just very ugly and are not european brands either. (No ned to mention anything about Taiwan here...)

If you are on Facebook, I would recommend the group: Official Rules of the Euro Cyclist. It is light-hearted (although some take it very seriously...) and, well once you read it you will see!