Sportive Carbon Bike Wanted

grantway

Hi Guys I am looking for a Sportive carbon bike around £ 1,600.00p
I am 6 ft tall and weigth 13 stone if that helps.
Have tried the Ridley Orion I dont know anyone has a view on this,

Any advice would be appreciated thank you

sloxam

i have the ultegra version of this http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=86065 in black.
very nice, and better than a roubaix (which i owned before) imo
oh and i'm 6'2" and weigh 16 st 9 lb

oldwelshman

Why get a carbon for sportives? They are too stiff for our rubbish roads
I rode 112 miles last week in Pembroke sportive and at times was hanging on to my bars for my life !! Carbonm frames are not forgiving enough for our bumpier roads.
Today I rode the dragon and it was ok for 98% of the orute but on the descent of the bwlch, again I was hanging onto the bike and it felts I was riding on two flat tyres !!
For sportives in UK next year I am using my 853 winter bike as my backside is sore again !!

redddraggon

oldwelshman wrote:

Why get a carbon for sportives? They are too stiff for our rubbish roads

Even with the wavy forks and stays you have? You sure it isn't because you've got deep(ish) section carbon wheels with narrow tyres at high pressures?

My (cheap) carbon frame doesn't flex much, but I can handle the rough N. Wales roads, tyre pressure makes the biggest difference in my experience.

System_1

oldwelshman wrote:

Why get a carbon for sportives? They are too stiff for our rubbish roads
I rode 112 miles last week in Pembroke sportive and at times was hanging on to my bars for my life !! Carbonm frames are not forgiving enough for our bumpier roads.
Today I rode the dragon and it was ok for 98% of the orute but on the descent of the bwlch, again I was hanging onto the bike and it felts I was riding on two flat tyres !!
For sportives in UK next year I am using my 853 winter bike as my backside is sore again !!

Nonsense. Get a bike that's built for a specific purpose and it will be absolutely fine. Like any material, carbon doesn't always have to be stiff and uncomfortable. Sounds to me like you have a bike built for a completely different purpose. I'm guessing from redddragons comment it's some kind of Pinarello race bike? A Paris, or a Prince perhaps. Of course that's going to be less than ideal over long distances and rough surfaces.

I had a carbon frame that was the most comfortable thing I've ever ridden. In fact I replaced it with an aluminium frame because it wasn't stiff enough.

markos1963

Don't listen to the carbon doubters. I have an Orbea Onix and its fine for sportive riding, stiff enough to get the best out of your efforts but the damping from the frame is fabulous(I'm a similar weight 85kg). Its like what the others have said, whatever the material, you can have a frame made up to suit the riding style. At your budget you can't go far wrong if you go to a good LBS. The most important thing as you may already know is to get the fit right.

Jez mon

Carbon will be fine, I have a CF race bike and although it's nice and stiff when putting the power down, it doesn't have the slightly jarring quality of my principia alu race bike.

oldwelshman what pressures are you riding at? Sounds like it might be too high, if it is then your going to be skipping on all but the perfectly flat roads, losing energy.

British roads can be pretty **** but thats no need to ride a spongy bike! So long as you don't get a super stiff CF bike and don't ride a stupid tyre pressures you'll have a very nice bike.

plug1n

The Pearson Carbon Audax is very nice but at £2K maybe over your budget

dcab

im 6ft 13st 5lb , i ride a cervelo rs a little out of your price range but no probs with comfort and the roads round here (lancs) are dire?i cant see a problem with carbon?

thexvw

Try a roubaix, great bike, I find it very comfortable.

oldwelshman

redddraggon wrote:

oldwelshman wrote:

Why get a carbon for sportives? They are too stiff for our rubbish roads

Even with the wavy forks and stays you have? You sure it isn't because you've got deep(ish) section carbon wheels with narrow tyres at high pressures?

My (cheap) carbon frame doesn't flex much, but I can handle the rough N. Wales roads, tyre pressure makes the biggest difference in my experience.

After the arse bumping I got on a race, for the sportive I put dura ace 7850cl wheels on at 90psi and still got an arse bumping

Boy is it nice on smooth roads though, just not the right geometry for roads in Pembroke Maybe I will move to Italy where most of the roads are nice.

How do the pros ride these frames in Paris Roubaix and other classics, theu must have an indestructable arse !!

pneumatic

Spesh Roubaix. Swift on smooth roads, forgiving on rough ones.

Spesh BG saddle (alias or avatar), kind on the rear, too.

HarryB

Old Welshman, unless I'm mistaken I have the same bling carbon bike as you. I've ridden three sportives so far this year on some pretty crappy roads and the bike has been really comfortable although it obviously does prefer smooth tarmac and so do I

sicrow

thexvw wrote:

Try a roubaix, great bike, I find it very comfortable.

agreed

giant_man

You have quite a choice, notably the Pearson Audax or Spesh roubaix and tarmacs, or what about the Kinesis KR-810 which is quite rated. They also do the Gran Fondo which is scandium alu, something different:

http://kinesisbikes.co.uk/product.php?id=44

You could go for one of the Argon 18 frames, Platinum or the Gallium for carbon as well as one of the Pinarellos, not the Prince cos that's about a grand over your budget. One of the De Rosas could be your thing - The Avant is nice and I believe the Idol is about 1600 quid now, I've ridden it and it is excellently dampened to any rough surface roads.

You have a helluva choice. I've just scratched the surface here. Don't listen to the carbon knockers, for a sportive carbon is the first material i would think of for comfort.

gkerr4

sicrow wrote:

thexvw wrote:

Try a roubaix, great bike, I find it very comfortable.

agreed

seconded - you can't rule out a roubaix - it is what it was designed for .

I have the s-works built up with campag group & wheels - I don't know how they make a bike so stiff feeling and yet so comfortable! sections of road where the tarmac is starting to break up would have my fillings out on my alu bikes (a trek pilot and a specialized langster) but the roubaix just glides over them.

I think my bike would be comfier again if I had went for handbuilt wheels or campag neutron ultra's instead of the ultra-stiff Eurus that I went for (they look great though!)

il_principe

oldwelshman wrote:

Why get a carbon for sportives? They are too stiff for our rubbish roads
I rode 112 miles last week in Pembroke sportive and at times was hanging on to my bars for my life !! Carbonm frames are not forgiving enough for our bumpier roads.
Today I rode the dragon and it was ok for 98% of the orute but on the descent of the bwlch, again I was hanging onto the bike and it felts I was riding on two flat tyres !!
For sportives in UK next year I am using my 853 winter bike as my backside is sore again !!

Speak for yourself! I did the Dragon on my Pinarello Prince without any trouble at all. I find my carbon prince is far more forgiving than my Alu Focus, and the Prince is one stiff bike! If you are getting sore may I suggest better shorts/saddle/chamois cream?!

EDIT: Just seen that you have a Prince as well! I have to concur with the others then, is it the wheels or is your pressure too high? I'm with Harry and have found my Prince to be very comfy unless the road is truly awful.

Garry H

giant mancp wrote:

You have quite a choice, notably the Pearson Audax or Spesh roubaix and tarmacs, or what about the Kinesis KR-810 which is quite rated. They also do the Gran Fondo which is scandium alu, something different:

http://kinesisbikes.co.uk/product.php?id=44

Would second the kinesis. The difference between this and my alu bike is night and day. Ride around Edinburgh and the borders, where roads are super cr@p. I'm only 65 kg though, so htis may help. I think there's a review on here somewhere