New Road Bike.

gt3mad

Hi,

I have a Specialized Custom X Hard Tail, but I realy enjoy watching road racing, I watched all of the Tour De France and I was looking at road bikes today and yesterday, and there was a particular bike that caught my eye, but its way out of my prive range.

Can some one give me some ideas on wat type of bike and brand that i should be lookin at, My price Is rufely £2000 is this to litle or to much.

Cheres

gt3 mad

Rich Hcp

I'd say £2k is too much for your first roadie, well, I think it is, what if you don't like it?

I'd get something like a Specialized Allez Sport (I'm bias, I got one!) or similar, Trek, etc

The Allez has a good frame and reasonable components, easily upgradeable if you really get in to it and you could use it as a daily commuter if you get something flashier later.

You'll find it so much faster than the MTB that spending more than about £1000 will make little difference to you.

dcab

if your happy spending £2k spend it ! i did because i knew that if i got a cheap bike i would have wanted a better one ? at the end of the day its your hard earned cash and oppinions are like ar*^ h&$%"s !

FSR_XC

What do you want to use the bike for?

And how much will you use it?

Most people won't spend anywhere near £2k on their first road bike. Most would spend between £400 & £1k. If you know you'll be seriously into time trials, out on club rides every weekend and entering races, or you have money to burn, then you might consider spending more.

There are some excellent bikes around for less than £1k.

kafkathedog

Wish I had 2k to spend.

If I did I would probably go for either:

Bianchi
or
Bianchi C2C
or
Focus Cayo Pro
or
Specialized Roubaix


Good Luck

gt3mad

Hi,

I would probaly use it 5 day's a week, riding back forth to work. I am live 45 minutes away from my work.

Nearly everyone who has replied back to me has said " 2K is to much for your first road bike, some people I have spoken to encluding dealers have said "go for either the Specialized Allez Sport, Bianchi, Bianchi C2C, Focus Cayo Pro, Specialized Roubaix.

I am 13.5 stone, are any of these bikes worth looking at for my weight.

So if I am only going to use her 5 days week, I probaly wont use her often on weekends and when I'm working from home she will just sit in my garage.

Is it worth looking at cheaper bike in this price range, £500-£1500, yes or no

Cheers

gt3mad

Anonymous

What I have been told is not to use my best bike for commuting, apparently it knackers them up or something but either way I would not lock a decent bike of that price range up anywhere and I've just got a new bike for around £600 and I still use my old cheaper road bike for commuting.

Sounds like it is just one that you will use mostly for commuting? 2K is too much then unless you plan on using it regular and doing propor rides I would not justify a 2K bike for just commuting.

Your weight should be no issue, when I started road biking I was 13.5 stone and my cheap bike coped fine, since I started cycling I've gone down to 11.5 stone.

£500-£800 max I'd say.

gkerr4

it's your money - if you really are GT3mad then you probably have the cash in the bank - I can think of much worse things than a new bike to spend my cash on.

I have an S-Works roubaix which I built up myself - build cost was around £1900 (but only cos I got the frame for £950 when it should have been £1400!)

If you want one ready-to-go from the shop then the roubaix expert is an ideal bike - not sure I'd use it for commuting though - you'd need somewhere pretty safe to lock it up at the far end.

your weight is neither here nor there as all bikes will cope with 13.5st easily.

markos1963

How about buying yourself a Ribble Audax for about 400 quid for the commute leaving you over 1500 for a nice weekend bike and some decent kit, job done and all bases covered

PS 2k isn't too much to spend on any bike if you can afford it, nobody would say the same thing if you were buying your first car!

gt3mad

Hi,

Thanks againg for helping me out, I realy like Specialized bikes, because I think There the best, and they make some good road bikes so I've heard, There are several models that I like and are not over £850 and are not under £500, which is better for me because It will only be in my garage on weekeds and days off etc. And I can get them all very easily with maybe a bit of discount, You may all be wondering why I want one, It's because I wont to be fit before I buy my Porsche 977 GT3 CUP race car, and I dont wont to know that I am an unfit racer, you owns a Porsche that costs a few bob.

The bikes that I might buy are,

Specialized 2008 Allez Sport Int'l Compact. For £699.99

Specialized 2008 Allez Int'l Triple. For 549.99

Specialized 2008 Allez Elite Compact. For 799.99

I have heard that they are all V Good.

Rich Hcp

That is more sensible!

I ride my bikes (I have an Orange G3 MTB & a Spez Allez Sport) to try to be fir enough to race karts

I'm crap, but enjoy it!

gt3mad

Hi,

So I might get a Specialized 2008 Allez Elite Compact. For 799.99 are there any reasons why I should'nt get one.

It looks fabulous in white and i realy like it I have not yet tested one.

Cheers,

Gt3 mad

Rich Hcp

No reason why you shouldn't go for it 8)

nferrar

I recently bought a Spec Roubaix Elite, highly recommend it and on offer atm (£1099 + 10% of value in accessories), at least in Concept stores. I'd say get one and buy decent accessories (shoes, shorts, pump, pedals etc.) with what you have left from £2k put it to one side and buy better wheels once you've ridden more and can appreciate the difference.

thamacdaddy

Gotta agree with spending less if you are mainly going to commute then work up to going out for longer rides etc....

sub 1000 would get you a great ride that I am sure you will love. The Allez elite has a good spec and frame so if you love it whats stopping you

blorg

gt3mad- £2k would be on the extreme side if this is your first bike full stop but if you are a serious mountain biker I wouldn't necessarily worry so much about it. On the other hand the bike will be fundamentally different so getting something a bit cheaper until you can figure out exactly what you need is good advice.

Specialized make good bikes, I have one myself, if you like them go for it. Only thing I would consider if looking at 800 for an Allez Elite would be to spend an extra 200 and get a Focus Cayo or Planet X - or if you can get a Roubaix on offer around the same, go for that.

FSR_XC

Can't fault Specialized - I commute 10.5miles (each way) on an Allez Elite (07), along with a few weekend rides and the odd 'Sprint' Tri.

07 model has better components, where as 08 model has a better frame.

Roubaix might also be worth a look.

meanwhile

Rich Hcp wrote:

I'd say £2k is too much for your first roadie, well, I think it is, what if you don't like it?

Road bike fit is extremely tricky, and tastes in frame material, geometry, etc, even more so. Buy a good secondhand bike off ebay for £200-300 and play with it for a few months before paying out the big money.

That said, Planet X seem to make some really nice road bikes and they generally seem to have a reputation for being 25% cheaper than equivalents, because of their direct sales policy. You also get to equip each bike as a custom.

jethro924

If you are commuting I would strongly advise ensuring that your new steed can take full length mudguards and a rack. I know you MTBers are hard and all that but I guarantee it will make the commuting experience much more enjoyable!

As for £2K, I know what I would buy, only because I am just about to buy my 6th bike and now know what I want. Personallly I would buy something cheap to commute on (Kona Smoke, Ribble jobbie, 2nd hand Galaxy, slicked up MTB etc) and leave yourself £1500 to buy yourself something nice and shiny for the weekend!

Vroomfondel

Howdy there all, im kinda new to this site, just signed up.

At the minute im struggling on a cheapo £300 Dawes roadie but the weight and the vibrations are killing me.

I have a liking for the Bianchi 928 C2C £1300 but my work have a C2W contract with Halfords (i phoned up HR and said my piece about that, she stated i wasnt the first to complain about that). would i be able to get Halfords to source me a Bianchi???

Or i can get someone to get me a Cannondale Synapse 105 Compact on a C2W scheme with Edinburgh Cycles.

Which do you recommend... the Bianchi 928 C2C or the Cannondale Synapse 105?? or are there better bikes in that price range with an upright and vibration dampening feel to it?

gt3mad

Hi,

Thank you all so much for all your coments, I just got back yesterday from a 2 week buissnes course and i was board so I went out and bought my new rodie, she is stuning rode her the first time to day to work is great.

Specialized Allez Elite Compact in wieght

Rich Hcp

Vroomfondel wrote:

I have a liking for the Bianchi 928 C2C £1300 but my work have a C2W contract with Halfords (i phoned up HR and said my piece about that, she stated i wasnt the first to complain about that). would i be able to get Halfords to source me a Bianchi???

Halfords should be able to get one, there are other schemes that use smaller shops, but your company needs to sign up for it

Rich Hcp

gt3mad wrote:

Hi,

Thank you all so much for all your coments, I just got back yesterday from a 2 week buissnes course and i was board so I went out and bought my new rodie, she is stuning rode her the first time to day to work is great.

Specialized Allez Elite Compact in wieght

Good choice and about the right money for your first roadie 8)