Newcomer advice on a bike for £1k : Help!!!

RSV_Ecosse

Hi,

I know you guys must have seen a million threads like this, but I am a complete newbie to road cycling and I'm looking for advice.

My employer recently signed up to "Cyclescheme" and I intend to grab myself a good road bike through it.

It will be mostly used for a mainly rural commute a few times a week as well as some long runs in my spare time.

I'm looking at around the £1k mark to spend.

Having spoken to a guy on another shift at work who is seriously into road cycling, I took his advice on a few models to look at.

Unfortunately, the three I sort of had "shortlisted" are not available through the partner shops listed under our Cyclescheme. They were:-

Focus Cayo 2008
Dolan Mythos
Planet-X Carbon

Bit of a pain, Wiggle have the Focus tied up pretty tight and they are not part of the scheme my employer has signed up to. And I really, really had my heart set on a Cayo.



I did hear that Halfords can source you pretty much anything, but after browsing a few bike forums, it seems this is not now the case. Perhaps something to do with them pushing their own @£1k road bike, the Carrera Virago Carbon?. I dunno.....can anyone confirm that Halfords will not source a Cayo or Mythos for customers?.

Anyhow, I'm now looking at two bikes at the £1k mark and would appreciate some comments on them.

Pinarello FP1 2008
Bianchi 1885 Hydro Carbon Veloce B4P

Both appear to be stonking value for money, especially the Pinarello. The 1885 always gets good write ups.

I'm new to all this, so I have little idea as to the specs between the Pinarello and the Bianchi and how they compare.

Any advice appreciated.

nferrar

Not sure on those bikes but if I were just getting into cycling I'd look at one of the newer type relaxed geometry bikes. Can highly recommend the Specialized Roubaix Elite, 2008 model reduced to £1099 currently and summer offer also with 10% of the value in free accessories (this seems to be available from all Specialized dealers).

If your mate is a serious roadie he'll be used to the more extreme position of a traditional road bike, they take some getting used to (just returned to road cycling myself and couldn't believe how uncomfortable my old road bike seemed when I tried to ride it). I guess as with most things you get used to it after a while but unless you plan on road racing/criteriums in the near future I don't see the point in going for traditional geometry.

redddraggon

Do a search, there's literally hundreds of threads asking about £1K bikes.

wiffachip

redddraggon wrote:

Do a search, there's literally hundreds of threads asking about £1K bikes.

aye, he knows there's loads of threads, but the point is, he doesn't want to read them all, he just wants some concise advice

would be canny interested meself, like

redddraggon

wiffachip wrote:

aye, he knows there's loads of threads, but the point is, he doesn't want to read them all, he just wants some concise advice

Perhaps people don't want to repeat the same "concise advice" three times a day.

RSV_Ecosse

@REDDRAGGON......No offence but I am asking for advice in the "Beginners" section.

I know where you are coming from with your "ZZZZZ.........Use teh Search button...n00b" thing, I've seen it loads of times before on other forums I am a member of.

However, I usually post a few links or bits of info on such occassions, when a "newbie" posts up.

I'll happily take onboard the "Concise advice.....3 times a day" thoughts if you could simply point me in the right direction of the threads concerned.

Thanks.

redddraggon

Using the search function I have found the following threads in record breaking time:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... 31000+bike

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... 31000+bike

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... 31000+bike

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... %C2%A31000

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... %C2%A31000

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... %C2%A31000 (notice the second post in this thread, making the same comment as me.)

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... %C2%A31000

And there's probably more if I keep looking...

RSV_Ecosse

Thanks for the links, thats a good start for me, and pretty much all I asked for.

Hope it wasn't too much trouble for you to look up for me, I appreciate it. 8)

redddraggon

RSV_Ecosse wrote:

Thanks for the links, thats a good start for me, and pretty much all I asked for.

Hope it wasn't too much trouble for you to look up for me, I appreciate it. 8)

No problem The search function on Bikeradar can be a bitch.

wiffachip

redddraggon wrote:

RSV_Ecosse wrote:

Thanks for the links, thats a good start for me, and pretty much all I asked for.

Hope it wasn't too much trouble for you to look up for me, I appreciate it. 8)

No problem The search function on Bikeradar can be a bitch.

as are some of the members, me especially

Vroomfondel

Howdy there, my employer has also made the massive mistake of signing up with Halfords as the sole supplier of the C2W scheme (being one of the largest employers in West Yorkshire, they've had a fair few complaints). I had my heart set on the Bianchi 928 C2C 105... As asked before, has anyone had any past experience with Halfords sourcing bikes they would not normally stock like the Bianchi???

Call me a snob but i dont think i could fork out £1000 (£600 with discount) on a Carrera!!

Steve_F

When I got my bike I asked what they could get and the Focus bikes weren't a problem, as long as you were happy to pay list price. Bianchi weren't a problem either, they had one there being delivered for another customer when i went into look at what they had available.

Just phone up Halfords business services and ask, them might say no but at least you know.

I ended up getting a Giant and there was a bit of a delay (3 weeks I think) getting it delivered but no problems apart from that.

Vroomfondel

Thanks Steve, I sure do like the Focus range but im not sure how well they will do in the comfort and vibration dampening stakes for long rides compared the Bianchi 928 C2C... Can anyone tell me a similar Focus model to rival the comfort of the Bianchi C2C range? Or any other bike for that matter?

Steve_F

If you've got your heart that set on the Bianchi you'd always be wondering if you made the right choice if you go for something else.

I'd never buy sonething I couldn't ride first and I don't think it would be too easy to exchange bikes through C2W.

Rich Hcp

Try the Bianchi, you have too....

I just got a new MTB through C2W and I always wanted an Orange, so I tried a G3 and got it!

If I'd just gone and got a Rockhopper Disc, second choice, I'd have been happy, but always wondered....

You need tio try what you buy, it's very important

Vroomfondel

I might be leaving my job anyways and going back to uni so no C2W scheme for me if i pass the interview... But then i will just have to join the uni road cycling and triathlon team to show them kids how to ride, then i would have to pay full price for a Bianchi 928... the horror. I dont think my crappy ancient Dawes would cut the mustard

RSV_Ecosse

Hi folks,

Sorry, not had time to look back in here since my last post.

I'm off through to Velo Ecosse in Edinburgh this afternoon after emailing them last week.

Think I'm going for one of their Pinarello FP1's. Going to have a good look at it then nip to MacDonalds Cycles and check out the Bianchi 1885.

I'm hoping to blag a freebie or two out of either store, would be nice if they agree to chuck in a set of pedals or something.

Nipping through on the Mille ( easier to park a motorbike than a car in Edinburgh ) so should not be long and hopefully will report back with a result!!! 8)

RSV_Ecosse

Apologies for the "thread bumpage".

I finally plumped for the Pinarello FP1.

Looks fantastic, even better in the flesh than in pics.

Velo Ecosse are doing the 2008 model for £800 on offer. Yeah, I know its got Tiagra on it and some folk have commented that I could have done better as far as the groupset goes, but then I can always upgrade at a later date if I even feel the need to do so.

Went in, got sized up for the correct frame and put me deposit down on a 54cm one.

Just waiting for my C2W voucher to arrive now!!!

ris

honest opinion here but if you are a cycling newbie then spunking a grand on a bike is a big thing to do. just because the company will give you it doesn't mean you have to spend it all and you are paying it off out of your pay packet (minus the 17.5% blah).

you could get something that is a bit more relaxed as a starter (giants, bianchi, spesh, etc all have good entry level road bikes for 5-600 quid). if you have your heart set on blowing the grand then spend the rest on bits and kit, if you really are a newb then you will spend that easily on pedals, shoes, jackets, shorts, punps, spare inners, lights etc.

CyclingBantam

Vroomfondel wrote:

Howdy there, my employer has also made the massive mistake of signing up with Halfords as the sole supplier of the C2W scheme (being one of the largest employers in West Yorkshire, they've had a fair few complaints). I had my heart set on the Bianchi 928 C2C 105... As asked before, has anyone had any past experience with Halfords sourcing bikes they would not normally stock like the Bianchi???

Call me a snob but i dont think i could fork out £1000 (£600 with discount) on a Carrera!!

You don't work for HBoS do you? I do and am having the same issues. I am currently waiting for a call back from Halfrauds to tell me if they can outsource bikes. I will let you know if I find out.

Juju_uk_68

I got a Bianchi through Halfords. I had it delivered to a locak Bikehut stand alone store who knew what they were doing withsetting up as well.

My only query is that someone on this forum told me they must have sourced an 07 bike for me, due to the colour being metalic silver rather than black white or celeste. But the spec seems exactly the same, and I actually like the colour, so no worries.