What Road Bike?

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  • compo
    compo Posts: 1,370
    wingnuts77 wrote:
    Hi,

    New here but need advise.

    Ali or steel frame for a road bike to commute via the C2W scheme around £1000.

    A friend at work suggests steel but I have no idea, so any help would be appreciated.

    Thanks in advance,

    Wingnuts

    http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/best-road-bikes-under-1000-29719/
    GREAT SUCCESS!

    Canyon Nerve XC7

    Stolen Carrera Vulcan
  • crouchy100
    crouchy100 Posts: 3
    Hi I am new to cycling and am looking at buying my son a road bike. I have seen a Specialized Allez 2009 up for say for £200 is this a good price or should I be looking at something else?

    Thanks!
  • Kurowsk1
    Kurowsk1 Posts: 3
    I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice.

    I am looking to buy my first modern road bike and I have two options really:

    The classically recommended on here, Triban 3. £299.

    or
    Frame- Ribble ultralite racing (alloy) size 52.5
    Fork- Prolite carbon
    Derallieurs- Shimano 2300
    Cassette/Chain- Shimano Tiagra 8 speed 12-25
    Crank- Bontrager sport triple 30-42-52
    Shifters- Shimano Sora
    Bars/stem/ seatpost- Bontrager sport.
    F/wheel- Campagnolo (campagnolo veloce hub)
    R/wheel- Bontrager (off Trek madone)- Only done 35miles.
    Brakes- Unbranded alloy, from Trek 1000

    From my friend for about £250 odd.

    The story for his bike is as follows:
    In 2011 I had a Trek 1000 and the frame cracked so I bought the Ribble frame /fork (£220) to replace it.
    In September 2012 I got a Trek madone for my 21st and therefore the Ultralite became redundant. I decided to take the wheels off the ultralite (because I had built them myself and they had shimano 105 hubs that I wanted to keep) to put on the old winter training bike I have.
    The next day I crashed the madone, writing off some parts but leaving others unscathed- The rear wheel was fine so I put it on the Ultralite. (Got new madone so didn’t need old back wheel).
    Front wheel is off a Fondriest Mega that a guy in the village sold me for parts- The gears on this bike were knackered so I split it up for parts (as replacing the whole lot would have been too pricey).

    The only issue is that the frame size of the Ultralite is probably slightly on the small size, aka I'd be at the top end of the frame size.

    What do people reckon? Good deal?
  • wideboy
    wideboy Posts: 206
    Hi all, im thinking about treating myself to a new road bike, keeping my trek 1200 that has been with me for 8 years and covered 1000's of miles and use it as a winter ride. Id like carbon and obviously the best group set I can .I have a figure in mind of £ 1500 I like the look of specialized tarmac and Wilier bikes in my local bike shop.

    Give me you thoughts on what you would buy with the money? Id be mostly using it for sportive and club rides upto a125 miles.

    Thanks for your help.
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    wideboy wrote:
    Hi all, im thinking about treating myself to a new road bike, keeping my trek 1200 that has been with me for 8 years and covered 1000's of miles and use it as a winter ride. Id like carbon and obviously the best group set I can .I have a figure in mind of £ 1500 I like the look of specialized tarmac and Wilier bikes in my local bike shop.

    Give me you thoughts on what you would buy with the money? Id be mostly using it for sportive and club rides upto a125 miles.

    Thanks for your help.

    For £1,500 I'd get a Trek Domane 4.3 (listed as £1,800 but should be able to get it close to £1,500). If rigid £1,500 budget then Domane 4.0 and upgrade the groupset later, or Madone 3.1
  • 5nakey
    5nakey Posts: 16
    Hi All

    yet another road bike noob to add my banal question to the already extensive list above me :D

    i have £800 on a C2W voucher and hav narrowed my choice down to the Felt F95 or Z95. based mainly on the fact i can't find a bad word on the internet about either of these bikes and also i'm not gonna lie i love the colours :lol: Planning on test riding these 2 and basing my decision on which one i feel better on. i'm a bit of a lump at 6' 4" and the wrong side of 15st :oops:

    I'm hoping that the remaining £150 will be enough for cheap pedals (which i will upgrade at a later date when i'm slight more solvent than currently), A lock and helmet.

    Is there any other absolute standout bikes i should be looking at? there is so much on the market that a stab in the dark a something that has plenty of good reviews seems as good a way forward as any untill i know what i'm about a bit more.

    pretty long post for what is essentially a very simple qusetion - nevermind.
  • wideboy
    wideboy Posts: 206
    http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBP ... _road_bike

    Hi all could I get your opinions (good or bad) on the planet X pro carbon linked above. Anyone already own one? Thinking about possibly taking a trip to go test one out. Kind regards
  • DSB_79
    DSB_79 Posts: 1
    Hi Folks,
    Hope you're all doing well.
    I need some help trying to decide what road bike I'd like to get.
    My budget is between £1000 and £1500, and I really like the idea of getting a steel frame road bike.
    I've been eyeing up the Genesis Equilibrium 20 for some time now, and it seems quite appealing. However, I wonder if it would be suitable for my needs and want to get some opinions on it, or maybe another type of bike altogether.
    I've recently joined a cycle club and I am currently using my Genesis Vapour (2010 model) which has some decent road wheels on it. This seems to be holding up just fine at the moment, but when it comes to doing distances it gets a bit uncomfortable. Hence, wanting to up-grade.
    My idea is that I will be doing Sunday rides, a least a few sportives through the year, and maybe some racing. Do you think that the Equilibrium 20 would be suitable? Thoughts and comments welcome.
    Many thanks
    D
  • peterblackwell
    peterblackwell Posts: 5
    Hi all,

    Read through most of the thread, but I could do with a recommendation for a road bike around the £700 price point. Apparently the Boardman 2012/2013 Race Bike suits my needs nicely. Thoughts on this?

    One of the things I'm slightly unsure of is that the gears. I hear that the Sora (non-STI) can be difficult/impossible to shift up when going downhill. Is that right? Is it something you get used to? I tried looking it up on youtube but couldn't find anything.

    My background: bought a hybrid about 2 months ago, then promptly signed up for what I thought would be a nice charity bike in August. Turned out it was some Prudential 100 mile thing. I've been training on my hybrid for the last couple of months and it's limitations became quickly apparent. Coupled with the fact that I am LOVING cycling at the moment, even in the crappy weather, means that I want to get a decent entry level road bike that's more future proof than the truly budget ones.

    Any thoughts welcome. Cheers!
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    The old sora use thumbshift and getting to them on the drops is nasty. Chances are that you would be in your fast gears as you start descending so you get on your drops then. Must admit mine are fine as I rarely use the drops with having a dodgy back.
  • peterblackwell
    peterblackwell Posts: 5
    I found the below image of a Sora thumb shift, and I think I understand it slightly better now. Do you flick that thing up or down to change up? Any why is it so difficult to get to when going downhill? I can kinda see why it might be tricky, but not completely impossible.

    1341813262530-lbicprv8mquf-670-75.jpg


    Also, and this is a newbie question, on my hybrid, the gear shifters on each side do the opposite of what the other side does (i.e. f licking up goes up a gear on the right shifter, but on the left it drops down a gear). Do the thumb shifters on both sides of a Sora go up a gear? Or is that just on the left?

    Hopefully that makes sense...

    Edited as it censored out the word f licking!
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    You push down on it, and as the pic, some people cant reach it on the drops, on the hoods I find them no problem at all
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    oh, both sides go "down" the gears.

    Right push to go down to fastest, left push drops down to inner chainring
  • peterblackwell
    peterblackwell Posts: 5
    OK - when you say 'right push' do you mean when you press the right brake inward it drops a gear, and the thumb shift on the right goes up? And same on the other side?

    And what do you mean by 'hoods'?

    Sorry for asking what are undoubtedly obvious questions, but I'm yet to find a decent newbie guide on this sort of thing beyond explaining the concepts.
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    Push on left lever changes to big chainring, pushing down on the thumb lever drops it to small chainring.
    Push on right lever changes to a bigger cog at the back, pushing down on the thumb lever drops it to smaller cog at the back.

    The hoods are the black bits next to the thumb in the pics :-)
  • peterblackwell
    peterblackwell Posts: 5
    Gotcha, thanks :)
  • peterblackwell
    peterblackwell Posts: 5
    Also just figured out that when people say 'drops' they mean the handlebars, not that you're going (dropping) downhill :lol:

    Did wonder why that gear changing would be particularly difficult going downhill.

    Oh well, I'll get used to the lingo eventually!
  • cheekimunkie
    cheekimunkie Posts: 2
    Another what bike forum post for a cycle to work scheme...

    Price: Upto £650 (less if possible so I can get some kit with it)
    Type: Road (although a fixie is tempting)

    Other limitations: Has to be from Evans as they're the only people my company deals with.
  • 5nakey
    5nakey Posts: 16
    cheekimunkie wrote:
    Another what bike forum post for a cycle to work scheme...

    Price: Upto £650 (less if possible so I can get some kit with it)
    Type: Road (although a fixie is tempting)

    Other limitations: Has to be from Evans as they're the only people my company deals with.


    i am in this exact situation.

    i narrowed it down to

    claude butler roubaix
    pinnacle dolomite 3
    felt f95

    i'm just waiting for the felt to come back into stock so i can go and pick it up - can't see there is much between any of these in terms of spec and i can only find glowing reviews of the felt online so......
  • pyrowill
    pyrowill Posts: 40
    Just wondering if anyone has any input on this, I got hit by a van and the inurance paid out and got me £550 for my Allez.

    I'm wanting to upgrade about the 800-1000 mark. Was thinking about either the:
    Boardman Carbon Ltd Edition/ all carbon/Tiagra & 105 £999
    Boardman Team / Alu frame/105 front and back £999
    Planet X Pro Carbon All carbon SRAM Rival £999

    Should be noted Boardmans have 10% off aswell so 800...
  • grantus
    grantus Posts: 690
    PX - great bike plus higher resale value I would expect than the Boardman.

    Never ridden a Boardman but have owned a PX and wish I hadn't sold it
    www.westlothianclarion.co.uk
  • lama4
    lama4 Posts: 2
    wow,thanks for your advice and information,that's really helpful and have saved me a lot of time from seclecting a new bicyle.



    http://www.rctophobby.com/rc-helicopters/shop-by-brand/esky.html
  • fatboyslimmin
    fatboyslimmin Posts: 5
    Hi
    going to dip my toe in the road bike world was looking at these two

    Battaglin s11 sora 2013 €617 from wiggle http://www.wiggle.co.uk/battaglin-s11-sora-2013/
    Triban 5a €500 from decathlon

    triban seems to be same spec but many people complain about the wheels that come with it,so if you allow for upgrade of wheels the battaglin seems better value

    any thoughts?
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    On all sub 1000 quid bikes the wheels aren't that great, so chances are the other isn't miles ahead anyway

    for me Triban 5
  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,120
    £1000-1500 to spend, weird shape so ideally compact frame (173cm tall, 77cm inseam (short legs), bit of a lardy lad (90kg)

    Current bike a 2010 CAAD8 which is a nice ride, but the 54 is just too big for me - had to drop the stem from 100 to a 90 and only 4-5cm of seat pillar showing

    Bike will be used for weekend riding only, have other bikes to do dirty stuff, etc.

    Thanks in advance
    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • NCFC
    NCFC Posts: 33
    Hi,

    My work recently announced they were going to offer the cycle to work scheme. I've cycled all my life, from BMX trail riding up to 20, then mountain biking up until 30, but I'm now upping the mileage and not doing any 'extreme sport' style cycling so wanted to get myself a road bike.

    I've got up to £1000 to spend, which is for bike + accessories (if required). I've been researching for the last couple of weeks and I think I've narrowed it down to two bikes.

    http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2013.giant.defy.1.white.black.red/11833/56802/

    http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/synapse-6-tiagra-compact-2013-road-bike-ec042920

    I have found the 2012 Synapse for £849, whereas the best price I've found for the Defy 1 is £999. The 2014 Defy releases are immanent, so I'm holding out for a few weeks in the hope that the 2013 Defy 1 price comes down.

    In the mean time I wanted to get some advice from more experienced riders. I'm leaning more towards the Giant because it's 105 parts vs Tiagra on the Synapse, but the SAVE tech on the Cannondale bikes sounds pretty good, especially considering the state of the some of the roads around this way.

    I have some concerns over the bottom bracket on the Synapse though. I've heard that because it uses Shimano pieces but a BB30 BB then it may need some kind of converter, which is basically adding yet another component into the mix that could potentially fail.

    This bike is going to be used all year round. 12 miles every day and then longer rides at weekends. I'm going to need mudguards, so I've considered shelling out a bike extra for ones that'll last me:-

    https://www.ridepdw.com/goods/fenders/full-metal-fenders

    Any thoughts on SAVE, the Synapse bottom bracket, and these mudguards would be appreciated. Any other comments or suggestions welcome too.

    Thanks.
  • spoonmerchant
    spoonmerchant Posts: 1
    Hello

    I have never owned a road bike. I have been mountain biking for years and I commute to work everyday and I am starting to do longer road trips at the weekend...on a mountain bike with hybrid tyres on...I think it's time to take the plunge and buy an actual road bike.

    So it turns out they're pretty pricey. I am looking at less than £600....I've had a look about and seen:

    Specialized Allez Compact 2013
    Pinnacle Dolomite 2 2013

    (well I say I've had a look about, they're just the two cheapest/highly rates bikes on Evans website)

    Can anyone recommend alternatives or endorse the above? I'm thinking that I might need a frame that will take panniers should I decide to do a short tour, but I'm not going to buy a touring bike as this would be a 2/3 time a year event...I know the Allez doesn't allow this.

    I'm also keeping a lookout for a not very used 2nd hand bike...Unfortunately my employer has finished Cycle to work for this year...but decent bikes seem to come and go on Gumtree...

    Thanks!
  • MrStinkyFerret
    MrStinkyFerret Posts: 5
    Getting a Felt Z95 on Monday as my first road bike anyone got any reasons as to why I shouldn't purchase this bike. Looks exceptionally good to me. Thoughts?
  • enisdem
    enisdem Posts: 9
    I have these 3 favs for under £350 ... I am rookie and wanna get into cycling habit ... gonna be for commuting ... Any advice ?

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360666814629? ... 1438.l2648
    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330936507660? ... 1438.l2648
    http://www.sportsdirect.com/col-de-turi ... ike-933090
  • priory
    priory Posts: 743
    I would get the raleigh and it would be a good winter trainer or first road bike . The problem with buying a bike on-line like these is what to do when it needs fixing if you have no toolset and no experience . Having a local shop that you can take it to without embarrassment is a boon. It may be worth quite a bit more to have that assurance.

    personally I have bought various bikes second hand or on-line, but I have confidence that I can fix most problems, being the sort that reassembles bikes quite often. Recently I had an unfixable problem with a bike that I bought from the raleigh factory shop and they sorted it immediately with no fuss, so I was glad to have that resource.
    Raleigh Eclipse, , Dahon Jetstream XP, Raleigh Banana, Dawes super galaxy, Raleigh Clubman

    http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z122 ... =slideshow

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