Which bike of these 3???

Clum84

Hi,im about to go on a ride from belguim down to the north of italy and so am finally going to get myself a road bike as i dont fancy the trip on my MTB much! Looking to keep the price down as much as poss as the bike will likely be getting chucked about quite a bit as i'll be camping and carrying panniers ect. The 3 bikes i've been looking at around the £350 mark are...

1) CLaud Butler Roubaix - http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B2480.html
2) Giant SCR 4 - http://www.veloecosse.com/sess/utn;jses ... shopscript
3) GT GTR 5 - http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/products. ... 1b0s6p2497

At the moment i'm leaning towards the claud butler as it has fittings for panniers and has prob the best spec, but i've been offered the GT for £300 and as it also has a decent spec im a bit torn. Will pannier racks be able to fir on the GT even if it doesnt have eyelets ect? I'll be travelling seriously light so wont be putting huge bags on. The Giant has by far the worst spec so is prob my last choice although i did try on at my LBS and it fitted well, even with my ridiculous 28" inside leg......im 5,10".....dam short legs!

Any opinions on which of these 3 or any others i might have missed would be appreciated.

Cheers

DonDaddyD

Its a pain when people suggest bikes that aren't on your list but honestly, you can pick up a Giant SCR3 for £370 from Here

Sora front mech, Tiagra back mech, Sora shifters, Carbon fork.

I've got one, love it.

littleandy0410

I would avoid the Giant as it's carbon frame might not be up to the knocks and scrapes which are inevitable on your trip. I personally like the GT, especially if you can find it for £300!

Clum84

The SCR 3 for £370 is brilliant! Dont know how i missed that as ive been searching google for weeks now. Think that bike will prob be the best bet, if only for the extra chainring which should make the alps a bit easier!

Thanks for the info.

Lagavulin

littleandy0410 wrote:

I would avoid the Giant as it's carbon frame...

The GIANT SCR4 doesn't have a carbon frame. It is aluminium and and I don't think it even has a carbon fork.

That SCR3 looks a good deal.

littleandy0410

http://www.veloecosse.com/sess/utn;jsessionid=1548b06331d7445/shopdata/index.shopscript

Yep, you're right, the above link is obviously wrong. I was a bit surprised!

I'll shut up now! :oops:

DonDaddyD

Amongst a lower groupset the SCR 4 doesn't have a carbon fork.

SCR 3 is great, I'm 5'10/11 I've got a large and fits perfect. I play with the handle bars, I set them lower on weekends and higher for my commute. It's amazing the difference in the delivery of speed that makes. Overall its a good workhorse and entry bike into the Road bike world. I will say that the bike doesn't feel as fast as it could be but I think that's part of its purpose as I'm sure I'll love upgrading/tarting it up (though it doesn't need it) making it my own little project and contemplating what proper carbon race bike I should go for next year.....

In other words the SCR 3 will consume you....