Claude Butler?

clarkie28

Good evening peeps!

Have seen a Claude Butler Milano in my LBS and it looks like a lovely bike, although i know nothing about bikes! To me it looks like and feels like a nicer bike than say the Giant fcr2 that everyone on the forum seems to favour, not that i ridden either bike yet!

Does any of you guys have the Claude Butler at all?
What sort of reputation does Claude Butler have these days?

Thanks so much for your help,

Clarkie28

wiffachip

'What sort of reputation does Claude Butler have these days?'

on a par with Mike Ashley in a Bigg Market pub

chuckcork

I have a Roubaix Triple, which is down range from the Milano. An OK bike, but since I bought it in....April last year, I've done maybe 11,000km on it, about 6800 miles or so.

Since I bought it I've worn out just about everything that can be; wheels, chain, bearings, bottom bracket and so on. I've no idea of what would be routine for a bike, but I guess you pays your money and you find out....

If I was to start again in buying a road bike I would buy my most recent bike again, which is a Dawes Audax Supreme. Much nicer to be riding a steel frame on potholed'n'patched roads, though I do appreciate at times the "responsive" feeling of the aluminium frame of the CB.

I guess if I was looking at the CB range I'd see what kind of groupset it comes with and look at the quality of that? A bike really is just a frame of a particular kind of geometry designed to hand bits off that allow it to go after all.

Lagavulin

wiffachip wrote:

'What sort of reputation does Claude Butler have these days?'

on a par with Mike Ashley in a Bigg Market pub

Eat My Dust

I had a CB Milano 2005 which I loved. In fact I've still got it , I use it on the turbo trainer. You'll find that in the price range of the Milano, all bikes are pretty much the same but with different coloured paint on them!

SCR Pedro

Hey there,

I have last years San Remo, and it's been money well spent. For a cheaper bike it's surprisingly comfortable over long runs and has been pretty low maintenance so far.

As for reputation? I think people on here like big names that are seen in the pro peloton. If Claud Butler started to supply CSC or Columbia, they'd be flying out the doors of LBS'.

I don't think you would be dissapointed with the Milano.

Cheers
Peter

Gav2000

I have a Claud Butler Vicenza and have used it for about 3 years now. It has the Campagnolo Xenon groupset and has served me well. It was well reduced when I bought it so I have been very pleased with it.

Having said all that I am now building a carbon framed bike which will end up costing about 3 times as much but I may keep the CB as it's in excellent condition and runs well.

Gav.

PS. My CB is not as lardy or overweight as Mike Ashley so I wouldn't use that analogy.

wiffachip

Gav2000 wrote:

PS. My CB is not as lardy or overweight as Mike Ashley so I wouldn't use that analogy.

aye, but the question wasn't about weight, it was about reputation, so I would

helene

I've got a 2007 Roubaix Triple (my first road bike), and it's served me well so far. However, if I was to pick again, on the same budget, I'd go for a different bike - you could get cheaper than CB for the same specs, and the main thing for me is the frame geometry.

The top tube on my 53cm CB is longer than that on my mate's 55cm Specialized, which made for an uncomfortable position to begin with (something I didn't have a clue about at the time - apparently a trademark of CB frames, though please correct me if I'm wrong).

However, post-adjustments, it's a lovely bike to have. And I haven't seen many of them around. Do shop around though, I reckon you could do better for the budget.

clarkie28

Thanks everyone for the advice. I got the impression from a lot of other questions on the forum that not everyone likes Claude Butler bikes.

Can anyone recommend any other bikes for £450-£550 for a beginner but that will last for a few years?

Thanks once again for all your help

Clarkie28

clarkie28

Thanks everyone for the advice. I got the impression from a lot of other questions on the forum that not everyone likes Claude Butler bikes.

Can anyone recommend any other bikes for £450-£550 for a beginner but that will last for a few years?

Thanks once again for all your help

Clarkie28

clarkie28

Thanks to everyone for your help and advice. I have got the impression from other questions from people on the forum that Claude Butlers arent the most popular!

Can anyone recommend a bike for £450-£550 for a beginner that will last for a few years?

Thanks once again for your help

clarkie28 :?

clarkie28

Dont know what happened there! :oops:

stevewj

Built a Milano up into a TT bike as I got the frame cheap off ebay and did some good tts on it till it got nicked out of my shed. I liked it - solid and well made frame.

teagar

I had a friend who bought a San Remo. Was built like a tank. Weighed like one too. (The bike that is...)

For £450-500 you should be able to pick up the entry level Spesh or Giant which, for the money, are pretty good.

I still ride my entry level Spesh (with a few upgrades), and I got it 3 years ago

jimycooper

as much as i personly have nothing agianst them they are the lowest of the low!
and as for csc using them LOL if they did (e.g. bjane riis was on crack) they wouldn't sell in your LBS so there you go claud butler in one

pbt150

helene wrote:

The top tube on my 53cm CB is longer than that on my mate's 55cm Specialized, which made for an uncomfortable position to begin with (something I didn't have a clue about at the time - apparently a trademark of CB frames, though please correct me if I'm wrong).

It's a 56 cm Specialized Allez , and your riding position certainly doesn't LOOK comfortable!

...and I'd say for a bike for around the £500 mark it's great, I think it's the same frame as the Sport and Elite, so it's a good one to keep for upgrades, and the kit that comes with it still works great after around 1500 miles.

loz*

i've got a 2006 Roubaix which, while being uncool, is absolutely fine as a first bike. I got mine for £200 off ebay though (as good as new) - I doubt i'd have bought it from new though as there are so many other sexy brands. Still use my Roubaix for the commute (did 40 miles today)

Mettan

clarkie28 wrote:

Thanks everyone for the advice. I got the impression from a lot of other questions on the forum that not everyone likes Claude Butler bikes.

Can anyone recommend any other bikes for £450-£550 for a beginner but that will last for a few years?

Thanks once again for all your help

Clarkie28

In the £250 - £350 range Claude Butler's/Saracen's/Dawes are all perfectly adequate, well made and reliable first Road bikes - however, since you've mentioned £450 - £550, you could get something like an SCR 2 - £ 544

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2008

It's got a Triple, so there's plenty of scope for hard Sportive's and similar. A quick wheel upgrade on the SCR 2 would give you a competent training bike.

littleandy0410

You can get the Giant SCR 1.5 for £499 in the sale at the moment, even better than the SCR 2

Juju_uk_68

'What sort of reputation does Claude Butler have these days?'

on a par with Mike Ashley in a Bigg Market pub

Yep, ignorant, overwight and delusional know it alls dont like them.

wiffachip

Juju_uk_68 wrote:

'What sort of reputation does Claude Butler have these days?'

on a par with Mike Ashley in a Bigg Market pub

Yep, ignorant, overwight and delusional know it alls dont like them.

oh dear another punter who can't understand the question, or the answer

he was querying their reputation, not the bikes themselves, which is a different matter - got it ?

Eat My Dust

When I bought my CB, it was almost identical spec and price to the Allez. I rode both bikes and TBH it came down to a preference of colour as they were so similar.

DuncSF

I bought a CB Roubaix to get into my cycling and I've ridden it on the Continent and always felt happy to throw it around. In fact it did get a good budget bike review in Cycling weekly 2 years ago.

The other advantage of a budget bike is that you can upgrade wheels, tyres, saddle, bars and so on over time, which is what I've done and I don't mind tinkering with the CB rather than my Spec Allez, so I 've learnt a lot of basic mechanics on the CB.

I tend to use the CB for wet winter rides and on my turbo.

There is huge snobbery in bikes, but also some strong brand loyalty.
Each to their own.

Who would have thought Halfords would have broken into the Road bike market as they have - people always used to mock Halfords, some still do, but they've eneterd the market.

munroer

Hi
This month's 220 Triathlon magazine rates the Merida Road 880 quite highly.
Looks like a well specced bike for £380
Even less if you can get your employer to sign up to the cycle2work scheme
Dunk

bigflangesmallsprocket

When I first got back into cycling I checked out the Claud Butlers. I did notice their top tubes seemed a bit on the long side, and looking at some of their flat bar bikes I realised that they were using the same frames, so a bit of corner cutting here. can't comment on current frames, but this did suggest to me putting price before quality.