New bike help!

dwaller80

Hello everyone.

I'm looking at buying a new road bike through a Bikes for Work scheme to train for and complete a charity bike ride from Lands End to John O'Groats with some friends from University next year. The trip should take us a couple of weeks and we're hoping to cycle around 80 miles per day.

The problem I'm having at the moment is which bike to chose. This is my criteria:

1) Comfortable enough for 80 miles a day
2) Fast and efficient
3) Easy on the the lower back which I do have problems with.
4) Commuter friendly
5) A bike that will last, and one that I could perhaps after LE to JOG for road events

The trip will be assisted so I'm not too worried about attaching racks etc.

I really like the look of Specialized road bikes and the ones I've been to see in my local shop seem great.

Allez Elite 2009
Tricross Comp 2008
Roubaix Elite 2008 (I have seen this for £999 in one shop)

Could anyone give me any advice on the above or some good alternatives?

Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

David

parklaneyido

dwaller80 wrote:

Hello everyone.

I'm looking at buying a new road bike through a Bikes for Work scheme to train for and complete a charity bike ride from Lands End to John O'Groats with some friends from University next year. The trip should take us a couple of weeks and we're hoping to cycle around 80 miles per day.

The problem I'm having at the moment is which bike to chose. This is my criteria:

1) Comfortable enough for 80 miles a day
2) Fast and efficient
3) Easy on the the lower back which I do have problems with.
4) Commuter friendly
5) A bike that will last, and one that I could perhaps after LE to JOG for road events

The trip will be assisted so I'm not too worried about attaching racks etc.

I really like the look of Specialized road bikes and the ones I've been to see in my local shop seem great.

Allez Elite 2009
Tricross Comp 2008
Roubaix Elite 2008 (I have seen this for £999 in one shop)

Could anyone give me any advice on the above or some good alternatives?

Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

David

OMG! :shock:

dwaller80

Yeah....you can probably scrap that one!!! It's not going to be comfortable at all is it!!!

It's more about reducing the strain on my lower back which I do have a problem with following an accident a few years ago. I'm pretty new to road biking so I'm not sure how the geometry affects different parts of the body and what I should be looking out for. I'm looking at the Specialized models because I most told to look for bikes with sloping top tubes.....is this right or have I been told some porkies?!

I'm not very knowledgable at all so any advice for a newbie would be so welcome!

Slow Downcp

If you;ve had back issues, size will be the most important thing. Get to a good fitter and get checked out (not sure where you are based, but Paul Hewitt gets good recommendations). The best bike in the world will be uncomfotable if the wrong size.

dwaller80

I'm based in Worcester if that helps...

Slow Downcp

Try Echelon In Pershore - Not used them myself, but a couple of guys at work go there and recommend it for fitting.

il_principe

Yeah sizing and proper fitting is going to be key for you - actually it's always key anyway. I'd go for a "Sportive" bike if I where you - the Roubaix is one. These are designed for long days in the saddle and have slightly more relaxed geometry compared to out and out race bikes.

dwaller80

Thank you so much for your help. What other 'sportive' bikes come highly recommended for £1k or under?? The Roubaix is a great bike but this year's models are just too expensive

feel

could look at DAWES
and should leave some money left over for kit depending on model

dwaller80

I did have a look at Dawes but I don't think they're for me

alfablue

The Dawes Audax Supreme should meet all your requirements - comfy steel frame, relaxed geometry - I have an older Dawes Audax model and it is like a favourite armchair!

keef66

Try a visit to Epic Cycles near Tenbury Wells. Avoid the weekend though. Great advice, demo bikes and fitting expertise.

dwaller80

Great - I'll give them a go.

I've just done some more research in to the Cycle for Work scheme that my company operates and it seems i'm restricted to Halfords - arrrgh!! I gather I can get bikes on special order from them but i'm going to struggle with decent fitting!! Any recommendations??

It also means that my favoured bike, the 2008 Roubaix Elite, is no longer an option because Halfords can't supply this bike for £999.99 as advertised on another internet shop. Are there any bikes which are very similar that I should take a look at which I can source for Halfords and are under £1k??? I

Again I really appreciate all the help I'm getting!

alfablue

If you are in or near London, Condor supply Halfords for the Bike to Work scheme. They have the Aggio and Fratello bikes that can be specced under £1000 (from £799), they are very well liked by their owners and would seem to meet your needs, especially for comfort. They are also a little bit special and exclusive IMHO. http://www.condorcycles.com/fratello.html
http://www.condorcycles.com/agio.html

You could probably take your voucher direct to Condor, I think they take them, and they would do a good fitting service for you. Maybe even worth a special trip for this, I was considering doing so for their Heritage Tourer, and I am in Bath.

dwaller80

Thanks - I'm after something a little bit sportier though as I would like to take part in some events after the big trip next year.

Having thought about the Halfords bike scheme and all of the limitations, I think I will buy the bike off my own back and get one from my local bike shop instead. I'd much rather support the local shops and have their experise rather than use Halfords.

I went to my local shop yesterday to have a look at the new 2009 Specialized Roubaix Elite:

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jspa=b&minisite=10028&eid=117&spid=39265&language=US

What do you think? It's a beautiful looking bike when you see it in the shop. Are there any good alternatives to this?

I'm hoping to get a proper fitting organised for tomorrow as suggested by you helpful people!

alfablue

The Roubaix is great, but I don't think Condor's are not sporty! Cosmetically maybe they are more understated.

dwaller80

That's my naivety showing through!! They are cool looking bikes - just not for me.

For anyone that's interested, I've started a training blog to track my progress from uber unfit to superhero (not likely!) ready for the big trip next year. This is the link:

http://cycling-end-to-end.blogspot.com/

It's still in it early days (2 days to be precise!) but I hope to include loads of information as it progresses and hopefully be able to provide my own tips in due course and details of the fundraising effort etc

feel

dwaller80 wrote:

Thank you so much for your help. What other 'sportive' bikes come highly recommended for £1k or under?? The Roubaix is a great bike but this year's models are just too expensive

I see you are blowing your budget out of the water A very common scenario

the_hundredth_idiot

alfablue wrote:

If you are in or near London, Condor supply Halfords for the Bike to Work scheme. They have the Aggio and Fratello bikes that can be specced under £1000 (from £799), they are very well liked by their owners and would seem to meet your needs, especially for comfort. They are also a little bit special and exclusive IMHO. http://www.condorcycles.com/fratello.html
http://www.condorcycles.com/agio.html

You could probably take your voucher direct to Condor, I think they take them, and they would do a good fitting service for you. Maybe even worth a special trip for this, I was considering doing so for their Heritage Tourer, and I am in Bath.

+1 for this. I got a Condor Fratello recently direct from Condor via Bike to Work (Halfords). Good service and the bike feels a bit more individual. But be wary of going to Condor on a weekend - gets very busy.

helloclouds

Condor stock Specialized so if your heart is set on a roubaix you could still use your halfords CTW tokens there....

feel

The Hundredth Idiot wrote:

I got a Condor Fratello recently direct from Condor via Bike to Work (Halfords). Good service and the bike feels a bit more individual..

(little green yella fella) Rather jealous over here as the fratello is still on my wishlist. What spec did you get and how happy are you with it? When you say "feels a bit more individual" what do you mean - looks , ride or something else?

Juju_uk_68

re the Halfords c2w thing.

My bike was a bike to work, a Bianchi alu nirone 7. £600 retail. And the cost in the shop was about £430, and the £430 I am paying was deducted out of salary gross without tax and NI. The calculations suggest that the actual saving means I end up actually losing £336 ish out of my pocket for the bike. (ie had I bought the bike out my own pocket using real cash, I'd have been taxed and paid NI on my wages at source, before getting itout the bank to spend at the bike shop.

So thats interest free credit, over 3 years, and getting a bike at just over half price.

Don't be too hasty to overlook it.

alfablue

I got a Planet-X SL Carbon Pro Dura Ace build, cost £999, I pay £49.12 per month for 12 months = £589, plus 5% final purchase fee of £50 = £639 total - I am VERY happy with that! (And I have just been told I am allowed a second bike under the scheme :shock: )