New bike with light frame for less than 600 pounds

tommy_tommy

Last year I completed my first season of cycling sportives on an old 1996 giant road bike. I purchased a set of Mavic Kysrium wheels and Vredstein tri comp tyres as the only upgrade. I was considering fitting a non integrated headset and carbon fork, a new seat post and saddle in an attempt to reduce the weight from its current 21.5Lbs with the Kysriums fitted. However, this will cost me an additonal 200 pounds minimum and at some stage I will be limited by weight of the frame. I may also enter some road arces next year and I may also be limited by the 7 speed groupset. For these reasons, I am now considering buying a new bike.

I have a maximum budget of 600 pound and would like to get a bike with the best possible frame and fork, I am not too concerned with the finishing kit quality or wheel quality as I have wheels and will upgrade the other kit in time. Can anyone recommend some bikes in this price range worth considering.

Thanks

Steve_F

Sounds more like you're looking for a frame and fork rather than a whole bike. You'll get more for your money if you just buy the frame and fork as the other parts will take away from the overall value.

gkerr4

well - if I was in the market for a frame/fork combo for under £600 I would - without a doubt - have this:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/BMC_R ... 360040002/

very nice - not too common and will build into a great road bike - i love it in the orange colourscheme

course you will need most of a decent groupset too - which I guess will ruin your budget - but you'd have a GREAT bike at the end of it.

tommy_tommy

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, my budget 600 pounds has to cover a complete bike. It looks like I will have to buy a 500 - 600 quid bike swap the wheels for my kysriums and then sell the new wheels and tyres. Alternatively, I could sell my old giant and keep the new wheels for training and the ksyriums for racing. Although, I am not sure if i could sell my old giant.

In the 600 price range the specialized allez looks like the best bet has most reviews suggest it has the lightest frame in this price range but the wheels are heavy compared to other bikes in this price range..

gkerr4

ah - ok - in that case then I would second your choice of an allez - it does (apparently) have the lightest alu frame in it's class - so an allez with your wheels on would be pretty sweet!

akcc05

What about another Giant like this:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Giant_SCR_15_Road_Bike/5360037569/

Seems like a good deal but there is only size small and large available. What size are you? Wheels and tires are weak but then again you have your own pair.

Rhods

Cube seem to be very competitive at this price range - pretty decent kit on the Aerial for £645 - might be lucky enough to get a discount to bring it closer to budget. Not speaking of experience of owning one, but I'm very close to buying one!

For most models, prices seem to have gone up but component quality down in comparison to last year. This has a pretty much all Tiagra set up, but comes with a tripple. Might be a problem for you, but maybe you could as the LBS to change it?

Steve_F

The SCR 1.5 is what I've got and the wheels are probably the only weak part. That price seems really good too. I paid £150 more than that in April and very happy with it.

littleandy0410

What about a Boardman? They're pretty light, not sure of the frame weight though.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchCmd?storeId=10001&catalogId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=165710&action=listrefine&listCategories=165710&list0-type=list&list0-constraint=iphrase+WCSAttr_d6e028de5dbd77ef1cf3ca127d9ae04c539359c8&list0-mappedType=value&list0-size=4&list1-type=range&list1-constraint=Price&list1-min=&list1-max=&list2-type=list&list2-constraint=MFName&list2-mappedType=value&list2-0=Boardman&list2-size=2&list3-type=list&list3-constraint=iphrase+WCSAttr_918a41c789b834865408fcc8940cb9a13cffd82a&list3-mappedType=value&list3-size=3&list4-type=list&list4-constraint=iphrase+WCSAttr_202137d98de1511e2a6dafc156cd15a3bcaa4bd6&list4-mappedType=value&list4-size=1&listSize=5&listSort=Price%7C%7C1

littleandy0410

The Boardman Team is only £616.76 with the extra 10% off and the VAT discount! That's a massive discount off the £899 RRP!