Narrowed it down to two..

The Northern Monkey
The Northern Monkey Posts: 19,174
edited April 2009 in Road buying advice
Trek 1.2 Double £549.99

or

Specialized Allez £538.28

I'm swaying towards the Specialized, however the Trek looks a lot nicer in the flesh. Anyone got either or can give me any advice?

B
Santa Cruz Butcher

Comments

  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    Specialized all the way!

    I got my Allez for £400 during the sales but, at the moment, it's £20 more expensive than the Trek down the LBS. £20 well spent, in my opinion.

    They let me test-ride both and the Allez is so much better! A friend got the Trek and regrets it after we swapped bikes one time down in the Peak District! :P
  • warrior4life
    warrior4life Posts: 925
    Get the bottom of the range boardman...its miles better to ride then both!!!!!
  • The Northern Monkey
    The Northern Monkey Posts: 19,174
    warrior4life
    Was thinking about a boardman (got a trip to Halfrauds Bike Hut planned on Monday to check them out) However, they are RRP £650.
    I'd love one but its a bit too much for me - I'm not looking for recommendations of bikes that are over my budget (already upped it by £250!)

    Bhima
    Cheers for the review :)
    Def take it into account, hopefully I'll get to try both bikes side by side and choose like that.
    Spec wise are they similar?
    Santa Cruz Butcher
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    The specs are almost identical. The major difference is that the Trek has a 11-26 cassette and the Allez has a 12-25.

    The main differences you will be able to feel are in the frames and the wheels. The Allez frame feels really comfortable, in my opinion, and promotes a more upright position (not too upright though, you can still get really "aero") and the Trek felt a little bit too stiff for me. The Allez wheels are a lot better than the Trek's in my opinion. The Allez has a lighter frame and wheels which makes it good value for money if weight is important to you - it's the lightest bike I know under £600.

    In my experience, the Allez has smoother gear shifting for some reason... It was almost silent, especially on the front chainrings! :shock: The Trek, however, does have better tyres. The ones which come with the Allez are extremely soft and, if your first few rides are in the wet, you're guaranteed a puncture. They really are that bad. They seem to harden up over time though, somehow...?

    I'd just test the two out - do a flat-out sprint on both in order to push them to the limit and you should really feel a difference between them. Generally, whichever one feels better is usually the right one to buy.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    The Spec Allez has more up to date components by the looks of it.
  • The Northern Monkey
    The Northern Monkey Posts: 19,174
    Hmm kk kewl :)

    I feel so out of my depth when i've been looking at road bikes. The staff keep firing info at me and i'm just like :shock:

    Appreciate the help :)
    Santa Cruz Butcher
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Ben, looking at them both the Spesh does look better despite the fact I am a Trek fan and not into Specialized at all.

    It may be worth looking at Ribble's deals though, they do a great build on a very good frame with 10 speed Campag for similar money.

    http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/SpecialEditionBikes.asp
  • The Northern Monkey
    The Northern Monkey Posts: 19,174
    OK kewl, another vote for the Spesh :)

    I really want to buy from a LBS with this being my 1st roadie... want to make sure I get the fit as good as possible without guessing.

    Off to halfords tomorrow after the GP to see if they have any deals/reduced bikes that aren't off the website. I'm dying to sit on the Boardman but i'm scared i'll like it too much!:(
    Santa Cruz Butcher
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Make sure you ak plenty of questions of the staff at Halfords to get a feel for whether they know what the hell they are on about, there have been quite a few horror stories about bikes being built up by / serviced by Halfords. There have also been many happy customers too however...
  • The Northern Monkey
    The Northern Monkey Posts: 19,174
    Aye, i know the guys at my local pretty well, they helped my build the Surge an offered sound advice (unlike the 2nd halfords near me thats run by monkeys - guy tried to convince me that a small was the best size, even though i'm over 6ft :lol:).
    Santa Cruz Butcher
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    Bike shop staff seem to get all weird when they know there's a guaranteed sale at hand... :? So you have to act differently, it's quite surreal...

    Even if it's a good shop with good staff, if you go in there like a headless chicken, they'll just try to get you to buy the more expensive/harder-to-sell bike/thier personal favourite of the two, in my experience. :|

    Just pretend like you've bought road bikes before and you know what you're doing. Tell them what you "need" from a road bike, as opposed to letting them tell you what they think you "want".

    Demand that you get 5 minutes on each round-the-block to see which one best suits your riding style. They should comply.

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