please rank

wesleyjones

Ok, getting frustrated at the Specialized Allez situation at Evans (b4w so cant go elsewhere) not seeing anything due imminently from Specialized in terms of an interim model or 2010 model.
Really reluctant to spend any more than £700 and as i am new to the modern day brands, so i want to have some other "go to" bike if Specialized let me down
i would appreciate peoples views on how they rank these sub £700 bikes..
Criteria: Brand name impact, quality of kit, quality of gear levers(!), weight, Kudos

1 (best), Specialized
2, Trek
3, Giant
4, Bianchi
5, Focus
6 (worst), dawes

(this is not my order by the way)

Model reccomendation would be good too!

Thanks
wes

andy81

I've been looking at getting a Focus recently, they don't have the kudos of some of the others on your list, but you could get a Variado within your budget. They're sold exclusively through Wiggle though, so not sure whether Evans will be able to source it on B4W as I'm not familiar with their scheme.

Can't comment specifically on the others, though plenty of people in my club have Treks, Giants and Bianchis and seem happy with them.

It may also be worth looking at the Boardman range, though again not sure whether Evans will be able to get their hands on one.

cougie

Its impossible to rank these brands. Ok - I dont really know about Dawes - but all of the others would get you good bikes.

At £700 you'd be hard pushed to get a dog of a bike. Just get one that fits you.

jordan_217

Go to Halfords. No seriously, and check out their range of Boardman bikes. Excellent spec for the money and apparently good to ride.

giant_man

How ridiculous to rank these brands. If you are going to do so, for gods sake put Giant at the top and Trek at the bottom. Which is how it should be.

wesleyjones

Giant mancp - thought you were being serious for a second
To clarify..i know nothing about bikes; but want to know what the best bike is in people opinions (reason for forums) i am driven by Kudo's and knowing i have a good brand

cougie

Kudos is pretty nobby and you can pay a hell of a lot more for a brand with more Kudos than a less trendy but better bike.

You'll never get a concensus of opinion on the best bike - especially as you've just given us brand names - not even specific bikes.

Go to a few local bike shops - see what they have and what takes your fancy. No point in us all deciding that the Swishybike Mark XXII is the one to get if nobody round your way stocks it.

crankycrank

Take them all for a test ride. It's the only way you'll know whats best for you. You might be surprised at how different they all feel and some you may not enjoy riding at all.

giant_man

wesleyjones wrote:

Giant mancp - thought you were being serious for a second
To clarify..i know nothing about bikes; but want to know what the best bike is in people opinions (reason for forums) i am driven by Kudo's and knowing i have a good brand

Well tbh I'm not a Trek fan AT ALL, don't rate them and their Madone offering, no matter about the LA connection, but I do like Giant and what they've done with cycles for the past twenty odd years. Don't know a helluva lot about Spesh, and Bianchi have lost all kudos with me for making their frames in Taiwan instead of Italy, Focus seem to be good for an online deal, Dawes are quite an honest brand really, you get what you pay for with them, so ... go figure!!

PeteinSQ

In terms of Kudos the only brand on there that really has any with the cycling fraternity is probably Bianchi as they're Italian. The other brands make just as good bikes though and some will offer better value than Bianchi.

I personally would go for (in this order)

1.) A bike that fits correctly
2.) A bike that has the best components, so best groupset, best wheels (although I should imagine that the wheels will all be much of a muchness at this level)
3.) A bike which I like the look of i.e. the colour, brand image etc.

andrewc3142

If it's kudos you're after (a bit of a daft way of choosing a bike in my view) then for a bit over a grand you can go to Condor (I am very fond of my Acciaio). Heard good things about Ribble as well, but poss not trendy enough.

The B4W scheme is not restricted to Evans (unless your employer says so), eg Condor does it (although my employer doesn't ).

wesleyjones

ok i have been to the evans "deansgate" today and had a look at the bikes this is the one i am going for...
Bianchi Nirone 7 Sora 2009 Road Bike

Thoughts or pointers would be appreciated!!

gcaster

IMO for that kind of money you should be looking to get Tiagra not Sora.

STEFANOS4784

gcaster wrote:

IMO for that kind of money you should be looking to get Tiagra not Sora.

Wrong! Not from a shop and especially with the credit crunch
Personally would go for the Bianchi with a campag group if available but you'll get people recommending what they have because at similar price brackets bikes tend to be similar(other than geometry-ie shape)
But in my opinion Bianchis are things of beauty(got to be celeste though)

The Spiderman

Kudos only means you pay more.
For instance,a mate of mine recently got a Dawes Giro 500 with a full Tiagra groupset and Shimano RS20 wheels for £500 from Ash cycles.Much better spec than he would have got on bikes with more cred.

wesleyjones

Sorry Guys...whats the difference between the Tiagra and the Sora?

PeteinSQ

Tiagra is the next step up in the Shimano range.

STEFANOS4784

Also the way you shift is different. Sora has a little thumb lever....