Am I thinking to hard about this?

fungus_the_muffin_man

Ok, At the mo I'm looking for a new bike. As I've previoulsy put on thread there are quite a few I'm thinking of. The other day I drove to Preston to see Paul hewitt and ribble cycles. On fri I'm driving from Manchester down to Epic cycles to chat to them them. On tues I'm off to Barnsley to racescene to chat and have a fitting with them.

Am i looking at this in to much depth? I'm spending no more than £2000 which is my top limit. I was seriously thinking of getting the Focus Cayo expert, but not getting to test ride it and hearing that it's got an aggresive racey approach has got me thinking it may not be the best bike to ride the L2P on next year.

Does everyone else go through this or am I being just to indecisive ? £2000 is a lot of money to me and I'm worried I'll end up with the wrong bike.

bikerZA

No definitely not. £2k is a lot of money to spend on a bike, so you want to make sure you get the right one. Ultimately I'm guessing you're going to have it for a few years, so you don't want to make a mistake.

When I've bought bikes in the past, I haven't gone as far as visiting various bike shops, but I do plenty of research online, and chat to loads of people. It pays, you'll end up getting what you want that way.

kingrollo

Not at all £2k is a serious wedge of cash. You seem to have all the main contenders covered.
What will you be using the bike for ? , What are your goals ?

Same some cash for the little extras, mini pump, computer, pedals, shoes, - my stock bike came with some pretty average tyres - cost £50 to put some pro race 3's on !

Crapaud

I took over a year deciding on my good bike. Narrowed it down to 3 bikes then hee'd and haw'd for a few months. It was worth it though, the bike's perfect for what I want it to do.

hopper1

I went to Epic (436 mile round trip) recently, for my new bike. It certainly wadsn't a waste of time, had there been a few more 'good' bike shops closer to me, then I'd have gone to them, too.
When I got to Epic I had made my mind up as to what I wanted, I just wanted to get the fit right.
I tested two other models whilst there, and came away with something totally different. But it feels great and fits perfectly
You are willing to part with a lot of money, you want that money to be well spent, only a fool would splash all that on an internet whim!...
I spent £2700, but after riding my fitted bike, I'd have spent more for the same fit!
Epic offer some very good deals on components, if you want to spec yoiur own build, I thought mine was going to cost a small fortune :shock:
Good luck, you'll be so glad that you made the effort.

x8swift9x

I made a trip to the Vitruvian Triathlon from Bristol last weekend to get sized up for my Planet X (380 mile round trip). I'm happy I did as I got fitted correctly, and I would have possibly ordered the wrong frame size if I had ordered online as they are compact geometry.

CHRISNOIR

Sounds about right if you're going to spend that kind of money. I’m thinking of upgrading within the next twelve months and as such checked Paul Hewitt’s out a few months ago (just a casual nosey round - very impressive*).

If I spend £2k on a bike it will be the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought - by quite a long shot - so it makes sense to make sure you’re 100% about it.

*My missus still takes the p*ss at my remark 'Wow, an Orbea Orca frame - I've never seen one in real life..."

Escargot

I was put off buying online from Wiggle, Ribble etc. due to the test ride thing.

I think that any LBS worth their salt will give you adequate test ride time and will also (within time/reason) adjust the bike, post sale to suit your needs.

At the end of the day it's your money and the shop wants it so should have to work for it and ensure you're 100% with your purchase.

Best of luck

Slow Downcp

You should be looked after at Epic - they will take whatever time is needed to fit you, and it's included in the price if you buy from them (otherwise £25/hour). If you don't buy there and then, you can pay for the fit and get the discount later if you need time to think.

mancunian

@Hopper, so which bike did you end up with and which were the other contenders?

Garz

bikerZA wrote:

No definitely not. £2k is a lot of money to spend on a bike, so you want to make sure you get the right one...

When I've bought bikes in the past, I haven't gone as far as visiting various bike shops, but I do plenty of research online, and chat to loads of people.

Well put. +1 here