How much do I spend when...

SamuelRemings

I have a 1979-80 Claud Butler Majestic 10-speed with a new derailleur as a result of the original breaking. I know that this bike cost around £185 at the time it was being sold making it a good bike for its time.

However, I am looking to fork out for a new road bike at some point and I want to know how much I'd need to spend to go one better than what I already have? I appreciate this is not a straightforward question as the bike I refer to above is 30 years old and with technology moved on since then It's difficult to know.

I have made enquiries to have the CB stripped down, serviced, sand blasted and resprayed but was quoted what in my opinion was the ridiculous price of £350 (with decal replacement which seems a bit pointless as the parts are not all original wouldn't you think?). Anyone you know who could beat that? I'm in the Bristol area.

I've found the reviews very helpful but if there's anybody who could offer some advice on what would constitute a next step up I would be very grateful. A bike shop chap I spoke to recently was a Dawes dealer and showed me the range up to about the £599 mark but also suggested I might be better off sticking with what I've got? I was thinking somewhere around the £1000 mark?

Wooliferkins

£600-£1000 gives you a vast choice of bikes. Have a look through the reviews on this site filtered for your price band.

maddog 2

a grand will buy you a decent road bike for sure

check out some end of year deals from the usual big players - Trek, Specialized, Scott etc. and also Boardman, Ribble, Planet X.

The suggestion recently is you can soon pick up a full carbon planet X with full 6700 Ultegra for a grand, which is a killer deal on paper.

porker33

Curiously enough I have just bought a new road bike this week, the first since my 1980 Claud Butler that I used to ride to school and for 10 & 25 mile time trials. In between I had a couple of MTB.

After riding the CB round the lanes for 10 miles a few months back, I realised things have moved on.

I looked around and sort of had my heart set on a £2k+ machine, my head ended up buying a bike around the £1k mark. Try to find an '09 deal if you can.

I still have the CB, which I occasionally use, the great thing is you can lock it up outside the gym or shop without fear of it attracting attention, something I doubt I will try with the new one.
I may well strip the CB back and run it as a fixed wheel as a winter project?

So, isn't the answer to spend as much as you are comfortable with?

mrushton

Something like a Planet X with Ultegra for £1k? That sounds sensible and don't let that CB go. As posted above, it would be a great ss/fixie project with the addition of modern brakes. If it needs mudguards those new Crud ones will be fine

SamuelRemings

Many thanks one and all for all the advice, some very helpful stuff to contemplate.

No chance the CB is going anywhere but I'm just a bit miffed it's so damned expensive to get a sandblast and a respray what with stripping it down and all.

Thanks again.

hopper1

I'd steer clear of Dawes... I know of a couple of local dealers who have dropped them because of poor quality of recent. The same goes for Wiliers, too! :shock: