Newbie help please

Porta105

Hi there,

I know this has been done umpteen times before by many people like me but having had a trawl through the forum nobody has mentioned the bikes that I'm looking at.

I'm going through the C2W scheme but I'm still on a budget so I'm looking at £600-700 on the bike plus 100-150 on top of that for helmet, clothing etc. Also being on the C2W scheme means that buying 2nd hand is out of the question as I don't have the pennies to pay up front and without the discount the scheme brings me.

Having searched the net and popping into a couple of LBS I've come up with:

Trek 1.2 £625
Bianchi C2C Nirone Sora £675 (current favourite)
Orbea Aqua TSR 2010 £650
Specialized Allez Sport Triple 2010 £625

I was quite interested in the Allez as it's highly favoured by people but my LBS said that Specialized aren't shipping till Feb even though Evans have it in stock on their website.

Anyways, sorry for the essay, any thoughts?

the_village_idiot

you dont really state what you want your bike for.....

although i like road bikes- their rigidity & agressive riding position & inflexibility over different terrain puts me off them

i was in a similar situation to you- i wanted a bike to commute on efficiently- but i wanted the flexibilty to be able to cycle off road a bit too

for this reason i considered:

1) hybrid bike- as below but perhaps cheaper and less agressive riding position

2) cyclocross bike- expensive- but almost as efficient as a road bike- but stronger so can take off onto gentle trails etc

3) mountain bike- need to customise a bit to make it a more efficient commuter.

i went for the cyclo cross

Specilized Tricross, Kona Jake- both in your budget

idreamoftailwinds

m8 in that price range they are all much of a muchness, which do you prefer the look of? do you need a triple or would a compact do?

Porta105

Apologies, I should've said I'm looking for the bike to get into road biking, as well as a commuter in the summer months, can't quite face the winter months just yet.

IDream: Is there much difference between a triple and a compact, apart from the actual physical differences can you tell much when riding? Sorry for my ignorance

rally200

Porta105 wrote:

Trek 1.2 £625
Bianchi C2C Nirone Sora £675 (current favourite)
Orbea Aqua TSR 2010 £650
Specialized Allez Sport Triple 2010 £625

They're all good. Get the one that moves you.

I liked the Bianchi, but bought an Allez Sport 08 (got a good price & was swayed by the groupset) but now still have a hankering for a Bianchi in Celeste.

Did the same last time I changed car & swapped in an Alfa for VW & regretting it

Triple vs. compact - depends where you're going to ride

hodsgod

I was looking at the Allez Sport double this week for my son. It looks a decent bike and reasonable spec for the price.

Decathlon also have a decent bike at that price, but I don't know if they have C2W

mattward1979

ok im a fan boy, but the allez sport series is nothing short of spectacular.

around £600 and worth every shiny penny.

Im just coming up to my free 6 week service on mine, and apart from a little bit of indexing tweaks (im 17stone... things are gonna shift) there isnt anything I want then to look at. and thats nearly 200 miles in.

So there is my vote! Whatever you choose I hope it fits and I hope its fast!

sturmey

Triples are for tourers/old blokes with beards/wheezing overweight people. They never existed in the old days and considering the invention of the compact chainset I can't see the need for a triple at all. If you need gears this low you should walk.
Having said that, if you lived in the Alps and regularly commuted into a headwind, they may have a purpose...

By the way Porta105 you have posted three different threads about this topic- not really the done thing.

rally200

Oh yes - forgot to say I'm happy with my Allez - now done 1,800 done & apart from change of tyres haven't had to touch a thing.

as to compact v. triple - I find I never need the bottom (34-28) on my compact & will probably swap the cassette for a 11-25 when I change the chain.

Porta105

Thanks for the help guys. Sturmey, apologies I posted a duplicate in the buying advice forum as I didn't know which would get any responses, I did however link that post to this one in the hope of solidifying the posts, not sure where the other one is?!

So there's a lot of love for the Allez, rally 200 you said you prefer the gruppo on the Allez, but isn't it just the Sora like the other bikes? My other question is; has anybody found any problems with the Sora gruppo, with coming in as a novice to this would I be able to tell the difference with paying the extra money (which I can't really afford to do unfortunately).

Thanks again for the speedy replies.

Porta105

Also should have added, I'm planning on doing the coast to coast (Whitehaven to Tynemouth) at some point next year. There are some hills but they max out about 10-11% so I think the triple might just be a waste.

Thanks again!

sturmey

Much as people deride them I think you get very good value from one of the Ribble winter/audax bikes with Tiagra groupset (better than Sora).

They are currently £570 and you can have a compact chainset/choice of cassette, in fact spec the whole bike how you want.

I notice the list price on the Allez with Tiagra is nearly £200 more. Plus you get it how it comes. No choice over width of 'bars, length of stem etc. etc

Porta105

The Ribble looks ok Sturmey, the only problem is that they charge £50 admin fee for the C2W scheme, also I'd much rather buy local as then I have a reference point for all those teething problems (and the local gives your 1, 6 and 12month services included).

Furthermore, I don't really have a clue when it comes to bar widths, stem lengths etc. Any good tips?

sturmey

Furthermore, I don't really have a clue when it comes to bar widths, stem lengths etc. Any good tips?

Well ,these things matter. A lot.

The bike has to fit you correctly otherwise you won't be comfortable and you will not want to ride it. Some bikeshops do a bikefit service (ribble also) where they will sit you on a jig and work out frame size,stem length,bar width etc. If you just buy any old off the peg bike it might be completely wrong for you. The following link might help give you an idea.
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CC ... ATOR_INTRO

Porta105

Thanks for that Sturmey, haven't had chance to have a read yet but I definitely will. As a newbie to all this the most you ever get told about sizing a bike is getting the right height, then finding one that's 'comfortable' but it obviously goes a lot further than this.

nonameuser

Go to your closest LBS and have a sit on a few and take them for a spin. The frame sizes are all different as there is no real standard when it comes to sizing. A LBS worths its reputation will not sell you something you don't need.

Porta105

Cheers for the help guys. I went to the LBS and they're making sure they've got the Bianchi in my size (55) with pedals on for a wee test ride on Saturday so looking forward. Came home and did the calculator Sturmey sent and the sizing is just between the 'competitive and eddy' fit