Which bike? £1000ish budget (Ribble,Spec,Giant, Cannondale)

Bigtinks

Hi there,
I am looking for some advice on what bike I should buy on a budget of approx £1000. I have not cycled on a road bike for a number of years (current bike is a Marin MTB). Used to do alot of road cycling when younger (am 34 now)

I am not interested in racing but more for general fitness. Mainly weekend use (40/50 mile rides) and evenings during the warmer months and I am also wanting to use it to cycle Lands End to John O'Groats in the summer.

I am 6ft 4" and weigh about 100kg (fat ******* you are thinking :!: but I actually keep myself fit) I have recently damaged the ligaments in my ankle playing football and after injurying the same ankle before playing rugby I think I need to find another sport. I swim regularly at the minute but find it extremely boring so am looking to get back into cycling.

I need a bike that will be strong enough to take my weight therefore I was thinking aluminium frame rather than carbon. (Alu vs carbon :?: ) I have done quite alot of research and have come up with he following shortlist of bikes :-

Specialized Secteur Comp
Cannondale CAAD9 105 compact
Giant Defy 1
Ribble 7005SL (105)

Have also considered Paul Hewitt as shop is just down the road. Have looked on web site but it is not the best. No prices anywhere so not sure if they will have anything around my budget.

If anyone has an opinion about any of these bikes then I would appreciate it. Or if you can recommend oher bikes then that would be great. I like the look of the Ribble but have heard alot of bad stories about the service they have received from them (especially when ordering via Mail Order). However, I only live abut 5 miles away from the Ribble shop so would go and pay them a visit.

I'm not sure what frame size I would need. Inside leg measurement is 35" so presume it would be a pretty large one.

Anonymous

Welcome to the forum!

There is 1 shining light in that list...

CAAD9.

Fantastic frame that will stand many upgrades over time.

Ride quality far better than other aluminium frames I've ridden.

Stiff as anything for climbing/sprinting.

Good looks...

Awesome stuff.

That said, most carbon frames will take your weight no problem. However at this budget the CAAD9 is a hands down winner.

If you must have carbon though, have a look at Planet X....

Bobbinogs

Hi there.

Well, this could be a long running debate with lots of differing opinions. My 10 bob's worth comes from my experience as a newbie... I set an absolute £1k limit (which meant a Secteur Elite rather than the Comp) and tried a few bikes. The CAAD9 really is fantastic but it just felt wrong for me (particularly in my lower back). The Synapse was more like it but I couldn't afford the spec I wanted. The Secteur fitted like a glove, had a good basic spec so I bought it and haven't looked back (err, apart from eyeing up the Synapse Carbon Ultegra...) and am already spending large amounts of time in the saddle.

So, usual boring answer I guess. You've got a good list and have obviously done the homework but there is no shortcut to getting down to a LBS (or several), trying a few bikes and then picking the one you want to ride the most...

Anonymous

Bobbinogs wrote:

Hi there.

Well, this could be a long running debate with lots of differing opinions. My 10 bob's worth comes from my experience as a newbie... I set an absolute £1k limit (which meant a Secteur Elite rather than the Comp) and tried a few bikes. The CAAD9 really is fantastic but it just felt wrong for me (particularly in my lower back). The Synapse was more like it but I couldn't afford the spec I wanted. The Secteur fitted like a glove, had a good basic spec so I bought it and haven't looked back (err, apart from eyeing up the Synapse Carbon Ultegra...) and am already spending large amounts of time in the saddle.

So, usual boring answer I guess. You've got a good list and have obviously done the homework but there is no shortcut to getting down to a LBS (or several), trying a few bikes and then picking the one you want to ride the most...

The CAAD8 is similar to the 9 but has a higher front end meaning it's more comfy on the lower back...

Lagavulin

CAAD9. Everyone seems to love it.

Tempted to get a cheap CAAD9 with Tiagra and well, as I run 9-speeed Shimano on my hack, either run it for a bit or put Veloce or Centaur or it (or buy Athena/Chorus to put on the Izoard and put the Centaur Carbon on the CAAD9).

pastey_boy

im 16 and a half stones and found the boardman carbon pro fine and plenty stiff. the cheaper team carbon looks a stand out deal at 1k. halfords are total sheeeite but worth the aggro for such a good bike

the_jackalcp

I think if you are going to be doing LEJOG you may want to consider a bike with rack mounts which discounts the CAAD9. There are of course ways around this if the dale is the bike you really want.

Another option would be to buy a individual parts and build a bike up. For your budget you could build a bike with a good spec and pretty light weight but still stand up to your weight and heavy riding.

tlw1

From that list I would go for the CAAD9 & get a support vechile for the LEJOG!

macondo01

Very happy with my CAAD9. Some bargains to be had if you look around for 2009 models. I think tredz had a Tiagra for around £700.