stuck on which bike to buy!

bigbertha

hi, i am the usual cycle schemer, bought a specialized rockhopper last year on the scheme, loved the bike but being older and i commute to work turned it into a hybrid!

i work for the nhs and we had a charity sportive 65 miles and loved it (killed me) this has made me realise i should of bought a road bike as 100% of my riding is road! i would like to do many sportives this year and my scheme is due for renewal!

so i have all specialized gear and well impressed with the quality and am thinking allez comp? any ideas people or is this the wrong choice?

my commute is 6 miles each way a day and the hill is 3 miles of one of devon greatest! and would like to do sportives!

many thanks for any help!

bigbertha

i meant being older is 31!!!!!!!!!!!

Bobbinogs

Hi there Paul, yepp, kinda gets addictive doesn't it! GIven that you imply this is another C2W purchase (?), are you sure you can get the Comp for under £1k? Other forum favourites to consider would be the Boardman Team Carbon or a lower spec Cannondale CAAD9 as an excellent frame, etc., that you can upgrade...as you inevitably will want to (don't fight it )

mattward1979

CAnt comment too much on the more expensive bikes, but Had a Spesh allez Sport for 2 months till it got nicked, and must say I loved every mile on it. Fast and slick... only reason I didnt get another one with the insurance money was to upgrade from Sora shifters.

If you can get one of the higher models, I can reccomend them from the bottom end of the pool

bigbertha

i was going to add 200 - 300 0f my own money to give me a budget of 1300, thats why im considering the allez comp! still confused but keep stairing at the brochure, i look at the allez comp and love the look and equipment but im sure secteur is more comfortable but it just doesnt click for me - any help?

Bobbinogs

Aha! Now you are asking the wrong person as I have to declare an interest in that I too graduated from a hybrid but specifically plumped for the Secteur Elite. It felt like an "old friend" from day one, yet is an exhilerating ride (IMHO) and I cannot wait for the next spin out with it (won't be today though, that's for sure). It does look as dull as dishwater though which gives me a great excuse a new (expensive) bike in a few years...

Have you actually tried the Secteur? I also tried a Synapse 105 which felt great but was a about £400 more for a 2009. The slope was too slipery for me so I bailed out and bought the bike I liked at the price I liked.

Enjoy choosing, I certainly did although, at times, my head was spinning more than legs are now.

bigbertha

that is great advice about the secteur, how comfortable is it compared to your hybrid and how does it compare on hills to hybrid. i have such a horror to go up every day!

Bobbinogs

To be honest, I spent about 2 solid months traipsing around bike shops trying all manner of things (and chatting to some very helpful chaps). I have a bit of an unsupple lower back and also generally don't like the more "aggressive" stance bikes like the CAAD9/Boardman. Hence, whilst I could admire their obvious strengths (and paintjobs!), they just felt wrong as soon as I sat on them. Same went for bikes like the Allez, etc. The Secteur, however, was right (for me) from the first minute and I wanted to ride it out of the shop.

The Secteur has a great 105 triple and 105 10 sp cassette so going up hills is fine (err, relatively :oops: ) which was a big plus for me as I live in the Cotswolds.

To be honest, I am not sure I would use my Secteur for commuting (particularly in the current weather) even though I am out on it 3-4 times a week but that's just me. I still have/love my hybrid (Dawes 301) and I would use that for commuting (just my opinion by the way) but stick decent tyres on it, etc.

Bottom line is you will get lots of opinions but there's only one that counts once the guys/mags have helped to narrow down the list to remove any turkeys...

Sorry if I have stated the obvious in any of this, by the way.

bigbertha

cheers for reply, i am in the same predicament, i have searched the shops, spent hours on line reading reviews but just cant decide! i suppose like everyone id like a 3000 bike for 1000 money!!!!!

any other people have any road bike sugestions? bianchi? specialized? trek? focus? arrgghh!!!!!!!

kingrollo

bigbertha wrote:

cheers for reply, i am in the same predicament, i have searched the shops, spent hours on line reading reviews but just cant decide! i suppose like everyone id like a 3000 bike for 1000 money!!!!!

any other people have any road bike sugestions? bianchi? specialized? trek? focus? arrgghh!!!!!!!

If you can live without the big brands - check out planet x, ribble sportive, and Dolan Mythos.
the bike I brought was the kuota kharma - mainly because it looked pretty.

bigbertha

have had bad reports about the cheaper carbon models, am more interested in top quality alloy, like specializeds e5 on the comp and spend 2000 - 2500 next year and get a roubaix/tarmac

lifecyclist2010

I got to be honest i dont think that specialized are great value for money, not to say they arent good bike. Cubes and orbeas are well spec'd for the money. New orbea 2010 sold out in the UK before christmas, new shipments are now comoing through again, when they were only revealed at the shows in october...that shows you how popular they are.

lifecyclist2010

Also like kingrollo said kuotas are AWESOME bikes you can get a full carbon 105 equip bike for under £1500

AidanR

I wouldn't rule out cheap carbon. Sure, they're mass produced in Asia, but so are 99% of all bikes, even a lot of the really high-end stuff. The best value out there at the moment is the Planet-X with their 20% off - a (largely) 6700 equipped bike for about £850. But it only runs 'til Monday.

Anonymous

AidanR wrote:

I wouldn't rule out cheap carbon. Sure, they're mass produced in Asia, but so are 99% of all bikes, even a lot of the really high-end stuff. The best value out there at the moment is the Planet-X with their 20% off - a (largely) 6700 equipped bike for about £850. But it only runs 'til Monday.

My Cervelo S2 frame had a nice proud 'Made in China' on the side of the box.

It feels and looks really really well made.

Not had chance to ride it yet though

Or photograph it properly...

thunderousass

I'm with Bobbinogs as I ride a Secteur elite, I was going to go for a Roubaix but I thought I might probably want a more 'aggresive type' bike IF I chose to race. Hence saving some money and going for the Secteur ready for sportives this year. So far very impressed and very comfortable, we'll see how it compares to the Boardman Pro Carbon I'm just about to collect when I can get out from this snowdrift I seem to be inhabiting at the moment.

kingrollo

bigbertha wrote:

have had bad reports about the cheaper carbon models, am more interested in top quality alloy, like specializeds e5 on the comp and spend 2000 - 2500 next year and get a roubaix/tarmac

People were saying the same about Alu 10 years ago.
A duff frame is a duff frame, be it alu, carbon, steel, - google any bike and somebody, somewhere will have had issues with it.

bigbertha

i must admit im quite taken with the bianchi c2c nirone as its review states comfortable and sport like feel. i know its aluminium frame but the weight issue is not there for me as ive lost a few pounds in myself! any experience with bianchi?

STEFANOS4784

kingrollo wrote:

bigbertha wrote:

have had bad reports about the cheaper carbon models, am more interested in top quality alloy, like specializeds e5 on the comp and spend 2000 - 2500 next year and get a roubaix/tarmac

People were saying the same about Alu 10 years ago.
A duff frame is a duff frame, be it alu, carbon, steel, - google any bike and somebody, somewhere will have had issues with it.

Wise words indeed, also goes for bike shops, wheelsets etc etc etc :roll:

bigbertha

refering to my previous post i think im going to take a trip to epic cycles and look at the bianchi range, 3 hour trip but worth it i think! i dont think we have bianchi dealers in south west

thunderousass

I'm intrigued now, let us all know what you go for in the end.

The worse part is not getting the money together, it's choosing the right bike, good luck

STEFANOS4784

bigbertha wrote:

refering to my previous post i think im going to take a trip to epic cycles and look at the bianchi range, 3 hour trip but worth it i think! i dont think we have bianchi dealers in south west

Evans cycles? There's one in Bristol, gotta be more dotted about......

EKIMIKE

Stonehenge Cycles in Salisbury. Got my Bianchi from there. They're a very good shop, good mechanics, will tell you everything you need to know.

Where exactly in the southwest are you? I'm in West Wiltshire.

EKIMIKE

They'll do it for £911 too and you'll get 10% worth of the value to spend on accessories. Pretty sure they do Cyclesheme. http://www.stonehengecycles.com/

And they're doing a Price Match, so you can find out what accessories you want, get the cheapest online quote and then they'll do it for that price.

bigbertha

im loving this forum, great advice and money saving too!

ean

bigbertha wrote:

have had bad reports about the cheaper carbon models

Which models, what's bad and from whom ? You'll find plenty of happy PlanetX/Focus/Ribble owners hereabouts.

bigbertha

im in north devon - southwest.

EKIMIKE

Ok well Salisbury is closer than Tenbury Wells. DO NOT go to Evans in Bristol. Terrible personal experience.

My sister out her bike in there which needed a new Rear Mech, Chain, Cassette, Tape. Nothing hard at all. It was a really old bianchi 9speed veloce. The mechanic told her that Campag no longer did long cage rear mech's so he'd have to put a short cage on and she wouldn't be able to use her triple ring. This was bullshit as i told him because the first item on their webpage or rear mech's is a Campag champ rear derailleur made for this exact scenario. I made sure it was in stock at central HQ and the mechanic said he'd order it in.

They knew she needed the bike for a certain date becuase thatwas when we were starting LEJOG. They had the bike for 1 week, sister went to collect it and they said the mech was delayed, they'll defo have it done the next week. She goes back, still not touched the bike, mech not arrived. 5 days til we go for LEJOG. She's pee'd off so they promis her that it'll be done by wednesday (we go friday) and the manager says that if it's not done on wednesday morning he'll do it himself. She turns up on wednesday they haven't even wrapped the new tape, mech hasn't arrived and the manager is nowhere to be seen. Sister can't take it anymore, is seriously panicked because she needs it for friday ofr the long planned LEJOG. She explains that the manager promised it would be done and the shop assistant simply says that she can't prove that and that it's her word against theirs. The bloke stood next to her at the counter had come up from cornwall (5 hour round trip) for the THIRD time to collect his new bike. Again they say it's not ready. What a joke.

So that's why no-one should ever buy anything like a bike or bike related stuff from evans cycles in bristol.

Mike

Bobbinogs

Mike, +1 on that.

I went in with my wife to buy her a new bike and they were so bad we walked out, even though we knew exactly what we wanted and had a fat load of cash in the pocket. I was so disappointed because the Waterloo (road) branch was so good. Ho hum.

bigbertha

theres something to be said about local bike shops (not major chain) they help and are interested in finding the bike that fits you! its just a shame that in north devon they only really do giant so not a lot of choice