Carbon Road Bike - How much to spend?

sam1176uk

Hi,

I'm in the market for a road bike in the next week and am undecided on how much to spend on one.
I currently ride around 80 - 100 miles / week mostly around 17-18mph average speed on an aluminium cube with shimano 105 all round.
I am looking at the Boardman Team Carbon (predictable i know) at £1000 which seems nice and would probably do me for the riding i do, HOWEVER, i really like the Cube Litening and Kuoya Kharma at £1500 - £1800.

Question is, is it really worth my spending the extra or are these bikes more aimed at serious racers etc? Will i notice much diff between a boardman at 1k and a £1700 bike?

Thanks in advance for any advice...

Anonymous

Seriously my friend, don't bother!!

The bike you have is enough for serious racers!!

There will probably be very little if any difference between the Boardman and the others.
Unless you start spending loads of money there is just not any point IMO.

I learnt this the hard way!!!

sam1176uk

Can i ask why not to bother?

What did you go for?

CarbonCopy

I would agree with Nap on this one the Boardman is a great bike my neighbour has one.
I would save more and maybe splash out on Cannondale supersix,Scott Cr1 or Addict.
Or maybe go all out on an Italian classic but that would be really costly.

sam1176uk

Thats the thing you can get a 2009 addict for about 1500-1600, so is that going to be worth the extra over a boardman?

CarbonCopy

If your deadset on a new bike why not buy new frame and forks for around 2k and then transfer all your bits from the Boardman to your new frame.Just a thought.

sam1176uk

Dont have a boardman at the moment lol

guilliano

If you really want to go carbon then as was said above, get a decent frame/fork combo and swap your 105 kit over. Or you could look at say a Van Nicholas Euros Ti frame if you want something timeless and comfortable

sturmey

No smugness intended, but even though I could afford to buy any bike I wanted and don't have a missus holding me back- I have so far held back from buying one.
I have a £1k bike plus a £500 one instead.
Yes, a £3k bike probably rides nicer than a £1k but if I throw my best bike down the road and damage it or write it off I'm 2 grand better off than if I'd gone for carbon bling.
Plus the £3k bike won't get me from A to B any faster.
Boardmans,Planet X's and Ribbles all make sense.
Though if I did have a Boardman I would have to put tape all over it to cover the brand name or people would take me for a biking nerd.
Sheesh!

Anonymous

I have a Cervelo S2 with Sram Red and Zipp Wheels (About £5000 worth)
A Litespeed Siena with Dura Ace and a bit of Ultegra with a power meter. (about £4000 worth)
A Quintana Roo Seduza TT bike with Dura Ace and a bit of Ultegra.( Frame and groupset about £1800 worth, I use the Zipp/Powertap with it.)

I'm well qualified to say you don't need to spend any more...

CarbonCopy

Some peaple would think you are gloating there Nap But i know you just love the sport.And all the bling that goes with it.Cervelo is top machine.

cooper.michael1

Why just limit yourself to carbon? I never quite understand why people think a carbon bike is a better bike.

Manufacturers such as cannondale have proved that the design of the frame creates as much compliance in terms of comfort. The CAAD 8 and 9 frames, are at the pinnacle of aluminium technology, and for £1000 you can buy a decent spec'ed 105 version.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/can ... e-ec020232

These are better frames than those (CAAD3/4 frames) that Mario Cipollini was using less than 10 years ago, so anyone who goes on about stiffness etc is talking utter bull...if you or I are putting out half the power of cipo we'd be lucky. And trust me, if you buy a cannondale CAAD in 5 years time, if you've looked after it you'll get half your money back, I doubt the same will be said of a cheapo carbon frame.

relanium

I imagine NapD has the Cervelo S2 hanging in the living room as his pride & joy
Has it seen the road yet

Anonymous

relanium wrote:

I imagine NapD has the Cervelo S2 hanging in the living room as his pride & joy
Has it seen the road yet

I raced it last saturday and it will be racing it again this sat...

Anonymous

cooper.michael1 wrote:

Why just limit yourself to carbon? I never quite understand why people think a carbon bike is a better bike.

Manufacturers such as cannondale have proved that the design of the frame creates as much compliance in terms of comfort. The CAAD 8 and 9 frames, are at the pinnacle of aluminium technology, and for £1000 you can buy a decent spec'ed 105 version.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/can ... e-ec020232

These are better frames than those (CAAD3/4 frames) that Mario Cipollini was using less than 10 years ago, so anyone who goes on about stiffness etc is talking utter bull...if you or I are putting out half the power of cipo we'd be lucky. And trust me, if you buy a cannondale CAAD in 5 years time, if you've looked after it you'll get half your money back, I doubt the same will be said of a cheapo carbon frame.

+1. Not one person I know needs anything more than a CAAD9. Including me...

cooper.michael1

Indeed, its like square taper BB, Boonen won a world championship with on 5 years ago, but suddenly average joe is kicking out so much power that they 'flex'.

sam1176uk, when I posted the above I did not read that you already own a cube, have you considered that a £1000 bottom-end carbon bike might actually be a downgrade from the Cube you already have?

At this price point, there will be weaknesses, if the frame is great, the wheels will be cheap. To get the best performance, i'd personallly recommend keeping your existing bike, and investing in a really good set of wheels, and good quality tyres, then for £500 you will already own the £1500 bike you are alluding to!

Marcosplace

NapoleonD wrote:

cooper.michael1 wrote:

Why just limit yourself to carbon? I never quite understand why people think a carbon bike is a better bike.

Manufacturers such as cannondale have proved that the design of the frame creates as much compliance in terms of comfort. The CAAD 8 and 9 frames, are at the pinnacle of aluminium technology, and for £1000 you can buy a decent spec'ed 105 version.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/can ... e-ec020232

These are better frames than those (CAAD3/4 frames) that Mario Cipollini was using less than 10 years ago, so anyone who goes on about stiffness etc is talking utter bull...if you or I are putting out half the power of cipo we'd be lucky. And trust me, if you buy a cannondale CAAD in 5 years time, if you've looked after it you'll get half your money back, I doubt the same will be said of a cheapo carbon frame.

+1. Not one person I know needs anything more than a CAAD9. Including me...

You only know yourself....

sam1176uk

have a Cervelo S2 with Sram Red and Zipp Wheels (About £5000 worth)
A Litespeed Siena with Dura Ace and a bit of Ultegra with a power meter. (about £4000 worth)
A Quintana Roo Seduza TT bike with Dura Ace and a bit of Ultegra.( Frame and groupset about £1800 worth, I use the Zipp/Powertap with it.)

I'm well qualified to say you don't need to spend any more...

So can you explain why though please?

sam1176uk, when I posted the above I did not read that you already own a cube, have you considered that a £1000 bottom-end carbon bike might actually be a downgrade from the Cube you already have?

At this price point, there will be weaknesses, if the frame is great, the wheels will be cheap. To get the best performance, i'd personallly recommend keeping your existing bike, and investing in a really good set of wheels, and good quality tyres, then for £500 you will already own the £1500 bike you are alluding to!

I have a Cube Peloton at the moment with 105 all round, that is really why i'm asking the question, will a boardman be much of an upgrade or will i need to go to 1500-1700 to notcie a difference?
So a £500 set of wheels to my own bike will make more of a difference??

markos1963

Tyres, wheels and a HRM is you need now. If you can afford it and are motivated then a coach will give you more gains if you are serious about racing. All the faster guys at my club are riding older bikes with decent wheels but the most important thing is that they ride, ride , ride.

sam1176uk

Got tyres/wheels & HRM

cooper.michael1

Well the theory is that rotational weight is more important than stratic weight, especially when accelerating.Each time you accelerate, your energy has to force the wheel to rotate, and the heavier the wheel the more energy this requires.

Cheap wheels, which often have poor hubs and poor bearings are often spec'ed on factory bikes, as manufacturers highlight the frame/groupset to sell the bike to you. In the £1000 bike category most people dont pay attention to the wheel specification of the bike.

When I was racing 10 years ago, it was always advised, to as the first major upgrade to replace tyres and wheels with the best you could afford. Even if you buy a £1500 bike, it most probably wont have £500 wheels on it. But for all the money you can spend the best thing is to train...if a flash new bike makes you want to train more, then you could say its worth it!!

sam1176uk

Thanks Michael, so in theory my Cube Peloton with say a set of Planet x carbon wheels instead of the existing Fulcrum Racing 7's will be quicker than a boardman team carbon with the std ritchys?

cooper.michael1

Again carbon does not mean better or lighter. Just browsing through Mavic and Fulcrum brands now, some of their alloy wheels are somewhat lighter.

Basically with wheels you've got two choices. Aerodynamic or lightweight....and for the right price both.

The planet X carbon wheels are a typical Aerodynamic wheels high rims, which in theory help the bike cut through the air easier. These are designed for best use in resonably flat areas, at high speed. Generally though high rims, this means more mass, which in turn means that although they are made of carbon, they are not nesessarily as light as climbing specific wheels. (I have to admit they look cool though!)

These Mavic Alloy wheels for example are lighter than the planet x wheels, but not as aero, so maybe better for climbing...not so good on as the planet x on the flat, as they dont have that 'aero advantage'

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Mavic ... 6147/#more

I have to say those planet x wheels, for the price look great value...but they are for tubular tyres, which I simply could not be bothered with impracticalities.

Its hard to say which solution is 'fastest'. But if you are happy with the cube, if fits you well, essentially you have a good bike, with good kit, and i'd build on that! After winter even a new chain and cassette and cables can make it feel new again.

But...Last year i bought a new bike just because i wanted to i'd had my old bike for 5 years and wanted a change, and because of that I enjoyed my riding a lot more, and as a result rode many more miles....If its starting to look tired, and your not enjoying riding it, if you can afford it why not buy a new bike.

nmcgann

cooper.michael1 wrote:

.....
But...Last year i bought a new bike just because i wanted to i'd had my old bike for 5 years and wanted a change, and because of that I enjoyed my riding a lot more, and as a result rode many more miles....If its starting to look tired, and your not enjoying riding it, if you can afford it why not buy a new bike.

That's a very valid reason. I bought a new Ti frame (one of the planetx Lynskeys) to replace a carbon/ally one. The old frame has a damaged carbon chainstay, which is how I mentally justified it to myself, but the real reason was I just wanted a nice new bike :oops:

I shouldn't think it'll make even the tiniest difference to my speed though.....

spanielsson

If it were me doing it I'd get a pair of Mavic Ksyrium Elite's from Merlin with a set of Continental Force/Attack tyres. I would imagine you would think you were on another bike straight away.

The second thing to consider is a bike fitting session with someone like Adrian Timmis (www.cadencesport.co.uk), the footbeds and fitting session could prove to be the best £100 you would ever spend.

£500 is spent and your ride will be totally different for the better!

STEFANOS4784

NapoleonD wrote:

Seriously my friend, don't bother!!

The bike you have is enough for serious racers!!

There will probably be very little if any difference between the Boardman and the others.
Unless you start spending loads of money there is just not any point IMO.

I learnt this the hard way!!!

Why not sell the lot then and buy a CAAD9? :?

Down the Road

sam1176uk wrote:

Thanks Michael, so in theory my Cube Peloton with say a set of Planet x carbon wheels instead of the existing Fulcrum Racing 7's will be quicker than a boardman team carbon with the std ritchys?

Yes and will corner better with a decent pair of Wheels rather than the Planet X pair.

Don't get too worked up over having everything CARBON. CHEAP carbon is WORSE than good Aluminuim. Wheels Get yourself a pair of MAVIC Cssmic Carbones and some race tyres

jgsi

STEFANOS4784 wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Seriously my friend, don't bother!!

The bike you have is enough for serious racers!!

There will probably be very little if any difference between the Boardman and the others.
Unless you start spending loads of money there is just not any point IMO.

I learnt this the hard way!!!

Why not sell the lot then and buy a CAAD9? :?

as if

Anonymous

See the classifieds...

One is up for sale to do just that...

STEFANOS4784

1 for 1 doesn't count! Bet the only reason one's going is the missus

Anonymous

Nope, it's actually because it's a little too big...