1st Race bike choice Scott v Wilier v Viner

swaman

looking at a Scott CR1 a Wilier Mortirolo and a Viner Gladius only because these choices are easily accessable to me. First question are all of these bikes suitable for road racing. Each shop has extolled the virtues of their bike and given me negatives about the other...for example the Scott was described as a sportif bike, the Mortirolo was descibed as being not stiff enough for racing, and the Gladius was said to be too heavy. Have any of you got any of tehse bikes, do you race on them, are they suitable. I like the idea of a nice light carbon bike, but if I cannot be sure then maybe a Caad9 will be my final choice :-)

softlad

there is no rule on how stiff a race bike should be - I race a Ti frame and some people are still racing steel bikes. Any of them will be suitable for races, sportives or even going down the pub. Choose the one you prefer...

swaman

yeah, i suppose thats good advise, but maybe if i fancied a bike but from a geometry point of view it was more suited to more comfortable riding than racing, i am not expert enough to know, I might like the ride but find out its to slow for racing

do people race on any of these bikes, or is there better alternative in the £1000 - £1300 price range that could double up as a race bike and also do time trials ( until i know if it is worth to get a specific tt bike ) or do i need to spend even more ?

guinea

I can only talk abut the Mortirolo. It's plenty stiff enough.

I'm between 13-14 stones and I've hammered the hell out of mine and have never been held back by a lack of stiffness.

It's a good bike and worth upgrading. Mine came with chorus/fulcrum 5s. The groupset has been fine, but I've moved to Shamal Ultras. This is a do anything bike.

careful

I reckon any of these lovely bikes would do the job well. Go for what you fancy most. Wiggle do have a good £300 off deal on Focus etc at the moment though.

JesseD

I have owned a scott CR1 and found it a great bike, you can race on it, do sportives on it, it's a great all round bike.

Most people buy a race bike like the Scott Addict for example, then stick a load of spacers under the stem, the CR1 has a longer headtube so that means slightly less spacers under the stem.

It is plenty stiff enough, I am circa 16 stone and couldn't get any flex out of the bb or headtube on the Scott.

I have no experience of the Willer or the Viner and would have thought that they are both good bikes, but the Scott IMHO is a great alrounder bike.

fastercyclist

I have to say I've seen the team wilier bikes in person at a race and my eyeballs nearly dropped out. Don't know if it's the same model though. A quick check suggests not.

stokepa31

got a 2010 cr1 and its a thing of beauty. the frame is top notch and is very stiff. grouppo is not as hot (i got tiagra) but this ca be upgraded over time as stuff wares out.

bigmat

I've got the Gladius (pic in link below), the frame isn't the lightest but my bike weighs in at around 7.5kg which is light enough for me. I've only raced it once, but the frame has been used by Pro Continental teams I believe (Magnus Backstedt's outfit) so obviously up to the job. I would go for the smallest frame size you can get away with to make sure the head tube isn't too high, then you'll have a racier geometry (I originally ordered an XL but swapped it for an L).

swaman

Hi MatHammond

Of the 3 bikes I mentioned it is the Viner that I think I want the most, even though logically it should be number 3 on the list for me. The Scott is lighter defiantely and the Wilier has a certain amount of prestige, but the Viner for some reason has caught my attention. And I can buy it as a frameset only if I want for £499, the other frames are much more expensive and so better value to buy them as a bike. But I have parts so would prefer frame only if possible.

As a matter of interest what is your build, 7.5kg would be OK for me also. I have a campag 10 speed centuer group and some campag wheels that would do initially although would want to upgrade the wheels later.

Thanks

leejdavies

guinea wrote:

I can only talk abut the Mortirolo. It's plenty stiff enough.

It's a good bike and worth upgrading. This is a do anything bike.

+1 with this. got one last year and I'm in the process of slowly upgrading.

bigmat

swaman wrote:

Hi MatHammond

Of the 3 bikes I mentioned it is the Viner that I think I want the most, even though logically it should be number 3 on the list for me. The Scott is lighter defiantely and the Wilier has a certain amount of prestige, but the Viner for some reason has caught my attention. And I can buy it as a frameset only if I want for £499, the other frames are much more expensive and so better value to buy them as a bike. But I have parts so would prefer frame only if possible.

As a matter of interest what is your build, 7.5kg would be OK for me also. I have a campag 10 speed centuer group and some campag wheels that would do initially although would want to upgrade the wheels later.

Thanks

There's a thread on my bike in the "Your Road Bikes" section, on page 2 I think or search for "My Pimped Viner Gladius".