Moutain biker needs help

Ant123

Help Gents,

Im a kean mountainbike riding approx 40-60 miles a week xc around the South Downs and Surrey Hills mainly. Id say I was relatively fit but carrying too much weight.
Looking to buy a road bike with cycle to work scheme and probably looking to split my commute 50/50 so drive the first 15 miles ride the second 15 miles into the office.

The last road bike I road was about 15 years ago and need some advice- lve short listed a specialized allez elite and trek 1.5 but need some guidance- the allez is a compact and the trek is a triple- I will be riding in and out of Dorking to Hampton Court via the Surrey Hills (easy on the way in climb all the way out)- do I need a Mountain biker type chain set (triple) or will the compact be sufficient?

Also am I missing a trick not looking at some niche bikes sub £1000 and if so what are they?

guilliano

Depending on size of frame needed I would say a Giant Defy 2 should also be on your shortlist. Better frame than the Trek 1.5 and better crankset, although the wheels are probably lighter on the Trek

ALaPlage

Compact Double should be sufficient and would be my choice. Trek 1.5 also available as a Double I believe - both bikes you are looking at are very capable but advise you try before you buy to see which fits you best and feels better.

If you can stretch your budget to £1000 then this is an option for a well balanced race geometry road bike and has 105 kit.

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

or this is my personal favourite under £1k and also comes with 105 gearing.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... e-ec022918

Others to check out and a bit different would be bikes from Bianchi - beautiful frames or the Pinarello FP1 which is a great bike - my friend has the FP2 and loves it.

Enjoy your search but get a test ride to see what fits. Trek is my ride and worth a look at the 2.1.