First bike on Cycle to work

simon190675

Hi,
I'm looking to purchase my first road bike on the Cyclescheme through my work. The bike will initially be used to get fit (probably on a turbo trainer) but my goal is to complete at least one sprint triathlon next year, and hopefully an olympic length tri the following year.

I have been into my LBS and they have recommended the CAAD9, and also suggested i get the tiagra groupset to keep with my budget. However i cannot find any avaiable in my size. He recommended i go for a 54 frame. I have found one in 56 available but it is in the liquigas colours which i am not a fan of. Not sure i can spend £800 on a bike i don't like the look of.

I have been looking around for a while and have found the following bikes, which is within the £1000 limit i have but gives me a bit of room to buy some extras.

Pinarello FP1 Tiagra Team Sky Replica 2010 - £899

Felt F75 2010 (105 groupset) - £799

C2C VIA Nirone 7 Alu Tiagra Compact 2010 - £660

Do i look at one of these or do i risk the 56 CAAD 9 and put up with the colour?

Any help will be gratefully received.

Thanks

sundog

Sounds like your LBS are pretty switched on

The CAAD10 is replacing the CAAD9

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/c ... ride-27905

Make sure the bike fits properly and you love its style & colour

Berk Bonebonce

The most important thing is to get a bike the right size. On this matter, do your homework and do not trust the advice of geezer selling it you. A lot of the bikes in shops are last seasons stock and this often means that they cannot get exact same bike in another size for you.

meggiedude

I'd also recommend you make sure the frame sizing is right for you.
People often get fooled into thinking that a bigger size will fit them best when in fact the opposite is the case. Its often a better to get a slightly smaller frame and swap the stem and/or slightly tweak the saddle position to get just the right size.
I too was in a similar position to you. I tried the Pini FP1, a Trek 2.1, The CAAD9 and finally the Specialized Allez comp. All these were 2010 bikes

I wanted the CAAD9, but like you could not buy one in the size I needed (also 54cm like you). So I settled for the 2010 Spec Allez comp in black and I am very pleased. Got it for the reduced price of 999quid on Cyclescheme (sometime shops won't let you buy discounted prices via cyclescheme - depends on the store)

Also take care with sizing from diff manufacturers. IIRC Pinerello size their FP1 bikes from bottom bracket centre to top tube centre (i.e 520mm) whereas the other bikes are measured to the top of the seat tube (I think). So a 520 Pinerello FP1 is nominally the same size as a 54cm CAAD9 I believe.
At the end of the day you need to try them and pick the one with the right feel and fit for you.

Paul C, Devon

I am pretty sure that Partridge cycles near Exeter had a 54cm CAAD9 tiagra in matt black the last time i looked about 2 weeks ago