£3500 to buy a new carbon steed>>>thoughts please

haveitmyson

Hello

am having a bit of a dilemma! i started cycling 2 years ago when i purchased a trek 1.7. I now love my riding and have used my trek for weekly rides of about 35 miles with a group of mates (very competitive!) and used it to commute most days. Its now time for a really nice carbon bike and have kind of narrowed it down to a AR3/F3. i dont really do big long 90 mile rides "yet" so a bit confused over what model to go for. The AR3 looks crackin. any advice would be great including any other bikes i should look at around £3.5K eg giant etc

Is there another bike i should consider

I havnt tried them yet but like them they seem a good spec and nice frames? Oh I'm about 6"1 if that helps
Cheers

andyrr

Canyon ? Renowned for being stiff frames and as you're a bit of a bigger guy a carbon Canyon might suit.

haveitmyson

cheers ill have a look at canyon too

haveitmyson

looked at canyon website, it all gets a bit confusing!! as i cant see myself doing longer rides of more than 50 miles should i be considering an aero frame bike?

letap73

Assuming the bikes you refered to above are Felts, then this should be perfect:

http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/store/pr ... Road-56cm/

haveitmyson

yes they are felts that had caught my eye, has anyone got a felt and if so what do they think

Valy

WTF?


That felt look like an amazing deal!

cal_stewart

di2 for 3g. wtf

the_jackalcp

At your price bracket I would think you would want something a little bit more ''special' than a felt. You could easily build a nice Cervelo r3 if you picked up last years frame or how about a Cube. Colnago and Pinarello are certainly not out of the question.

Having said that the Felt at the link above is a bargain.[/url]

Anonymous

That Felt with Di2 is a bargain. They do your size too (58!)

cal_stewart

how much is di2 for group only?

letap73

For di2 groupset

£2000+

rjh299

Cannondale Super Six Hi Mod SRAM Red

Valy

Ooh, that's a good one too.

northpole

The Felt is an amazing bargain if you are into battery powered Shimano - well spotted letap!

For those of a Campag persuasion I suspect your £3.5k should be able to swing a deal on a Wilier (albeit used). Looks the right size for you (I've no connection with the seller!)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

Peter

bexley5200

£3500 what a budget i could buy a car for that

Karl2010

Colnago M10 with Campagnolo Record or Super Record Groupset?
Just get some cheep Fulcrum racing 7 wheels if it maxes out your budget.
http://www.colnago.com/bikes/2011/m10

Karl2010

Or this http://www.feltbicycles.com/United-Kingdom/2011/Road/AR-Series/AR1.aspx

You can get the frame for £2500.00. That leaves £1000.00 for groupset & wheels

tx14

Karl2010 wrote:

Colnago M10 with Campagnolo Record or Super Record Groupset?
Just get some cheep Fulcrum racing 7 wheels if it maxes out your budget.
http://www.colnago.com/bikes/2011/m10

that's like going to work in a tailored suit with slippers.

Paul RS

Hi, I am using my first Felt, and it is my first carbon frame too. I built this for same budget and feel that there is no other bike i would ride better on,(ie, i'm not hankering after anything else!) so can wholeheartedly recommend the AR series. This is an AR1, mostly ultegra, and Reynolds Assaults. The bars are temporary, and will be changed soon. I was also looking at the F series, but opted for the aero for it's slimmer profile, rather than out and out stiffness, i have another bike for that.. This feels very smooth, yet very sprightly, climbs well, better than i expected to be honest, and it still takes some of the buzz out of the road surface, which was my reason for choosing a carbon frame. If you are careful you can build a better bike than the AR3 for the same money, 2010 frame though.




Let us know what you decide..

Karl2010

Nice bike Paul.

rjh299

Karl2010 wrote:

Nice bike Paul.

+1

nferrar

Although that Felt di2 is still a bargain it's not the full group (brakes and chainset are Ultegra), it's also externally routed cabling so won't be to everyone's tastes.

jacob2910

rjh299 wrote:

Karl2010 wrote:

Nice bike Paul.

+1

+2

haveitmyson

Hi Paul

Nice bike, how do you find it on longer rides ie is it a comfortable position or very racey

to me the AR3 seems a really good of the shelf spec and i presume a lightweight rig too

wildmoustache

Alright, if i didn't have a nice bike and had 3.5k to build one i'd do something like ...

Canyon Utimate SLX - c.£1300
Campagnolo Record - c.£1000
Shamal tubs - £600
Rest - Ritchey/Deda alloy bar and stem, cages, carbon seatpost, saddle etc - c£500

Something like that anyway ... if you could raise the budget then you could buy Boras

kfinlay

Bikes like the Felt AR series are becoming more popular especially with the success of the likes of Cervelo S2 and S3. I just feel they are a bit of a niche bike where you want the aero benefits but are prepared to loose some stiffness and pay a bit of a weight penalty - do these compromises really matter to an eveyday cyclist? Probably not. For me and the hilly cycling I tend to do I wouldn't go the aero route and tend more to traditional style such as Canyon SLX, Cervelo R series or Felt Z series. So the point I'm eventually getting around to is go for a bike that fits your needs and type of riding you do.
The good thing is for £3500 you can have a fabulous bike.

Paul RS

Hi,

So far, being the depths of winter, i've only done several rides up to 75 miles, and it's been fine, and have no doubts about doing 130+ on it. I have an Arione on it, and am only so-so on that, but for me, and the way i ride, (been riding for 18 yrs), it works well, i have a fairly short stem, though may reduce it to 90mm depending on the outcome of the bars. It currently weighs 17lb exactly. Does the AR3 usually come with sram though? See if you can try one of each somewhere is my advice, and if your trek fits you well, measure all the critical dimensions and check out which model is closest, although either could be adjusted to fit.

Cheers