Which bike!

yeachan153

Hello,

I am new to this forum, so please redirect my question to another board if it is in the wrong section!

Recently, I have been thinking about buying an entry level road bike at warlands or halfords, Oxford

I would like to spend maximum of under 460 pounds! I have two bikes in mind, but not knowing a clue about bikes, I would like to ask you all what you think..

The bike will be used quite frequently everyday, around 8 miles everyday, so please give your opinions regarding weight, reliability, quality, etc etc, and compare the two bikes if you could!

- Carrera Virtuoso
- Dawes Giro 300

Thank you

Valy

Hello there,

Sorry to throw another bike into the mix, but this Specialized Allez 2010 looks like a pretty good deal. I have one myself and it has not really caused me any problems appart from a few that i caused myself!

It has carbon fibre forks and a better groupset - it has Shimano 2300 throughout compared to a mix of 2200/2300 and other bits on the Dawes and the Carrera.

yeachan153

Thanks Valy, yeah thats fine! Its good to look at everything, especially if a lot of moneys going into it!

It does look like the best alternative, and the price is very attractive

One thing that worries me is that I won't really have the support I could have if I bought it from a bike-shop directly, and if you dont mind me asking, did you also buy it from the website? Also.. since I basically know nothing about bikes,, a problem will be self-assembly.

If you did buy from the website, do you think it is trustworthy? And if you did buy it from a shop, may I ask where you bought it?


Thanks,

yeachan153

How easy is it to assemble - Sorry for double posting

TyeBag

I bought a second hand spesh allez 2010 which is my first road bike

only problem I've had with it is a frayed cable,toke it into halfords and they changed the cable and set it up for me,they do a bike care plan for £18 a year,basically if anything needs changing you just need to buy the bike so don't feel that you need to buy from one of the above shops

Although I have nothing to compare it to it's a great bike

Valy

I've bought mine from Msteel bike shop - it's in Newcastle up on Tyne. As far as assembly - it should not be much. You will just need to turn the handlebars around and put the wheels in, pump them up and that's about it give or take a a few more things - saddle adjustment etc.

You could just take it to a local bike shop if you know of any. They can set it up for you for what I would image be around £20-£30.

Cyclesurgery [to my knowledge] seem to be pretty well regarded. They have a few physical shops too if I'm not mistaken. You may wanna google about them if you want to know more though.

yeachan153

Thanks for responding

I checked out to see if the allez bikes were sold anywhere near oxford, but apparently not, which is a great shame!

I still feel it is best to go local, where i can take it back for repairs and talk to the people who work there

Valy

I see what you are saying.

You could have nothing wrong with in for ages, but you could run into a problem too which could be more problematic. Unless it's a warranty job, you will pay either way - website or bike shop.

Here are a few bike shops around Oxford that came up after a google search. See if you can go to any of them.

Valy

Shaboom - here is an Allez at this bike shop:

Beeline Bicycles
59 - 65 Cowley Road
Oxford
OX4 1HR

yeachan153

Aha! I had also just looked over that

They also sell the allez secteur, and the main difference is apparently some 'zerth' inserts for the forks (???)

They also have 8-speed STI, does that mean there is no option to change the frontal gears as well as the ones on the back wheels?


Cheers.

Valy

The Secteur has a tripple front ring and Allez has a double front ring - so 8x3 and 8x2 are the combinations. Not sure how much difference there is between the Allez and Secteur but I think the Secteur might have mudguard mounts at the front, unlike the Allez.

niblue

Some shops have had good discounts on the 2010 Secteur so that might be worth looking out for.

taimur

Well if you are size 58 by any chance (5ft 9in to 6ft 1in) chainreactioncycles.com are selling a "Cube 2010 Aerial Road" with Full Sora on 7k race grade Alloy frame.

will cost you under 400.

good luck.


[EDIT] I bought the upgraded "agree" from them and delivered half way across the globe. The handlebar cables are pre-attached you just need to bolt the handle on. The wheel is dismantled you need to put in place and screw the skewr on. Same with saddle and seat post.

yeachan153

Valy wrote:

The Secteur has a tripple front ring and Allez has a double front ring - so 8x3 and 8x2 are the combinations. Not sure how much difference there is between the Allez and Secteur but I think the Secteur might have mudguard mounts at the front, unlike the Allez.

Thanks everyone for replying! Very appreciated, i think im looking more into the allez double.

Valy, does the 8x2 give more hill climbing power or less speed? And out of interest, how is it different from the allez 16?

Thanks,

stronginthesun

i started on a dawes giro 300 and it was excellent ! really wished i hadnt sold it would have been an excellent second/winter bike

Valy

The 8x2 is just the cogs multiplied to get the total speeds - 16.

The thing that determines how fast you can go are the ratios between the chainrings/cogs.

Personally I think the gearing on the allez may be a bit steep for a few hils - especially if you are starting cycling (I'm assuming you are?) where as the Secteur has a tripple cahinset at the front giving you more gears and lower ratios - so it will be easier to get up hills.

The Secteur also has wider tires 25mm vs 23 on the Allez - so it will be more comfortable.

If you can, do try each one and see how they feel. What size of bike are you looiking for? Or how tall are you etc?

That cube does looks pretty good except for the lack of a carbon fork and being online.

yeachan153

There arn't any ridiculous hills around, i assume for light hills, the double will be OK?

I am around 5ft 11, but being 16, might grow a few cm's, so whether i buy a 56cm or 58cm is also a consideration. I guess the oxide covering on the aluminium and the lack of steel on both the allez mean it will not rust?

Hmm, how much difference in comfort will those differences in tire width result?

EDIT: Ive had a pretty decent dawes hybrid, shame it wasnt maintained, but yes this will be a first for road bikes

Valy

If the area is reasonably flat, then yeah the double should be fine.

I'm about 6'2 and have the 58cm frame. Initially I thought of getting a shorter stem as I felt it was a bit stretched out, but after a while I just got used to it really. It depends how long your body is - try the sizes out in the shop if possible.

25mm tires are said to be not any slower than 23mm tires, yet give more comfort due to the higher volume.

Just a note - the stock 23mm tires on the Allez are actually more like 25. I bought a couple of other tires as the stock ones wore out and though they are 23mm as well, they are noticeably thinner.

ride_whenever

I'd pop into the guys at the cycle centre. Not a huge range but lovely guys and know their stuff...

TyeBag

A friend of mine has the entry level allez which is 8speed double although it's his first road bike he feels that he needs better gearing where as I have a triple 10 speed he is pedalling like crazy where as I'm very relaxed so I'd go for a triple,my rear cassette was put on by the guy who had it before me,very fast bike really covers the ground well

yeachan153

TyeBag wrote:

A friend of mine has the entry level allez which is 8speed double although it's his first road bike he feels that he needs better gearing where as I have a triple 10 speed he is pedalling like crazy where as I'm very relaxed so I'd go for a triple,my rear cassette was put on by the guy who had it before me,very fast bike really covers the ground well

Hmm, by that are you implying that the double is slower?

TyeBag

Obviously the bike is only as good as the bloke riding it but when I've been behind him for his full circle I'm doing 3/4 of a circle and I find it very easy to keep up with him and going up hills he is forever going down

I was told when I bought my bike to go for a triple as it was my first road bike until I get stronger as you have more gears for hills etc