£1,000 budget for relative newbie

stevez

Started cycling last year having picked up a cheap road bike and now want to upgrade to something in the £1,000 range as I can get a voucher through Cycle to Work.

Unfortunately I am limited to buying my bike from Halfords or Leisure Lake Bikes. To be honest I don't really have a clue what I should be looking for but have seen some nice aluminium bikes from Trek, Cube, and Moda, and then there is the Boardman Team Carbon.

I plan to do about 100 miles per week in the summer and then the odd sportive before ending the summer with a London to Paris event.

Any help much appreciated.

Nik Cube

Buy the best fit and one you like the best. Personally I like cubes, my son has a trek and is very happy with it.

gregster10217

Had my Team Carbon for a little over a year and still love it.
Have a look at this thread, might help.

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12667599&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

navrig

Never been to Leisure Lake bikes but have their brochure sitting beside the bog. They have a much better range of bikes than Halfords so check their website.

mattshrops

imo the most important components-

groupset(chainset gears etc)
frame and forks
wheelset

compare prices of these individually so that you learn which order/quality/price they come in.

narrow it down to a few with similar quality components.

buy the best looking one

wicked2627

I"d agree with the Boardman Team Carbon being a good bike (however I am biased).

The 2011 Boardman range will be out soon and the prices may actually go up a bit but hopefully there have been some improvements to justify it.

ShutUpLegs

A boardman with a better groupset and wheels would probably be best value. Just pretty dull bikes IMO.

Had a look at some Cubes recently, and they look very good specs for the money.

Hinzy9

I was in the same boat as you a few months ago (£1000 Halfords C2W voucher).

I had pretty much decided on the boardman team carbon but there was no stock anywhere. So I took a trip to the local leisure lakes and after trying (sitting on) a few I 'almost' went for the Trek 1.5.

In the end my local independent bike shop agreed to take the voucher and after taking it for a test ride I got a (2011) Cube Attempt. I've put about 500 miles on it so far and its performed flawlessly. I Would definitely recommend.

Bar Shaker

ShutUpLegs wrote:

Just pretty dull bikes IMO.

In what way?

How much time have you spent on one?

wadpr

My vote is also for Boardman Team Carbon. You won't be disappointed. Recently upgraded from a Specialized Allez. No regrets.

taimur

look for vendors with left over 2010 bikes.

bought my Cube Agree SL 2010 (retail UKP 1498) for 1050. Came with new Ultegra and much more... excellent value for money.

plife

Hallfords will get most bikes in for you. Cube, Cannondale, Trek, Felt etc all should be no problem. I have my voucher sitting here while I decide what I get, but Halfords gave me prices on all the above makes!

stevez

Thanks for all the advice guys, went to see a few bikes today and really liked the look of the Cube Attempt. So I now think i'm down to a choice of 3:-

Cube Attempt
Cannondale Synapse 105
Trek 2.1

All have Shimano 105 groupset, but the wheels seem to vary greatly with the Fulcrum Racing 7s on the Cube looking the business.

taimur

What's the price of the synapse? At the same price I would definitely not consider anything over the Cannondale. Even though I love my Cube Agree SL

stevez

Synapse 105 is £999 at Leisure Lakes Cycles. That is RRP though as it's the aluminum version.

Uggi

Cycling Plus Bike of the year 2011 supplement. Rate the Cube attempt as the best bike for £1K. They do look awsome, cycle surgery Liverpool Street has one in the window.

peehee

stevez wrote:

Started cycling last year having picked up a cheap road bike and now want to upgrade to something in the £1,000 range as I can get a voucher through Cycle to Work.

Unfortunately I am limited to buying my bike from Halfords.

Any help much appreciated.

i think you can phone halfords bud and ask for any bike you want they might not be able to get but then they might??
i remember when i bought my felt compulsion (mountain bike) oooh dirty word in here lol they don't sell them in the shop but when you phone the cycle to work scheme people they could get one no problem..
cube sounds like a wicked buy as someone said cycling plus rated it a+ for a £1000 budget buy.
and in this monthscycling active the ribble sportive bianco @ £1073.00 got 98% overall rating yeah i know mag talk and all that but another option for you and halfords should be able to hide £73.

good luck in your search

stevez

Spoke to Ribble and unfortunately they won't honour the voucher. I think I'm now down to 2 though, Cannondale Synapse 105 vs Cube Attempt.