KHS Flite 500, Boardman Road Team or Ribble Sportive Bianco?

SEOinKent

Hi,

I need some advice and help.

I'm looking to get my first road bike and got about 1K to spend. I already have a MTB but want to get into road riding as well. Potentially got a 60 miler coming up in July for charity.

Done as much research as my brain can take and come up with these:

KHS Flite 500 - £850
http://www.khsbikes.co.uk/bikes/khs-flite-500

Boadman Road Team - £999
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65710#dtab

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/road/road_team.html

Ribble Sportive Bianco - £1100
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/specialed ... ERC&bike=1

Upgrade to Shimino 105 and ITM Aero 2.4 wheels.


Will also need to get SPD shoes and pedals.

ANY advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

sumosprintstar

The Ribble seems to be well thought of. Sorry to add another to the mix, but what about a Cannondale Synapse Alloy 105 for £1k?

Bill-87

One of the Cubes got the top rating in the best under £1k o here not so long ago, I'd go with that, but I do have a soft spot for them. Not sure what one it was and my knowledge couldn't be used to recommend anything further.

Garz

For value the boardman range have always hit consistently good test reviews, the only other head turner from reading on here would be the planet-x bikes around that price point.

SEOinKent

Cheers for the input,

Garz, I sat on a Boardman Road Team this morning and seems a nice bike. Unfortunately I can't test ride any bikes at the moment as I went over the handle bars of my mtb and have injured my wrist! DOH!

Bill-87, I must admit that Cubes haven't really entered the equation, but I'll check them out.

Sumosprintstar, cheers, also looking into the Cannondale!

Now my head is spinning even more than before! It took me long enough to decide upon which mtb to get, it looks like choosing a road bike is going to be just as painful, if not more so!

Gone are the days of the Penny Fathting!

Anyone else with any suggestions or advice?

TyeBag

The cube attempt as mentioned won the best bike for under a 1k and the khs got a really good review in cycling +

I assume you have plenty of clothing etc for the mtb

gaddster

Have you considered Planet X? Do a nice SL Carbon for £999 although the bike snobs will no doubt rubbish the quality of it. They seem like one of the best value for money bikes around to me.

tompo

I bought a new bike a few weeks ago. Originally I was going to buy a Specialized Secteur Sport but in the end I bought the KHS Flite 500. My reason for changing my mind was largely based on the reviews the Flite 500 has received and also the spec of the bike.

I was a little unsure about which size I required and so rang KHS. The guy I spoke to could not have been more helpful. He talked me through a few things and also looked at the measurements/geometry of my current bike.

I bought the bike from an LBS who had to order the bike for me. It was ordered on Wednesday and arrived the next day. The KHS guy rang me to thank me for the order.

I am very happy with the bike and glad I decided to spend the extra.

It is equipped with Shimano 105 and has the look and feel of a bike costing a lot more than the £850 it sells for.

I did ask how KHS can do the bike with that spec for the price they do. It’s largely due to the fact unlike companies like Specialized, they are not sponsoring or subsidising trade teams.

For £850 you get a lot of bike for not many bucks. However, the Flite 500 does seem to be passing under a lot of people’s radar when thinking about their next purchase.

screebs

I have the 2010 Boardman team Carbon (White Limited Edition) and would heartily recommend it - gives you a very good base should you wish to upgrade any of the components should you get the "road" bug.

It's a lot of bike for £1k - i got mine on my works CTW scheme (which was exclusively with halfords, so that limited my choice a lot) but very happy with my choice.