First Time Road Bike £1000-£1200 advice needed

chrisafish
chrisafish Posts: 4
edited September 2011 in Road buying advice
Hi,

I'm looking to buy my first road bike and could do with some good advice as struggling to cut through all the 4*/5* reviews in magazines. I've just taken up triathlons this year (couple of sprints then an Olympic in 2.35) as a way to keep fit, lose weight and buy gadgets. Aiming to do some more sprint triathlons next year but not every week so I think my ratio of road/training to triathlon racing is leading me to a road bike rather than a specific triathlon version.

I borrowed an Orbea Aqua for the season which seemed to work pretty well (for my level) but have no sense of how it compares to others. I've got about £1000-£1200 to spend and been doing some research but finding it difficult to choose between the 4 options I've so far narrowed it down to (below) and the tricky question of whether to buy online or instore (bike choice can dictate that a bit it appears).

Have 2 questions

1. Which of the below is 'best' in your opinion?
- Fuji SL 2.0 (£1200 reduced from £1500)
- Focus Cayo 105 (£1100)
- Planet X SL 6700 (£1250)
- Orbea Aqua T105 (£1060)

2. Instore or online?
the better deals seem to be online but obviously can't try before I buy. I'm 6 foot so reckon a 56"/57" should suffice.

Any thoughts, help and guidance would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Chris :)


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Comments

  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    Welcome Chris

    There's all sorts of arguments people will come up with on this but ultimately you'll be pleased with whichever one of these bikes you buy as long as it fits. Fit is on of the most important factors, if you're comfortable on the bike you'll go fast, simples :) Bear in mind that fit can be adjusted with different stem lengths and fiddling with your seat angle etc.

    Personally for this budget I would want carbon. The fact is carbon is lighter and stiffer than Alloy.

    Planet x are doing the Nanolight with Sram force for 1299 which is a silly bargain. Ribble also have good bikes around this price, check the stealth and new sportive. Your LBS will almost certainly have some 2011 bikes that want to shift at a discount now too.

    The best thing to do is try them out before buying, but if you do a bit of research on frame geometry first then you can confidently buy online.
  • zedcor
    zedcor Posts: 10
    edited September 2011
    chrisafish wrote:
    whether to buy online or instore (bike choice can dictate that a bit it appears).

    Wiggle have a 30 day test ride available as long as long as the bike isn't discounted more than 15% of the list price. This means that you can send it back back for free if it doesn't fit or you don't like it.

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/h/option/30testride
  • I've seen the Cannondale CAAD10 available in a couple of places for under a £1000 in the end of season sales, that is where my money would go if i was to buy in that price range.
  • Thanks for your thoughts, the Wiggle option is useful and hadn't thought about the Cannondale - not found that many reviews but will dig around.

    Thanks
  • nochekmate
    nochekmate Posts: 3,460
    edited September 2011
    PeteMadoc wrote:
    Welcome Chris

    Personally for this budget I would want carbon. The fact is carbon is lighter and stiffer than Alloy.

    Don't take that statement as a fact in all cases.

    I'd put the Cervelo S1 up against a number of carbon bikes in that price bracket in terms of stiffness. The S1 is easily bought for that price secondhand - made mine up for a lot less than £1K. Equally the CAAD9 receives similar plaudits on that front - never ridden one to comment.

    Cervelo S1 would also serve your needs for a road bike that can easily be converted into a triathlon/TT set-up through the flippable seatpost. The one that I've put together feels like a pocket rocket when riding it - I'm impressed and I've not found the well documented stiff ride to be a major issue either. An ideal road/tri combination on a budget IMO.
  • Bar Shaker
    Bar Shaker Posts: 2,313
    nochekmate wrote:
    PeteMadoc wrote:
    Welcome Chris

    Personally for this budget I would want carbon. The fact is carbon is lighter and stiffer than Alloy.

    Don't take that statement as a fact in all cases.

    You will find ali bikes that are lighter or stiffer but the £1200 carbon bikes are all really good and no one can put forward an ali bike for that money, that is as good, let alone genuinely better. Factor in the way carbon damps out road buzz and how that stops your muscles tiring (think of some ali bikes as like standing on a Powerplate) and for long endurance racing or Triathlons which result in a long run... a good carbon bike is a no brainer.

    Of your list, the Planet X probably has the best spec.
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  • nochekmate
    nochekmate Posts: 3,460
    ^^^ The one fact that we might agree upon is the fact that all too often new buyers are blinded by the desire for carbon and never consider all the available options, when in fact, there are a number of very good aluminium alternatives still on the market eg. Cervelo S1, Cannondales CAAD series etc.

    Given that the OP is looking for a road bike but may wish to do further triathlons in the future, I figure that the S1 offers him an excellent option to satisfy both needs.
  • Thanks for all the advice. Definitely like the Cervelo S1 but struggling to find one for budget, some pop up on ebay but quickly go higher. Leaning towards the Planet X I think.

    Thanks

    :)
  • Bar Shaker wrote:
    nochekmate wrote:
    PeteMadoc wrote:
    Welcome Chris

    Personally for this budget I would want carbon. The fact is carbon is lighter and stiffer than Alloy.

    Don't take that statement as a fact in all cases.

    You will find ali bikes that are lighter or stiffer but the £1200 carbon bikes are all really good and no one can put forward an ali bike for that money, that is as good, let alone genuinely better.

    This is misleading information. A Canyon Ultimate Al or Cannondale Caad9/ 10 would outperform any of the budget carbon bikes.
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • ba68
    ba68 Posts: 156
    I have the Planet-x SL in large with ultegra, it's a fantastic bike for the money. I am just over 6 foot and have 172.5 cranks and 100mm stem and the fit is perfect for me. If you are going to fit aero bars tho you may want to try the next frame size down with a longer stem, depends how flexible and strong you are.
  • nochekmate
    nochekmate Posts: 3,460
    Aaahh some support at last on the aluminium/carbon debate. Don't get me wrong, I've got some carbon framed bikes but none of them would really meet the OP's original request.

    Bought my Cervelo S1 frameset off here for £400. Great price, excellent condition. Could have easily sold for profit on eBay where they tend to fetch £550 or so for frameset.

    Now built up with Ultegra parts that I had around in the garage. Had to buy some Ultegra shifters (£85). Probably put together for about £650 (given secondhand value of parts) and then used a spare set of carbon wheels that I had. Looks fantastic, responsive ride. Incredibly versatile set-up - road, triathlon and terrific criterium bike I'm sure, takes corners like a railing greyhound.

    Love it!
  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    Just over 1200 quid and I'm totally p*ssed off they have none left in my size:

    http://www.biker-boarder.de/shopware/Ca ... sgCurr=GBP

    RRP is 1999 for the 2012 model and it has RS10s instead of the Mavic wheels on this.
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