My test ride experience

Calpol

Since returning to cycling last year I have promised myself a new road bike. My current steed is a 15 yo Peugeot Richard Virenque edition. Its Reynolds tubing with shimano RSX-100. I think it was probably quite good when I bought it and certainly has been good enough to capture my imagination in the last 6 months. Of course every bloke always want s something better so I decided to ride the bike until the spring and then look for a new one. The last few weeks have been spent researching - generally getting more confused. Today I decided to go to a LBS and actually have a look at the bikes in the flesh. I have to say that transition cycles in Bedford were really good today +1 to them. If I buy I hope it will be from them.

I have a couple of little injuries that I am conscious of so I wanted t make sure that any new bike doesnt inflame them any more. My right elbow has been aching I think due to too straight arms locked on the bars and my current bike has no stem adjustment possible without a new set of bars.

My budget is c£1000. My aims are sportives rather than racing and maybe some cycling holidays in france at some point.

1st up was trying to gauge my size. I am a bit over 1.83m (6 foot in old money). Transition do SPecialized, Giant and Cube. A specialized Allez Comp was first up. 58cm size seemed about right as I dwarfed the 56cm. Bike was 2011 and reduced to £770. Shimano 105 throughout. It looked pretty good even though I haven't really considered a Spesh - kind of think they are a bit common but it was explained that they have a very strong warranty vs the likes of Cube.
Anyway I mounted up and went out for a quick scoot down the road. Bike was light - the frst thing I noticed was the shifters - the levers felt really plastic and lightweight vs my old ones. The shift itself was smooth but, sort of clinical. Efficient but hmmmm sort of soulless if that makes any sense? Anyway the bike felt nice but I ddi feel like the top tube might be a little long for me. Apparently the Allez Comp is the race geometry so maybe that wasnt quite for me.
At £770 it sure was tempting though vs list of £1200.

Next up was a Defy 1 2012. I had this bike on my short list so was keen to see what it was like. Soon I was out and on the road again Spec is 105 but with Tektro calipers. Defy apparently is more Sportive geometry so might suit me better. I think I was mounted onto a L, It was £1000 and not discounted but the shop were offering 10% worth of accessories. I actually preferred the ride. Seemed more comfortable. Bike slightly heavier than spesh but didnt handle any heavier. Gear shift the same as you would expect. I liked it but......

.....neither of them really felt special. I can't help but feel I was on something that was mass produced. The Giant was nice but for me it didnt feel like £1000 worth of bike. The paint job is nice but kind of hmmmm uninspiring.

So stage one of the purchase adventure is over. What have I learned? I am a large or a 58cm in bikes for the most part. I prefer the sportive type geometry. Neither of the demoed bikes really captured my imagination. I can't see myself really loving to get out and ride them. I am not really that keen on the big thick aluminium tubing. Side views on the internet are really misleading !!!

So where next? Carbon? i might try and have a go on a carbon bike to see if that is a thing that transforms my experience. I also might have a go at something with Sram or Campag shifters as while Shimano was no doubt really efficient it felt too clinical. Going to see if I can try a Bianchi, Trek, and maybe a Ribble if I can.

Any comments - please add to the thread - cheers.

mfin

Well, one thing that seems consistent is you dont like the feel of Shimano 105, and the good news is that the 'snooth and clinical' feel is not how Sram or Campag can be described, will be more 'positive', not as 'smooth' noise wise, but you'll really get a far better 'feel' that the changes have happened.

To keep roughly on budget, Id sort of suggest looking at Ribble Sportive Bianco or a Planet X SL or Planet X Stealth even, all these are carbon and about in budget.

Groupset wise Id personally say Sram Rival, but I dont have experience of low end Campag (although love the high end stuff). Sram Rival I have and its faultless for me, as is my Sram Red.

So, that Planet X Stealth at the higher end, you can select Sram Rival (brakes option also needs to be changed to Rival and same for Chainset if you want a complete groupset) and that should come in at £1200, bit more if you start getting other options. SL would be a bit less.

These are only things Ive pulled up quickly (havent ridden the bikes, but they're all well reviewed) just looking to tick the boxes of Carbon frame and getting away from the 105.

As for 'mass produced' you dont get anything too exclusive for £1000, well, not even at 3 times that really, in the end they're all mass produced in factories!!

....then of course, youve got the sales to look out for something in too... sure some people will pitch in with some ideas, not sure if any of that helps you.

alihisgreat

+1 Transition cycles are good.

I've been looking in the sub £1000 price bracket and I bought a Defy 1 2012 (but not from them) -> definitely rides very nicely and i like the way it looks :? (also getting great reviews)


If you want something 'special' you might have to spend a bit more though, because i didn't really find anything 'special' in the price range (although i do think the giant is a great bike)...maybe look into Titanium?

its would give you a frame with more classic tubing profiles.. none of this oversized, trillion times butted aluminium

(Van Nicholas Mistral)

or maybe the Cannondale Caad10? gets quality reviews, widely considered to be amoung the best Aluminium framesets?

or you could look for something second hand?



oh and Evans cycles at Xscape in Milton Keynes (which i'm guessing isn't too far if Bedford is local) should stock Trek, Bianchi and it could be worth looking at BMCs too -> although when i went they didn't have any of the lower end BMCs or Bianchis and no treks... so you'd probably have to ask them to order them in.

giant_man

Don't worry about which groupset as it isn't important, they all do the same thing ie change gear, what is important is how the frame feels and if it fits you. You are doing the right thing in trying some out because every bike, or rather every frame, will feel different.

napoleond

Now you know your size, have a look at 2nd hand with Campagnolo Athena or above?

Have you thought about maybe putting new parts on your Peugeot if you like it so much? Or even just new wheels?

luv2ride

+1 for SRAM Rival, although this now seems to come on bikes £1k+ these days. I have bikes with SRAM and Shimano 105 and I definately prefer SRAM. As previous poster has said, it feels way more "positive" to me...however, you'd have to see what you thought of it yourself.

I have no experience of how SRAM Apex compares to Rival, but I suspect you're more likely to see a bike with Apex thyan Rival at the £1k mark these days?

Mind you, I hired a titanium Van Nicholas Euros on holiday last summer and that was the best bike I've ridden so far... and that was fitted with a Shimano Ultegra TRiple groupset which is something I'd never even considered previously - maybe is was also down to the amazing Mallorcan weather, smooth roads and considerate drivers!

...Priced it up when i got home and it would have cost me £2,500 to buy one so perhaps "special" does come at a cost...

rolf_f

mfin wrote:

As for 'mass produced' you dont get anything too exclusive for £1000, well, not even at 3 times that really, in the end they're all mass produced in factories!!

You can get a hand made (in Leeds) Bob Jackson frame for little more than £400 so you certainly can get something quite exclusive for £1000.

And for well under 3k there are places that will do you a made to measure carbon framed bike.

Calpol

Thanks all for the replies. I am going to try and get a scoot out on a few more bikes as there is no real rush for this seeing as riding is only at weekends for now. Will try a Trek Madone to see what carbon is like, a Bianchi via Nirone and if work travel allows then i will try for a look at either Planet X or Ribble. Will keep the thread updated with any progress

giant_man

Carbon is a whole different world as you will discover, it's very easy just to go for the first carbon bike you try, but be assured that every single carbon frame out there will feel different. Just some advice.

ugo.santalucia

Are you sure the bikes you tried are better than your Richard Virenque Edition?

At the time that was a very quality bike and there has been very little in the way of improvement since (despite what they say). I can easily keep up with my mates when I ride my 1984 Sannino and don't feel the more modern bikes as better... STI shifters make things easier, but better? Not sure.
The 1990 Milan Sanremo was won at 28 mph average... in recent times only in 2006 Pozzato got close to that average. Without EPO Eddie Merckx won the same race in 1967 at 27.8 mph average... now are modern bikes really faster and better?

If I were you, I would invest much less than you have budgeted into bringing your Peugeot back to its original glory and stick to it... maybe treat it to a pair of handbuilt wheels with top quality hubs (Royce, Chris King or the likes) and light rims, that will make a lot of difference... it's a unique bike you've got which will gather more attention at the cafes than all those black-white-red plastic bikes with huge logos, but then again, I restore bikes for fun, so I am a bit biased...

ugo.santalucia

... update on the previous... just had a look and your beautiful yellow and blue frame is already fitted with STI indexed gears, so why do you want to swap it for an anonymous plastic bike with mediocre components?

To get something better than what you have already in the garage, you are looking at spending 3 K or so... 10 speed iyt's not better than 8, it only has 2 more sprockets, which you don't probably need. A Carbon frame is light but has severe drawbacks over your Reynolds tubings.
The industry wants you to believe your bike is obsolete, well, a Penny Farthing is obsolete, your bike is still the pinnacle of technology!

Calpol

ugo.santalucia wrote:

... update on the previous... just had a look and your beautiful yellow and blue frame is already fitted with STI indexed gears, so why do you want to swap it for an anonymous plastic bike with mediocre components?

To get something better than what you have already in the garage, you are looking at spending 3 K or so... 10 speed iyt's not better than 8, it only has 2 more sprockets, which you don't probably need. A Carbon frame is light but has severe drawbacks over your Reynolds tubings.
The industry wants you to believe your bike is obsolete, well, a Penny Farthing is obsolete, your bike is still the pinnacle of technology!

Now you really have given me something to think about there and I have to confess it makes a lot of sense. I suppose for a fraction of the price I could upgrade wheels, new saddle and have a decent service to replace cables etc. I don't know how good the current wheels are to be honest but the rear one isn't true for a start. I think you may well have persuaded me to stick for now until I am clearer as to what a new bike would do that my current one doesnt. Aside form the attraction of a 50/34 instead of the 52/39 then I guess in truth there isnt much in it - certainly until my ability improves. Thanks again for the reply - I will start on some wheel research!

Calpol

Binned the plan of upgrading. The wheels arent too good and its a seven speed groupset. TO get more out of my riding I need to go to a compact this year and more gears will be better until I man up.

Plan D now! - Have decided it might be fun and good value to build my own. The Planet X carbon frames are down to £200, forks £50. I reckon I can add a Campagnolo Veloce groupset for c£350, leaving c£400 for wheels and other bits and pieces.

Frame £200
Fork £50
Headset £35
Handlebars £30
Stem £15
Groupset £350
Seat post £30
Saddle £50
Wheels £200
tyres £60

Total £1,020

warrior4life

Planet x model wheels are great.