Road bike advice -

choc99

First post so be nice

I've finally had enough of watching people on road bikes freewheeling uphill whilst I struggle and being over taken by men in suits on Bromptons on my commute to work so I'm ditching the mountain bike and buying a road bike.

Ive got to buy from Evans from our work scheme and I've narrowed it down to these:

Specialized Allez elite - £810 with price match from JeJames
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec030707

Secteur Elite - £900 with price match from JeJames
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... %20secteur

Trek 2.1 ltd edition - £860 with price match from alpine bikes
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... e-ec029840


Any views?

I was going to go for Allez Elite but was intrigued about the Secteur given the geometry is supposed to be a little more comfortable and I havent ridden a racing bike i was abut 12 and after a years of rugby injury i'm not the most flexible of people . Whilst its no a decision maker by any stretch I like the fact that I could, if necessary, attach a rack to the Secteur. I doubt i ever would to be honest, everything goes in a bag on my back, but I like having the choice.

My commute is hardly endurance at 11 miles each way and whilst I will do the odd longer ride on the odd weekend (and being bullied into doing the London to Brighton) I don't expect to be doing the Roubaix so perhaps the Secteur unnecessary but interested in opinion.

The Trek ive just thrown in to the mix because in terms of discount it looks the best value albeit, to my untrained eye, very similiar to the Specialized.

Ive tried both the Specialized for size and to be honest I noticed very little between then in terms of the geometry and was ready to buy the Allez but the bloke in the shop recommended the Secteur and I'm now in a quandry.

All views on these, or any other you may think better, very welcome.

Cheers

alihisgreat

The Secteur is a more relaxed geometry bike.. but the general consensus in the reviews i've read is that it is a little heavier than the competition..


and If you're only doing 11 miles each way then you won't even feel a racier geometry.



Out of the Trek and the Allez i would go for the trek because the spec is significantly better (Groupset and wheels) to justify a £50 premium over the Allez.

But just get whichever you are more comfortable on... comfort is worth more than groupset, wheels et.c

maddog 2

Giant Defy gets some good reviews - can you get those from Evans?

Or spend a tad more for a CAAD10?

Secteur is heavy, as said.

KnightOfTheLongTights

choc99 wrote:

I was going to go for Allez Elite but was intrigued about the Secteur given the geometry is supposed to be a little more comfortable and I havent ridden a racing bike i was abut 12 and after a years of rugby injury i'm not the most flexible of people . Whilst its no a decision maker by any stretch I like the fact that I could, if necessary, attach a rack to the Secteur. I doubt i ever would to be honest, everything goes in a bag on my back, but I like having the choice.

I have a bog-standard Allez, and was perfectly comfortable riding it 1,400km round France last autumn. Easy to frig a rear rack fitting on to it - access to the top lugs are barred by the brake shoe, so you just need a seat post attachment.

choc99

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

The Secteur is a more relaxed geometry bike.. but the general consensus in the reviews i've read is that it is a little heavier than the competition..


and If you're only doing 11 miles each way then you won't even feel a racier geometry.



Out of the Trek and the Allez i would go for the trek because the spec is significantly better (Groupset and wheels) to justify a £50 premium over the Allez.

But just get whichever you are more comfortable on... comfort is worth more than groupset, wheels et.c

Cheers - any ideas as to why the Ltd edition Trek 2.1 2012 is on offer so much cheaper than the standard 2.1 2012. Are they the same spec. Despite being a 2012 model its the same price that the 2011 is being offered for. It cant just be the garish colour. We are still only in january after all and seems odd for a 2012 to have such a discount.

alihisgreat

choc99 wrote:

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

The Secteur is a more relaxed geometry bike.. but the general consensus in the reviews i've read is that it is a little heavier than the competition..


and If you're only doing 11 miles each way then you won't even feel a racier geometry.



Out of the Trek and the Allez i would go for the trek because the spec is significantly better (Groupset and wheels) to justify a £50 premium over the Allez.

But just get whichever you are more comfortable on... comfort is worth more than groupset, wheels et.c

Cheers - any ideas as to why the Ltd edition Trek 2.1 2012 is on offer so much cheaper than the standard 2.1 2012. Are they the same spec. Despite being a 2012 model its the same price that the 2011 is being offered for. It cant just be the garish colour. We are still only in january after all and seems odd for a 2012 to have such a discount.

The one at Alpine Bikes is the 2011 model, the one at Evans is the 2012 model, so they won't honour a price match on the 2012 model.

You missed out on the 2012 bikes discount at Evans-> they had 10% off until 2nd jan. (almost bought myself a Caad8 Tiagra, but went for a Giant Defy 1 from another shop)


If you can get your hands on the 2011 model in your size from evans, the spec is still superior though.


Have a look at the Cannondale Caad8 and Synapse which evans stock -> caad8 is comparable to the Allez, and Synapse to the Secteur.

apart from that i can recommend the 2012 Giant Defy.. (as can the Cycling Plus reviews 4.5/5 for the Defy 1 & 2)

iandennis

I bought a Secteur Elite Apex last year via C2W. For the ex-rugby player type is a fine bike and whilst it's probably not as light as some of the competition its a solid reliable bike. The Apex groupset has been great at hills, the 32 sprocket making steep climbs significantly easier. I've upgraded the wheels on mine, but as it has to carry 100kgs then I'm very happy with it and it didn't feel that much heavier than the Allez.

choc99

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

choc99 wrote:

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

The Secteur is a more relaxed geometry bike.. but the general consensus in the reviews i've read is that it is a little heavier than the competition..


and If you're only doing 11 miles each way then you won't even feel a racier geometry.



Out of the Trek and the Allez i would go for the trek because the spec is significantly better (Groupset and wheels) to justify a £50 premium over the Allez.

But just get whichever you are more comfortable on... comfort is worth more than groupset, wheels et.c

Cheers - any ideas as to why the Ltd edition Trek 2.1 2012 is on offer so much cheaper than the standard 2.1 2012. Are they the same spec. Despite being a 2012 model its the same price that the 2011 is being offered for. It cant just be the garish colour. We are still only in january after all and seems odd for a 2012 to have such a discount.

The one at Alpine Bikes is the 2011 model, the one at Evans is the 2012 model, so they won't honour a price match on the 2012 model.

Bugger, missed that - becasue they were the same colour i foolishly assumed it was a new bike.

Have a look at the Cannondale Caad8 and Synapse which evans stock -> caad8 is comparable to the Allez, and Synapse to the Secteur.

apart from that i can recommend the 2012 Giant Defy.. (as can the Cycling Plus reviews 4.5/5 for the Defy 1 & 2)

Given that they are similiar components, how superior is, say, the Caad8 Tiagra to the Allez Elite? For more or less the same price as the Caad8 I can get the specialised.

What about last years models? A Caad8 Tiagra I can get for 600 odd. Evans dont sem to have too many 2011 Canondales - Allteraincycles for example have 2011 105 CAAD for 800. Given its last years, would it be significantly better?

How much do they improve year on year?

Evans dont have any Giants unfortunately.

alihisgreat

You're just taking a free ride of all the research i did over the past few months now haha

The Caad8 is basically the equivalent of the Allez elite in everything apart from the frame. i.e. groupset, wheels, finishing kit etc. on both is equivalent low-ish end stuff.

The new 2012 Caad8 is supposed to have a better frame than the 2011 model, with revised 'SAVE' seatstays and BB30 and If i was pushed i would say that on paper the Caad8 frame is better than the Allez frame -> it is lighter, and given cannondale's reputation (Caad10 etc.) I imagine it rides very well too.


The 2011 Caad8 with tiagra wouldn't be as good as the 2012 version because aside from the revised frameset, the 2011 Tiagra groupset is 9-speed compared to the 10-speed tiagra on the 2012 bikes -> which makes the groupset upgradable through 105-Ultegra-Durace etc.

I spent quite a while looking, sitting and comparing bikes and I was tempted by the 2011 105 Caad8, and the 2012 Caad8 tiagra from evans but both were slightly too long for me unfortunately, they are nice bikes but i'm glad i stopped myself and went for a Giant instead -> its a shame you are restricted to evans.

choc99

Its much appreciated, thanks.

I'm going to go in and sit on Caad8 and see how it feels I've always fancies a cannondale since marveling at a mates mountainbike as a kid in the late 80's. I've had a couple of Specialized MTB's so, whilst I'm sure that the die hard aficionados may frown on them, I'm comfortable with them and having tried it, the size was fine.

its a shame you are restricted to evans.

It is, there seems to be some great offers elsewhere but being as George Osborne is picking up half the tab I guess I can't complain too much.