Help required for my first road bike please

shutt015

Hi all.
I am currently looking to purchase a new road bike but am not sure what will benefit me the most, My choices I have looked at are

. Bianchi nirone 7 alu carbon
. Trek madone 3.1
. Ribble Sportive biaco.

Only the bianchi is alu frame with carbon forks and seat stays and the rest are full carbon. The bianchi looks the best by a country mile though.

I will be using this to improve my fitness with more 1-2 hour evening rides and the odd cycle race than a full day in the seat. Thanks in advance

Chris.

Ringo 68

Only looked at one of those bikes, the Trek, and really liked it. So does the cycling press and it came ot top of a group test against pretty good opposition in Cycling Active last month.

Also worth consideration in your price range is the Cube Agree Pro (£1550) You get a lot of bang for your buck with this bike and I have just picked one up myself (did anyone say the word biased?) and it does have the best spec for around £1500 as well as looking really good.

shutt015

Thanks,
I need to have a look at one of these, how about the weight.

Ta
Chris

Rigged

Worth having a look at the Cube Peloton SL 2012 which I think will go for £1150 with ultregra, although I'm not sure if it's released yet.

http://www.cube.eu/en/road/performance/peloton-sl/

shutt015

Thanks.

I am still stuck between a carbon bike for an extra 250-300 pounds than a alu/carbon bike. I thought the alu would be near the top end of the price at 1300 ish and carbon at 1500 is at the lower end. I would like to get more competstive as time moves on though. ? All the bike suggested look as good as the bianchi.

Chris.

Rigged

Try and have a test ride of a carbon and alu bike to see how the ride differs and go from there

Gizmo_

That's a serious budget for a first road bike?

I'm spending £1k on mine but that's through CTW...

Ringo 68

Gizmo_ wrote:

That's a serious budget for a first road bike?

I'm spending £1k on mine but that's through CTW...

It is a lot of money for a first bike but how many of us on here have paid £500-£800 for a first bike, only to upgrade it within 12 months?

I am first to hold my hand up for that. In the long run it maybe more cost effective to jump straight in at the deep end.

as long as you don't get fed up of it after 1 ride

shutt015

Rigged wrote:

Worth having a look at the Cube Peloton SL 2012 which I think will go for £1150 with ultregra, although I'm not sure if it's released yet.

http://www.cube.eu/en/road/performance/peloton-sl/

Just been to look at one of these, wow they are light. My size is not in stock though.arghh. I would of bought there and then if it was. I await cube now. That said the bianchi is still a good equivalent. As to spending this amount of k on my first bike I refer to the last comment about being cost effective and that I have saved this money from no smooking. I don't want to buy upgrades in 6 month.

Thanks all for the posts.

Chris.

Ringo 68

My best mate has just bought the Peloton (though a lower model in the range) as his first bike and he is very pleased with it. It really does look like a more expensive bike and I don't think you can go wrong at that price.

You really need to at least sit on a Cube though as they are pretty weird sizes.

shutt015

I have just found that out, I am waiting for cube direct to see if they can get me a 56 size, I do still like the bianchi but it is a tad heavier. How will this effect me when on the move if any.? I have never rode a road bike so I am sorry if I am asking some basic questions. I am used to mountain bikes.
I think either cube or bianchi is now where I stand, the chap at the shop told me today a carbon frame should be replaced after 3 years and if I was to fall I stand a better chance of scrapping the bike..! How true I don't know...

Ringo 68

A couple of things on the subject.

Basically that any frame designed to last in excess of 35,000 miles of normal riding (which the TREK carbon bikes are) either equals or surpasses what is available in a steel frame. So, I just wouldn't worry about it and instead concentrate on enjoying the ride!

viewtopic.php?p=16960687

3 years is bulls**t

shutt015

That is as I thought,
I will hopefully have a bike by weekend ready for bank holiday.

Thanks again.
Chris

Rigged

shutt015 wrote:

I have just found that out, I am waiting for cube direct to see if they can get me a 56 size, I do still like the bianchi but it is a tad heavier. How will this effect me when on the move if any.? I have never rode a road bike so I am sorry if I am asking some basic questions. I am used to mountain bikes.
I think either cube or bianchi is now where I stand, the chap at the shop told me today a carbon frame should be replaced after 3 years and if I was to fall I stand a better chance of scrapping the bike..! How true I don't know...

Even if you're a light rider at 60kg the difference between a 8.5kg bike and a 9.5kg bike is a very small percentage of the overall weight you're working to shift around. Really, the difference isn't enough to get worked up about. Find a bike that fits you comfortably and that you will enjoy riding and that's all you need

shutt015

Rigged wrote:

shutt015 wrote:

I have just found that out, I am waiting for cube direct to see if they can get me a 56 size, I do still like the bianchi but it is a tad heavier. How will this effect me when on the move if any.? I have never rode a road bike so I am sorry if I am asking some basic questions. I am used to mountain bikes.
I think either cube or bianchi is now where I stand, the chap at the shop told me today a carbon frame should be replaced after 3 years and if I was to fall I stand a better chance of scrapping the bike..! How true I don't know...

Even if you're a light rider at 60kg the difference between a 8.5kg bike and a 9.5kg bike is a very small percentage of the overall weight you're working to shift around. Really, the difference isn't enough to get worked up about. Find a bike that fits you comfortably and that you will enjoy riding and that's all you need

Thanks. Bianchi it is then. Really like this bike but wanted a few thoughts before i commeted,
Thanks for the help.

Rigged

shutt015 wrote:

Rigged wrote:

shutt015 wrote:

I have just found that out, I am waiting for cube direct to see if they can get me a 56 size, I do still like the bianchi but it is a tad heavier. How will this effect me when on the move if any.? I have never rode a road bike so I am sorry if I am asking some basic questions. I am used to mountain bikes.
I think either cube or bianchi is now where I stand, the chap at the shop told me today a carbon frame should be replaced after 3 years and if I was to fall I stand a better chance of scrapping the bike..! How true I don't know...

Even if you're a light rider at 60kg the difference between a 8.5kg bike and a 9.5kg bike is a very small percentage of the overall weight you're working to shift around. Really, the difference isn't enough to get worked up about. Find a bike that fits you comfortably and that you will enjoy riding and that's all you need

Thanks. Bianchi it is then. Really like this bike but wanted a few thoughts before i commeted,
Thanks for the help.

No problem. Don't forget to post a picture or 2 of it over in the 'Your Road Bikes' section so we can all have a drool

Gizmo_

Ringo 68 wrote:

Gizmo_ wrote:

That's a serious budget for a first road bike?

I'm spending £1k on mine but that's through CTW...

It is a lot of money for a first bike but how many of us on here have paid £500-£800 for a first bike, only to upgrade it within 12 months?

I am first to hold my hand up for that. In the long run it maybe more cost effective to jump straight in at the deep end.

as long as you don't get fed up of it after 1 ride

Fair points. I'm quite aware that I will probably be looking for upgrades on mine if I really get into the groove on it but that's part of the fun.

thegodplato

I've just had my2012 Bianchi Nirone Xenon for a month now and think its fantastic. But its my first road bike for 24 years so what do I know. I was also told that if you drop a carbon bike it could quite easily break and noticed that one carbon frame manufacturer even highlighted that if you put their bike in the back of a car, you should put anything on top of it as it could bend the frame. How true I'm not sure.
If you know which you want have you looked on Ebay as I sometimes came across bike shops in Italy selling new Bianchi's far cheaper than here - but that depends on how you're paying for it - I had to get mine on interest free credit so was stuck with the UK shops.