CAADX 6, Tricross, Voyage

kebabsandcakes

Hi guys,

I need some advice on buying a new bike and trying to understand what is most suitable for my needs. Thanks in advance for your help.

I've ordered the following two bikes for a test ride at Evans this week.

Cannondale CAADX 6 Tiagra Compact 2012
http://tinyurl.com/clrtb7r

Specialized Tricross Sport Disc 2012
http://tinyurl.com/cms9ggv

At the moment I've riding a Specialized Hard Rock Sport Disc 2011 and have to say that I made a mistake in purchasing that. It's slow and not fit for my needs. Having said that I have done the Coast to Coast (West to East) on it with off road tyres as well as a 60 mile ride from London to Oxford on slicks. Both journeys were painful, I tells ya!

Anyway, I've realised that I can't be doing these kind of treks on my Hard Rock anymore so I'm giving it to my 15 year old nephew and getting a bike more suitable for me. It's main use will be for commuting just over 8 miles a day about 3-5 times a week and hopefully taking it out for regular monthly treks along pleasant country roads. I am hoping to do the London to Paris and the End to End rides in the next 12 months and am also planning another 4,500 mile ride in a few years, God willing. My budget for my new bike is £800-£1000 but if I am going to spend that much this is the last bike I want to buy for the next 4-5 years, hence the need for advice!

I spoke to the guys at Evans who said I should look at a cyclocross bike so I picked the CAADX 6 and the Tricross. However, after doing some reading I'm now no longer sure that a cyclocross is the right type of bike for me and I'm considering ordering this for a test ride instead:

Ridgeback Voyage 2012
http://tinyurl.com/cfu5na7

What do you guys think, is cyclocross the right type of bike for my needs and if so which of the two is the better out of Cannondale and Spesh? If cyclocross is not right do you think the Voyage is a decent enough bike to do thousands of miles on and will it last 4-5 years?

Much obliged for all your help.

thebadgerboy1982

Hi mate,

If its a commuting baike your after, out of the thee I'd go cannondale. A fantastic bike with the option of adding a rear rack for panniers. I think it will be lighter than both of the other options and probably more comfortable with the carbon fork.

I purchased a Dolan cyclocross bike a year ago and it's fantastic. A huge spec for the cost and you can alter the build to meet your needs.
http://www.grahamweighcycles.com/gwcsho ... product=75

Ross

ALaPlage

If it helps. I have a Trek Madone 5.9 road bike which I use exclusively for road riding. No commute but lots of evening and weekend country rides with Sportives and long distance challenges; I've completed London to Paris and this year am doing the Iceland Foods round Britain challenge in August. Fit for purpose and light and comfortable to ride if most or all your riding is on the road then get a bike fit for purpose which is a road bike. Lots of choice in the price bracket you are looking at.

I also have a Kinesis Crosslight T4 cross bike which I use for bad weather rides (winter training rides) and for trips off road which for me is tow path and forest trails. The bigger and knobbly tyres and gearing being better suited to that environment.

If you do a mix of road and trail rides and want one bike does all then a cross bike is the answer. You can always invest in a set of road wheels and tyres and swap out for your road riding to really maximise the best of both worlds from one bike. As I say however if you find all of your riding is on Tarmac then spend your money on a road bike.

Canondale CAAD range for road (8, 9, 10) or the CAAD X for cross is a great place to start your search with Tiagra and 105 groupsets available on those bikes in the £800 to £1000 range. For road the Specialized Allez range, Trek 1.x range and cube peloton are other mainstream bikes that will give you what you are looking for. Others I am sure will recommend other makes to consider as the choice is huge. It comes down to short listing bikes within your price range that have the spec you want and then trying to get a test ride on the bikes to determine which is really right for you and fits. You don't want a repeat of your MTb experience so find what floats your boat through a ride on the bike.

Enjoy your search as although it can be a frustrating process narrowing it to a shortlist it is also a lot of fun.

Good luck.

kebabsandcakes

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Took the Tricross and the CAADX for a test ride today. Spesh was very firm and stable and I was impressed with the smoothness of the gear change. The CAADX was lighter and faster even though it had less gears but it wasn't as stable round corners. Wasn't overly impressed by the speed of either as they both seemed slow compared to bikes on the road but maybe that's just down to my pedalling technique and gear selection. I wonder what I'm doing wrong. :S

After the test ride I had a conversation with the guy at Evans today and from reading other threads on various bike forums I've decided cyclocross isn't what I need, especially at this price, and that seems to be consensus amongst the majority of people I've spoken to.

I'm considering ordering the Ridgeback Panorama for a test ride as well as the Voyage. The Panorama would be stretching my budget but if it's a bike for life then it's worth the investment, no? A friend of mine used to work in Evans and he sold a Panorama to a guy who cycled all the way from the UK to Indonesia - 11,000 miles apparently!

Anybody own a Panorama or Voyage and use it regularly for commuting? How do you find it?

rolf_f

kebabsandcakes wrote:

. Wasn't overly impressed by the speed of either as they both seemed slow compared to bikes on the road but maybe that's just down to my pedalling technique and gear selection. I wonder what I'm doing wrong. :S

You need a better engine. The bikes aren't slow compared to the others on the road.......

gwillis

Rolf F wrote:

kebabsandcakes wrote:

. Wasn't overly impressed by the speed of either as they both seemed slow compared to bikes on the road but maybe that's just down to my pedalling technique and gear selection. I wonder what I'm doing wrong. :S

You need a better engine. The bikes aren't slow compared to the others on the road.......

The ridgeback won't be any faster .... I have a caadx along with a carbon framed road bike . The caadx is a true do it all bike swop the wheels or at least the tyres for something more road biased and it will keep up with most.

If I could have only one bike I'd have th caadx for value for money its a cracking buy and the frame is very comfy.

My only gripes are the Maddux wheels are nt strong enough so I've build up a cx and road set and the brakes could be a bit stronger other than than that commuting / wet road rides / cx it oes the job and for undera grand !!!

kebabsandcakes

gwillis wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

kebabsandcakes wrote:

. Wasn't overly impressed by the speed of either as they both seemed slow compared to bikes on the road but maybe that's just down to my pedalling technique and gear selection. I wonder what I'm doing wrong. :S

You need a better engine. The bikes aren't slow compared to the others on the road.......

The ridgeback won't be any faster .... I have a caadx along with a carbon framed road bike . The caadx is a true do it all bike swop the wheels or at least the tyres for something more road biased and it will keep up with most.

If I could have only one bike I'd have th caadx for value for money its a cracking buy and the frame is very comfy.

My only gripes are the Maddux wheels are nt strong enough so I've build up a cx and road set and the brakes could be a bit stronger other than than that commuting / wet road rides / cx it oes the job and for undera grand !!!

Yeah, but you wouldn't take a CAADX for a 4,500mile tour, would you? I know I mentioned speed but overall what I want is a bike that's suitable for epic journeys and it seems the Panorama is it. It will also double-up as my commuting bike so I guess I can change tyres and take the paniers off when I'm not touring, no? As my office is relocating further away from my home I will be spending more time on my bike and working on improving my pedalling technique and cadence so I think speed will improve with fitness somewhat.

gwillis

Actually I'd be happy to ride the Caadx 4500 just as Vin Cox ride around the world on a croix de fer genesis . Ultimately the choice is yours ride them weigh up pros and cons and buy what you think best suits your needs .