tell me the good and bad about these bikes please

martyn79

Im looking at 4 bikes around the £1000-£1500 mark and would appreciate your thoughts on them.

The first two i can get from a trusted LBS that i have used a lot in the past and i will have the chance to take them both for a test ride,they are:
Cube Agree Gtc
Focus Cayo 3.0 C

All four bikes will be pretty much the same sort of price as i will get a discount on the Cube and Focus. The final two are both from Ribble and will be built with a 105 groupset using their special edition build. They are:

Sportive racing
Sportive Bianco

The problem with Ribble will be the lack of test ride.I will most likely buy some half decent wheels such as RS80's or Ksyrium elites for whichever of the four bikes i end up buying.

Im a mountain biker at heart and im looking for something to train on and do the odd sportive.I had a CADD 9 a couple of years ago which i liked(and stupidly sold) but i did find that after 4 hours ish that it got a bit uncomfortable.

Thanks for any help

Silly Old Hector

My Cayo 3.0 is well put together, not too light (nor heavy) and runs very smoothly on the DT Swiss R1850s (its very quiet compared to my friends bikes, but it could just be that I keep it clean ;-) ).

I find it very comfy to ride (used it on the Etape Caledonia last month), and handles really well ( I feel confident on major downhill sections) and it seems to handle my weight when out of the saddle !

Not very scientific, but hope it helps.

galatzo

Westbrook Cycles are doing deals on Cannondale

Super Six 105 green and white (king of liquigas colours) "SUPER105G"
Super Six 105 in black and white "SUPER105W"
Both £1499 FROM £1999
CAAD 10 Dura Ace £1695 from £2495 - No code needed.

Now which bike do you want ?

martyn79

Thanks for the replies gents.The Focus is at the top of my list followed by the Cube,i will have a ride on both to see which fits me best.

Galatzo that is a VERY tempting price.

centimani

The problem is giving a meaningful opinion when you (anyone) hasnt rode all, or at least two of the bikes listed above. You can't compare a bike against another, only give your opinion of the one you have,
So, mines a Sportive Racing and i can only compare it with a Via Nirone.

I always found the bianchi quite ok for comfort up to 4 hours, although starting to get fidgety at about 2.5 hours. The ribble is very comfortable but the noticeable points are...
Saddle, CSN Superlegerra, standard fitment on their bikebuilder. NOT comfortable on medium distance rides. Wearing padded shorts does improve it, but its more uncomfortable than the Ponza saddle on the Bianchi.

The Ribble Sportive is a heck of a lot more comfortable than the Bianchi, especially when on the drops. I spend more time on the drops now than i ever did on the bianchi, it just seems so right. Despite being more or less off the bike for 6 months, i did a 60 miler a couple weeks ago...got off the bike and continued the day like i'd just been round the block a few times. (ok, not literally, but i felt very good)

Build quality..
The following are niggles...nothing major, just stuff you notice and think, thats a bit of a shame...
Junction between headtube and forks...there's quite a gap. Nothing wrong, just slightly noticeable.
Seat tube, where the paintjob finishes and the seatpost clamp sits, the paint finishes maybe 1.5 mm too low, leaving a black line...trivial, but for the sake of a little extra, the finish would look better.
Cable bosses, one of mine appears to be slightly skewed Perhaps its meant to be to direct the cable, but it looks slightly odd.
No frame protection against cable rub, particually on the headtube.
Stand 3 feet back, you'd never know, just a shame.

Everything else about it is good, mines done 500 miles plus, no mechanical or frame issues.

Standard Rodi wheelsets are HEAVY. No doubt good solid wheels, but heavy. Glad i already had others to put on.