A leap to carbon??

LankyDJ

Hello everyone, I'm quite new to the forum and would welcome some advice on making the choice between a new aluminium road bike or taking the plunge and going carbon.

I've been riding on aluminium frames for a good 15 years. Is there a massive difference between the two?

I've a budget of around £1250 and just can't decide what to do, after nearly nine years since my last upgrade it seems a real minefield now.

For that kind of budget is it worth sticking with what I know and tarting it up with a few carbon bits and bobs, or can you get a really decent carbon frame for that price?

Any ideas welcomed,

Cheers.

cougie

Read some reviews. £1300 would get you a nice Carbon Boardman.
It would also get you a decent Planet X.

rolf_f

As you're in Lancs, it would be rude not to check out the large Ribble range (at Preston). Plenty of choice there.

LankyDJ

Thanks, not really had a look at Planet X, been on that Ribble bike builder before though for a cheeky look.

Highly dangerous!

ALaPlage

Can only speak as I find. I used to ride a steel framed bike many moons ago. I returned to cycling with a Boardman comp ally frame bike with carbon forks and had great fun on it. It did however give me a lot more road buzz than I cared to remember from back in the day which caused a bit of hand numbness on long rides.

So bike bug bit hard and decided to go for the best I could afford which was £1300 and invested in a second hand But new condition Trek Madone 5.9.

Wow what a difference. Road buzz and hand numbness gone even on longer and longer rides than I ventured on the Boardman. Bike was about 5lb lighter too which was really noticeable on hills and when pushing on and accelerating. Made the cycling I loved even more enjoyable and picked up a little bit on average speed too from day one which I put down to the bike being lighter and better wheels than the Boardman.

So although I have an ally cross bike I would not swap from carbon for my road bike. Loved the Trek so much that treating myself to a new bike this year after 3 years on the old one and tryIng out a Colnago, Pinarello and Cube I've got a new 5.9.

So frame material can be a personal thing and there are many who love their steel, ally and titanium machines but for me my experience of a carbon bike has been great and I wholly recommend.

LankyDJ

Thanks for that, my original thoughts were to go for something like a Giant defy with a decent wheel upgrade to come in around budget. Think I'm really going to have to consider some carbon models though.

Was Just unsure about the quality of the carbon frame at this price point.

mark.abersoch

Im just in the similar boat to you but I've only been riding properly for 5 years.

Im looking at the Cube Agree GTC. Its a superb bike. I was looking at a rubble but I've been swayed by the Cubes and the price. You get a good spec on them. All i need to decide on is the Spec. Can decide between the 2011 higher spec model or the new frame 2012 model.

smidsy

If you like Alu bikes and (like me) are not convinced by over priced plastic you could get a cannondale CAAD10.

Reviews state that it out performs some carbon bikes and that the ride quality is not harsh. Over 25 years of Alu bike development and manufacture has gon into that bike 8)

styxd

For £1250, I wouldnt let the frame material be the deciding factor. Whatever you get, it will be a cheapo frame, whether its aluminium or carbon.

I'd get the bike with the best spec for the money. It'd be worth having a look at Rose bikes or Canyon bikes, some of their aluminium bikes look very good for the cash.

giant_man

smidsy wrote:

If you like Alu bikes and (like me) are not convinced by over priced plastic you could get a cannondale CAAD10.

Reviews state that it out performs some carbon bikes and that the ride quality is not harsh. Over 25 years of Alu bike development and manufacture has gon into that bike 8)

You obviously haven't had much experience of carbon frames, there's nothing to match the ride and handling of a carbon frame imo. Every carbon frame is built in a different way, whether it's of monocoque construction or with tubes and lugs. What you need to do is go and try some carbon frames, and if poss, get your leg over a Colnago C59 or equal top of the range bike from other manufacturers. Then come back on here and tell us what you thought. I guarantee your opinion will change.

rolf_f

smidsy wrote:

If you like Alu bikes and (like me) are not convinced by over priced plastic you could get a cannondale CAAD10.

Reviews state that it out performs some carbon bikes and that the ride quality is not harsh. Over 25 years of Alu bike development and manufacture has gon into that bike 8)

For £1200 budget the OP isn't going to be getting anything over-priced if he does buy plastic

As for 25 years of development - that applies to every bike in the world made by organisations that have been making bikes for over 25 years! There's nothing special about the Caad in that respect.

smidsy

Giant Man - I never claimed any experience I merely am not convinced by the claims (especially at that price point). And as for changing opinion that does not mean it is right :-)

Rolf - Not if they start using a new material, their experience and develpment of that material starts when they initailly use it not from when they started making bikes.

My point was Dale has gone through 100,000's of frames and 1000's of hours to hone the Aluminium Frame design to it's pinnacle.

Anyway its just an opinion 8)

singleton

The CAAD10 is a superb bike for the money. You can still pick one up for just over £1000 in certain sizes too - check out Pauls Cycles.

I got one earlier this year and am still very, very happy with my choice.

porker33

Reading the posts above, I have a caad10 & US built madone 5 to compare, they ride differently, but if road buzz is an issue there is definitely more with the Caad.....not a problem though, in some respects it tells you more about what is going on underneath you.

If you are looking at new bikes, I feel you are at a difficult price point, you can get a very good if not the best ali frame or a reasonable carbon frame......Ideally I think you need to spend £2k or more to get the better (new) carbon frames these days.

If you get a good ali frame you will still want a carbon frame, as you feel you are missing out...if you get an ok (lower end) carbon frame you will only be part of the way there?

As ever, ride them and see what you like......but a fair part of such purchases are aspirational...we think we always want something slightly better?....... I am very happy with the madone, but even though the caad would "do", it's not quite there, in comparison for me.

Bar Shaker

I am old enough to remember when F1 and Le Mans cars were made out of aluminium. I don't remember the arguments but bet the old panel beaters with years of experience in honing their trade to it's pinnacle said the same thing. I also remember when people rode metal bikes on the TdF.

Carbon fibre technology has advanced rapidly in only the last 10 years. We now make commercial airline wings from the stuff. Once the technology was refined, it's uses and benefits have become available to the masses. Put an engineering hat on and have a look at how bottom bracket shapes have changed from metal to carbon frame designs. You don't need to be a structures guru to see that the new shapes are much better at handling the pedal forces and turning them into motion, rather than frame flex.

Doubters will also talk about good and bad carbon frames. The fact is there are a few very high tech far east factories making most of the carbon bikes that are available. These plants have been built with hundreds of millions invested, way more than almost any single bike manufacturer could invest.

I understand the nostalgia for metal bikes but the future is carbon. Embrace it or ignore it, your choice.

jordan_217

I really think you need to get out and try a few different bikes, and not just alu Vs. carbon but variations and different models of each material.

I tried a CAAD10 when I was looking at a new bike but TBH it just didn't do anything better than the bike I had been riding for the last 5 years, a Scott CR1. It (the CAAD10) felt lighter (DA groupset and RS80 wheels) but it didn't feel as responsive and there was signifcant road buzz and vibration through the bars and saddle. I think I liked the idea of it as, on paper, it was an upgrade but in reality it was no better than the Scott. I was a little dissapointed TBH.

Defo try before you buy.

giant_man

smidsy wrote:

Giant Man - I never claimed any experience I merely am not convinced by the claims (especially at that price point). And as for changing opinion that does not mean it is right :-)

Rolf - Not if they start using a new material, their experience and develpment of that material starts when they initailly use it not from when they started making bikes.

My point was Dale has gone through 100,000's of frames and 1000's of hours to hone the Aluminium Frame design to it's pinnacle.

Anyway its just an opinion 8)

That's fair enough but to state something is 'overpriced plastic' is a bit of a noughties statement imo. The vast majority of bike frames are made of carbon fibre, and that's not going to change because of the nature of carbon as a material for bike manufacture. Sure, some brands are overpriced and you are paying for the name largely. But there are equally quality names in the bike business who spend their massive budgets on research and development, wind tunnel experiments etc. and the money you are asked to pay is partly for this. Every carbon frame has a different DNA, and as I said before, every carbon frame (apart from the cheaper generic brands) is going to feel different upon riding. I have ridden about twenty different brands and they do vary believe me. Don't believe the hype is the expression that needs to be heeded here. It's imperative to try before you buy. You do need to get on a carbon bike to realise this, just some helpful advice smidsy ...

Evil Laugh

If you're looking at a caad 10 and can stretch the budget a smidge check out a £1400 2011 supersix 105.

IMO the best bang for buck frame I've tried. It felt better to me than much more expensive carbon bikes I've ridden, felt really light to ride, even with the fairly budget kit but had that beautiful planted feel you get from a carbon cannondale. Superb. If I paid £1400 for the frame alone I'd be over the moon.

LankyDJ

Thanks for all replies. Sounds to me like I've got to jump on a carbon to try.

If everyones talking about road buzz on ally frames though, I guess I'm used to that, I've been riding a Giant OCR 1 for years.

No doubt both frame materials have changed significantly since! Not really looked at Cannondales either, will give them a peek.