what would you buy if you had two grand ?

stronginthesun

in the fortunate position of being able to buy a bike for about £ 2000 . what ?

jeepie

Since I don't have 2k, I quite enjoy drooling over dream bikes imaging that I could buy them.

I'd get this http://www.epic-cycles.co.uk/Bianchi_Infinito.html, with Athena if I could, Veloce if not.

Grill

This, without a second thought:
http://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/bikes-c5/road-bikes-c18/scott-addict-r15-compact-road-bike-2011-p81551

Paulroth

I would look at the Canyon.Com website. www.Canyon.Com

They always have a sale during the Tour de France with interesting deals on road bikes that already start with great price/performance and get further reduced during the sale.

I picked up a bargain a few years back during the TdF sale and bought a Canyon CF10 with Campag Chorus groupset at less than 2k euros and am a very satisfied customer.
Highly recommended.

Paul

BobScarle

Early last year, I did have two grand available and I did buy a Bianchi Infinito from Epic Cycles. All I can say is that I find it a fabulous bike to ride and certainly one well worth considering. Put a little of the money to one side and get a proper bike fit as well. IMHO well worth the cost (and Epic take that off the cost of the bike).

CrouchingPig

That Scott looks lovely for £2k.

I just bought a Cannondale SuperSix105 from Westbrook @ £1,5k

Bozman

A bike for £1500/£1700 and some good wheels!

Pross

Bozman wrote:

A bike for £1500/£1700 and some good wheels!

+1

Anonymous

Cube Agree GTC SL.
http://www.cube.eu/en/road/pro-comp/agree-gtc-sl/

P_Tucker

A Chime RXRS - http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/52463 ... odule.html
Dura Ace
50mm Chinese carbon clinchers

Oh wait, I do have £2k. I might just buy this, thanks for reminding me.

ilm_zero7

some nice shallow section carbon wheels

napoleond

A Mazda Bongo Friendee

munzy

After working my way up over 2 years from a cheap starter bike to a self build carbon/alu effort the biggest upgrade along the way was in wheels and tyres - these make the most difference to any bike.

I went - Carrera own brands to Shimano R500s (huge improvement) to Fulcrum 5s (slight improvement) - all with Continental GP4000s tyres

Armed with my experiences I started looking at 2k bikes but noticed even up to 3k bikes had wheels no better than the Fulcrums 5s.

I decided to buy a Felt 5 (2011) as the frame and forks were the same as on the much more expensive models in the range - only the wheels and groupsets were "lower". As most people and my shop "feel ups" confirmed the difference between 105 groupset and Ultegra was minimal.

I got the F5 and swapped out the wheels (got £100 for stock ones on here:) ) and bought a pair of Fulcrum 3s and GP4000s.

The bike is an absolute joy to ride - sharp, fast and the wheels roll so smoothly and spin up fast.

The bike is only £1320 here:

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Felt-F5-Carbon- ... =Froogle02

and wheels £310

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/w ... -pair.html

tyres £54

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/t ... -tyre.html

which is a bargain imo leaving you £320 for new shoes, pedals, clothing, bottles/ cages etc

That frame and those wheels will give you a bike that no bike short of 3k will ride as fast, smooth and nice as.

thegreatdivide

If someone gave me £2k and told me to go out and buy a bike I'd add £100 to it and get a Canyon Ultimate CF 9.0 Pro with Campagnolo Chrous. Pretty much the biggest bang for your buck at the moment:

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2509

Or if you want to save a few quid get the CF 8.0 with Athena:

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2509

desweller

I'd get some new wheels and blow the rest on a nice holiday.

baldwin471

I'd say it's between these two -

http://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/bikes- ... 011-p81551

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2509

They weigh the same, have the same wheels, the only difference between the two is the Groupset. The Scott is SRAM RED and the Canyon is Campagnolo Chorus. So that's top of the line SRAM or third tier Campy. Personally i'd get the Scott, as it looks amazing and i think SRAM red is better than Campy Chorus as it is more compatible with shimano and SRAM bits, Campy doesn't really work with anything other than Campy. SRAM Red is the lightest groupset you can buy too.

thegreatdivide

What's Campy?

Pross

thegreatdivide wrote:

What's Campy?

American for Campag

The problem with these threads is you end up with virtually everything in the price range recommended. I've heard lots of good things about the Canyons but have never ridden one. Personally, of the bikes listed on here I would go for the Addict above (I currently ride a Scott so have a bias) but that is at a real knock down sale price and only available in large so it's not much help if that isn't the right size. Also the OP doesn't mention whether they are looking for a bike to race on, ride sportives or just do leisure riding. That may well have a big influence on what to choose.

stronginthesun

thanks for all the replys . the one that floats my boat the most is the canyon , only niggle is internet buying ? the bike will be for leisure , racing and sportives . anyone got or bought one ?

okgo

I personally went second hand (had about that amount as my budget) and got a Cervelo s2 in perfect nick, zipp 404's in great condition, ultegra groupset off here (less than great, but OK), 3t stuff from here too.

I wouldn't discount buying second hand, you get a lot more for your money, yes you don't get a warranty, but the saving that can be made is huge.

okgo

I personally went second hand (had about that amount as my budget) and got a Cervelo s2 in perfect nick, zipp 404's in great condition, ultegra groupset off here (less than great, but OK), 3t stuff from here too.

I wouldn't discount buying second hand, you get a lot more for your money, yes you don't get a warranty, but the saving that can be made is huge.

thegreatdivide

stronginthesun wrote:

thanks for all the replys . the one that floats my boat the most is the canyon , only niggle is internet buying ? the bike will be for leisure , racing and sportives . anyone got or bought one ?

Lots of Canyon owners on the forum. Some have had the odd problem with their bike but no more than anyone buying a bike from another brand. As for buying mail order, it’s no different from buying a bike from Wiggle or Ribble or any of the other big name stores. With Canyon you may have to wait a set amount of days/weeks for your bike to be built and delivered but from the many reviews online and on this forum they look like they’re well worth waiting for.

In terms of sizing, Canyon have an online fit guide. OK it doesn’t mean you can go out and test ride a bike but I’ve only ever tested one bike from a shop. The rest of my bikes have been ordered online and I’m quite happy riding them.

I saw one of the bare carbon ones at an event a couple of months ago and it looked superb – and I have a mate who also has a £2k bike budget and this is at the top of his list.

NB - you may come across the odd strop thread where someone’s posted a big drama they’ve had with Canyon, but the cynic in me thinks that these are a) posted by folk who want said company to read their story and suddenly offer them a free bike to stop them complaining or b) expect lightening service ;-)

(I don’t work for Canyon btw)

baldwin471

Pross wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

What's Campy?

American for Campag

The problem with these threads is you end up with virtually everything in the price range recommended. I've heard lots of good things about the Canyons but have never ridden one. Personally, of the bikes listed on here I would go for the Addict above (I currently ride a Scott so have a bias) but that is at a real knock down sale price and only available in large so it's not much help if that isn't the right size. Also the OP doesn't mention whether they are looking for a bike to race on, ride sportives or just do leisure riding. That may well have a big influence on what to choose.

I'm not even American! Haha. That month i spent in Florida must have changed me. But i agree about the Addict, it is top of my list for that price, the only problem is they only have 56cm frame size in stock, i need 54 really.

richh

That said, they do refer to that name themsevles as well:

http://www.campagnolo.com/jsp/en/community/index.jsp

http://www.campagnolo.com/jsp/en/techinfo/index.jsp

pauldavid

stronginthesun wrote:

in the fortunate position of being able to buy a bike for about £ 2000 . what ?

A new kitchen probably, or get my hallway plastered ready for decorating.

P_Tucker

Pross wrote:

The problem with these threads is you end up with virtually everything in the price range recommended..

Yep. That's because there's virtually no difference between any of them, save for the paintjob and a few minor frame details. Thus, the correct advice is always "go for the one you like the look of".

One further bit of useful advice - go for neutral colours. That way, the bike goes with all your kit.

blackhands

NapoleonD wrote:

A Mazda Bongo Friendee

I've just got one of these - 2500cc Diesel (still being converted to a camper). Not £2K though - more like £12k.

Anonymous

A second hand Grifter, a pack of pegs and some playing cards. With the rest, some cocaine and a line of credit at a good Indian takeaway. Job done.

MattC59

dmclite-2.0 wrote:

A second hand Grifter, a pack of pegs and some playing cards. With the rest, some cocaine and a line of credit at a good Indian takeaway. Job done.

I'm in !!

jonny_trousers

P_Tucker wrote:

Pross wrote:

The problem with these threads is you end up with virtually everything in the price range recommended..

Yep. That's because there's virtually no difference between any of them, save for the paintjob and a few minor frame details. Thus, the correct advice is always "go for the one you like the look of".

One further bit of useful advice - go for neutral colours. That way, the bike goes with all your kit.

Interesting thought, and one I've often wondered about. Surely, if the geometry's very similar, if the weight and quality of the frames are much the same, if the components are of an equivalent level, then all you have left to choose is the colour and whose labels are plastered across it.

okgo wrote:

I personally went second hand (had about that amount as my budget) and got a Cervelo s2 in perfect nick, zipp 404's in great condition, ultegra groupset off here (less than great, but OK), 3t stuff from here too.

I wouldn't discount buying second hand, you get a lot more for your money, yes you don't get a warranty, but the saving that can be made is huge.

This is what I plan to do next year when I have a similar amount of money to shell out. It's amazing how many beautiful, as-new condition framesets you see advertised at around half their new price at places like this. I'm going to get a quality bike fit, learn what will suit me and scour the classifieds.

richk

I really dont think I'd spend £2000 on a single bike. Right now, I'd buy a PX Stealth Pro Carbon for half that & stick the rest in the bank for another day.