How much and what bike!

DonBike

I currently ride an old steel road bike (RSX gears) which I got off eBay and I use for commuting and weekend rides (30+ miles).

Having ridden for 18 months I realise that I plan to stick with cycling and want to buy a new 'proper' bike.

The first question is how much do I need to spend in order to get a good bike which will be a pleasure and quick for 30-50 mile rides. Having looked around £1,000 - 1,500 seems a sensible price point, but as someone who doesnt plan on racing is that too much or too little? Would a £2,000 spend make a big difference or is that price point just if you want to shave time off your next sportive?

The next question is recomend me a slightly more unusual bike which would fit the bill. I want someting with comftable geometry, is light and with nice gears. I am aware of Giant Defy, Synapses, Boardman Team etc, but would be keen to hear if anyone can recomend me something a bit more interesting.

All advice gratefully received.

Thanks

ALaPlage

Lots of choice out there. What you spend is always relative to either what is the purpose and what you can afford.

The more you spend will get you a lighter bike and the higher you go up the range the minimal the gains become per pound notes spent. For your purpose you specify I would say anything around £1000 will give you a light well specced bike that will suit your needs and be a good step up from your current steel steed.

I am really impressed with Cube. My friend bought a peloton race with Easton wheels as standard and a Tiagra triple groupset for £700 from Leisure Lake bikes in Bury and he is delighted with it. A really nice bike that has seen him up his average speed over a 20/30 mile ride from 12mph to 16mph and given Him the confidence to enter Sportives this year.

For carbon frames then Trek Madone 3.1 or 3.5 has recently won group tests in C+ and as a Madone rider myself I can heartily recommend. Shop around and you can get for under £1500 and there are examples on the forum rently where the 3.1 has been acquired for around £1100.

For something different then why not consider titanium as your frame material of choice. Try Fatbirds.co.uk as you could spec up a titanium bike for around £1500 that will last you a lifetime and are a lot rarer than carbon, alloy and steel bikes you see on the roads.

I'm sure you'll get loads more recommendations. Enjoy your search

huuregeil

I'd say a grand is too much. Spend less on the bike now - you can get some great bikes new around the 750 mark - leaving you spare cash for "bits" (pedals, clothing, tools, etc.), ride it lots and in a year or so's time, you'll be in a far better position to know what you'd like your next/nicer/more expensive bike to be! Something "different"... ridley make great bikes, the Eos is a great package, plus it gives you the option to fit guards/rack if you wish (both potentially highly useful depending on your usage!). Have fun!

Cornish-J

it would be second hand everytime for me.

2k would get you something like a Cervelo R3 or (if you're lucky) an S Works Roubaix - the ultimate mile munchers!

Gladiator

Cube bikes are superb. The spec on them is high, even on lower end models so i would recommend one of them. You dont need to spend £2000 on a bike when you could get a really good bike for £1000-£1200. Cube Agree are also good, as are Peloton and Peloton Pro.

arlowood

I

DonBike wrote:

I am aware of Giant Defy, Synapses, Boardman Team etc, but would be keen to hear if anyone can recomend me something a bit more interesting.

For something a bit more "left field" why not consider the Mekk Poggio series of bikes. UK company, carbon frame, greta looking bikes - excellent review for the Shimano105 specced model which is priced around £1200

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 0-12-45674

Or you could stretch to an Ultegra equipped version at £1500

http://www.mekkbicycles.com/Poggio-P-2.5-Ultrega.aspx

My advice would be to go with the 105 model and spend the extra money upgrading the wheelset to Shimano RS80's or equivalent. You can always sell off the Shimano R500 wheels or maybe the supplier would do the changeover for you with a discount to reflect the resale value of the R500 wheels to them.

DonBike

Thanks, all really useful advice.

From the sounds of things £1,000 sounds about a fair mid point, at least for the casual ride.

The Mekk bikes look interesting.

ShutUpLegs

ALaPlage wrote:

For carbon frames then Trek Madone 3.1 or 3.5 has recently won group tests in C+ and as a Madone rider myself I can heartily recommend.

Jesus wept, the OP said 'recommend me a slightly more unusual bike'

ALaPlage

ShutUpLegs wrote:

ALaPlage wrote:

For carbon frames then Trek Madone 3.1 or 3.5 has recently won group tests in C+ and as a Madone rider myself I can heartily recommend.

Jesus wept, the OP said 'recommend me a slightly more unusual bike'

And your helpful recommendation is... ?