Specialized or Canyon?

Soong

I'm new to road bikes so this would be my first purchase.

Have been pointed towards two bikes:

Specialized Allez Elite - £749
Canyon Roadlite 6.0 - £710 + DEL

Even though the Specialized is more expensive it has full Tiagra whilst the Roadlite has full 105.

Is there any reason why I might go for the Specialized instead of the Roadlite?

the_prophet

Depends how confident you are on sizing requirements and fit etc, that would be one consideration if it was my first road bike.

specialized fit sessions are usually pretty good, and make sure your set up correctly. if you've got nothing to work from or previous experience, getting comfortable on the canyon might be a bit more work with not being able to do before buying, having someone else do it for you. having said that, the money you'd save on buying the canyon, could be put towards a proper fit session elsewhere once it arrives. and mine fit me perfectly using the guide on there website.

i'm not too clued up on the roadlite, but a friend had an allez and did plenty of miles on it, never had any issues. I've just picked up a Canyon, replacing my old giant defy which would potentially also be worth a look. especially if your able to pick up an older model.

rick_chasey

Canyon FTW.

Soong

Haha, that seems to be the response from a lot of people which is reassuring.

Is there anything else I should be looking at that's available for around £750 at the moment?

simon_masterson

Boardman is another popular choice in that price range. I hold the man in very high esteem, so I have little doubt that the product with his name on is a good one; corroborated by many good reports in these parts... You could also look into a basic Dolan or Ribble. It really depends on what you want the bike for (Comfy sportive/commuter/audaxer vs out-and-out racing etc)

But worry not about the groupset, particularly if it's Tiagra vs 105...

I do however feel the need to tell you, as per the message of other threads like this, that if you don't have additional cash to buy other stuff, that you'd do well to buy a cheaper bike. You won't notice much difference.

Soong

Cheers all. The Canyon would have meant a couple of months wait by the look of it so I went for the Allez Elite. Should be with me Monday!