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Which bike for sportive < £1000

starbuckstarbuck Posts: 256
edited September 2012 in Road buying advice
I'm looking at getting a bike through the bike to work scheme in the next couple of months.

There are a few LBS near me that do the scheme and they carry different bikes. One shop has recommended the Cannondale Synapse (Think I can get Tiagra specced one with the ALU frame for just under £900).

Another shop showed me the Allez (poss the sport one for around £700), which also looks good.

I've also heard that the Giant Defy 1 is a good one to look at.

From the 2/3 shops I've been to, they say that the cycle to work bikes have to be full price and they won't do it on sale bikes, so it looks like I'm going for a 2013 bike.

Any comments on the above bikes? Any others I should be looking at? Are full carbons at the £1k price point worth it/overkill for the riding I'd do?

I will be using it for commuting, but also for distance rides of +/- 100 miles, so I want one that's comfortable all day.

Posts

  • alihisgreatalihisgreat Posts: 3,872
    The Defy 1 reviews better than the Synapse and the Allez.

    I've got the Defy 1 and its awesome (did a 90 mile sportive today with no issues) -> no complaints on the 1500 miles I've done so far this year.

    Carbon isn't 'overkill' but you might be disappointed with the spec of the Sub-£1k carbon bikes. Best to test ride and see.


    Others to look at?

    Boardman Team Carbon
    Cannondale Caad8
  • the_fugglerthe_fuggler Posts: 1,228
    Another shout for the Defy here. A friend of mine went through a similar process at a similar price point. He tried the CAAD 8, Synapse and Secteur. Ended up with the Defy. Loves it. (I am biased though - I have a carbon Defy and love it).
    FCN 3 / 4
  • rodgers73rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    I have the Secteur Sport from 2010 and its OK. The Sora levers and front mech arent great though. Comfort-wise it's fine but if you can get a 105 specced bike on your budget I'd do that.

    +1 on the Defy 1 - all reviews I've read praise this to the skies for the money you pay.
  • maddog 2maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    Boardman Road Comp has Sram Apex (32t sprocket too...) for under £800. You 'd have spare £ for any number of upgrades - tyres, Garmin, kit etc.
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • ShutUpLegsShutUpLegs Posts: 3,522
    Sportifs & Treks seem to go together well
  • bungalballsbungalballs Posts: 193
    I did the £1k bike for works scheme too, and my local bike shop managed to find me a Giant Defy 0 for the money. It's brilliant and I'm glad I went for it over the Allez. The spec is mostly ultegra with some 105, and I got the compact version.

    Apparently Defy 1's are in such high demand they are hard to come by, so Giant have sent some of the Defy 0's over from Europe, which aren't normally available in the UK. So if you ask a Giant dealer nicely they might be able to get you one?
  • alihisgreatalihisgreat Posts: 3,872
    ShutUpLegs wrote:
    Sportifs & Treks seem to go together well

    hmm the new Domane could be decent.. think the Domane 2.0 comes in at £1k.
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