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recomend carbon bike for £1500

elderoneelderone Posts: 1,410
edited November 2012 in Road buying advice
Any recomendations for a first carbon bike around the 1500 price range..I want one ready to use in the spring.
Not sure what order times are but my lbs says 10 weeks for a defy 1,which i know isnt carbon but a guide to order time.I,d like to go through the lbs as not sure of buying online.
Has any one done this and had good experiance.any advice and tips much appreciated.
The planning for new bike is all i got to keep me motivated till i heal and can ride again.
thanks
Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori

Posts

  • drlodgedrlodge Posts: 4,826
    Cannondale Supersix? You can get 2012 models now for under £1500 but 2013 models next year might be more than that.
    WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
    Find me on Strava
  • mhj999mhj999 Posts: 122
    edited October 2012
    I have just ordered a Sensa Giulia from Merlin and you can upgrade the wheels and come in at £1440. Great review in Cycling plus this month too. Build time is an alleged 3 weeks (i am 1 week in). I toyed with Ribble (yes... I know...) and Cube but fell for the Sensa.
    Sensa Giulia 105
  • samsbikesamsbike Posts: 942
    Specialized roubaix or tarmac, also on offer. 2012 models only. If its your first bike, then getting it from a lbs maybe better as you may get a bike fit thrown in. OTOH if you are confident in your ability to sort yourself out, then Rose and Canyon are good alternatives.
  • BigLightsBigLights Posts: 464
    Have a gander on the Ribble website. I bagged myself a Gran Fondo last summer and I totally love it - exceptionally comfortable, quick, friendly bit of kit. the Sportive also gets v good reviews and there's a new one coming out too. Plus you can spec it how you like. Mixed reviews on customer service, but I had a great experience albeit with a 6 week lead time.
  • ClaudeHClaudeH Posts: 78
    I got the Jamis Xenith Comp from Evans. Came to £1,200 and I then upgraded the wheels so came to about £1,500 all in. I have been very happy with it and would recommend it to anyone.

    Claude
  • gsvbagpussgsvbagpuss Posts: 272
    Are there bad bikes for £1500? Surely they're all geat bikes, probably more than most of us normal people need, and in fact the best way of choosing is the one that inspires you most. I chose my Scott CR1 for the way it looks and it inspires me to ride all the time. I'm sure a similarly priced Trek or Specialized or A.N.Other would perform the same, but my Scott inspires me more.
  • upperoilcanupperoilcan Posts: 1,180
    A mate of mine has Kuota Karma,Think they are around your money..

    Looks a cracking bike in the flesh.
    Cervelo S5 Ultegra Di2.
  • elderoneelderone Posts: 1,410
    GSVBagpuss wrote:
    Are there bad bikes for £1500? Surely they're all geat bikes, probably more than most of us normal people need, and in fact the best way of choosing is the one that inspires you most. I chose my Scott CR1 for the way it looks and it inspires me to ride all the time. I'm sure a similarly priced Trek or Specialized or A.N.Other would perform the same, but my Scott inspires me more.
    To be fair i didn,t ask for advice on possible bad bikes but carbon.I agree i will buy on looks aswell but already in the replies there are bikes ive never heard of so thats what i wanted.
    then hopefully i will get vfm but a good looker too.
    Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori
  • samsbikesamsbike Posts: 942
    Adding to the list then, Planet X does a carbon, similar to Ribble. The Boardman used to have good reviews but the 2013 bikes seem to be speced lower. Although to be far that could be applied to most brands.
  • markpsmarkps Posts: 41
    Have a look at the Cube Agree GTC range. They're amazing value for money, especially if you can find a 2012 bike
  • dakkardakkar Posts: 64
    focus cayo evo 5 and 6 seem absolute bargins. Great reviews as well.
  • maddog 2maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    +1 some good deals atm on the super6 105

    wheelbase had some recently
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • GGBikerGGBiker Posts: 450
    Wilier Izoard XP veloce 2013, would also be extremely tempted by the Cannondale supersix 105 2012 model which is available for £1349 at the moment, looks like a cracking deal if you want a fast/racy bike.
  • StorckSpeedStorckSpeed Posts: 291
    For pro look that you might see in the Peloton, Canyon.
    And for something slightly different, Rosebikes.
    http://www.canyon.com/_en/shop/#tab-roadbikes
    http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/products/bikes/
    There's warp speed - then there's Storck Speed
  • deswahriffdeswahriff Posts: 310
    ..been looking at bikes in that price range over the last few weeks...so far tried the Giant Defy Composite 2, Spesh Roubaix Sport, Trek Madone 3.1 and Cannondale Synapse....as you can tell, I'm after a more upright ride....
    ...all fine bikes, so far favouring the Roubaix as it was instantly comfortable and its in my favourite LBS..BUT..I hate the way the rear brake cable hangs down below the top tube! Would be tempted by the 2012 Expert, which has the cable routed internally, but I'm not keen on the colour scheme...might have to push the budget for a 2012 Comp, which looks a great buy at the sale price....
    ..it's such a hard life, isn't it? :-)
    Must admit I'm not keen on buying online - its a big investment for me and I want to get it right and have local back up if things go wrong.
  • galatzogalatzo Posts: 1,295
    Why don't you pick a frame and components yourself, plenty of bargains at the moment.
    Deda or Cinelli frames at Planet X £600 ish
    Ultegra, Force or Athena/Centaur £550 ish
    Ksyrium Elites £380 RS80s £300
    Deda RHM1 finishing kit or similar £60
    Tyres and bar tape £40

    Well roughly £1500 but it'd be yours in everyway and you've got all winter to source stuff.
    Keep the project going I say.

    Or a Cannondale Supesix at the moment, bargains !

    Size you after ?
    25th August 2013 12hrs 37mins 52.3 seconds 238km 5500mtrs FYRM Never again.
  • elderoneelderone Posts: 1,410
    tks for replies and lots to think about and as deswahriff said its a big investment in money and getting right bike and fit is important.Im looking for a medium size bike.
    D o you more experianced guys know if the january sales will have good deals as that gives me time to decide for sure then see some i,d like.
    Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori
  • the playing mantisthe playing mantis Posts: 2,129
    if you can stretch your budget this looks fantastic value, plus depending on your height:

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ridley-damocles ... egra-2012/

    the below is cheaper but a hell of a lot for your cash, again limited sizes.

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ridley-orion-1105b-105/
  • StorckSpeedStorckSpeed Posts: 291
    edited November 2012
    In my opinion, now probably isn't the best time to be buying a bike. Too close to Christmas. You can be guaranteed that the prices will drop after Christmas. However, if you wait, your choice and the sizes available will be even more limited so you might not get the bike you wanted. Decisions, decisions......
    There's warp speed - then there's Storck Speed
  • Danny_B9Danny_B9 Posts: 55
    I was in the same situation that I wanted a bike for spring but with the huge price drops I decided to buy now and went with a slightly lower budget than yours but ended up buying my first road bike the Cannondale Supersix with sram Apex which is currently selling for £1200 down from £1800, pick it up this weekend. the 105 equipt version is currently selling for £1350.

    My mate last weekend bought the Specialized Roubaix Elite Compact 2012 and that was a very nice bike. Some great deals just shop about and also its worth asking your lbs if they will price match the internet as mine did for the supersix and he didnt even have it in stock but wanted my Money :) and in the hope that i will go back, which I will.

    When you find a bike just shop about on google shopping, I found that 90% of the time it will return the cheapest prices which resulted in my finding the supersix at that price.

    EDIT: in response to the previous post like you said they may come down more but then sizes are more than likely going to be very limited and you may end up missing out on more if left too late, I guess that is the risk I didnt want to take but then again I saved £600 which is still a brilliant saving, well I thought it was...
    Cannondale Supersix Apex
  • djhermerdjhermer Posts: 328
    just been through exactly the same process 2 weeks ago (my Cannondale was written off following a collision with a bint in a Fiat 500 who didn't look where she was going).

    I wanted a Supersix, but no availability for 3 months. Almost went for the Madone 3.5 (with Ultegra, which was the main USP) but then the LBS produced the Kuota Kharma.....there was no contest.

    I've now covered approx 200 miles on the Kuota and it is simply awesome. There are not enough superlatives - for the money it is unquestionably a good buy - for me. They're doing an upgrade to Aksium wheels from the standard Shimanos (which are not a patch on my Ksyrium Elites whcih the bint wrote off - front anyway - but still a good wheel).

    I went for the 105 option. WIth discount paid £1500. Delivered in 2 days - with my name on the top tube...Bonza!
  • blackpoolkevblackpoolkev Posts: 474
    Scott CR1/Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels/SRAM Rival -£1500
    http://www.slanecycles.com/scott-cr1-elite-cd20-bike-size-medium-2011-p-21216.html?sesid=q5d3dein1ar3giccbkq76sjk22-Only available in medium,if it fits look no further.
  • brit66brit66 Posts: 350
    You buy a bike with the heart as much as the head, so if I needed to buy a new bike now it'd be the Kuota Kharma without question - lovely looking bike and LESS than a 1k here as well...

    http://king-cycle.net/products/Kuota-Kharma-Race-2011-Ultegra-Bikes.html
  • mhj999mhj999 Posts: 122
    brit66 wrote:
    You buy a bike with the heart as much as the head, so if I needed to buy a new bike now it'd be the Kuota Kharma without question - lovely looking bike and LESS than a 1k here as well...

    http://king-cycle.net/products/Kuota-Kharma-Race-2011-Ultegra-Bikes.html

    King Cycle - an Indonesian based online seller and rather good prices- tread carefully.....
    Sensa Giulia 105
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