New bike conundrum??

shdaxner

Howdy all

A couple of weeks ago some little twunts decided they had the right to forcefully enter my garage and relieve me of my much loved bike.

Im now in the market for a new bike and thought its as good a time as any to upgrade a little... its just im not sure what i want.

The bike will be mainly used for commuting by road with rides down (paved) canal paths and the odd longer ride on the roads on the nicer days, i would like to have something that can accomodate full length guards of either the road racer or sks variety. and i also have a budget of about £1000 could push to about £1100.

So, the bikes im looking at are

Canyon Roadlite AL 7.0
Rose Pro DX 2000
Boardman CX team
Whyte Saxon Cross

These are the bikes i have been looking at... some may be asking why cyclocross but i just thought they would be a little more comfortable with the bigger tyres and also stronger wheels and brakes.

If you do have any more suggestions then please let me know what you think.

Cheers.

supersonic

I'd add this to your list too:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/cyclo-cross- ... 13183.html

Is a little cheaper, but still a great spec for the cash.

itboffin

Would you really consider that brand sonic?
I've not had any exposure to the brand just interested as I consider you to be a pretty reliable source when it comes to bikes.

supersonic

Absolutely! Multiple award winners in the Future magazines, excellent warranties - frames are made by Merida (who make Specialized - amongst others). A great mix of parts, spec, weight and performance, and bargain prices.

meanredspider

Commuter - I'd definitely go for discs and BB7s better than BB5s (though easy enough to upgrade at least the front)

The Decathlon bike is a great spec for the money - still not sure I'd buy it though.

itboffin

supersonic wrote:

Absolutely! Multiple award winners in the Future magazines, excellent warranties - frames are made by Merida (who make Specialized - amongst others). A great mix of parts, spec, weight and performance, and bargain prices.

Now that's very interesting there's a large store in reading which I've passed a few times, thanks I have a look.

shdaxner

Well, as good as the brand is and even though the bike is great spec for the price it wouldn't be on my list as it doesn't have discs, I'm seriously swaying towards the canyon at the moment, lovely bike and good spec for the money too.

itboffin

Holy crap that canyon is a grand, buy it now!!!! Trust me I went to the showroom in Germany this year those bikes are amazing I had no idea the alu version were so cheap.

pangolin

Am I missing something? The canyon doesn't have disks either

meanredspider

The Canyon looks like good value but it's a road bike....

shdaxner

I should of been a little more clear In my first post - I'm after either a cx with discs or a decent spec road bike, I'm still unsure which route to go down

pangolin

http://www.dolan-bikes.com/road-bikes/Carbon/Shimano%20Op/Mythos%20Rd?product_id=371 !

Torvid

I think I would go for something like this

Forme Calver disc

Only BB5's but really liking my forme and the carbon one I tested.

supersonic

I am not sure why you'd want a differing brake set up when the usage and surfaces will be the same.

shdaxner

I always found the brakes on my last bike to be pretty damn rubbish (cheapy tektro ones) this is the primary reason i have been looking at cross bikes as an option, if it wasnt for the discs then i wouldnt be going down that road - but on the other hand i really like the look and spec of the Canyon and i think the calipers will be an improvement over the cheapy ones on my last bike??

supersonic

Possibly - good pads make a massive difference.

sketchley

shdaxner wrote:

I always found the brakes on my last bike to be pretty damn rubbish (cheapy tektro ones) this is the primary reason i have been looking at cross bikes as an option, if it wasnt for the discs then i wouldnt be going down that road - but on the other hand i really like the look and spec of the Canyon and i think the calipers will be an improvement over the cheapy ones on my last bike??

My Genesis Equalibrium came with cheap tektro callipers and pads, stopping 18st was noticeably harder than previous bike, spesh sirrius hybrid with v-brakes. It made think like you are now that callipers brakes were not for me at my weight. However, first I upgraded pad to Swissstop green, it made a difference but I still didn't have the confidence in the braking the vbrakes gave me. Then I upgraded the callipers to Shimano r650 which are Ultegra level deep drop callipers and kept the swisstop greens, the difference was immediate confidence in braking.

So do not rule out calliper brakes just get good ones and good pads....

walkingbootweather

The Roadlite is a fine looking bike but how many times do they need to put the maker's name on it? It would be like riding a mobile advertising hording and for that reason I'm out.

My money would probably be on the Boardman, especially if you can wait until one of Halford's frequent price reductions and / or use the British Cycling discount.

shdaxner

Cheers Sketchley, that's basically what I'm saying - I either want a road bike with decent spec (Canyon is Ultegra all round including calipers) or a crosser with discs.

At the moment if I go down the cross route I'm swaying towards the rose.

I really want to try a cx out first with discs and also I have never tried SRAM before so I would like to give that ago before buying too- unfortunately my Halfords don't let you take bikes out the store so I couldn't even try the boardman which has both discs and SRAM so I may have to take a trip to my local Evans and see if they offer a test ride service?

DanDax1990

I'm game for a trip to Evans, I'll buy the KFC aswell.

I'd go for the Boardman...

Greg T

itboffin wrote:

Holy crap that canyon is a grand, buy it now!!!! Trust me I went to the showroom in Germany this year those bikes are amazing I had no idea the alu version were so cheap.

Ultergra for a grand . .

canyon

No Brainer - buy it

shdaxner

Does anyone know if the canyon will take crud road racers?

smiley_boy2501

Canyon would be my choice if my bike had been nicked - ultegra brakes (at least the last model) are 10 time the tektro ones on my commuter. Then add swisstop greens for the wet.
Unless you fancy going offroad at any point.

shdaxner

No I ain't bothered about the offroad aspect, it does need to be able to take road racer guards though??? Tis a lovely bike though, really hoping that there's clearance for road racers.

vermin

Canyon Roadlite AL 7.0 RRP = £1059
Full Ultegra groupset RRP = £1000
Mavic Aksium wheelset RRP = £200
Frame + Bars + Stem + Saddle + Tyres + ... = -£141

The maths says the Canyon's kinda good value.

dhope

vermin wrote:

Canyon Roadlite AL 7.0 RRP = £1059
Full Ultegra groupset RRP = £1000
Mavic Aksium wheelset RRP = £200
Frame + Bars + Stem + Saddle + Tyres + ... = -£141

The maths says the Canyon's kinda good value.

Speaking of Canyon, do you have your insurance money yet?
Carbon, Ultegra Di2 and Krysium Elites for £2700
http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3090

walkingbootweather

vermin wrote:

Canyon Roadlite AL 7.0 RRP = £1059
Full Ultegra groupset RRP = £1000
Mavic Aksium wheelset RRP = £200
Frame + Bars + Stem + Saddle + Tyres + ... = -£141

The maths says the Canyon's kinda good value.

Yeah but who pays RRP?

Full Ultegra groupset = £573
Mavic Aksium wheelset = £150

shdaxner

Yeah fair one on the RRP- you can readily get a full Ultegra group set for 600 ish.

Ooof, that Canyon is bloody lovely, just a little over my budget!!

vermin

walkingbootweather wrote:

vermin wrote:

Canyon Roadlite AL 7.0 RRP = £1059
Full Ultegra groupset RRP = £1000
Mavic Aksium wheelset RRP = £200
Frame + Bars + Stem + Saddle + Tyres + ... = -£141

The maths says the Canyon's kinda good value.

Yeah but who pays RRP?

Full Ultegra groupset = £573
Mavic Aksium wheelset = £150

I know, I know ... but it hammers home the vfm point, doesn't it (the Canyon price itself is, after all, RRP)

vermin

dhope wrote:

vermin wrote:

Canyon Roadlite AL 7.0 RRP = £1059
Full Ultegra groupset RRP = £1000
Mavic Aksium wheelset RRP = £200
Frame + Bars + Stem + Saddle + Tyres + ... = -£141

The maths says the Canyon's kinda good value.

Speaking of Canyon, do you have your insurance money yet?
Carbon, Ultegra Di2 and Krysium Elites for £2700
http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3090

I get the answer today re cash or Wheelies. I think £2700 might be over-budget tbh, but Canyon's prices to seem to be vastly out of step with their competitors. TBH, I am so sensitive to the feel of different frames that I couldn't order off paper. Tried the Giant TCR Advanced and Advanced SL on Saturday - same frame shape and size but slightly different materials produced one bike that I loved and one that I just couldn't get confident on (I'll let you guess which was which!)

shdaxner

Vermin I hear what your saying and it is a perfectly valid point, even at the reduced prices of the parts the Canyon still comes in at brilliant value.

Can anybody tell me if the roadlite al will take crud road racers?? My last bike had room but it had eyelets for guards and long drop calipers so I ain't sure on this on?