Insurance replacement - Need help to choose

cristoff

After a crash in which i broke my pelvis in 2 places, my insurance company has decided to replace my trashed Allez comp and i have £1942 to spend at bikereplacement.co.uk. I have narrowed it down to a few possibles;

Merida Sculptura Comp 2013 - Not heard much about these as a reliable brand but Ultegra and internal cabling sounds good?

Cannondale Caad 10 Ultegra 2013 - Owned a Caad9 previously but i feel i may be missing out by not going Carbon at this price?

Giant TCR Advanced 2 2013 - Great looking ,My worry is the 'racing' set-up as i suffer a bit with bad back and dont want this to be a factor on longer rides?

Felt AR5 2013 - Another stunning looking bike?

Cannondale Synapse Carbon 105 2013 - Great looker but is spec a bit low (wheels)?

Scott CR1 Team Compact 2013 - I like the claims of its smoothness on the road?

Giant TCR Composite 1 2013 - Ultegra groupset but dont know much about Composite material for frame?

Specialized Roubaix Elite 2013 - Really like my Allez Comp so i imagine this would be quality, and with Ultegra too?

Cannondale Supersix 105 2013 - Full Carbon, 105 groupset?

Felt Z5 2013 - The cheapest but cant find anything i dont like, internal routing, 105 groupset, Mavic Aksium?


So, This is my dilemma, I really would like Carbon, i dont mind 105 as i am familiar with, and always have got on well with it, but Ultegra would be a nice Brucie bonus. I definitely would like internal cabling, and if it comes with better than budget wheels then that would be cool too.
In terms of colour, i prefer darker colours, Black particularly but its not a game changer.

I am 6ft 2, weigh 83kg if that is any help and would use this mainly for club runs and sportives, etc.

Thanks for looking, all advice greatly recieved, please be aware that i can only choose from this website and cant take my money and buy bike at cheaper price elsewhere, etc

sunjhoon

I have the Giant TCR Advanced 2 2013 (well when i say i have it..its at the bike shop waiting for the pedals and then for me to collect it! 2/3 weeks and counting until im in town to get it!)

I tried Giant TCR Composite 1, Specialized Roubaix Elite, Defy Advanced and the Trek Madone 4.5 .

They all rode well I felt the Defy Advanced and the Roubaix felt most relaxed but my I the TCR Advanced 2 called out to me and felt the best ride for me (thats my opinion though). Hard to describe but I enjoyed riding it more than the others and you get an ok set of wheels (equivalent to Aksium).

I figured it is a very good frame and I can upgrade over time the wheels, components etc. I would go for better frame than components and there isn't that huge a difference 105 and Ultegra.

The TCR Composite is a slightly lower quality carbon than the TCR Advanced frames and alloy forks rather than full carbon (people correct me if i am wrong)

From what I read and the advice I have been given is try them out. Its the only way to know which one suits you best.

keef66

Of those you list I'd probably choose the Supersix. But only you can make your decision.

cristoff

i cant try them out as its all done mail order, i guess if i bought a real turkey i could send it back but other than that its a bit of a guess I'm afraid.
I wondered that about groupset, i like the thoughts of getting an Ultegra equipped machine, but would you feel a massive difference between that and 105? hmm.

keef66

I'd go for the Supersix for the frame / fork. Now 105 has concealed cables there's even less of a difference between it and Ultegra IMO.

sunjhoon

Not much difference apart from weight. The only thing i noticed was the crank felt noticeably stiffer with the ultegra but again that's my opinion. Shifting I barely noticed a difference both really smooth.

cristoff

Super six getting some love, but why? What is it that sets it apart from others?

I'm not a fan of the paint job.

danlikesbikes

Personally I think the Felt is what can best be described as bike porn but thats my my view.

Would try & get yourself to a few dealers and sit on some of your choices see how they feel up close

pkripper

cristoff wrote:

i cant try them out as its all done mail order, i guess if i bought a real turkey i could send it back but other than that its a bit of a guess I'm afraid.
I wondered that about groupset, i like the thoughts of getting an Ultegra equipped machine, but would you feel a massive difference between that and 105? hmm.

I've a 2012 AR5e and it's a cracking bike. Very fast, very stiff but it also has a very low front end which may not suit you by the sounds of things. Oh, and slap a set of deep sections on there and it looks mean.

As for the 105 / ultegra thing - the ultegra looks slightly better, but functionally I can't tell either apart. And neither are as nice as my DA 7800 gearing which has an awesomely light action.

cristoff

I thought it looked a tad on the low side.

chris_bass

keef66 wrote:

I'd go for the Supersix for the frame / fork. Now 105 has concealed cables there's even less of a difference between it and Ultegra IMO.

i'd agree with this, I have 105 on one bike and ultegra on another and there really isn't much between the two, i think i might even prefer 105!

cristoff

Been reading up on the Supersix, call me picky but I'm gonna discount it due to not having internal cabling and the colour scheme. Also I'd like if possible wheels better than RS10 if that's at all possible.

Mike39496

Are you sure you can't take the cash? They usually knock 20% off, I had a replacement through them and if I had the choice again i'd take the cash any day. Only had a few bikes in stock and seemingly no accessories in stock at all.

cristoff

If I take cash, I believe I'll only get what my policy is worth (£1400ish) they have added on my excess plus an extra 20% if I go through them. So this way I'm getting over 1900 to spend.

jameses

If you were comfortable with the Allez, there's the Tarmac Sport with (mostly) 105 for £1500. The £442 you have left over should get you a decent set of wheels.

cristoff

yeah, thats a decent shout i guess. Is that going to be a better buy though than, say, getting one of the Felt machines?

jameses

Not much of a difference in groupset/finishing kit, but you would be getting much better wheels. All depends on what kind of riding you do, what fits you and which one you like the look of! For me, the head says the Tarmac with decent wheels, but you may be after something shiney and new, in which case a carbon version of what you had before probably isn't going to do much for you.

Really, at that price point you're going to be getting a pretty decent machine whichever one you go for.

cristoff

Great point you've made there. It seems more exciting to go for, say, a felt than get just another spec.

I think I'm gonna go for the AR5, the Aero 3 wheels seem pretty decent

Thanks all for help;-)

pkripper

cristoff wrote:

Great point you've made there. It seems more exciting to go for, say, a felt than get just another spec.

I think I'm gonna go for the AR5, the Aero 3 wheels seem pretty decent

Thanks all for help;-)

good choice - nice bikes.

cristoff

pkripper wrote:

cristoff wrote:

Great point you've made there. It seems more exciting to go for, say, a felt than get just another spec.

I think I'm gonna go for the AR5, the Aero 3 wheels seem pretty decent

Thanks all for help;-)

good choice - nice bikes.

The only thing that worries me about getting this bike is the 'sportier' geometry giving me aches on longer rides?

Any thoughts?

pippi_langsamer-2

For your requirements of comfort over stiffness/ race geometry I'd have thought the CR1 would be best suited?