Another "£1000 to spend" thread
NCFC
Posts: 33
Hi,
My work recently announced they were going to offer the cycle to work scheme. I've cycled all my life, from BMX trail riding up to 20, then mountain biking up until 30, but I'm now upping the mileage and not doing any 'extreme sport' style cycling so wanted to get myself a road bike.
I've got up to £1000 to spend, which is for bike + accessories (if required). I've been researching for the last couple of weeks and I thought I'd narrowed it down to two bikes.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2013.giant.defy.1.white.black.red/11833/56802/
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/synapse-6-tiagra-compact-2013-road-bike-ec042920
I have found the 2012 Synapse for £849, whereas the best price I've found for the Defy 1 is £999. The 2014 Defy releases are immanent, so I'm holding out for a few weeks in the hope that the 2013 Defy 1 price comes down.
Last night I broke two fingers playing football so had 3 hours to kill sitting in A&E and stumbled across the following bike too:-
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/domane-20-triple-2013-road-bike-ec041044#features
Not sure on that last one. I seem to get a similar spec to the Defy 2, i.e. Tiagra components, but at the Trek 1 price. Any justification for that?
Before committing to a bike I wanted to get some advice from more experienced riders. I'm leaning more towards the Giant because it's 105 parts vs Tiagra on the Synapse/Trek but the SAVE tech on the Cannondale bikes sounds pretty good, as does the IsoSpeed tech and broader rims on the Domane 2.0. The roads around here are pretty bad so the latter two may soak up some of the turbulence better than the Defy?
I have some concerns over the bottom bracket on the Synapse though. I've heard that because it uses Shimano pieces but a BB30 BB then it may need some kind of converter, which is basically adding yet another component into the mix that could potentially fail. I also read that the BB30 bearings have a tenancy to blow easily.
This bike is going to be used all year round. 12 miles every day and then longer rides at weekends. I'm going to need mudguards, so I've considered shelling out a bike extra for ones that'll last me:-
https://www.ridepdw.com/goods/fenders/full-metal-fenders
Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated.
Thanks.
My work recently announced they were going to offer the cycle to work scheme. I've cycled all my life, from BMX trail riding up to 20, then mountain biking up until 30, but I'm now upping the mileage and not doing any 'extreme sport' style cycling so wanted to get myself a road bike.
I've got up to £1000 to spend, which is for bike + accessories (if required). I've been researching for the last couple of weeks and I thought I'd narrowed it down to two bikes.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2013.giant.defy.1.white.black.red/11833/56802/
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/synapse-6-tiagra-compact-2013-road-bike-ec042920
I have found the 2012 Synapse for £849, whereas the best price I've found for the Defy 1 is £999. The 2014 Defy releases are immanent, so I'm holding out for a few weeks in the hope that the 2013 Defy 1 price comes down.
Last night I broke two fingers playing football so had 3 hours to kill sitting in A&E and stumbled across the following bike too:-
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/domane-20-triple-2013-road-bike-ec041044#features
Not sure on that last one. I seem to get a similar spec to the Defy 2, i.e. Tiagra components, but at the Trek 1 price. Any justification for that?
Before committing to a bike I wanted to get some advice from more experienced riders. I'm leaning more towards the Giant because it's 105 parts vs Tiagra on the Synapse/Trek but the SAVE tech on the Cannondale bikes sounds pretty good, as does the IsoSpeed tech and broader rims on the Domane 2.0. The roads around here are pretty bad so the latter two may soak up some of the turbulence better than the Defy?
I have some concerns over the bottom bracket on the Synapse though. I've heard that because it uses Shimano pieces but a BB30 BB then it may need some kind of converter, which is basically adding yet another component into the mix that could potentially fail. I also read that the BB30 bearings have a tenancy to blow easily.
This bike is going to be used all year round. 12 miles every day and then longer rides at weekends. I'm going to need mudguards, so I've considered shelling out a bike extra for ones that'll last me:-
https://www.ridepdw.com/goods/fenders/full-metal-fenders
Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated.
Thanks.
0
Posts
The Defy1 is probably the go to bike for CTW. It gets great reviews everywhere and the people I know who have one cant praise them enough. The Synapse would be very similar I'd guess, without having ridden one, but yes that BB30 is going to need a converter for a Shimano chainset. The Domane has the decoupled seat post for a smoother ride so the more technologically up to date frame expense is offset by cheaper parts.
I use roadrace MK2 guards all through the winter and don't have a problem with them so mudguard fixings aren't really necessary, although you will hear that they are rubbish from a lot of people with them rubbing and being noisy. When fitted properly I would disagree, I've never had this problem. If you are going for fitted mudguards I'd look at the SKS chromoplastic ones. I've had them on other bikes and they are the best.
Ride them all and choose the one you like best.
Thanks for confirming my thoughts on the BB30. I may have to consider ruling out the Synapse then. One of the local Giant dealers is also a Trek dealer, and the experience I had in that shop was a lot better than the Cannondale dealer too, so I'll probably head in there at the weekend and see if I can test ride both in the one shop.
I'll check out the chromoplastic guards you mentioned. Hopefully they'll fit on the Defy 1 or Domane 2.0. I know that if I went with the Defy then Giant have their own guards too, so could always opt for them.
Go and try the bikes and buy the one you like, simple as. You'll soon forget the quality of the groupset if the bike doesn't fit well.
BB30 is fine - if you look hard enough, you'll find horror stories about pretty much any component. If it's built properly by a good bike shop, then the adaptors won't be a problem.
2003 Specialized Allez Sport
A Defy 0 can be had for £999, the 1 for £899. You just need to know where to look! Pauls Cycles/Chris's Bikes for example
Can't get that on the Cycle Scheme sadly.
The 2014 Defy 1 is now up on the Giant site too http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2014.giant.defy.1.black.red/11833/66132/ (also in blue) so that's another thing to help you negotiate a discount on a '13 (if you prefer the colours).
I wouldn't overthink your decision. When the sale price came up for the Defy 1 I just had to jump on it, and I don't regret it. It made me realise how ridiculous overthinking every single component is, especially when I am pretty new to the roads.
In the week I have had it I have not once thought about the components that I spent so long thinking about beforehand...it just feels right to me when I ride it.
The only thing I have noticed is that it seems to get more comfortable over rough tarmac the faster you go, which is quite an endearing quality. But the important thing is it feels right to me. What feels right to you might be completely different - you sound like you're in a great location for shops so shop around and try the bikes!
PS. Roadlite's look great but the availability is terrible!
Paul's put 11% onto the price of all sale bikes so the £899 goes back up to £990. I went into Paul's recently and wasn't a fan of the service. They seemed reluctant to let me sit on a bike, let alone ride one. I'd rather pay the extra £9 and go to Pedal Revolution who spent 45 minutes with me discussing the Defy 1.
I'll look at Chris's though and see if they add a % on for C2W. Cheers.
Great bike BTW, I would totally recommend it 8)
On all forums I've read, everyone seems to be of the opinion that you should get the best frame you can afford and if need be upgrade components later. All 3 of the local Giant/Trek/Cannondale dealers close to me have said they'll let me top up above the £1000 if needed, which has caused me to broaden the thinking to the Defy 0 and Domane 2.3. I even looked at the Domane 4.0. That black/blue colour scheme is gorgeous, but it's £1500 so way above my budget (getting married in August and the Mrs would kill me if she knew I was laying down money ontop of the C2W scheme).
At the moment I think it boils down to:-
Ride:- Domane 4.0 > Domane 2.3 > Domane 2.0 > Synapse 105 > Synapse Tiagra > Defy 0 > Defy 1
Component quality: - Defy 0 > Defy 1 > Synapse 105 > Domane 2.3 > Domane 4.0 > Domane 2.0 > Synapse Tiagra
Looks:- Domane 4.0 (Black/blue) > Defy 0 (Black/blue) > Synapse Tiagra (Black) > Defy 1 (2014 - Blue) > Synapse 105 (White/Green) > Domane 2.0 (black/white) > Domane 2.3 (white/red)
Affordability:- Synapse Tiagra > Defy 1 > Domane 2.0 > Synapse 105 > Defy 0 > Domane 2.3 > Domane 4.0
Slightly shallow, but I think that fact I'm not a huge fan of the colour schemes on the Domane 2.0 or 2.3 is going to rule those out, and the price tag on the Domane 4.0 rules that out too. Goodbye Trek.
The Defy 0 looks amazing, but it's slightly over budget (not enough to worry the Mrs though), but I'm concerned about mudguard clearance and the general feel of the bike on rougher roads.
The Synapse Tiagra doesn't look quite as good as the Defy 0 but it comes close, and it has the advantage of SAVE tech, but components aren't as good as the Defy 0 or Defy 1, and it has the supposed troublesome BB30 bottom bracket.
Decisions, decisions....
Well, that's a con then. How can they offer a bike for £999 then charge 11% more?
Daz, that's also where I got my 0 from and whom a couple of mates bought Defy Advanced's off. One had a problem and Chris was none too keen to sort it. I have a BB problem with my Defy and he seems reluctant to sort it out. Like he is doing me a favour or something? Depending on how busy he is he can be helpful or down right rude!
The Defy on rougher roads is fine if you change the tyres. I run 25mm Continental GPs 4000's on mine at lower pressures and the ride is comfortable. Wheels will also play a part. I have a hand built rear wheel on mine and it is much better than the stock wheels.
It's not a 'con' as such. They clearly say on their website that if a bike isn't a sale item, then they don't add the 11%, but if they have a £1200 bike marked down to £999, because Cyclescheme charge them an admin fee they will increase the £999 by 11% to cover the cost they incur.
It still works out cheaper than buying from most other LBS, although the deal isn't quite as good as it would have been off the C2W scheme.
Again, sorry pal but you're overthinking this! Don't think about judging the ride quality until you've taken the bikes out for a decent ride yourself! You're spending over a grand so any shop worth its salt should let you do this.
What is comfortable for one person may not be comfortable for another. Then how much of that is frame material, frame geometry, wheels, saddle, tyres and so on .
So many variables contribute to such a personal thing (YOUR comfort, i.e. not mine or any reviewer or marketer) that you can't find an objective 'truth'. And you seriously can't be led by spec sheets and marketing in determining that (e.g. ISO, SAVE etc).
I do think though that whatever you buy will be a great choice, so good luck!
I don't doubt I'm overthinking it. Problem is I have broken fingers on my left hand so a test ride is out of the question. I have a couple of weeks until the C2W application needs to be in, so hopefully my body will hurry up and fix itself so I can ride on each of them before buying. In the mean time I'm just looking for as much info as possible from people who've ridden these bikes, and posting my thoughts on this thread, which is probably more for my benefit than anyone else's, so I can go back and read my reasoning for/against each purchase before deciding on one.
Ideally, I'd like someone to pipe up and say:-
"I've ridden 1000+ miles on all of the bikes you like and X is the best for you" but as you say, everyone is different and what's right for them may well not be right for me.
I've decided for that kind of money I'd be mad not to test ride, so I have 3 bikes lined up to ride at Edinburgh Cycles next week.
Seriously, don't rush into it. I did that 3 years ago and impulse bought a Spec Allez, which has been fine, but now has me hankering for a better frame and groupset.....
Cheers,
Greg
Ah, that's a pity. I can empathise because I had a Defy Composite 3 ready for £1,100 - but couldn't test it (and so couldn't buy it) because I had a nerve problem in my left hand.
On the plus side, this delay is driving you into end-of-summer discount central, so that's a positive.
Hope you get what you want.
Focus Culebro SL 2.0
Giant Defy 1
Giant Defy 0
Trek Domane 2.0
Trek Domane 2.3
Cannondale Synapse Tiagra
Cannondale Synapse 105
Hopefully I'll get enough time on each bike to test the comfort and see which is my preferred groupset.
The injury downtime I've had is a double edged sword. It's t's given me plenty of time to do my research into my options, without rushing into a purchase because I'm eager to get on the road, but it's also given me lots of time to look at other bikes and my 'shortlist' is growing day by day. Other bikes which I like the look/sound of but can't arrange a test ride of are:-
Cube Peloton Pro - None available in any of my LBS
Moda Bolero - None available in any of my LBS
Bianchi Via Nirone - None available in any of my LBS
Lapierre Audacio 450 FDJ - LBS has a 400 for me to test ride, but I can't find anywhere in the country with a 450 in stock, and Lapierre don't have any left they can distribute.
Sensa Trentino SL Custom - Online only from Merlin
Rose Pro-SL 2000 - Not available through Cyclescheme
Kinesis Racelight Tk3 - No dealer within 100km
I'm completely blown away by how much choice there is in the circa £1000 market. It's certainly kept me busy over the last couple of weeks. Probably too much choice for a road bike newbie to be honest.
Giant's are just so boring (sorry).
http://www.wilierbikes.co.uk/2013/product.php/71/2/la_triestina_105_10sp__1199_00
I'll be test riding that tomorrow too!
The Defy 1 felt ok, although the brakes had a real softness to them compared to every other bike. It also looked so boring and didn't float my boat one bit.
Defy 0 looks and fells better than the 1, but something about the styling just doesn't turn my head and make me want to be the proud owner of that bike.
The Focus looked great (except the blue tyres which I'd change) but I got quite a lot of road buzz from that bike. The components themselves were great, but it was probably the harshest test ride of the day.
I didn't noticed much difference between 105 and Ultegra components, but certainly noticed a difference when dropping down to Tiagra, but this could well have been down to the fact the bikes hadn't been fine tuned. The Synapse frame felt great, but the experience I had from the Tiagra components put me off.
There wasn't a Domane 2.0 for me to try unfortunately, so I had a ride on the £1200 Domane 2.3. This was my favourite bike on which I had a 'true' ride, but I'm not a big fan of the styling. Thankfully the 2014 model looks a lot better. It's the same as the 2013 Domane 2.3, but with some green on the frame and some colour matched finishing kit.
So I've basically narrowed it down to:-
a) Domane 2.3 2014 (£200 over budget)
b) Wilier La Triestina (Risky as Cycles UK won't allow bikes out of the shop)
c) Sensa Trentino SL (Risky as not able to test ride this at all)
I'm waiting to hear back from Canyon re: whether they accept C2W but I believe the answer is likely to be 'no'.
I'm leaning towards the Wilier. It looked great and it's from an LBS so if I have any issues I can go back to them. The Domane is great but too expensive. The Sensa looks great and is a steal at under £1000 with those components, but it's an online purchase and I'll need to go to the LBS and pay them if I have any issues with it.
I looked at Ribble bikes but I don't like the styling at all.
Road - Giant Defy 1 - 2014
Cheers for the info, but it was the 2014 I tried.
TDF is out of my price range. I considered the Pro Carbon Fineline but I have read the following:-
1) High end alloy frame is going to be better than a low end/budget carbon frame.
2) For an 'all season' bike alloy is the better option
3) Carbon frames crack/chip easier than alloy. This is my first proper road bike so I may find the transition from a MTB I can throw around, a bit easier with alloy.
I've not used SRAM shifters either, so wouldn't want to buy a bike online with SRAM, having no experience with them.
1) I would tend to agree but I don't think the Pro Carbon is necessarily low end, it's just good value as they source them in huge volume and therefore keep down costs. It depends on how you define "better". The PC is a proven frame and has many satisfied users over a long period of time. It's not the most cutting edge any more but still performs well.
2) Maybe, but it won't be the frame that corrodes, more likely the components. I wouldn't focus on this aspect too much.
3) Alloy is not impervious to damage. Unlike steel it will not crumple and deflect but still be usable. It is more likely to snap in a similar way to carbon but unlike carbon will probably not be repairable. I think the difference in robustness between carbon and alloy is overstated, any frame will not fare too well in a full-on crash.
4) Changing to SRAM would be a concern for me too but having test-ridden a SRAM equipped bike I can tell you the transition took about 10 minutes from someone who has ridden Shimano equipped bikes all their life.
5) I think one thing to consider in all this is ride quality. I have an alloy and a steel road bike. The steel is by far the most comfortable even with thinner tyres at higher pressure and an alloy rather than carbon seat post. Vibration through the bars is emphasised with the alloy frame. It is stiff and light but not overly forgiving, something you do get with carbon.
6) I would suggest trying to ride both alloy and carbon bikes side by side if you can (assuming you haven't already?). Not possible with PX admittedly but it would give some idea of ride quality between the two materials.
It seems you are taking a rational, well measured approach to your purchase, just wish I had done the same!
I appreciate the comments and suggestions regarding the carbon frame, but I think I'll save that for the next time I do C2W. Planet X would have charged an additional 10% for C2W, pushing the price up to £1150 after the couple of changes I made to the bike in the customisation options, and ideally I want to keep the bike at ~£1000.
I decided on the Trestina rather than the Sensa Trentino because it's the first bike, so having that relationship with the LBS is important for me, and it means I can go in the shop for a proper bike fitting rather than buy online, hope I've got the right size, then have to pay extra to be fitted to it in the LSB.
In a few years time this bike will be relegated to my winter bike and I have no doubt I'll be getting a nice carbon build for summer riding. I'm sure I'll post again then asking what carbon frame to go for in the £2000ish bracket :-)
I'll make sure to post back and let you know how the Wilier rides once I pick it up and take it out.