New Bike - What to buy???

gotwood25

Looking for a bit of advice, been cycling for about 18 months now after buying a Boardman CX Team. Must say the bike has been an absolute pleasure to ride and after putting on some 25mm tyres and a couple of small upgrades I manage to keep up and often beat my pals who are on much more expensive carbon machinery.

Now here is my predicament, I am thinking of buying something new and shiny. From looking at this forum I have seen some good deals to be had (e.g. Ridley Excalibur) and have a budget of around 2 - 2.5k, my question is (there is a question in here somewhere!!) will I notice a big difference from my Boardman at bikes in this price range or will it be minimal?

I have purposely not ridden a comparative bike just in case I do fall in love and then have it all consuming to the point where I have to have one now! But on the flip side I would be devastated to spend that sort of money to think, 'I preferred my Boardman'. My main problem is the bikes I am looking at will likely be mail order (Ridley above, Canyon, possibly Ribble) so the chance of test riding an exact model is unlikely so please your advice required.

graemeho

i have just received a Canyon slx to repalce my 5 year old Roubaix... lighter stiffer more comfortable handles better , accelerates faster... so yes you will most likley notice a difference, when spending 2.5k+

All that said, maybe you should upgrade the wheels first. best bang for buck.

mfin

Going from a 10kg Cross Bike at one price level to a dedicated <7kg Road bike at two and half times the price you are going to notice it a lot. On hills you'll notice it and on instant acceleration you'll notice it, it will feel a lot more alive... maybe now's the time to jump on one of your mates bikes... chances are it will be easier enough that you'll think "this feels like bloody cheating".

If you went for something like the Canyon, you'd end up with good wheels, they don't skimp on them, on some makes you'll end up with a Lotus with some old Morris Marina wheels with some lead from a black hole taped to the inside of each one, shod with a set of Remoulds dressed up to look like Lotus wheels... so with some bikes a further £300-£500 at some point will want to be spent to get the most out of the bike.

Barteos

If a new bike is going to be set up identically (the same body position) with the same tyres, the only difference will be the (overrated) weight.
It may handle and operate differently but your average speed will remain more or less the same if that's what you're really asking.

gotwood25

Thanks for the feedback chaps, much appreciated.
Barteos - I guess that is one of the the questions I am asking, I would have expecting a bit of an improvement in overall speed (not much but some). I guess you are right and I'm just going to have to get on a give it a go for myself.

unixnerd

I doubt if you'll see a big jump in average speed but you will find the bike is a lot more responsive. Pay close attention to the wheels, many expensive bikes come with surprisingly heavy and cheap wheels.

elderone

From my own experience you will notice a big difference between the bikes.Not chalk and cheese but lots of little things that add up to one big one.
As for extra speed,you won,t gain much at all tbh.

gotwood25

Looks like I am taking the plunge!
My LBS has a Scott Foil 15 with Di2 for 2699 so this may be a nice place to start.
Thanks again for your comments.

markhewitt1978

You will definitely notice a difference. I've found that with all upgrades I've done hybrid to road bike and upgrading the road bike it has the effect of slight hills mattering less and less each time. So you won't notice a massive difference on that 15% hill but on rolling terrain you'll be able to keep your speed right up.

gotwood25

Ok, as a follow up to this thread I was hoping for some advice. I think I have narrowed my choice down to the following...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-bikes-vitesse-vri-ultegra-di2-road-bike-2013/rp-prod81022
http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/store/content/106/Ridley-Excalibur/
http://startcycles.co.uk/scott-foil-15-road-bike-grey.html

Now the Scott Foil 15 is the 2012 model and available for £2400 in my lbs. I would imagine out the 3 this is by far and away the best however is it worth the extra £400-600? Does anyone out there own any of these bikes and if so would you be able to offer an opinion?

Cheers in advance.

unixnerd

Ridley sounds a bargain and they're good bikes. I've heard from a few folk including a dealer that they're very stiff, ideal for speed and racing but maybe not for the sportive or long distance rider. If I were you I'd try to ride all three if for no other reason than to ensure you get the right frame size.

Avit5

Check out the geometry on the Vitus Vitesse as it is fairly aggressive compared to the Ridley in your list. I was put off the dura ace version of the Vitus Vitesse due to the head tube length. Would have been far too low a position for me but maybe this doesn't bother you.

gotwood25

With the Vitus I'm going to struggle getting a sit on one as I don't think there are any dealers other than Chain Reaction, certainly not in my area anyway. Are you aware of anything which is similar in geometry that I could try?

Avit5

This is the geometry chart for the vitesse. I was looking at a 58 cm frame but the HT was only 155 mm . I don't know any other bikes with such a low HT for the size I need. I don't even know anyone that owns a vitus vitesse bike either.
Hopefully someone that likes an aggressive geometry can suggest some bikes with similar geometry for you too try.

http://www.vitusbikes.com/road-bikes-20 ... 3#geometry

gotwood25

Wow that is low compared to the Ridley, notice its the same as the Scott which is handy as I am going to sit on it tomorrow. Looking at a 54-56 so 140mm for the Vitus and Scott and 170mm for the Ridley which they also stock so should be able to get a decent feel.

Avit5

gotwood25 wrote:

Wow that is low compared to the Ridley, notice its the same as the Scott which is handy as I am going to sit on it tomorrow. Looking at a 54-56 so 140mm for the Vitus and Scott and 170mm for the Ridley which they also stock so should be able to get a decent feel.

Would be interested in how you find the Scott compared to the Ridley then in terms of geometry.

gotwood25

Just had a look and my Boardman has a 140mm HT and the same angle and a similar overall geometry so I am guessing it will suit me down to the ground.

Rulebritania

gotwood25 wrote:

Looking for a bit of advice, been cycling for about 18 months now after buying a Boardman CX Team. Must say the bike has been an absolute pleasure to ride and after putting on some 25mm tyres and a couple of small upgrades I manage to keep up and often beat my pals who are on much more expensive carbon machinery.

Now here is my predicament, I am thinking of buying something new and shiny. From looking at this forum I have seen some good deals to be had (e.g. Ridley Excalibur) and have a budget of around 2 - 2.5k, my question is (there is a question in here somewhere!!) will I notice a big difference from my Boardman at bikes in this price range or will it be minimal?

I have purposely not ridden a comparative bike just in case I do fall in love and then have it all consuming to the point where I have to have one now! But on the flip side I would be devastated to spend that sort of money to think, 'I preferred my Boardman'. My main problem is the bikes I am looking at will likely be mail order (Ridley above, Canyon, possibly Ribble) so the chance of test riding an exact model is unlikely so please your advice required.

Take a look at http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/index.html You will also get a whole heap of free stuff with the podium points for your budget.

kangarouge

If you liked the Boardman, why don't you just buy a more 'racey' and higher spec'd model? They do seem to get excellent reviews; in fact, to date, I have not seen or heard a bad word against them.

gotwood25

With the Boardman range you don't really seem to get any discount, well on the higher spec models anyway.
I think for the money I can't see anything better than what the Vitus has to offer and I have read some really positive reviews for it so I think that is where my future lies.

Read that the frame is very similar to the Trek Madone so going to sit on one of those to get the sizing before ordering hopefully over the weekend.

unixnerd

If you join British Cycling you'll get a 10% discount at Halfords I think, might be able to use it on the Boardman?

gotwood25

Halfords don't supply the higher spec models, go up to the Pro range but I think thats it.
I used the 10% off when I bought my CX team which was handy as they allow it on top of other discounts so I got a very good deal.

Molo

Not sure if you got sorted but I have a ridley Excalibur with Di2 - I got it after Christmas from slane cycles. Great bike and very happy but the fit was great for me as a 5'4 woman I struggled to get something with a good spec that fitted well. I am a Di2 convert!