First Road Bike, £600 Budget, HELP!

nokmond
nokmond Posts: 16
edited October 2013 in Road buying advice
Hi all, first post, so hello!

I've got a budget of 600 gbp, it's a voucher so I can only use it at bikereplacement.co.uk .

I was going to go for a Cannondale Bad Boy 9 hybrid but I'm now pretty sure I want a road bike.

On my list so far ; Specialized Allez, Cannondale Caad8, Scott Speedster 50.

What would you experts recommend? Anything else I should be looking at?

Thanks in advance!

Comments

  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    The ones you list are all fine, go and do some test rides to be sure which you prefer. Also Giant bikes are well worth a look.
  • dombhoy
    dombhoy Posts: 147
    mekk pinerolo has got good reviews it costs £549
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    The 2014 Felt F95 is easily the best (IMO :oops: ) if I had to stick to the £600 limit.
    Has A carbon fork (unlike the Allez) and the latest 2013 Sora so 9 speed cassette and up to date Shimano shifters.
    Could not see a drop bar Scott, but would still go for the Felt.
  • nokmond
    nokmond Posts: 16
    Yeh, the Scott has a flat bar. This the drop bar version is 650 which I could stretch to if it was better than The Felt?

    I love the look of The Felt tho. What is the difference between the F95 and Z95? Can't see it anywhere and I'm very new to this!
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    edited October 2013
    Think the F is a more sporty geometry and the Z more relaxed.

    The Felt is way better than the Scott, and cheaper :wink:

    F95 is a bit of a bargain at £600 compared to the others IMO.
  • nokmond
    nokmond Posts: 16
    Same components tho? The Z might shit me better actually
  • nokmond
    nokmond Posts: 16
    Thanks for your help BTW!
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    NP. I would take all that 'relaxed geometry' stuff with a pinch of salt personally.
    The F95 is not exactly 'aggressive'. Its just a normal road bike ;-)

    You might prefer the 25mm tyres but you can get a nice pair for the F95 with the £50 you have saved.
    If you sell the 23mm ones on ebay (as new before you use them) you could get some really, really nice 25mm ones and maybe enough left over for some Swissstop brake blocks too :D
  • nokmond
    nokmond Posts: 16
    Thanks mate, I've no Idea about tyres etc so I shall bookmark this page till it arrives! Will probably order tomorrow. Is there any benefit in the 25mm tyres? I presume it's a slightly comfier ride
  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    Carbonator wrote:
    NP. I would take all that 'relaxed geometry' stuff with a pinch of salt personally.
    The F95 is not exactly 'aggressive'. Its just a normal road bike ;-)

    You might prefer the 25mm tyres but you can get a nice pair for the F95 with the £50 you have saved.
    If you sell the 23mm ones on ebay (as new before you use them) you could get some really, really nice 25mm ones and maybe enough left over for some Swissstop brake blocks too :D

    Definitely get the swisstop brake blocks or in the wet it will feel like someone has stolen your brakes.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    25mm are a little more comfy yes.

    I would sell the Vittoria's before you use them and get better tyres anyway, even if you stick with 23mm.
    Continental 4 seasons, gator skins or GP4000 would be my choice.
  • nokmond
    nokmond Posts: 16
    Thanks again lads.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Or enjoy it as it is and save up for new wheels and tyres for the summer ;-)
  • neilhannam
    neilhannam Posts: 58
    This is pretty much exactly the path I went down last year and having had my F95 for a year now im delighted with it. In terms of the F95 or Z95 I can say having never had a road bike before I didn't find the F95 to be uncomfortable at all even with the more aggressive geometry.

    I also upgraded the stock tyres to 25mm Continental Gatorskins immediately as they will help resist punctures and im guessing you're not overly fussed on saving every gram. I'd also be prepared for swapping the saddle if you're not used to road ones. The stock one is very flat, thinly padded and damn firm so can get pretty uncomfortable pretty quickly if you're not used to it. Aside from that it's a cracking bike and im very happy with my decision.

    It's a shame you have a voucher and not cash as Wiggle has all the colour versions of the F95 2013 on sale for less than £500 and you can even get an F85 for less than £600.
  • nokmond
    nokmond Posts: 16
    Thanks for your thoughts. How do you find it for just plodding around on, going out with kids etc? That's why I was going to go for a hybrid, I thought a road bike might not be great if I'm taking my little girl out for a ride but I figured using the hoods will not be much different from using flat bars in a hybrid anyway.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    The hybrid would be slightly better for riding with young children because you will not be going very fast and will have more control with the wider bars. Its also more relaxed (probably more upright, although you could flip the stem on the road bike) so you are better able to keep an eye on them and assist if need be.

    I would have thought the road bike would be the better buy though as its a lot more useful when you are not with the kids and hardly a problem when you are.

    Depends what you want from it really. The road bike is better at doing both types of riding IMO, and kids soon grow up.
  • nokmond
    nokmond Posts: 16
    Yeh that's what I was thinking when I changed my mind about the hybrid. I tried to order the Felt today but they haven't got it in stock and have no idea when they will.

    I'm going to try and haggle a cash settlement so I can get the felt from elsewhere. If I can't tho what would got have out of the Allez and the Speedster 50 for 50Gbp more?
  • Robccc
    Robccc Posts: 9
    Where does your voucher have to be redeemed ? which shop/company ? Sorry if you've already said and i've missed it.

    For your budget i'm guessing you're looking at the entry level allez and the scott also has entry level components, all do the job though and pretty well but the felt was the best option given the 3 that took your fancy because of the step up in components. For £600 and the time of year i wouldn't consider getting anything with Shimano 2300 components when theres plenty of decent frames with sora components the next level up all within your budget.

    Just my opinion.

    Good Luck in finding the right bike for you :)
  • nokmond
    nokmond Posts: 16
    Hi. The site is bikereplacement.co.uk

    I've just did a search on the site for 'sora ' and there are a couple Of Mekk road bikes with sora, never heard of them myself. The Scott Speedster 50 at 650 pounds actually has Sora as well so should be a bit better than the Allez.
  • Robccc
    Robccc Posts: 9
    Best thing to do is see what they have in stock in your size and if they are on your shortlist, it will give you a starting point.

    Shimano Sora is the next step up component wise to shimano 2300.

    And with your budget being around the £600 mark you should easily be able to get fixed up with sora components. If i had to pick between the Allez and Scott you have mentioned i would deffinately pay the extra 50 squid and go for the scott, shame the felt is out of stock because for the price its a good bit of kit.

    The Mekk pinerolo AL 1.0 gets good reviews aswell but as its the same price as the scott i'd probably still be tempted to take the scott, purely because of re-sale value if you decided to upgrade in the future. The scott will sell easier than the Mekk IMHO, but if this doesn't bother you then its a tough one, lol.

    Do you have a LBS that might stock the models on your shortlist for you to test ride or even just to sit on and feel before you buy is better than nothing.

    Once again good luck, i bet the bug bites, lol.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    The Scott is an 8 speed triple rather than a 9 speed compact double so its not quite the same.
    I cannot see the specs properly but its a Sora/Claris mix which is mostly Claris.
    It does not have a carbon fork either, so the Felt is a lot better.

    Do they have any 2013 Felt F95's in black?
    They are £650 but still 2013 Sora (the latest version) and therefore a better option than the Scott IMO.
    Not sure why the F95 has come down in price for 2014. Maybe the 2013 one is a slightly better spec.
  • Tony Mc
    Tony Mc Posts: 180
    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-f85-specia ... on-2013-1/

    looks a canny deal under £600
    Getting there
  • nokmond
    nokmond Posts: 16
    Just waiting to here back from insurance company and that's what I'll be going for.
  • BigBikeFan
    BigBikeFan Posts: 1
    Wiggle have F95 and Z95 2013 models for a little over £400, can't go wrong with either of them, take your pick of a bit more relaxed (Z) or aggressive (F).....
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    The F is not aggressive lol. Its just a normal road bike.
    The CAAD 8 that was mentioned as an option is more aggressive .
  • nokmond
    nokmond Posts: 16
    just an update - the cash offer from the Insurance was only £700 after the excess so I've ordered a specialized Allez due to the Felts being out of stock til at least mid December.

    I was thinking of maybe selling it brand new and getting a Felt 85 from Wiggle instead.

    How much could I expect to get for the Allez?
  • diamonddog
    diamonddog Posts: 3,426
    Be prepared to lose a big lump of money IMO.
  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    Just ride it and enjoy the bike.
  • rickeverett
    rickeverett Posts: 988
    nokmond wrote:
    just an update - the cash offer from the Insurance was only £700 after the excess so I've ordered a specialized Allez due to the Felts being out of stock til at least mid December.

    I was thinking of maybe selling it brand new and getting a Felt 85 from Wiggle instead.

    How much could I expect to get for the Allez?


    The Felt F85 at wiggle is a fantastic deal. Better bike than the Allez.

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