Upgrading my road bike £1000 budget. Advice needed.

tom_os

Hi.

I have been cycling all my life but only in the last 12 months have got into road cycling proper. I enjoy going out for the day, doing 50 miles + and seeing where I end up. I have no intentions of competing in the near future.

I currently ride a second hand Carrera road bike which has served me well but it is time to upgrade.

I have a budget of no more than £1000. A carbon frame would be great (if possible) and a Tiagra minimum group set is what I am looking for.

My measurements are:

Height 1.88m
Inseam 891mm
Arm 722mm
Shoulder 430mm

I had my heart set on this bike but after looking at the frame geometry I don't think it will suit me. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mekk-2g-poggio-p20-tiagra-2013/

A) Please can someone confirm my suspicions about the above bike not being suitable for me

I am looking for any bike recommendations that fit my above requirements. (And what frame size you would recommend)

I would be grateful of any advice.

Thank you.

markhewitt1978

For £1000 budget you can't beat this http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBP ... _road_bike

Carbon, and Ultegra (2 levels above Tiagra)

How Far is too Far

These seem good value

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/155056/pr ... k-red.aspx

This would give you some money for better wheels

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/109320/pr ... -bike.aspx

Slightly over budget but full Ultegra
http://www.rutlandcycling.com/108684/pr ... -bike.aspx


Don't forget Topcash back , you will get 3.1% back

Richard...

diamonddog

markhewitt1978 wrote:

For £1000 budget you can't beat this http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBP ... _road_bike

Carbon, and Ultegra (2 levels above Tiagra)

This one^^

nochekmate

If you want new, you might consider the following, after just a quick 5 min search:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cinelli-saetta-105-2013/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ridley-orion-10 ... ion-2013/#

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/basso-laguna-veloce-2013/

Lots of similar bikes around at that price and this is without looking at well-regarded aluminium bikes eg. CAAD10. Something a bit different from Planet X (which is not FULL Ultegra AFAIK) and difference between Ultegra 6700 and 105 5700 is minimal.

The Giant TCR2 aluminium bike linked above is a great bike for the price. Just riding one of those framesets as my winter steed and they ride well, welds are very smooth - good all round package for the money.

Bozman

Plenty of bargains available at the moment but if you can't get something... go second hand because you get more bang for your buck but.....
When you know what you're looking for, you've got to know what to look for and you've got to be confident on size/geometry.
Take your time and don't rush in to a buy(you've got all winter), go for pick up only because you get a chance to look over a bike, plus they'll go cheaper than bikes with postage.

markhewitt1978

nochekmate wrote:

Planet X (which is not FULL Ultegra AFAIK)

Crankset is R565 which I have and is ok.
Bottom bracket and brake calipers are not ultegra.
Also uses R501 wheels which are bargain basement but still reasonable. One of the first things I would swap out for RS60/RS80 and keep the R501 for winter / bad weather duty.

and difference between Ultegra 6700 and 105 5700 is minimal.

This is true; I believe 6800 is a lot better but 6700/5700 are basically the same.

pete8uk

Sounds like you're in much the same situation as I was around 2 years ago. I bought a Planet X RT-57 back then, and have just upgraded to something a little more expensive....

Had nothing against the Planet X (except an annoying rattle from the internal cable routing!). That bike took me from commuting/occasional cyclist, to regular sportif rider, completing my first century, joining a club and now thinking about competing (in TTs).

Other than a general recommendation for Planet X in the <£1000 bracket, my only other advice is to try before you buy. Or at least get a fitting. I did for both my Planet X, and new bike, and I can feel the difference when I ride a hire bike that is "about right for my height". Just doesn't feel quite right.

stabilised

I've been going through the same process - £1000 to spend to buy a new 'good' bike whilst my 8 year old 500 Ribble gets demoted to winter duties (after crashing my 28 year old Dawes Imperial into a dry stone wall two weeks ago and bending the forks - yes, I know I could get them repaired/replaced, but the chance to get away from 6 speed friction down-tube gears is too good to miss - and there aren't any braze-on bosses to enable any sort of upgrade).

I'm waiting on delivery of a 2013 Cube Agree GTC Pro from Chain Reaction for £979. Full carbon frame and forks, Aksiums, bit of a dog's dinner of a drivetrain - non-series Shimano chainset (looks like last generation 105), 105 front mech and cassette, Ultegra rear mech. Non-series Shiman callipers (again - look like last generation 105). Easton bars, stem and post, Selle Italia saddle. Was £1400. Thought about a Felt F5 on Wiggle for about the same, but the wheels are worse (but some other bits better) and in the grand scheme of trading things off against one another I put better wheels high on my list of priorites (certainly above a carbon seat post or a series chainset). Looked at a few other options - like 2014 Defy 1 - but the value you get for last year's bikes seems too good to miss. I'm 5' 9'' and 31'' inside leg and pretty ordinary proportions and seem to fit a 56cm fine (I have sat on one and spent a good deal of deal studying frame geometry charts for different models and comparing those with the measurements of my current bike, which I have found comfortable from the first day I got on it.)

KatB

I was in a similar situation and was torn between the cube and planet x as they seemed to give the best "package" for your money...I went for the planet x as have got everything as I wanted it, and I'd been up there and they were really helpful too.

I wanted the best groupset I could for the dosh, and ended up with the SRAM after trying both...

pitchshifter

https://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3191

All the bike you'll ever need and you save £100.00 that you can put towards a wheel upgrade.. You don't need carbon, aluminium bikes are great for comfort and weight these days.

I am similar dimensions to you and I got a large.

IceDog77

I am also in a similar position with a bout 1K to spend. No more. I am fine with an Alu frame (being a heaiver gent) and want a triple. I am pretty much set on the below for all day ride comfort.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... tAod4hkAVw

Moonbiker

A Radon bike?

R1 5.0 1299,00 €

R1 Series Alu Super Strong
Radon Double Chamber full carbon taper
FSA Orbit Z-T
Syntace F149 31,8
Syntace Racelite 2014 31,8
Velo
RFR, 31,6*350mm
Radon Lite by Velo
Shimano Ultegra BR-6800
Shimano STI Ultegra ST-6800
Shimano Ultegra RD-6800SS
Shimano Ultegra FD-6800, 34,9mm
Shimano Ultegra FC-6800 compact, 172,5mm
Shimano Press Fit Road SM-BB71
Shimano Ultegra CS-6800 11-25 11-speed
Shimano Ultegra CN-6800, 11-speed
Mavic Aksium S
Mavic Aksium S
from 7,5 kg
white/black
50/53/56/58/60/63cm

I dunno why are the not very popular unlike the Canyons?

edhornby

have a look at Dolan, they have some cracking bikes at that pricepoint

t4tomo

tom_os wrote:

Hi.

I have been cycling all my life but only in the last 12 months have got into road cycling proper. I enjoy going out for the day, doing 50 miles + and seeing where I end up. I have no intentions of competing in the near future.

I currently ride a second hand Carrera road bike which has served me well but it is time to upgrade.

I have a budget of no more than £1000. A carbon frame would be great (if possible) and a Tiagra minimum group set is what I am looking for.

My measurements are:

Height 1.88m
Inseam 891mm
Arm 722mm
Shoulder 430mm

I had my heart set on this bike but after looking at the frame geometry I don't think it will suit me. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mekk-2g-poggio-p20-tiagra-2013/

A) Please can someone confirm my suspicions about the above bike not being suitable for me

I am looking for any bike recommendations that fit my above requirements. (And what frame size you would recommend)

I would be grateful of any advice.

Thank you.

size guides are pretty approximate, no reason to believe the 58/59c won't fit you. are they wiggle only or can you find a physical shop to try one?

vertigo16

I was in exactly your situation once. My answer is: don't go and spend £1,000. Spend a bit less and then when you have a bit more experience go for the grand bike. There will be a big difference between a second hand Carrera and a £700 bike, so start with that and then look up when you've a bit more experience. I was going to go for the Planet X straight from my 1990s steel bike, but so glad I didn't - since buying a mid-range bike I now know far more about how I'd like to spend my grand (have actually increased my bidget slightly because I know what I want).

Not saying Planet X would have been bad - it wouldn't, it would have been great. But it would have been a gamble when I didn't really know what I was doing with bikes at that price point.

zx6man

I don't think carrera vs £700 bike is enough of a difference. I was going to do the same, I rode my friends Cube Peloton which was around 700 (sora). It didn't warrant the extra 440 in my eyes over my carrera. I did try a trek domane 2.3. Now that did feel like an upgrade but I need to save a few months more :-)

markhewitt1978

The Domane 2.3 is a very good bike but the Domane 2.0 is just as capable (same frame, different groupset) and £200 cheaper.

zx6man

I think the extra 200 for the full groupset, which I think on the 2014 also includes the brakes, is worth it and feel more of an upgrade. I hate the look of the tiagra chainset too :-)

markhewitt1978

zx6man wrote:

I hate the look of the tiagra chainset too :-)

Agreed. It's awful isn't it. For ascetics then I think 105 is the winner.

IceDog77

I have tried both the 2014 Domane 2.0 and the 2.3.

Both are excellent as stated above, but as I want a triple and it will cost more to retrofit the 2.3 which is already £200 dearer, I am likely to go with the 2.0.

zx6man

Yeah, seems best way as its just the groupset thats different, and as the 2.3 has no triple option.

cycleclinic

There is no subsitute for a general serach all these recomendations are fine but you need a bike that fits. You know your basic dimension so you may have had a fit done what you need to check is does the frame have the right geoemtry for you. If it does then does it fall into your budget. Please don't buy the other way around.

bobones

Felt F6 Apex
Felt F5 105