Looking to get a new bike up to £6000

activeuk

Hi guys looking to get a new road bike for the summer been looking at the S-WORKS ROUBAIX SL4 2014 is there any thing else i should be looking at with a better spec

sloppyschleckonds

What are you riding ATM?

activeuk

Enigma Ego ti mountain bike with road tyres

Strith

BMC time macine looks very fast, and theres £1500 off the 2013 model at evans at the moment

activeuk

nice bike was looking for something with a little bit more of a relexed ride

Grill

This.
http://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/products/234087019/bike-solace-premium-cd22-xxs47/

charlie_potatoes

£6,000 :shock:

You do realise that this is a communist forum?

It won't be long before someone suggests that you should lose some weight instead. This, apparently, is achieved by forming an orderly queue for your weekly bowl of rice.

napoleond

Custom bike. Possibly a Legend or a Baum or similar. Just cos. I never feel the need for a custom bike but if I had that budget I'd get one anyway. I don't particularly like the look of legends, I think the name actually looks pretty tacky. But I'd have one.

ianbar

you don't fancy another enigma then? £6k could get one hell of a good one!

Mccaria

My more relaxed cf bike is either a Parlee Z5, high mileage comfort bike or Cervelo R5 which has quite a high head tube so again can get a relaxed position.

Semantik

Comfort for £6k? A luxury saloon perhaps?

Strith

To your own spec from here:
http://www.talbotframeworks.com/

kingstonian

Have you thought about Seven?

Alternatively Tom Donhou or Ricky Feather can knock you up something fantastic for that or less.

DeVlaeminck

There are quite a few alternatives to the Roubaix - Cannondale Synapse comes in a very expensive version and the BMc Gran Fondo 01 looks interesting. I've ridden none of them myself mind. Some ofthese sportive bikes have very tall front ends though - I mean I don't like too much saddle to bar drop but I have seen some geometry charts that I'd have to slam a stem with a very steep angle just to get an acceptable position so geometry will rule some in and some out.

LegendLust

If you want comfort and a relaxed ride get a custom titanium frame.

With your budget you could be looking at a Legend Le Prince, or Baum etc

djhermer

Mccaria wrote:

My more relaxed cf bike is either a Parlee Z5, high mileage comfort bike or Cervelo R5 which has quite a high head tube so again can get a relaxed position.

The standard Z5 is not a relaxed geo. having just bought one it's almost identical to my 'dale Supersix - I.e. Quite racey. They offer a tall version in each frame size which is a taller head tube and caters for a more relaxed fit.

For your money, a Parlee is a good option. Especially as you can customize the paint job. I spent at least a full day of my life online customising my frame.

Enjoy the period of selecting and choosing.

cycleclinic

To be fair if you are wanting to spend £6000 go over to weight weenies lots of people there riding very high machines but they are most fast racers too as that who that forum is aimed at. £6000 is alot of cash you need to do your own leg work and try stuff out.

£6000 bikes are generally top end race bikes built for that kind of rider. If you are not a elite rider then you may find such a bike does not suit you well a bit like buying a ferrari as a weekly shop car.

Mccaria

Good point DJH, my Z5 is the tall head tube version, which makes for a more relaxed position.

huuregeil

At the risk of sounding slightly negative, £6k gets you a hell of a lot of bike, it's pretty much gets you any frameset you desire, also custom, plus very decent finishing kit. So... if you're going to drop this kind of cash, I'd suggest you work out first what it is you like to ride, and dial in a position on a road bike. Because, the thing is, I've ridden expensive frames that I didn't get on with at all, and cheap frames that ride great, as well as expensive frames that are awesome! Dropping cash doesn't ensure you get something you particularly like or that suits you or your style of riding. You'd almost be better off buying three very different £2k bikes and working out what it is about them you like or otherwise.

Otherwise, have fun choosing!

fredmac

Van Nicholas Zephyr with Dura Ace.

All day comfort and should last a lifetime.

desweller

If I were you (and I'm not) I would be getting something custom in Reynolds 953 or Columbus XCR. Mr Ricky Feather would be the first person I'd visit - I love the unique touches he brings to a frame.

cougie

I'd get one with those electronic fan boosters on. I'm sure that would be within budget.

http://bigconkers.com/projects/big-conk ... c-jet-bike

DiscoBoy

Your first step should be to get a good bike fit. I'd look for a retul centre near you. Once you know what geometry would suit you, you can then start shopping for a bike with an appropriate geometry.

As an aside, is this your first road bike? If it is, then I would probably suggest starting off with something cheaper for a while before investing in your dream bike.

For example, if the Rouabix turns out to be perfet for you, geometry wise, get a Secteur (an aluminium framed bike with the same geometry) to make sure that road riding is actually for you (and that the bike is comfortable too).

Father Faff

Going from an Enigma Ego MTB (which I have ridden) with road tyres to a road bike is a big enough jump as it is without splashing out £6k. As others have said you HAVE to try some road bikes with different set ups. My first proper road bike (as opposed to an old steel tourer I had) was bought after 1 test ride - a Scott CR1 in 2006ish. At that time it was a frame used in the TDF so quite racey and I had to flip the stem and raise the height at the front a bit to get comfy but at £1500 with Shimano 105 and Kyserium Equipe wheels it did all I needed to and is still as fast as anyone else on the road out there and fun to ride, only limited by my own lack of fitness. It's not as stiff and direct as modern bikes but is comfortable over long distances and most importantly fun to ride and handles well. I am now thinking I might retire it to bad weather duties and get a summer performance machine. I've tried the Colnago M10 (proper racey) and Colnago CX Zero (perhaps one to add to your list and more sportive friendly but not as zingy as the M10) but need to try more to decide what I really want.

Pokerface

Cervelo R5. Best bike I've ridden to date. Fast, light, comfy.

Personally would buy just the frame and build it up yourself. I've not bought a 'compete' bike ever.

Father Faff

Doesn't building a bike up yourself come out more expensive? If you are getting your first proper road bike and you can find one with all the bits you want on it wouldn't that be the cheapest way to go. And of course if you don't know what bits you want anyway because you have no experience of different bits....

Pokerface

Father Faff wrote:

Doesn't building a bike up yourself come out more expensive? If you are getting your first proper road bike and you can find one with all the bits you want on it wouldn't that be the cheapest way to go. And of course if you don't know what bits you want anyway because you have no experience of different bits....

If you want to buy a lower-end bike then yes, it's generally cheaper to buy it complete.

But when adding things like Di2, nice wheels, and your bars/stem/saddle/chainset of choice - it can be cheaper to shop around for the parts.

For instance, Merlin were doing DI2 upgrade kits for £600 prior to Christmas. That's cheaper than what a lot of people would be charging for it built into the whole bike. Not all, but some.

The other benefit of building up yourself is you can choose specifically the parts you want rather than just what comes with the bike. And as we're talking about a high-end bike here, that's probably a concern.

Everyone will have different ideas of how to spend the money but only the OP will be doing it.

So - when you DO decide what you're going to do Mark (activeUK), please let us know!

northpole

DiscoBoy wrote:

Your first step should be to get a good bike fit. I'd look for a retul centre near you. Once you know what geometry would suit you, you can then start shopping for a bike with an appropriate geometry.

As an aside, is this your first road bike? If it is, then I would probably suggest starting off with something cheaper for a while before investing in your dream bike.

For example, if the Rouabix turns out to be perfet for you, geometry wise, get a Secteur (an aluminium framed bike with the same geometry) to make sure that road riding is actually for you (and that the bike is comfortable too).

What he said unless you are further along the consideration process and have already addressed these points. Bear in mind that you will lose the best part of 50% depreciation from the get go when buying new, there's a bit of an incentive to get the decision right!

Peter

thegreatdivide

Pokerface wrote:

Father Faff wrote:

Doesn't building a bike up yourself come out more expensive? If you are getting your first proper road bike and you can find one with all the bits you want on it wouldn't that be the cheapest way to go. And of course if you don't know what bits you want anyway because you have no experience of different bits....

If you want to buy a lower-end bike then yes, it's generally cheaper to buy it complete.

But when adding things like Di2, nice wheels, and your bars/stem/saddle/chainset of choice - it can be cheaper to shop around for the parts.

For instance, Merlin were doing DI2 upgrade kits for £600 prior to Christmas. That's cheaper than what a lot of people would be charging for it built into the whole bike. Not all, but some.

The other benefit of building up yourself is you can choose specifically the parts you want rather than just what comes with the bike. And as we're talking about a high-end bike here, that's probably a concern.

Agreed. I've only bought a couple of bikes off the shelf, the rest have been built from the frame up to my personal spec. A much better way of doing it and a hell of a lot cheaper if you know how to play the interweb shop game.

The only downside to doing it this way is that you either need to know how to build a bike yourself or you need to have an understanding LBS who won’t get pi$$ed off if you bring in your bargains. Thankfully I’ve got the latter but I’m about to do the former because it’s about bloody time!

flasher

You must be mad wanting to spend 6 grand on your first road bike, are you a dentist, in which case a PInerello Dogma and full Rapha kit

edten

If you're not planning to race on it I would go for something a little more exotic than the usual brands, something that will be a keeper, maybe steel.