Help me choose - Cervelo or Wilier

mattfothers

I've boiled my £2k to £2.5k budget down to two bikes and I'd like some help to make the right decision.
2014 Cervelo R3 with Shimano 105 (with upgrades straight away to Mavic Ksyrium Elites and a Rotor 3d crankset),
or,
2014 Wilier GTR with Campag Centaur (with Mavic Ksyrium Elite upgrade).
Or am I being short sighted?

There's lots known about the Cervelo but I know very little about the Wilier and Campag for that matter. I'd like a boutique brand bike such as these rather than the usual road fodder. Any guidance and wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

smoggysteve

Both are far too mass produced to be called boutique bikes.

Think Cervelo are a more renowned high end brand and Wilier are a typically Italian brand with curvy lines . Centaur is quite basic and clunky by Campag standards wheras 105 is a lot more functional. think I would take the R3 myself but depends what you prefer , looks or performance.

derosa

Can't comment on the Cervelo, but I own a Wilier GTR with Shimano Ultegra and love it. Very responsive, soaks up the bumps well and is a joy to ride. More individualistic than the ubiquitous Giant or Trek and all the better for that IMHO.

norwichdanny

hi,
hope you dont mind me saying, but if i was spending 2.5k i would want slightly higher than 105 or centaur. There are some amazing deals around at the moment, especially from trusted european stores, such as this de rosa with sram red currently reduced from 4.5k to 2.5k
http://www.salden.nl/default.asp?pid=53 ... catid=2914
(displayed price in euros)
Lots of wiliers too!

mattfothers

SmoggySteve wrote:

Both are far too mass produced to be called boutique bikes.

Think Cervelo are a more renowned high end brand and Wilier are a typically Italian brand with curvy lines . Centaur is quite basic and clunky by Campag standards wheras 105 is a lot more functional. think I would take the R3 myself but depends what you prefer , looks or performance.

Thanks. I thought I might be taken to task over the boutique brand statement . I take your point that they are also mass produced but I don't consider them to be as mass produced as say Trek, Giant or Cannondale - too many of these out on a Sunday morning and I'm looking for something a bit more.... you know!

smoggysteve

depends where you are. cube, canyon and rose are common as muck here and I have never seen a trek out and about in Germany. Even boutique brands like Storck are a common sight.

smoggysteve

if you want a real boutique bike, get a Ciocc.

slowandsteady

I'm sure i seen a wilier cento 1 SR with 11sp Athena for £2.7 somewhere. That's a winner.

pippi_langsamer-2

I would personally spend far less on the frame and more on the drivetrain and wheels.

I'd also consider a used but vgc bike. For instance, I managed to drop onto a Parlee Z5 with SRAM Force & Ksyrium SR's. It was ex demo and not a mark on it. Cost £2500

There are some awesome deals out there if you look hard enough and are patient enough, but then some people just want new which is fair enough...

LegendLust

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

I would personally spend far less on the frame and more on the drivetrain and wheels.

I'd also consider a used but vgc bike. For instance, I managed to drop onto a Parlee Z5 with SRAM Force & Ksyrium SR's. It was ex demo and not a mark on it. Cost £2500

There are some awesome deals out there if you look hard enough and are patient enough, but then some people just want new which is fair enough...

So you advise the OP to not worry about the quality of the frame and get a better groupset etc but yet you go and buy a Parlee Z5 with 'only' SRAM Force?

djhermer

LegendLust wrote:

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

I would personally spend far less on the frame and more on the drivetrain and wheels.

I'd also consider a used but vgc bike. For instance, I managed to drop onto a Parlee Z5 with SRAM Force & Ksyrium SR's. It was ex demo and not a mark on it. Cost £2500

There are some awesome deals out there if you look hard enough and are patient enough, but then some people just want new which is fair enough...

So you advise the OP to not worry about the quality of the frame and get a better groupset etc but yet you go and buy a Parlee Z5 with 'only' SRAM Force?

Ha! I concur. I would hazard a guess that the Z5 demo frame had an entirely different groupset when being used as a demo bike. The Force groupset would have been put on by the shop to get rid of the ex-demo frame at a bargain price. Either that or the bike shop want shooting for trying to sell a £3.2k frame with Force group as a demo...!

pippi_langsamer-2

My point was if you look hard enough, you can pick up a real bargain. You get so much more bang for your buck getting a slightly used set-up.

I didn't buy it from a shop- it came straight from a Parlee Europe rep and even honoured me with the lifetime warranty on the frame. Bike set-up was as it was for the maximum half dozen short demo rides it was used for at a large Euro bike expo.

LegendLust

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

My point was if you look hard enough, you can pick up a real bargain. You get so much more bang for your buck getting a slightly used set-up.

I didn't buy it from a shop- it came straight from a Parlee Europe rep and even honoured me with the lifetime warranty on the frame. Bike set-up was as it was for the maximum half dozen short demo rides it was used for at a large Euro bike expo.

Very true. But to advise a cyclist to spend more on the groupset than the frame is bad advice IMO.

The frame is the heart of the bike, and if fitted properly will effect how the bike handles and performs. IMO more money should be spent on getting the best frame you can, then secondary is getting the best wheels and tyres you can within budget as these can really add to the feeling of the frame.

Modern groupsets within the brands ranges all work very well. Spending more money in this area only buys you weight gains and finish/looks really (oh and kudos!). As and when components wear out you can then look at upgrading.

pippi_langsamer-2

LegendLust wrote:

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

My point was if you look hard enough, you can pick up a real bargain. You get so much more bang for your buck getting a slightly used set-up.

I didn't buy it from a shop- it came straight from a Parlee Europe rep and even honoured me with the lifetime warranty on the frame. Bike set-up was as it was for the maximum half dozen short demo rides it was used for at a large Euro bike expo.

Very true. But to advise a cyclist to spend more on the groupset than the frame is bad advice IMO.

The frame is the heart of the bike, and if fitted properly will effect how the bike handles and performs. IMO more money should be spent on getting the best frame you can, then secondary is getting the best wheels and tyres you can within budget as these can really add to the feeling of the frame.

Modern groupsets within the brands ranges all work very well. Spending more money in this area only buys you weight gains and finish/looks really (oh and kudos!). As and when components wear out you can then look at upgrading.

I tend to agree with you in that there isnt really a "bad", groupset these days and most additional spend comes down to marginal weight gains between them (Force v Red for eg).

Of course, the frame is the heart of the bike, but I don't think the material and/ or design has such a massive part to play as some people believe. I used to have an old alu E5 S-Works that I preferred over my carbon Addict.

Thing is, keeping a beady eye out, one can probably get a top-end frameset, wheels and groupset second hand for the price we're talking about as opposed to sacrificing in one area if buying new whether it be frame/wheels or groupset.

Yes, a Z5 frame & forks alone is over £3k but there's no way on earth I personally would ever spend anything like that if I had to buy new.

Whatever you deicide, make sure the warranty is worth the spend- especially if you go for the Cervelo