Allez or F95?

dden

Hi,

I am a complete beginner and need qualified advice. Being now too old for competitive swimming, I decided to join the triathletes - primarily for fun.

I am looking for a solid training and (olympic distance) competition bike, without having to splash out a fortune - at least not initially. I read many reviews, comparisons and tried to get behind the details. Many of the guides I red recommended the Specialized Allez (http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec040963) which seems a good value for money. I was about to order one, but then saw the Felt F95 (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-f95-sora-wiggle-exclusive). At its carbon fork and the Sora components, it seems a better deal than the Specialized.

Which you still recommend the Allez? If so, why? A quick hint/help/explanation would be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Anonymous

I would say easily the Felt out of those two.
Much better spec and cheaper.

You sound like you are planning your second bike before buying your first though.
Your intended use sounds quite committed and I would say spending more now will be better in the long run.

Maybe 10 speed rather than the 8/9.

Were you planning on getting the Specialized from Evans Cycles? You could test ride a few bikes there.

slowbike

IMO, if you want a "cheap" training bike then you may be better off getting a second hand bike.
Quite a few come up in the classifieds on this site and many others.

I'm not sure either of those bikes would class as "competition" bikes - I have an Allez (2011 with carbon forks and it's for sale!) which whilst it's absolutely fine, it's just not as responsive as my Tarmac. As they are the same geometry I know it's not that. The other differences are the wheels, groupset (105 instead of 2300) and the obvious - the Tarmac is carbon.
For the most part it doesn't matter, but in competition you really could do with any little bonus you can get.

DiscoBoy

Of the two, I'd buy the Felt.

I think it is also the right thing to buy. Regardless of what you buy now, as soon as you are moderately serious about triathlons you will want to upgrade to a tri bike, so spending more money now is only going to make you have a nicer training bike. Spending less now will let you spend more on your tri bike in the future which is a better idea IMO.

slowbike

DiscoBoy wrote:

Spending less now will let you spend more on your tri bike in the future which is a better idea IMO.

Plus you can always upgrade the important bits and take to other bikes - ie the wheels & tyres!

Anonymous

Slowbike wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Spending less now will let you spend more on your tri bike in the future which is a better idea IMO.

Plus you can always upgrade the important bits and take to other bikes - ie the wheels & tyres!

Not sure any of this makes sense.

The OP has not mentioned getting a tri bike and even if he did would it not be a bit odd going from a basic 8/9 speed training/road bike to a tri bike?

All for upgrading wheels/tyres as feel you kind of need to do than on any stock bike, but what would you upgrade to on a basic bike and then take to a better bike?
You would either have to get wheels way too good for the basic bike, or end up with just as good ones on the new bike and not need to move them across anyway.

Seems too big a jump to me.
Decent 10 speed will go a lot nearer the OP's intentions, be worth upgrading and still be a good training/road bike if he does get a tri bike.

Cannot really see either of the bikes mentioned with tri bars bolted on :shock:

DiscoBoy

Carbonator wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Spending less now will let you spend more on your tri bike in the future which is a better idea IMO.

Plus you can always upgrade the important bits and take to other bikes - ie the wheels & tyres!

Not sure any of this makes sense.

The OP has not mentioned getting a tri bike and even if he did would it not be a bit odd going from a basic 8/9 speed training/road bike to a tri bike?

All for upgrading wheels/tyres as feel you kind of need to do than on any stock bike, but what would you upgrade to on a basic bike and then take to a better bike?
You would either have to get wheels way too good for the basic bike, or end up with just as good ones on the new bike and not need to move them across anyway.

Seems too big a jump to me.
Decent 10 speed will go a lot nearer the OP's intentions, be worth upgrading and still be a good training/road bike if he does get a tri bike.

Cannot really see either of the bikes mentioned with tri bars bolted on :shock:

What bike you have to train, and how the groupset on that compares to your triathlon bike is largely, if not completely, irrelevant.

kajjal

DiscoBoy wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Spending less now will let you spend more on your tri bike in the future which is a better idea IMO.

Plus you can always upgrade the important bits and take to other bikes - ie the wheels & tyres!

Not sure any of this makes sense.

The OP has not mentioned getting a tri bike and even if he did would it not be a bit odd going from a basic 8/9 speed training/road bike to a tri bike?

All for upgrading wheels/tyres as feel you kind of need to do than on any stock bike, but what would you upgrade to on a basic bike and then take to a better bike?
You would either have to get wheels way too good for the basic bike, or end up with just as good ones on the new bike and not need to move them across anyway.

Seems too big a jump to me.
Decent 10 speed will go a lot nearer the OP's intentions, be worth upgrading and still be a good training/road bike if he does get a tri bike.

Cannot really see either of the bikes mentioned with tri bars bolted on :shock:

What bike you have to train, and how the groupset on that compares to your triathlon bike is largely, if not completely, irrelevant.

Not really, potentially you could end up with two different geared and riding bikes. Choosing incorrect gears, having differing brakes, different handling or even tyres can cost time. You need to make sure you ride / tweak your race bike enough so this is not a factor or you will regret it.

kajjal

To the original poster go do some test rides with an open mind. As a general rule ten speed is better as it allows you to get closer to the ideal gear you need at the time making you more efficient.

DiscoBoy

Kajjal wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Spending less now will let you spend more on your tri bike in the future which is a better idea IMO.

Plus you can always upgrade the important bits and take to other bikes - ie the wheels & tyres!

Not sure any of this makes sense.

The OP has not mentioned getting a tri bike and even if he did would it not be a bit odd going from a basic 8/9 speed training/road bike to a tri bike?

All for upgrading wheels/tyres as feel you kind of need to do than on any stock bike, but what would you upgrade to on a basic bike and then take to a better bike?
You would either have to get wheels way too good for the basic bike, or end up with just as good ones on the new bike and not need to move them across anyway.

Seems too big a jump to me.
Decent 10 speed will go a lot nearer the OP's intentions, be worth upgrading and still be a good training/road bike if he does get a tri bike.

Cannot really see either of the bikes mentioned with tri bars bolted on :shock:

What bike you have to train, and how the groupset on that compares to your triathlon bike is largely, if not completely, irrelevant.

Not really, potentially you could end up with two different geared and riding bikes. Choosing incorrect gears, having differing brakes, different handling or even tyres can cost time. You need to make sure you ride / tweak your race bike enough so this is not a factor or you will regret it.

Nobody rides a road bike for all their training and then hops on a TT bike for a triathlon. You do some training on your TT bike, obviously...

Anonymous

He does not have a TT bike and has not even mentioned one :roll:

If you feel he should get a budget Allez or similar, is this the perfect bike for him? Has he got it just right or do you think something like a TDF, Virtuoso or Triban 3 would be better leaving even more cash for a TT bike?

When/if he does get a TT bike would you also recommend a cheap one of those too?
Can you name an example TT bike you think he should get to go along with his really basic road bike please.
How long roughly should he be riding around on the first bike before getting another one and roughly how much do you think that should cost?

dden

Hi again,

Thanks very much to all of you for your suggestions/comments. They make perfect sense, but please let me give you a little more background. I am a complete triathlon beginner and - at the moment - I have no bike at all. Despite being a good swimmer and a general physical fitness, my cycling is far from any competitive level, something I am looking to change. Having said that, I am trying to take it easy with my triathlon ambitions. I have done my fair share of competitive sports, the triathlons are supposed to be recreational (not sure if there such a thing or if I can maintain this healthy balance).

From what you all said, I think the Felt would be a really good value training bike for me, but I agree with your assessment of its competition features. Especially what you said about 9 vs 10 speed makes perfect sense. Nothing is more frustrating than being stuck on the "wrong" gear for miles and miles. Going for a 9-speed, will make upgrades a lot more difficult longer term, so I am (almost) willing to up my budget a little and go for Tiagra components.

Looking through my options (quickly), I found e.g. these ones:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-belief-2013/
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/basso-devil-xenon-2012-1/ (looks great, but the 56cm might be a little too small for me)
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-f85-tiagra ... exclusive/


Do you think it makes sense to spend the £100 more on one of these? So many thanks for your advice again, I really appreciate it.

dden

Sorry, I've also found these two "bargains", but I know virtually nothing about them:

• http://www.rutlandcycling.com/101193/pr ... -bike.aspx
• http://www.rutlandcycling.com/153513/pr ... -bike.aspx

I found a review for the Forme 2.0 (http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -13-47596/) and there seem to be a reasons for the low price.

matt_n-2

This is worth a look at the £600ish price band:



http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBHOTRTIA/ ... -road-bike

Although I see that you can pick up a 2013 F95 for £449 on Wiggle at the moment.

slowbike

8,9,10 speed - makes no odds if you're at the outset of your training.

I ride a 9 speed for commuting and a 10 speed on the road for leisure - tbh I couldn't tell the difference in the gearing.

As for upgrades you can take with you - tyres are consumables anyway - but they should be something you consider on any bike. Wheels can be taken with you - nothing wrong with putting say FR5's on a stock bike and then taking them to a race bike. IMHO something at that price bracket would give you a noticeable upgrade over stock wheels without breaking the bank and worth having on a faster bike - even if they're later used as training wheels.

I know nothing about Tri bikes, but appreciate that you can't train for riding a Tri bike solely on a road bike - however, a road bike can be used to build base cycle fitness and then training on the tri bike can be aimed at finessing.

Anonymous

Slowbike wrote:

8,9,10 speed - makes no odds if you're at the outset of your training.

Er, it does. 10 speed means less of a jump between gears which is always nicer.
Would 5,6 or 7 speed (on a compact) be ok then :roll:

How long exactly is the 'outset' period of training and what does the OP do then (when you seem to be saying 10 speed will be better)? Buy a new bike, upgrade the virtually new groupset on a cheap bike, or put up with 8/9 speed?

OP is starting to look at some much better options now.............Keep going ;-)

dden

Thanks everyone again. I think I have finally made up my mind and will go for the F85 (instead of the F95). I really like the Basso Devil too, but it's a only available in 56cm and I am a 6'1" (34").

As said before, I won't be able to have two bikes in the near future, and I need a sensible compromise. Paying a £100 extra for a 10-speed Tiagra seems a lot (to me) but is probably a sane choice in regards to future upgrades. I also tested a few bikes and have to say that in competitve circumstances the extra-gear really makes a difference to me.

Thanks again for all your comments.

bobones

The Felt F85 is a great choice especially at the price Wiggle are doing them. I have the 2011 model and it has been a superb bike. The wheels and tyres supplied are decent, but a bit heavy so there is scope for upgrade there down the line.

gimli1001

hi

im in the same dilema as you, i like the felt and the allez, i went to evans in london and had a sit on the allez not a full bike fit just a quick sit on and while i felt okay the lass in the shop said i looked uncomftable, and i might be better on the secteur

i have a spesh mtb that has been fantastic, so i do like the brand im looking at the f95 and also the cube peloton

any ideas what you might go for

steve