I have £2000 for a road bike, which one....

davefox

Hi all,

I have £2000 to spend on a new road bike and was looking at the Forme Thorpe Pro initially.

Or does anyone else have any better suggestions?

Cheers

Dave

nedmoran

Canondale synapse carbon has got good reviews

mfin

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b65s6p5164/CANNONDALE-SUPERSIX-EVO-RED-2013

Chuck a few more squids in and something like this?

...I'm also not sure the resale value of the Forme would be good (it's not as widely known about), the groupset on it is functional but cheap particularly as it doesn't have the ultegra chainset.

davefox

Some Cube models have caught my eye too....

AGREE GTC SLT
http://www.cube.eu/uk/bikes/road-race/a ... e-gtc-slt/

or......

LITENING SUPER HPC Race
http://www.cube.eu/uk/bikes/road-race/l ... -hpc-race/

jameses

The recent 'Bike of the Year' reviews should give you a few to choose from.

davefox

@JamesEs - Thanks, are they on BikeRadar?

Anonymous

Is it just me that wonders if this type of thread is a wind up?

Sorry if genuine mr fox ;-)

davefox

It's genuine Carbonator.

I am just after advice as it's new territory for me and thought I'd ask people in the know

Anonymous

Sorry then, just that a Forme and 'green lantern' green Cube seemed a bit fishy.

I would second that the new Synapse carbon should be a great starting point then.
Have not seen one yet but am looking forward to that day.

davefox

Just out of interest, why would they seem fishy?

I've know other people with Forme and Cubes and just started looking from there.

I'll look into the Cannondales though.

Anonymous

First post + 2k + unusual bikes.

I really like Cubes myself. I like German brands. Check out Focus and BMC too ;-)

Whats the plan for the bike? 'First' road bike or bike for life?

You will find out more about what you like only after you have your first one.
The Cannondale will tick a lot of box's I reckon.

Wheels are always a weak point, so a £1500 Synapse carbon 105 + a nice set of wheels/tyres might be a good way of spending 2k.

Anonymous

Oh, and whatever you do............... make sure its not too big ;-)

davefox

Ok, was not intended to be unusual or anything. Just asking the question is all.

It will be my main road bike to do all my training on for my Muay Thai fight training as I can no longer run on the roads after a knee operation.

I like the Cube snot green, just because it looks a bit out there, but I'll look at the BMC and Focus sites when I get chance at lunch.

As for size, I think it's a 58 I am after, but I need to find somewhere in Nottingham to get measured properly to be certain.

Anonymous

davefox wrote:

Ok, was not intended to be unusual or anything. Just asking the question is all.

It will be my main road bike to do all my training on for my Muay Thai fight training as I can no longer run on the roads after a knee operation.

I like the Cube snot green, just because it looks a bit out there, but I'll look at the BMC and Focus sites when I get chance at lunch.

As for size, I think it's a 58 I am after, but I need to find somewhere in Nottingham to get measured properly to be certain.

Just to clarify, am really sorry I accused you of possibly being a wind up merchant

Stay away from 58 Cannondales unless you are way over 6'
Do not take too much notice of numbers on frames, just make sure it fits (not too big).
Cube and Focus are small for their cm measurement. A 58 of those is about a 56 in a cannondale.

davefox

Hahaha no worries.

I am 6'1" though, and it's only my rough calculations that led me to a 58 frame, if I can get away with a 56 I'd prefer that, just feel happier on a more compact frame if that makes sense.

arlowood

As indicated above the Cannondale Synapse Carbon 5 105 could be a good choice (Bike of the Year winner in Cycling Plus)

However it was joined in the final "top five" by the following options

Giant Defy Advanced 2
Boardman Elite SLS 9.0
BMC Teammachine SLR02
Focus Izalco Ergoride 2.0

You might want to check out those in addition to the 'Dale - after all it's down to you to find the most comfortable bike for your particular body shape.

I would also strongly advise that you get a decent test ride on any prospective purchase. If all the shop offers is a quick ride around the car park then steer clear.

Since you are Nottingham based I would suggest Pedal Power in Loughborough. I have always found them to be great to deal with and they will offer a test ride of a couple of hours or perhaps even over a weekend. Unfortunately they only stock the Giant out of the 5 bikes above.

mfin

davefox wrote:

Hahaha no worries.

I am 6'1" though, and it's only my rough calculations that led me to a 58 frame, if I can get away with a 56 I'd prefer that, just feel happier on a more compact frame if that makes sense.

If it was a Cube you probably would want a 58 whereas in many other makes you'd want a 56. Remember that the numbers don't mean so much between makes. I have had a 58, 56, 54 and 52 and they've all fit the same by the time I've set them up.

From the Muay Thai I'd expect you are very flexible so watch out for bikes you might not get low enough on the front on, it can happen as this 'sportive geometry' :roll: mostly simply means taller head tubes. A lot of us would not be able to fit these, unless we want to fit a shopping basket to the front and ride nose in the air to the conservative club with a bowler hat on. (or have a bad back or have become inflexible with age). Some of these bike's aren't extremely tall in the head tube though, so don't dismiss them all. Above all, make sure you know the fit you want first, these boring numbers on a piece of paper will actually give you everything you need to know, more than staring at frames or sitting on bikes that aren't setup anywhere close to what you need for 2 mins in a bike shop will.

DKay

Personally, I'd be looking at the Felt AR5 at the sub £2k mark.

davefox

Thanks Arlowood, I'll add them to the list of potentials and will visit Pedal Power too.

mfin, you are correct about flexibility. I'll make sure to go and sit on a fair few.

DKay, another one on the list, many thanks!

Tiesetrotter

Personally I am going to support British brands from now on (my Merckx was a departure for me), the economy needs it. Why not check out Starley bikes, you'll get a great bike and can configure the colours to your own requirement:

however ......

http://www.ubyk.co.uk/orbea-orca-bli2-d ... bike/14021
I am sure you could negotiate. Also have a look at the 31% off Merckx EMX-3, you'll have some spare change from that.

jameses

davefox wrote:

@JamesEs - Thanks, are they on BikeRadar?

Yes, have a look under 'bikes&gear' (on the same menu bar as forum at the top of the page), then 'bikes'. the Bike of the Year reviews all have a small grey circle in the upper left corner of the thumbnail image.

Tjgoodhew

Have you looked at anything at a lower price bracket ?

If its just general fitness training for another sport then a good solid Alu frame with 105 would probably be just as good.

That would probably be closer to 1k which gives you change for the kit you will need as well as a decent wheel upgrade with some change.

Something like a Cannondale Caad8 maybe ??

In the German category you have Canyon and Rose but being mail order only might not be the best as you really need to be confident on sizing

davefox

Cool, cheers JamesEs, I'll check it out!

Thanks Tjgoodhew. It is for more than general fitness though, fight training is a lot more intense. I've thought about it but Carbon is what I'd prefer to have frame wise. I'll use it as standard for a while though and look to upgrade the wheels later on. I've already got the rest of the kit apart from clips and shoes, but they will need some other research because of my knee operation, and what pedals will be best for that.

Sawilson

Hi davefox I see your Nottingham based, like me if you'd prefer to try before you buy, there are a few larger bike shops in the area which offer good service and worth a visit.
Freewheel at Hockley in town.
Specialized concept store at Basford ( Even though a large store always up for a deal).
Leisure lakes at Sawley.
J E James at Chesterfield, easy to get to and a large stock of bikes.

philclubman

How about one of these?

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/spire-carbon-7.0-17793/wg_id-111


7.1kg for just over £1,700

6wheels

I moved from a CAAD 10 to the Synapse 6 105 (slightly downgraded wheels, saddle and brake calipers) and to be truthful I'm a bit underwhelmed. I thought being older, that the reportedly compliant ride would be useful for me, but I'm having a problem feeling it, especially as it has 25mm as against 23mm tyres.

Also, these sportive bikes have a very long headtube and tend to put you on a smaller frame if you want any sort of aggresive position. I'm 1/2" taller than you and went with a 56 cm frame, couldn't get the setback right and finding a seat post with more than 20mm setback is nigh on impossible because of their new 25.4mm sizing.

If you're a young man with good flexibilty, you'd probably regret buying a sportive type bike, I think they are over hyped...and I'm sixty!

Nice Fuji on the home page.

davefox

Thanks Phil, but I think I'd be better off staying away from mail order, I need to try these bikes out to see what fits best really. Thanks though!

6wheels, I am still yet to be completely convinced about the Cannondales to be honest, there are others that are doing better in my eyes. Again though, I'll have to have a sit and decent ride on some of the bikes I've shortlisted to see how I fit.

DKay

Westbrook Cycles have some great deals on Scott Foils at the moment. The Foil 20 is currently £1899, which is a grand off. They're based in the North East though.

http://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/scott- ... 13-p207815

joelsim

Surely the first question should be about usage shouldn't it? To race, to potter around on with mates, to do the odd ride here and there, to commute etc?

I'm going to get a road bike soon, and I have absolutely no intention of racing it. It will be used to commute and to do some good rides with friends. So, in my view I don't need something which is as fast as...and need something that I will be happy on after 50/100 miles, and more often is going to be happy on 9 miles each way to work.

Father Faff

...or Boardman in you want British!

davefox

Joelsim, you are correct, how it's used makes a difference. In a previous post I said it would be used for everyday training for Muay Thai fighting, additionally to that it will be used on long weekend rides 50miles plus, and after the fighting has stopped possibly looking to race.

Father Faff, I looked at the Boardman ones, and wasn't too impressed really. Thanks though.