Which part is considered more important

ncn

I have around 700 (750 absolute max, less is better as I can buy some extra kit to go with it) to spend on a road bike that will be used for my commute to work and hopefully if I get into road riding a bit then some longer weekend rides!

I have been looking about and noticed that for price I'm looking at the odd 105, some tiagra but mostly sora. I have also looked at plan x and seen there Pro SRAM rival 22 bike, which is at the top of my budget at 750 but it is within.

I have also seen the Felt F7 for 660 with sora.

Or should I be binning off CF and going for ally, saving more cash and grabbing a cube peloton running sora for 500? Or Cinelli Experience running campagnolo Veloce at 650? Or Felt Z85 with 105 at 600?

Basically having only ever ridden mtb's I am a little (Read as Completely) lost it the road world!

Any help would be most appreciated!

Cheers.

***Realised in all my rambling I never asked my intended Question! Is it worth going for a Carbon frame over better groupset or with it been a commuter should I stick with Alloy and get a better groupset or would the likes of the cube peleton do me just fine leaving me with 200 beer tokens!

KonkyWonky

I'm assuming your budget is £700 rather than dollars or roubles or whatever else.

At that budget I would give carbon a miss and go for good quality AL. That's only my preference, others may prefer cheap, bargain basement carbon.

coulddobetter

Why not try second hand ? I got a very tidy Boardman team for £ 280.00 via this sites classifieds. Absolute bargain seeing it was only 2 to 3 years old .

coulddobetter

Why not try second hand ? I got a very tidy Boardman team for £ 280.00 via this sites classifieds. Absolute bargain seeing it was only 2 to 3 years old .

JMcP92

Inclined to agree with Coulddobetter, go second hand, I had £500 for a road bike, got a £1,000 Giant Defy 1 second hand, only a few months old with 200-ish miles on it, new bikes depreciate like a stone, which is fortunate if you're happy to go second hand.
At that price, going second hand, you could likely get a carbon framed something running Ultegra if you looked around, or spend a little less like you mentioned and get something running full 105, a nice alloy frame and spare cash for extras

chippyk

You'll get a better bike 2nd hand for sure. If new, my local Decathlon had the Alur700 with full 105 for £600 iirc. IMO 11 spd 105 is a pretty good groupset

jack264

For a commuter I got a Ribble Audax on Veloce for £200. Been sterling for both all year commuting and doubling up as my winter ride. 2k miles pa, very little mechanical work needed so far.

So, yeah, huge vote for checking wherever you can for second hand rides. Though I think you can get that build on Ribble for like 700 anyway

This just popped up on HUKD - http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/btwin-a ... on-2099972

MikeSClark

KonkyWonky wrote:

At that budget I would give carbon a miss and go for good quality AL. That's only my preference, others may prefer cheap, bargain basement carbon.

I agree, if you are getting a new bike for that money, AL will be better value for money.

This is worth a read, if your interested in the whole carbon thing: http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineering/a ... dulus.html ** NOT AN ADVERTISEMENT**

As for buying second hand... unless you really know what your looking out for, what is worn, signs of cracks in the frame (not always easy to spot), condition of wear to the wheels, you may quickly find that shortly after buying, you may end up forking out for a set of new wheels or chainset, even if the bike is 6 months old.

Not to mention if the bike will actually fit you properly. I hear way to many stories of people thinking they are getting a bargain, but soon realise they didn't. There can be gems out there, but every second hand bike isn't always going to be perfect.

A decent bike shop should now be able to offer a decent package when buying a new bike (some servicing free, bike fitting - really important, and may even do you a deal on some accessories if you need to pick up a few things).

I hope this helps

Mike

StillGoing

Rule of thumb was always buy the best frameset you can afford. The components you can change as and when funds are available.

ncn

Thanks for the many replies I have looked at the 2nd hand market but always worry about unseen damage on cf frames as I work with the it and know of pitfalls of hidden delamination with only small surface damage.

I have seen a carbon ribble with full tiara for £700 so think I will go for that as I have heard good things of the frames.

Once again many thanks

passout

Sound choice but I'd also look at planet x or merlin cycles own brand.