Saucy thoughts about a new carbon steed...

menthel

So, I fancy a new carbon steed. Lightish, shimano equipped and funky looking. About 2k would be good, at the moment I like the look of the Trek Emonda SL 5 or 6. I also like the look of the Rose xlite crs-3000 as well. Either that or I spend on a Condor Squadra 105 equipped. I would prefer to try a bike before hand and don't want a Canyon! Anything else worth looking at?

veronese68

Have you told the EPO she won't be getting the garden done?

menthel

Veronese68 wrote:

Have you told the EPO she won't be getting the garden done?

I did some maths- there is money to do the garden and get something saucy and carbon...

That and I totted up her recent spending and showed her a detailed spreadsheet, seemed to do the trick!

rick_chasey

Bmc time machine slr2??

Canondale synapse carbon 5?

(Who comes up with these terrible names...)

menthel

Not sure I want to go aero or "sportive", although the aero bikes are quite attractive.

Team machine SLR 02 looks good though- I really like the look of BMC bikes.

Not sure what the cannondale equivalent is. Supersix evo- the ultegra in green looks awesome!

rick_chasey

menthel wrote:

Not sure I want to go aero or "sportive", although the aero bikes are quite attractive.

Good lad.

Giant Defy Advanced 2? http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -13-47086/ Looks shite but supposed to be fantastic.

Boardman Elite SLR9.0? http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -14-48183/

Storck Scenero G2: http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -13-47079/

They're all inferior bikes to a Canyon similarly priced .

Bought my canyon almost 3 years ago now and I still love it to bits. Still feels special every time I ride it.

menthel

Rick Chasey wrote:

menthel wrote:

Not sure I want to go aero or "sportive", although the aero bikes are quite attractive.

Good lad.

Giant Defy Advanced 2? http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -13-47086/ Looks shite but supposed to be fantastic.

Boardman Elite SLR9.0? http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -14-48183/

Storck Scenero G2: http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -13-47079/

They're all inferior bikes to a Canyon similarly priced .

Bought my canyon almost 3 years ago now and I still love it to bits. Still feels special every time I ride it.

I would rather go Rose if I went german- I like the ability to completely spec the bike and if I can't test drive I would at least like to be able to do that!

The boardman elite in the 9.2 spec looks rather nice- the aero one is the better looking bike though...

menthel

Chatted to the chaps in Evans- recommended the Emonda and the Teammachine. Said the Emonda was something a little different, light, response, quick of the mark and comfy. Said the Teammachine was just balls out fast and stiff and a hell of a lot of fun. I might get them to get those two in and give them a try.

I will also wait to hear back from the guy at Condor about the Squadra to see how it might work out...

daniel_b

Team machine you say?

http://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/bmc-teammachine-slr01-di2-world-champ-frameset-with-11-speed-ultegra-6870-electric-pack-2013-p264083


Granted you would still need wheels, crankset, cassette, and finishing kit - but then you can spec it exactly as you want.

Or pick up a frame only: http://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/bmc-teammachine-slr01-di2-road-bike-frameset-special-edition-world-champ-2013-p263042
And grab an Ultegra mechanical 6800 full groupset for around £450 - leaves you £350+ for wheels and finishing kit.

menthel

A bit rich once kitted out and I don't think I could justify the world champ stripes!

raisinberry777

That's amazingly cheap for the BMC though, pretty sure no one will give a toss about the WC stripes on the bike.

menthel

raisinberry777 wrote:

That's amazingly cheap for the BMC though, pretty sure no one will give a toss about the WC stripes on the bike.

Unfortunately amazingly out of my budget once equipped as it deserves!

daniel_b

£250 for Zonda's, and £475 for the Ultegra groupset weighs it in at £1925.

£275 should net a reasonable seatpost, stem, handlebars, saddle and tyres - £2200 final price, I would be sold
Think that frame looks lovely too!

And nothing to stop anyone upgrading parts as time goes on.

menthel

Daniel B wrote:

£250 for Zonda's, and £475 for the Ultegra groupset weighs it in at £1925.

£275 should net a reasonable seatpost, stem, handlebars, saddle and tyres - £2200 final price, I would be sold
Think that frame looks lovely too!

And nothing to stop anyone upgrading parts as time goes on.

The frameset is Di2 only unfortunately.

j_mcd

I've got the Giant Defy Advanced 2 and it's a really nice bike.

Some things to note though...

1. Giant obviously don't have a design team as the paintwork and design is pretty awful. I've got a Advanced 0 frame now (replacement) that is a lot cooler looking but the 2 is pretty dreadful.

2. I've not had a lot of luck with my wheels. The back one seems very keen to go out of true at the slightest opportunity. Could be to do with the quality of the roads and the size of the rider but I didn't have the same problem with my old Shimano r500s.

3. The headset appears to be made from cheese. At the last service the bearings had gone and their housing was destroyed. Something to replace once the weather improves but it shouldn't be an issue on a bike with less than 5000 miles on it.

Apart from that, lovely bike. Light (shockingly so compared to my old Allez), responsive and comfy to ride.

menthel

J_MCD wrote:

I've got the Giant Defy Advanced 2 and it's a really nice bike.

Some things to note though...

1. Giant obviously don't have a design team as the paintwork and design is pretty awful. I've got a Advanced 0 frame now (replacement) that is a lot cooler looking but the 2 is pretty dreadful.

2. I've not had a lot of luck with my wheels. The back one seems very keen to go out of true at the slightest opportunity. Could be to do with the quality of the roads and the size of the rider but I didn't have the same problem with my old Shimano r500s.

3. The headset appears to be made from cheese. At the last service the bearings had gone and their housing was destroyed. Something to replace once the weather improves but it shouldn't be an issue on a bike with less than 5000 miles on it.

Apart from that, lovely bike. Light (shockingly so compared to my old Allez), responsive and comfy to ride.

I have to say that you are not doing the best of jobs selling it to me!

leeefm

Could go for an Argon 18 (just like me! )

Got some 2015 Krypton frames here but as it is a 2015 frame, you'll have to wait for it to be ordered. Canadian company, a bit like the little brother of Cervelo. I've got a bottom of the range Radon, and I love it. Specced with 6800 groupset and you'd be well away.

ugo.santalucia

Bike no. 3 means you need to up your mileage by 50% to make sense of it, or flog one of the others... or resign to be a hoarder...
My problem is that you don't seem to seek anything different... basically you'll have three copies of the same thing with marginally different weight, almost identical components and identical function...
I would understand if you wanted to up the range of terrains you can cycle on, or look for a bike with touring capabilities, but literally you are just investing to save a pound or two, in the hope that translates into some fractions of seconds improvements in your Strava PBs...

Am I being an N+1 cynic?

menthel

I do like the look of the Argon 18's- would mean me getting my hands dirty to build though...

Paolo- yes, you are like a cycling based grinch. I have no real urge to get off-road but will at some point spend a few hundred quid on an mtb for family treks around RiP etc. I have justified my want for some carbon sauciness by delineating the bikes I already own as the commuter (00) and a long distance/light tourer (Italia) with the new bike being the weekend best bike. The Italia is very versatile and can take a rack and mudguards so is good for a number of jobs. I could convert it to commuting but I would need to swap out the campagnolo for shimano so that I can maintain it at home. I could ditch the 00 as I don't really like the flex in the frame but I kind of like having a dirty commuter steed as a separate entity that is cheap and easy to maintain.

And I have a carbon bling itch that I quite want to scratch...

j_mcd

menthel wrote:

I have to say that you are not doing the best of jobs selling it to me!

I think I got one that was built on a Friday afternoon!

They've got great reviews and it really is a dream to ride. When I was buying, I looked at the equivalent Trek, Canyon and Rose bikes. Concerns about sizing put me off the Internet only shops (probably wrongly as the Canyons look lovely) and the Trek was a bit meh spec wise so the Giant won quite easily.

ugo.santalucia

My friend Steve who is a bike hoarder last summer got himself a carbon CX bike, very much like this one, which I don't know you, but I find quite saucy


It weighs around 8.5kg with CX tyres and could probably go below 8 using carbon wheels like the one depicted and road tyres. These days you hardly see him riding anything else, whether it is a 70 mile weekend ride in the chilterns or a 3 hours full on mud fest along the Ridgeway. The latest crop of CX bikes are outrageously good on and off road and I wonder what is the point of a road bike at all, as they are not any better in any possible way.

bendertherobot

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Bike no. 3 means you need to up your mileage by 50% to make sense of it, or flog one of the others... or resign to be a hoarder...
My problem is that you don't seem to seek anything different... basically you'll have three copies of the same thing with marginally different weight, almost identical components and identical function...
I would understand if you wanted to up the range of terrains you can cycle on, or look for a bike with touring capabilities, but literally you are just investing to save a pound or two, in the hope that translates into some fractions of seconds improvements in your Strava PBs...

Am I being an N+1 cynic?

Good points actually.

I wonder whether we've never had it so good now, in terms of being able to choose one bike for everything. And, as you say, it rather defeats the whole N+1 argument.

I'm actually somewhat guilty of this. Though, in my favour, I will claim that the Bivio is now a straight commuter and that the carbon PX CX is actually for CX. Though I can see it being used for damp summer long rides as well.

At least I can claim that the Ritchey is different to the others. Till it morphs itself into a Swiss Cross...................

veronese68

ugo.santalucia wrote:

The latest crop of CX bikes are outrageously good on and off road and I wonder what is the point of a road bike at all, as they are not any better in any possible way.

Almost exactly the point I was just making in the thread about the Rose CX bike.
My name is Steve and I would consider you a friend but unfortunately I don't own that Focus, it does look lovely. Maybe it would be sensible to have one of those and a Ritchey Swiss Cross so you always have a spare.

bendertherobot

I think, arguably, that's about all the bikes you'd ever need. The only reason to have N+1 would be for reasons of wanting to keep one clean.

I've still got my eye on that Ritchey. The only reason I'd stay at 3 is that I intend to use the PX for CX and leave the Bivio for commuting with all its attachments.

rick_chasey

You really need 2 CX bikes if you want to race properly .

And a friend with a hose.

menthel

Still don't want a CX bike!

Have no real urge to go off-road and the bike isn't needed, just wanted!

bendertherobot

I knew there was a reason I kept doing so badly. It's staying on one bloody bike!

Though, on the plus side, a neighbour gave me his Saris bike rack yesterday. So not more taking the wheels off.

UndercoverElephant

menthel wrote:

Still don't want a CX bike!

Have no real urge to go off-road and the bike isn't needed, just wanted!

Jeez, don't listen to this bunch today!

Of course you *need* a tarty carbon road bike, anyone who says otherwise is probably just jealous.

Oh, and CX bikes are too agricultural for anyone with taste, plus, IME they're awful off-road and quite slow on it.

ugo.santalucia

menthel wrote:

Still don't want a CX bike!

Have no real urge to go off-road and the bike isn't needed, just wanted!

When I bought my first Croix de Fer I didn't want to go off road, I had a mountain bike sitting there doing not much, it was about having discs on a road bike for winter... I immediately ditched the CX tyres and fitted some Gatorskins... it was only when I moved to London that I realised I could actually cut portions of the A 307 to head into the hills by taking bridleways... cut portions of the A 4020 and take the canal path to go to work... one thing led to another I have almost lost interest in riding on roads, at least round here... it's just unrewarding... you go from traffic to traffic and it's not very relaxing... or beautiful. There are incredibly beautiful places in the Surrey hills that you can't access with road tyres.
It's a bit nonsense to get an off road bike to ride in London, but it's the way it has worked out for me...

My point is that if you get a light carbon CX, you virtually have a top end road bike with benefits

bendertherobot

UndercoverElephant wrote:

menthel wrote:

Still don't want a CX bike!

Have no real urge to go off-road and the bike isn't needed, just wanted!

Jeez, don't listen to this bunch today!

Of course you *need* a tarty carbon road bike, anyone who says otherwise is probably just jealous.

Oh, and CX bikes are too agricultural for anyone with taste, plus, IME they're awful off-road and quite slow on it.

#thingsofbeauty

menthel

Another thing against cross bikes are that they seem to be smothered in SRAM! I don't bloody like double tap.

And as for people trying to be the voice of sense- it's n+1! That and I have taken Paolo's advice before and been sensible but this time I don't want to be sensible! Until I contact him about wheels again...