First Road Bike upto £1k Again

craig1m

Hi,

I'm trying to choose my first road bike (had racers 20 years ago) and will be buying through the cycle to work scheme so have a budget of up to £1000 and will get about 32% discount from purchase price.

I will be mainly using the bike for evening and weekend rides, and the occasional commute of course
I have just about decided on Hoy Calobra 003, this is the 2015 version so has the new 105 group set @£850 ...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/hoy ... e-ec072475

Another £150 gets the 004 with Ultegra, but think 105 would be fine for me...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/hoy ... e-ec059960

I've also seen the following, both look good prices so thought I would see what others thought. The Cube will not be the new 105 but looks a great price.

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p558 ... -RACE-2014

This Planet X looks great with Ultegra at top of budget...

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

I know I need to try them all and see what's more comfortable, but thoughts anyone?

Thanks,
Craig

dstev55

You won't be able to get that actual Planet X bike as you can't get pre built Planet X bikes through the Cycle 2 Work scheme.

silverpigeon

In reality there is no discernable performance difference between 105 & Ultegra. Ultegra is just a bit lighter but I've never met anyone who can tell the difference when sat on the bike. IME 105 offers the best value for money and the 5800 is excellent - I've just put it on a cyclocross.

Of the bikes you've listed I'd go with the HOY - I've prefer aluminium to carbon in that price bracket and I've only heard good things about the HOY range. RS10 wheels are decent enough for your intended use and very easy to service.

You will get different opinions of course and a it might worth casting your net a bit further for any New Year bargains

mikpem

I would certainly consider the HOY from Evans, having recently bought a 105 Pro Carbon from Planet X and helped a mate to buy his first road bike at Evans (He went for a Pinnacle Dolomite, lovely bike but you have to really like green).
I was very pleasantly surprised by the service they provided making sure it fitted him well on a turbo and sending him out on test rides between adjustments and they even fixed a small issue I had with my bike whilst we were there free of charge.
As all this was going on I had a lot of time to look around the bikes and as much as I love my shiny new bike if I had taken a look at the HOY and witnessed the service beforehand I would have seriously considered it even though it would have been quite a bit more than the £640 the Pro Carbon cost me (that 20% discount code actually worked!).

craig1m

Thanks dstev55, hadn't noticed that, so that rules that one out then.
Silverpigeon, yes I think 105 will be fine for me, and I am keen to get the 5800. Glad that you think the Hoy looks good, appreciate your comments. I will still consider a bargain if anything crops up but I have done a fair bit of research.
Mikpem, good to hear another good word for the Hoy, not sure I would choose it over the Pro Carbon if I could get 20% off though! I did see the Pinnacle in Evans but was put off by the colour, definitely not for me! Unless I see a great bargain elsewhere, I think I will be going for the Hoy.

Cheers,
Craig

mpatts

A mild warning: check how your company deals with the end of term payment. I always get the figure wrong, but I seem to recall its 25% of the original purchase price - soon makes your 32% 12%, which you could get by walking into any shop with cash.

markhewitt1978

silverpigeon wrote:

In reality there is no discernable performance difference between 105 & Ultegra. Ultegra is just a bit lighter but I've never met anyone who can tell the difference when sat on the bike. IME 105 offers the best value for money and the 5800 is excellent - I've just put it on a cyclocross.

I would have recommended 10 speed Ultegra over 10 speed 105, but since they both went 11 speed then 105 is a great groupset.

maharg22

I have just got myself the HOY with full Ultegra.

I was going to go for the one with 105 but I was also going to upgrade the wheels so for me it was a no brainer.

Likewise I also gained mine on Cyclescheme.

passout

I'd certainly consider Hoy and Planet X / Holdsworth at that price point. Ribble & Merlin Cyles own brand too.

http://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-evol ... 60098.html

passout

passout wrote:

I'd certainly consider Hoy and Planet X / Holdsworth at that price point. Ribble & Merlin Cyles own brand too - I know they do cyclescheme but not sure which other schemes they do.

http://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-evol ... 60098.html

norvernrob

dstev55 wrote:

You won't be able to get that actual Planet X bike as you can't get pre built Planet X bikes through the Cycle 2 Work scheme.

I got my CyclePlus scheme bike from PX, fully built and it was a sale bike too. I paid the 12% extra they charge for C2W schemes as a deposit and they held it for me until my voucher came through. This was last January though so it may have changed.

dstev55

NorvernRob wrote:

dstev55 wrote:

You won't be able to get that actual Planet X bike as you can't get pre built Planet X bikes through the Cycle 2 Work scheme.

I got my CyclePlus scheme bike from PX, fully built and it was a sale bike too. I paid the 12% extra they charge for C2W schemes as a deposit and they held it for me until my voucher came through. This was last January though so it may have changed.

Just going on what it says on the website, worth a call to ask I suppose.

maharg22

Been a bit, what have you gone for in the end???

craig1m

Hi,

Thanks for asking. I've gone for the Hoy Sa Calobra .003 with the 105 5800. Just waiting for my cycle to work voucher, it's been paid for and sent out so will hopefully have the bike by the weekend.
Seeing the picture of yours has got me excited again!

Cheers,
Craig

maharg22

craig1m wrote:

Hi,

Thanks for asking. I've gone for the Hoy Sa Calobra .003 with the 105 5800. Just waiting for my cycle to work voucher, it's been paid for and sent out so will hopefully have the bike by the weekend.
Seeing the picture of yours has got me excited again!

Cheers,
Craig

Craig,

You will enjoy it, took mine out for a quick run at the weekend and it was like night and day compared to my old road bike with an 8 speed group set. Looking forward to racking up the miles this year.

keef66

maharg22 wrote:

Been a bit, what have you gone for in the end???

Off topic I know, but it looks like you have the same cooker as us. Once safely out of warranty the knobs started dropping off at random, then it felt like whatever they are attached to inside the control panel had come adrift so they droop and it's impossible to control the hob or know if it's actually turned off. The grill's self destructed, and the oven lights sometimes come on, sometimes not.

Nice bike BTW

maharg22

keef66 wrote:

Off topic I know, but it looks like you have the same cooker as us. Once safely out of warranty the knobs started dropping off at random, then it felt like whatever they are attached to inside the control panel had come adrift so they droop and it's impossible to control the hob or know if it's actually turned off. The grill's self destructed, and the oven lights sometimes come on, sometimes not.

Nice bike BTW

Cheers keef66

Stoves cooker, Gas hob & electric oven. Had it ten years and so far so good, helps having family in the white goods trade.

Bikes not a 'BIG' brand but if HOY keep turning out bikes like this then I can see a bright future for them.

EssexGonzo

maharg22 wrote:

Been a bit, what have you gone for in the end???

That looks a cracker. Whilst looking for a bike for my wife, we saw the range in Evans and they really do feel like quality items.

maharg22

EssexGonzo wrote:

That looks a cracker. Whilst looking for a bike for my wife, we saw the range in Evans and they really do feel like quality items.

Cheers,

Great review of the 2015 105 model in the current issue of Cycling Plus magazine