which aluminium frame? merida reacto, scultura, caad10

silver2789

I'm looking for a new bike (on the bike to work scheme) and have decided to go for an aluminium frame thinking it will last a lot longer than a low end carbon frame with the abuse ill be putting it through. I have narrowed it down to these;

Merida scultura 400
Merida reacto 400
Cannondale CAAD10

all come equipped with 105 and are pretty much the same price, I know the caad get great reviews but don't hear much of the merida, unfortunately I can't test ride any of these so looking for anybody whos got any experience with these who can offer some advice. cheers
it would be used for pretty much everything from commutes to sportives so longevity/ durability is key

How Far is too Far

I would have the CAAD 10, but they are £1300 and over the bike to work limit?

alex222

How Far is too Far wrote:

I would have the CAAD 10, but they are £1300 and over the bike to work limit?

You can top up the difference between the 1k on the bike to work and the price of the bike.

IShaggy

Carbon is much tougher than alluminium. Expect 5 to 10 good years from an alluminium frame and potentially a lifetime from carbon. But you should get more bang for your bucks with an alluminium frame. Think hot hatch rather than sports car.

martino53

IShaggy wrote:

Carbon is much tougher than alluminium. Expect 5 to 10 good years from an alluminium frame and potentially a lifetime from carbon. But you should get more bang for your bucks with an alluminium frame. Think hot hatch rather than sports car.

What do you base that assumption on???? And which is it 5 or 10 years :roll:
I've been using my alu commuter since 1998 and the frame is still going strong, allbeit with occasional component upgrades.

Now to the question that was originally asked a good Alu bike recomendation, what about the Canyon endurence alu bike, everyone's talking about the carbon endurence from them but few seem to mention that it's also offerd in alloy. :idea:

cubedean

Alex222 wrote:

How Far is too Far wrote:

I would have the CAAD 10, but they are £1300 and over the bike to work limit?

You can top up the difference between the 1k on the bike to work and the price of the bike.

Double check this with both the shop and your company. Most companies & shops will not do that as it creates conflict of ownership during the hire period.

My choice would be the Caad10

alex222

cubedean wrote:

Alex222 wrote:

How Far is too Far wrote:

I would have the CAAD 10, but they are £1300 and over the bike to work limit?

You can top up the difference between the 1k on the bike to work and the price of the bike.

Double check this with both the shop and your company. Most companies & shops will not do that as it creates conflict of ownership during the hire period.

My choice would be the Caad10

If you are going through Bike2Work scheme provider they have no problem with it. All the shops I spoke to and the online retailers were happy for the top up. There is the issue that you don't officially own the bike so there is a risk there. So your call as to whether it's worth it or not

holiver

I really like the look of the Scultura. It probably has the most upright geometry of the 3, but by no means has a high front end.

I'd examine the geometries against what you are looking for before making a decision.

silver2789

all the companies I spoke to say they have no problem going over the 1k limit as long as I pay the difference up front, i do like the look of the canyons but I'm limited by the scheme as to where i can get it from, the main reason I'm looking at an ali bike is that ive read a few articles which say its better to go high end ali rather than low end carbon. I don't think ive seen a bad word toward the cannondale so was swaying more to the caad10 but i do like the look of the meridas

jordan_217

I own carbon, Alu, steel and Ti bikes, nothing Ive experienced so far leads me to believe one material is going to die before another. I suppose it all depends on wether or not you'll wave at other cyclists, wear a helmet or fit 23 or 25mm tyres? E.g. It doesnt actually matter!

Oh, get the CAAD10 and phone Westbrooks, they will usually be up for some haggling .

IShaggy

What do you base that assumption on???? And which is it 5 or 10 years :roll:

I base the assumption on researching the subject. Try Googling - you may or may not learn something. As for whether it's 5 or 10 years. Have you considered that it may depend on the designation of the alluminium - alloying elements used and temper. And on how the frame is constricted - thickness of tubes, double versus single butted, And weight and type of rider. And of course, how often the frame is ridden.

letap73

silver2789 wrote:

all the companies I spoke to say they have no problem going over the 1k limit as long as I pay the difference up front, i do like the look of the canyons but I'm limited by the scheme as to where i can get it from, the main reason I'm looking at an ali bike is that ive read a few articles which say its better to go high end ali rather than low end carbon. I don't think ive seen a bad word toward the cannondale so was swaying more to the caad10 but i do like the look of the meridas

Those articles are probably few years old - carbon frame models have been super ceded a number of times by certain companies. A number of years ago, Cannondale sold a himod supersix frame:

http://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/cannondal ... lPaBbLp.97

This frame would be super ceded by this: (note the difference in price)

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p547 ... 105-6-2014