Road Bike for ~£1500

MCoolta

Hi All,

I'm looking for a road bike around £1,500 but would be open to paying more if the bike was right. There seems to be a lot of bikes between the £1,200 to £2,000 range and I don't know what is best. Ideally, a carbon bike would be nice and I'll upgrade the components in the future.

I've looked at the Specialized Tarmac Sport, but have seen reviews about the paint work being poor quality? Is it worth paying the additional and going for the Specialized Tarmac Elite/Comp?

Or I've also considered the Synapse Carbon 105 5, as I've seen good reviews about this? Any other suggestions would be great.

Thanks

supermurph09

MCoolta wrote:

Hi All,

I'm looking for a road bike around £1,500 but would be open to paying more if the bike was right. There seems to be a lot of bikes between the £1,200 to £2,000 range and I don't know what is best. Ideally, a carbon bike would be nice and I'll upgrade the components in the future.

I've looked at the Specialized Tarmac Sport, but have seen reviews about the paint work being poor quality? Is it worth paying the additional and going for the Specialized Tarmac Elite/Comp?

Or I've also considered the Synapse Carbon 105 5, as I've seen good reviews about this? Any other suggestions would be great.

Thanks

Assuming it fits, just buy the one you like the look of most. At that price range it's unlikely you will buy something rubbish. Canyon or Rose will give you the best bang for buck but you won't be able to try before you buy. Failing that do a search as this question comes up alot.

leodis75

I would say Ribble or PX at the moment but if you prefer more mainstream bikes the ones you picked look good. Canyon and Rose make cracking bikes for the spec and you cant go wrong with the exceptions of longer waiting times and not been able to get faults repaired easy.

trek_dan

Go to a few bike shops and see what you like best. Different geometries suit different people depending on your flexibility and body composition. You'll not buy a bad bike for £1500.

Dazza993

If you fancy something a little less mainstream than a Specialized, Cannondale or Trek (not that they're bad bikes) then what about a Lapierre?

SENSIUM 400 £1700 - full carbon frame and fork with Ultegra 6800 components
XELIUS EFI 100 £1700 - more race oriented than above but with Shimano 105 groupset
PULSIUM 300 £1700 - the most forgiving (comfortable of these 3) - Shimano 105 groupset.

Under 8kg for the top 2 and 8.4kg for the Pulsium.
I've never had a Lapierre road bike but the Zesty MTB I used to ride was brilliant.

I also quite taken by the Wilier bikes. The GTR comes in at £1600 for 105 or £1850 for Ultegra.

bmxboy10

I think this is much more interesting and fat birds will allow you to spec the bike to suit your requirements. http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/570046/produc ... -bike.aspx

shmooster

If you do go for the Tarmac I'd go for the Elite or higher. I have the Sport, didn't like the Axis brakes, and absolutely hated the Axis wheels. £300 extra gets you better wheels, proper 105 and a Praxis works chainset. I'm now on full 5800 with Fulcrum 5s and it's a much better bike for it.

djwc

I just bought a Merida Reacto 500 from Tredz. Ultegra gears, and great bike with great aerodynamics for the price.

Its a replica of the bike the Lampre-Merida team use, except it has an Aluminium frame rather than Carbon - I decided I wanted alu, as I didn't trust myself to not come off it and wreck a carbon bike!

Can't recommend it highly enough, has really transformed my cycling - didn't realise how much better a nicer bike would be after my first £550 road bike.

trailflow

DJWC wrote:

I just bought a Merida Reacto 500 from Tredz. Ultegra gears, and great bike with great aerodynamics for the price.

Its a replica of the bike the Lampre-Merida team use, except it has an Aluminium frame rather than Carbon - I decided I wanted alu, as I didn't trust myself to not come off it and wreck a carbon bike!

Can't recommend it highly enough, has really transformed my cycling - didn't realise how much better a nicer bike would be after my first £550 road bike.

I've been looking at the Merida Reacto. I really like the frame. Does it feel harsh at all ? You should post a picture in the 'Your Road Bikes' section.

djwc

No, I've found it pretty forgiving. It's great in the corners too - you can really chuck it around.

mfin

If you want something genuinely good for the budget then Canyon or Rose as mentioned above are good ideas, or s/hand. You'll struggle to get anything as good for the cost from any of the main brands like Giant, Trek or Specialized, although they will function perfectly well.