Circa £1000 Roadie - C2W

Cliveyp

Hope you can help me guys!

I'm looking to replace my aging 2011 Trek 1.2 with something of a better spec, whilst making good use of my company C2W scheme. In line with this, i'm looking at a circa £1000 budget....I would probably add an extra £50 or so if needed, but otherwise would prefer to stay in that limit.

I've been having a snoop about with the 2016's starting to gently roll out, on the hope that I can pick up a 2014/15 bargain. I've noticed a few of these around at the likes of Winstanleys/Leisure Lakes and the usual places - although the scheme we use (Bike2Work) does not use Evans that i'm aware of.

What i'd like to try and get hold of is a carbon framed, 105 spec machine, of which i'm seeing a lot around, which is making a choice very very difficult. I would use it for summer commuting (only 7 miles a day), and longer evening/weekend rides of a couple of hours or so.

Winstanleys are offering a 2014 Cube Agree GTC Race (at £999 - but I would need to add a 10% admin fee for C2W apparently), which is full Ultegra spec, but it looks as though I may struggle for the right size (i ride a 56cm Trek and it looks like I may suit a 58cm Cube, which they don't have), so may look at other places which hold the 105 spec Agree Pro...

They also have a 2014 Merida Scultura Carbon Comp 904, which looks a really nice bike, but is a 10-speed compact 105 with own brand brakes and lower spec wheels than the Cube Race.....but it is also only £799 in their sale, so has wiggle room for upgrades in the near future.

Oh, and there is also the option of using Ribble and Planet X, both of which offer 105 or Ultegra options within budget - but then I hear mixed internet reports on the quality of both of these.

Can anyone lend any first hand experience on any of the above, or any alternatives that are worth looking into?? It's just a minefield!!

diamonddog

I've had a PX Pro Carbon for about 3 years and it has been a joy to own, it is ridden as much as the Canyon I have. The Ribble offerings also seem to be well liked by the people that own them so don't be put off.

You tend to get more for your money from the independent suppliers as opposed to the big name brand suppliers.

Cliveyp

Thats great to hear re the PlanetX, and its definitely a choice thats pretty high on the list, but I can't help but come back to the more known brands and some of the offers that might be appearing on them soon with the 2016 replacements not too far away.

I'm thinking adding £100 or so might make a good difference in what might become available too (a thought being that some leftover really good models might get reduced a lot but just slightly over the usual £1k of C2W), and i'd rather not miss out on an ideal bike for the sake of 10%.

I also keep looking at the Felt F/Z's with a hope that these might just get reduced enough to allow me to hit the magic budget marker too.....loads of choice and loads of time, I'll probably end up waiting that long I miss out altogether and wait til next year!