French Sportive Riding Bike Canyon or Rose?
rbb83
Posts: 5
Hi all,
I'm now slightly the wrong side of 30 and can finally afford a road bike with a bit of calibre. (Budget Approx 2-3000pounds)
I'm riding La Marmotte and the Mont Ventoux Sportives this year as well as a number of British ones in preparation.
It will be my first winter training properly. I'm currently riding a budget Merida road bike but I want something lighter and faster with better components.
My riding level: I'm not a racer and only started back after 5 years. I recently completed a solo ride in Europe of 95 mile, 3100m climbing at an average of 27kmh. I did the Wiggle New Forest Sportive 101miles in about 5 hours 40 on an aluminium bike a couple of months ago. So I'm a long way from a world beater.
Most of my researched focussed on Canyon. The top of the range endurance frame is incredibly good value but not available until June. The Ultimate SLX 8.0 standard and Di2 are available in March. The complete bikes weigh 6.7kg with the Di2 model coming in at 2,700 pounds when ordered to Germany. I've also glanced at the Aeroad 8.0 which is stunning looking bike. My reservations about this bike is although I have some flexibility and can touch my toes I do get stiffness on heavy training weeks even on an endurance frame, mainly around the back. Such an aggressive frame might not be the best idea. Also, at 7.2kg despite it being fast on UK roads it will probably be slower over the French sportives despite its aero credentials. The even bigger problem is the waiting list until June which means I wouldn't have it for the Ventoux and wouldn't have trained on it for La Marmotte. So I've ruled it out.
More recently I've glanced at ROSE bikes, they would be available more quickly, they have a 6.35kg bike with slightly better components and much better availability. It doesn't have the looks of the Canyon, probably not quite as aero either.
Comments and opinions most welcome.
I'm now slightly the wrong side of 30 and can finally afford a road bike with a bit of calibre. (Budget Approx 2-3000pounds)
I'm riding La Marmotte and the Mont Ventoux Sportives this year as well as a number of British ones in preparation.
It will be my first winter training properly. I'm currently riding a budget Merida road bike but I want something lighter and faster with better components.
My riding level: I'm not a racer and only started back after 5 years. I recently completed a solo ride in Europe of 95 mile, 3100m climbing at an average of 27kmh. I did the Wiggle New Forest Sportive 101miles in about 5 hours 40 on an aluminium bike a couple of months ago. So I'm a long way from a world beater.
Most of my researched focussed on Canyon. The top of the range endurance frame is incredibly good value but not available until June. The Ultimate SLX 8.0 standard and Di2 are available in March. The complete bikes weigh 6.7kg with the Di2 model coming in at 2,700 pounds when ordered to Germany. I've also glanced at the Aeroad 8.0 which is stunning looking bike. My reservations about this bike is although I have some flexibility and can touch my toes I do get stiffness on heavy training weeks even on an endurance frame, mainly around the back. Such an aggressive frame might not be the best idea. Also, at 7.2kg despite it being fast on UK roads it will probably be slower over the French sportives despite its aero credentials. The even bigger problem is the waiting list until June which means I wouldn't have it for the Ventoux and wouldn't have trained on it for La Marmotte. So I've ruled it out.
More recently I've glanced at ROSE bikes, they would be available more quickly, they have a 6.35kg bike with slightly better components and much better availability. It doesn't have the looks of the Canyon, probably not quite as aero either.
Comments and opinions most welcome.
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Comments
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Why the fixation with German mail order suppliers?
I know they are accepted as offering great value for money but with Canyon, some of the most popular models have crazy wait lists that really don't suit what you want ie a bike that you can get out and train on as soon as possible.
You are probably coming to the end of the "best deal" season on 2015 models but there are still deals to be had on other brands with great discounts on RRP.
To quote just a couple of examples - Leisure Lakes have a Trek Domane 4.0 Ultegra down from £2700 to £1999
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/p/19641/trek-project-one-domane-4-ultegra-racing-road-bike-2014-sale
and also a Specialized Roubaiz SL4 Comp Disc down to £2K from £2500
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/p/17735/specialized-roubaix-sl4-comp-disc-racing-road-bike-2015-sale
Obviously they need to be the right size for you but I'm sure a trawl of the UK outlets would get you a great bike at a fantastic discount that you could be riding in a week or even less.
Just to throw another option into the mix, Pauls Cycles have a couple of 2013 Cannondale Super Six Evo High Mod Red's for sale(54,56). Down from £5000 to £2199
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p5166/CANNONDALE-SUPERSIX-EVO-HI-MOD-RED-RACING-2013
I know the gearing on this model is not Marmotte friendly but with the savings you could swap out the standard crankset for a compact and get a wider cassette fitted the sell off the unwanted clobber.
Just a few thoughts to ponder0 -
As above for that price range i would be looking at sale bikes to test ride as well. The mail order bikes can be good value but nothing for me beats seeing and test riding a bike.0
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I am too in a very similar situation to you, even down to the type of bike that I require and price range. I recently test rode a Trek Emonda SL8, albeit for a much shorter time than I wanted, and I found the geometry to be spot on for what I required. It was a little more upright than a traditional race type bike but you could still get fairly low if you wanted. The bike felt great too, full Dura Ace and was pretty stiff and comfortable and only the wheels let it down somewhat. It weighs 7kg without pedals but spend £500 on a decent set of wheels like DA C24s and you're talking around 6.6kg .The 2015 model (same as 2016 model apart from colour) can be had for less than £2500 if you shop around. If I was allowed a longer test ride than I got and if the shop was even remotely interested in selling it to me I would have definitely bought it.0
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Why the fixation with German mail order suppliers?
I know they are accepted as offering great value for money but with Canyon, some of the most popular models have crazy wait lists that really don't suit what you want ie a bike that you can get out and train on as soon as possible.
You are probably coming to the end of the "best deal" season on 2015 models but there are still deals to be had on other brands with great discounts on RRP.
To quote just a couple of examples - Leisure Lakes have a Trek Domane 4.0 Ultegra down from £2700 to £1999
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/p/19641/trek-project-one-domane-4-ultegra-racing-road-bike-2014-sale
and also a Specialized Roubaiz SL4 Comp Disc down to £2K from £2500
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/p/17735/specialized-roubaix-sl4-comp-disc-racing-road-bike-2015-sale
Obviously they need to be the right size for you but I'm sure a trawl of the UK outlets would get you a great bike at a fantastic discount that you could be riding in a week or even less.
Just to throw another option into the mix, Pauls Cycles have a couple of 2013 Cannondale Super Six Evo High Mod Red's for sale(54,56). Down from £5000 to £2199
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p5166/CANNONDALE-SUPERSIX-EVO-HI-MOD-RED-RACING-2013
I know the gearing on this model is not Marmotte friendly but with the savings you could swap out the standard crankset for a compact and get a wider cassette fitted the sell off the unwanted clobber.
Just a few thoughts to ponder
That Domane is expensive, you can get a 2016 5.2 for £2200. I know it's a Project One but what advantage does this bring other than colour?
The Cannondale on the other hand is an absolute steal at that price. It's a shame it will be too aggressive for me as I don't think I could resist otherwise!0 -
As above for that price range i would be looking at sale bikes to test ride as well. The mail order bikes can be good value but nothing for me beats seeing and test riding a bike.
Agree 100%
Nothing beats actually sitting on a bike and getting a feel for it before you buy. Also if you went for a Canyon right now God knows when you would actually take delivery of it. Rose are better service but still a gamble if you never ever rode one before.0 -
My comment would be that if you can already cover 95 miles with 3100m climbing at an average of 27kmh then save your money or use it to enter some more sportives. I would suggest the Maratona dles Dolomiti in Italy and the Oetztaler Radmarathon in Austria to start with.0
