New bike(s) time - TT vs disc vs ?

daddy0

Only got 1 road bike, 4 years old, always needs cleaning and fixing due to being old, covers high mileage, and ridden in all weather. I use it for club runs, commuting (50 mile RT), TTs and racing. Got £2k coming in from insurance claim, not limited to £2k - can stretch to £3k maybe, so what to go for?

I'm thinking about spending as little as possible (£500-£750?) on a disc brake bike for commuting wet club runs and maybe some CX races, then spending the rest on a TT bike and some decent wheels.

Or I could just spend it all on a really good disc braked bike. It will be the bike I ride the most after all...

Ideas / suggestions please! Cheers.

ugo.santalucia

How serious is your TTing?
These things are not worth much second hand, as people change them quicker than underwear and unless you make good use of it, you might as well subract one minute to any 10 mile TT you enter and pretend you have one.
As a guideline, I think when you get in the 23 min bracket for a 10 mile TT, then you should start thinking about being serious with your equipment, to see whether it can help you progress towards the 20 minutes mark

daddy0

ugo.santalucia wrote:

How serious is your TTing?
These things are not worth much second hand, as people change them quicker than underwear and unless you make good use of it, you might as well subract one minute to any 10 mile TT you enter and pretend you have one.
As a guideline, I think when you get in the 23 min bracket for a 10 mile TT, then you should start thinking about being serious with your equipment, to see whether it can help you progress towards the 20 minutes mark

I have dabbled and managed sub 24 on my road bike with normal helmet and jersey. I'd like to be able to do the 25 under the hour, one of my goals. Weather permitting I'd probably go out for a TT blast once a week. Would also like to give TTT a go, and need the right gear to join in with those guys. So reasonably serious I guess?

ugo.santalucia

I guess so.
Look at Planet X... they seem to do some pretty serious rigs for not a lot of money

fenix

Its very much diminishing returns with TT stuff.

You can get a TT bike from PX for under a grand. THey'll also do a bike fit for you which is probably more important than the bike really.
Get a disc wheel cover for £50.
Get an aero helmet and skinsuit.

Are you keeping the old bike ? Why not use that for the winter.

Then with the rest of the money - £750 you can get a fairly nice summer bike.

I'm still not convinced disc brake bikes are worth swapping to. Especially if you have normal wheels on the other bikes. Always handy to have interchangeable wheels.

slowbike

TT bike - possibly look at a second hand one - mine came in at very low cost as I got the frame & bars then built up with my existing stuff - diminishing returns if you spend more - but prob worth getting a reasonable set of wheels for it ...

Disc brakes - I disagree with Fenix - for the commute/GP wet bike I think there's a lot to be said for a good disc brake setup - I wish I'd gone for that option with my wet commute/CX bike now - although the lack of interchangable wheels would've been a bit of a pain - not that you're going to be doing much swapping between commute and TT bike!

supermurph09

Look over on the time trial forum for a 2nd hand bike. 99.9% of the time the bikes being sold are in mint condition.

daddy0

I am keeping the old bike, planning on using it just for racing and club runs, its still better than any £750 bike would be.

As my commute is a lumpy 50 mile round trip I really want a disc braked bike. I'm sick of having to clean brake pads after each ride, and replacing wheels every year. Basically I want a bike thats as low maintenance as possible, but still reasonably speedy and not too heavy.

TT bike wise, I'd not thought about buying second hand, cheers for the suggestion guys. I might end up getting a cheap TT bike and an expensive disc bike!

ugo.santalucia

Daddy0 wrote:

I might end up getting a cheap TT bike and an expensive disc bike!

It probably makes more nse given you will spend infinitely more hours on the commuter than the TT bike

Alex99

Daddy0 wrote:

I am keeping the old bike, planning on using it just for racing and club runs, its still better than any £750 bike would be.

As my commute is a lumpy 50 mile round trip I really want a disc braked bike. I'm sick of having to clean brake pads after each ride, and replacing wheels every year. Basically I want a bike thats as low maintenance as possible, but still reasonably speedy and not too heavy.

TT bike wise, I'd not thought about buying second hand, cheers for the suggestion guys. I might end up getting a cheap TT bike and an expensive disc bike!

I'm having similar thoughts about a low maintenance, but not too slow road bike for commuting and all weather training. So, disc brakes, 28c tyres and full guards, rack, yes I think so.

Anyone think internal hub gears are an option, or just too much of a disadvantage to make them usable for group rides?

I'm also wondering about square taper bottom bracket/crank. I guess there are good external BB options that last more than 6 months, but maybe you have to pay more.

simon_masterson

Alex99 wrote:

Daddy0 wrote:

I am keeping the old bike, planning on using it just for racing and club runs, its still better than any £750 bike would be.

As my commute is a lumpy 50 mile round trip I really want a disc braked bike. I'm sick of having to clean brake pads after each ride, and replacing wheels every year. Basically I want a bike thats as low maintenance as possible, but still reasonably speedy and not too heavy.

TT bike wise, I'd not thought about buying second hand, cheers for the suggestion guys. I might end up getting a cheap TT bike and an expensive disc bike!

I'm having similar thoughts about a low maintenance, but not too slow road bike for commuting and all weather training. So, disc brakes, 28c tyres and full guards, rack, yes I think so.

Anyone think internal hub gears are an option, or just too much of a disadvantage to make them usable for group rides?

I'm also wondering about square taper bottom bracket/crank. I guess there are good external BB options that last more than 6 months, but maybe you have to pay more.

Go fixed - One gear (or two with a flip-flop), one brake, square taper BB. There are various options out there that would give you the tyre clearance, mudguard eyes and rack.

Alex99

Simon Masterson wrote:

Alex99 wrote:

Daddy0 wrote:

I am keeping the old bike, planning on using it just for racing and club runs, its still better than any £750 bike would be.

As my commute is a lumpy 50 mile round trip I really want a disc braked bike. I'm sick of having to clean brake pads after each ride, and replacing wheels every year. Basically I want a bike thats as low maintenance as possible, but still reasonably speedy and not too heavy.

TT bike wise, I'd not thought about buying second hand, cheers for the suggestion guys. I might end up getting a cheap TT bike and an expensive disc bike!

I'm having similar thoughts about a low maintenance, but not too slow road bike for commuting and all weather training. So, disc brakes, 28c tyres and full guards, rack, yes I think so.

Anyone think internal hub gears are an option, or just too much of a disadvantage to make them usable for group rides?

I'm also wondering about square taper bottom bracket/crank. I guess there are good external BB options that last more than 6 months, but maybe you have to pay more.

Go fixed - One gear (or two with a flip-flop), one brake, square taper BB. There are various options out there that would give you the tyre clearance, mudguard eyes and rack.

Not sure I'm man enough for that. Plenty of 15%+ gradients around here and then I'd have the wrong gear for the flat.

simon_masterson

Alex99 wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

Alex99 wrote:

Daddy0 wrote:

I am keeping the old bike, planning on using it just for racing and club runs, its still better than any £750 bike would be.

As my commute is a lumpy 50 mile round trip I really want a disc braked bike. I'm sick of having to clean brake pads after each ride, and replacing wheels every year. Basically I want a bike thats as low maintenance as possible, but still reasonably speedy and not too heavy.

TT bike wise, I'd not thought about buying second hand, cheers for the suggestion guys. I might end up getting a cheap TT bike and an expensive disc bike!

I'm having similar thoughts about a low maintenance, but not too slow road bike for commuting and all weather training. So, disc brakes, 28c tyres and full guards, rack, yes I think so.

Anyone think internal hub gears are an option, or just too much of a disadvantage to make them usable for group rides?

I'm also wondering about square taper bottom bracket/crank. I guess there are good external BB options that last more than 6 months, but maybe you have to pay more.

Go fixed - One gear (or two with a flip-flop), one brake, square taper BB. There are various options out there that would give you the tyre clearance, mudguard eyes and rack.

Not sure I'm man enough for that. Plenty of 15%+ gradients around here and then I'd have the wrong gear for the flat.

You might be surprised - when you've got a great chainline, can't stop pedalling and have nowhere to go!

daniel_b

Saracen Tenet 3 might be worth a look.
When I posted it originally they had all sizes for £400, if you google they come in between 400 and 500 now.
Bargain commuter.

daddy0

Fixed just isn't an option for me, commute is 50 miles RT with plenty of hills. Not sure hub gears would be sufficient either, have ridden on club rides with a guy who has hub gears and every time the road goes up he has to start grinding. I have ridden with a couple of guys on adventure road bikes with single chainrings who seemed comfortable, so I'd consider that sort of set up.