Eye opening experience - Specialized test event
nickbotfield
Posts: 68
I went to the Specialized test event near Wigan last night and had a great time. My current bike is a B'Twin Triban 500SE as recommended by most of the cycling press. Riding the Very Expensive Bikes™ that Specialized had on show was really interesting, for someone who has only ridden a £300 aluminium bike. They had:
Venge ViAS - £6500
Tarmac Expert - £3000
Tarmac Expert Disc - £4000
Diverge Comp Carbon - £2000
Every bike was a metric fuckton better than my (not bad by any stretch) current bike! The Diverge was very sturdy and upright but was quick enough when needed. A bit of disc rub was evident when putting big efforts in but it was quite a pleasant crystalline sound really.
The Tarmacs both felt identical and were really stiff but not juddery; they were very predictable in the corners and went where I wanted them to go. The Disc version had the edge because the brakes were good enough for one finger operation and had more than enough power.
The Venge was ridiculously good though. Even though I imagine it's a nightmare to work on with all the proprietary bits and bobs it was still brilliant. It was incredibly comfortable and so responsive and the straight line speed was brilliant - the Garmin said it was 5km/h faster when I was giving it beans than the other bikes. Obviously there was probably some aspect of me pushing it harder but it was still a very encouraging bike to ride.
If I had to get one bike though, it'd be the Tarmac Disc - it just had the most all round ability. The Venge was so good though. If I had a spare £8500 I'd get the Venge and the Diverge and have a bike stable for all seasons.
Back to riding my perfectly competent but now deeply disappointing bike!
Venge ViAS - £6500
Tarmac Expert - £3000
Tarmac Expert Disc - £4000
Diverge Comp Carbon - £2000
Every bike was a metric fuckton better than my (not bad by any stretch) current bike! The Diverge was very sturdy and upright but was quick enough when needed. A bit of disc rub was evident when putting big efforts in but it was quite a pleasant crystalline sound really.
The Tarmacs both felt identical and were really stiff but not juddery; they were very predictable in the corners and went where I wanted them to go. The Disc version had the edge because the brakes were good enough for one finger operation and had more than enough power.
The Venge was ridiculously good though. Even though I imagine it's a nightmare to work on with all the proprietary bits and bobs it was still brilliant. It was incredibly comfortable and so responsive and the straight line speed was brilliant - the Garmin said it was 5km/h faster when I was giving it beans than the other bikes. Obviously there was probably some aspect of me pushing it harder but it was still a very encouraging bike to ride.
If I had to get one bike though, it'd be the Tarmac Disc - it just had the most all round ability. The Venge was so good though. If I had a spare £8500 I'd get the Venge and the Diverge and have a bike stable for all seasons.
Back to riding my perfectly competent but now deeply disappointing bike!
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Comments
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youve done it now though - you know there are "better bikes" out there ...
go on ... N+1 ...
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I know! Thankfully the financial decision is out of my hands because a new boiler for the house and repaired suspension on my car means that such cycling treats are comfortably beyond me at the moment!Slowbike wrote:youve done it now though - you know there are "better bikes" out there ...
go on ... N+1 ...0 -
Advocate of disc brakes.0 -
Meh I've owned a few 'top end' bikes...they are pretty good but not as amazing as some people make out.
Last year(s) had a venge, wilier cento 1 air, neil pryde bura sl and this year riding a Giant TCR Advanced SL. Decent yes...earth shattering no...the TCR does fly up hills though! Ridden a Tarmac, Cervelo s5 etc
All bikes had super record and wheels where FFWD and this year Campagnolo Bora Ultra 35 tubs.
I spend a majority of my riding time on a Kinesis 4s alu with ultegra groupset/wheels though and if I wasn't racing I'd probably be happy with that...so go figure.0 -
Having owned a Diverge DSW Elite since last september, I'd like to see what the difference against a better specced option and if it justifies the price difference.Specialized Diverge Elite
Felt F85
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