£1000 C2W Bike - Poll

Boosmile
Boosmile Posts: 3
edited January 2017 in Road beginners
Hi all,

Finally came down to decide between these bikes to buy on the Halfords Cycle2Work scheme.

Could I just have some views from you guys regarding which bike is best to buy?

Road bikes:

- Giant Defy 1 2016 (Shimano 105): £999
- Cube Attain SL: £999 or the disc version for £1199 if I could find a retailer that accepts Halfords C2W vouchers

CX bikes:

- Cannondale CaadX 105 2016: £999.99
- Dolan CDX (SRAM Rival 22 or Shimano 105): £1199.99

I'll probably sell the bike (once I have ownership of it at the end of 12 months - my company pays off the fair market value for us), so resale value might need to come into play. I've got a feeling that the Dolan CDX will be hardest to sell after a year of cycling... What do you think?

More than happy to receive other suggestions too!!

Comments

  • Boosmile
    Boosmile Posts: 3
    Might be worth me adding links to the bikes too.

    Giant Defy 1 Disc:
    http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Giant-Defy-1-Di ... _84149.htm

    Cube Attain SL:
    http://www.cube.eu/uk/products/road-rac ... hred-2016/

    Cube Attain SL Disc:
    http://www.cube.eu/uk/products/road-rac ... reen-2016/

    Cannondale CaadX:
    http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cannondale-Caad ... _79893.htm

    Dolan CDX:
    http://www.dolan-bikes.com/dolan-cyclo- ... n-cdx.html
  • jlammy
    jlammy Posts: 43
    Giant Defy 1 Disc and the CaadX have exactly the same votes. My voucher will be coming in the next week or so, so I really need to decide soon. It not doubt isn't easy!
  • rickeverett
    rickeverett Posts: 988
    Giant only because it will hold the most value resale . Cannon next.

    Does it have to be disk? They make the bike heavy and tbh in my experience the brakes aren't as good as rims unless high end. 105 rims will be better than the disks here.
  • jlammy
    jlammy Posts: 43
    rickeverett wrote:
    Giant only because it will hold the most value resale . Cannon next.

    Does it have to be disk? They make the bike heavy and tbh in my experience the brakes aren't as good as rims unless high end. 105 rims will be better than the disks here.

    I was advised that disc brakes would be better when it comes to winter cycling. More than happy to not have a disc bike if not required, so would be good to hear your suggestions. :)
  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    JLammy wrote:
    rickeverett wrote:
    Giant only because it will hold the most value resale . Cannon next.

    Does it have to be disk? They make the bike heavy and tbh in my experience the brakes aren't as good as rims unless high end. 105 rims will be better than the disks here.

    I was advised that disc brakes would be better when it comes to winter cycling. More than happy to not have a disc bike if not required, so would be good to hear your suggestions. :)

    The giant has the cheapest good quality disc brakes available. While being cable discs they are still much better than the rim brakes on similarly priced road bikes. Unless you happen to prefer rim brakes.

    On you tube search for gcn cycling disc brakes and the one on stopping distances.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,666
    rickeverett wrote:
    Giant only because it will hold the most value resale

    Buying a bike with the intension of selling it is very funny logic lol.

    You would get a Specialized, Triban or Islabike if that was your main goal anyway :wink:
  • norvernrob
    norvernrob Posts: 1,448
    I have a Fuji Cross 1.5 and it's definitely worth a look. 5800 105, TRP Spyre discs, praxis chainrings. Good spec, better than most of the other bikes on your list and its £809. I've been commuting on road and rough trail and can't fault it.
  • jlammy
    jlammy Posts: 43
    NorvernRob wrote:
    I have a Fuji Cross 1.5 and it's definitely worth a look. 5800 105, TRP Spyre discs, praxis chainrings. Good spec, better than most of the other bikes on your list and its £809. I've been commuting on road and rough trail and can't fault it.

    Unfortunately the only place that supplies Fuji bikes are Evans, and I can't buy from Evans using the Halfords C2W voucher. :cry:
  • andy9964
    andy9964 Posts: 930
    JLammy wrote:

    Unfortunately the only place that supplies Fuji bikes are Evans, and I can't buy from Evans using the Halfords C2W voucher. :cry:
    There might be a way round that
    http://www.cycle2work.info/bikes/range
    Hundreds of bikes from over 800 partner independent stores so you've access to bikes outside of the Halfords range too.
  • Flâneur
    Flâneur Posts: 3,081
    I wouldn't hold out on selling for a good price with a cx/winter bike

    But I would go Giant with your logic, but for a personal riding buy the caadx
    Stevo 666 wrote: Come on you Scousers! 20/12/2014
    Crudder
    CX
    Toy
  • jlammy
    jlammy Posts: 43
    Thanks for the voting on the poll everyone. I'll be going to a Giant store in the next few days to try out the Defy 1 Disc. I'll also try and find a place which sells the CaadX to try. But I'll most likely go for the Defy 1 based on the looks alone!

    Next up, I'll need to look into clothing, shoes, pedals and accessories!
  • taon24
    taon24 Posts: 185
    Clothing - DHB bib shorts, reasonable price and reasonable quality. I like the DHB roubaix jerseys too for a bit of warmth on mild days. I don't think the make of the base layer or jersey matters too much as long as the fit is right. Everyone has their own preferences for jackets, but a soft shell if you are going to ride hard, while a hard shell is better if you aren't worried about sweating, but want to keep more water out.
    Shoes - Try various brands, go for what fits, ideally find a bike shop. If you need to wear the shoes off the bike then go for a pair with walking tread and with a bit of flex, while if just for bike use then a stiff sole tends to be more comfortable.
    Pedals - Shimano SPDs or similar if you want to walk anywhere. Shimano SPD-SLs are my cleat of choice if I don't have to do anything off the bike and the basic shimano pedals work fine, replacement cleats are easy to find.
  • jlammy
    jlammy Posts: 43
    Thanks for this Taon24. Currently looking at the DHB clothing now.

    On another note:

    My local Giant bike store just told me that they can accept a top-up! Is the Giant Advanced 2 worth the £300 extra for a carbon frame?!
  • bayhota
    bayhota Posts: 40
    im looking at this for C2W Halfords voucher.
    https://www.cube.eu/uk/products/road-ra ... reen-2016/

    Would there anything else I could get better with my voucher that I could use in Tredz and Wheelies?
    I had been looking at the Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc Road Bike 2016 but I cant get the frame for my size :(
  • 22stu
    22stu Posts: 69
    I was in a similar dilemma back in the summer and picked the Giant Defy 1 Disc from a similar list - happy to date with my choice. Got mine through Pauls Cycles on Cyclescheme
  • bayhota
    bayhota Posts: 40
    Seen the bike that i like, from a retailer that accepts Halfords C2W vouchers. But they will be looking for the full price of the bike not the sale price of the bike.
  • davesnothere
    davesnothere Posts: 620
    bayhota wrote:
    im looking at this for C2W Halfords voucher.
    https://www.cube.eu/uk/products/road-ra ... reen-2016/

    Would there anything else I could get better with my voucher that I could use in Tredz and Wheelies?
    I had been looking at the Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc Road Bike 2016 but I cant get the frame for my size :(

    This is the bike that i just bought, fantastic. I bought through cyclescheme though not Halfords

    The 3 people who had stock were Rutland Cycling, Hargroves Cycles and Chain Reaction

    Rutland and Hargroves both had the bike at £999 but add a 11 or 12% mark up for cyclescheme voucher on sale bikes

    Chain reaction had it at £1,100 but don't add the mark up

    Finally, what size are you looking at, I would normally ride 54cm frame but the cube comes up a bit smaller than other manufacturers and i bought the 56cm in the end, worth bearing in mind (I'm 5'8, short arms deep pockets if that helps)
    GET WHEEZY - WALNUT LUNG RACING TEAM™
  • grenw
    grenw Posts: 804
    Got a Giant Defy 0 on the scheme a couple of years ago. Great first road bike and certainly contributed in me getting the bug and (partially) moving over from the 'dark side'. Also contributed to my spending far to much money on the hobby, n+1 and all that
  • bayhota
    bayhota Posts: 40
    DavesNotHere wrote:
    bayhota wrote:
    im looking at this for C2W Halfords voucher.
    https://www.cube.eu/uk/products/road-ra ... reen-2016/

    Would there anything else I could get better with my voucher that I could use in Tredz and Wheelies?
    I had been looking at the Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc Road Bike 2016 but I cant get the frame for my size :(

    This is the bike that i just bought, fantastic. I bought through cyclescheme though not Halfords

    The 3 people who had stock were Rutland Cycling, Hargroves Cycles and Chain Reaction

    Rutland and Hargroves both had the bike at £999 but add a 11 or 12% mark up for cyclescheme voucher on sale bikes

    Chain reaction had it at £1,100 but don't add the mark up

    Finally, what size are you looking at, I would normally ride 54cm frame but the cube comes up a bit smaller than other manufacturers and i bought the 56cm in the end, worth bearing in mind (I'm 5'8, short arms deep pockets if that helps)

    My current bike is a 54 cm, but I think its a bit small. My employer recently changed to Halfords which means that i have a limited option, as i have to go with Halfords approved retailers or some local independent retailers, who might not have the offers of those that are online.
    Rutland have the bike i would like, but they want the fullprice of the bike if im using Halfords C2W voucher.
  • Frank Wilson
    Frank Wilson Posts: 930
    I've always had to buy my own bikes!

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