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Building / buying a crit bike

supermurph09supermurph09 Posts: 2,471
edited March 2017 in Road buying advice
OK 1 crit so far and 1 crash (not my fault) but I'm looking to improve that!

I've been giving some thought as to what the ideal bike is for crits, I was a little taken a back with the value of some of the bikes at cat 3/4 standard, my feeling was that you don't really need to be on £4k+ worth of bike (as many were) and that so long as you have something half decent you'll fair just fine.

So what are the options? Lets say you had a budget of £1300, how would you spend that to get a solid crit bike. I quite like the idea of Aluminium so have been looking at the Canyon Endurace but the write up leads me to believe the geometry is a bit relaxed. I own an Ultimate SL 9.0 already but I'm planning on having that stripped down and rebuilt, bunging some half decent wheels and tyres on and keeping that as a dry weather only / hill climb bike.

Struggling to think of ideas.
Trainer Road Blog: https://hitthesweetspot.home.blog/

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  • philclubmanphilclubman Posts: 229
    edited March 2017
    Supermurph09 wrote:
    OK 1 crit so far and 1 crash (not my fault) but I'm looking to improve that!

    I've been giving some thought as to what the ideal bike is for crits, I was a little taken a back with the value of some of the bikes at cat 3/4 standard, my feeling was that you don't really need to be on £4k+ worth of bike (as many were) and that so long as you have something half decent you'll fair just fine.

    So what are the options? Lets say you had a budget of £1300, how would you spend that to get a solid crit bike. I quite like the idea of Aluminium so have been looking at the Canyon Endurace but the write up leads me to believe the geometry is a bit relaxed. I own an Ultimate SL 9.0 already but I'm planning on having that stripped down and rebuilt, bunging some half decent wheels and tyres on and keeping that as a dry weather only / hill climb bike.

    Struggling to think of ideas.

    Bowman Palace looks a nice frameset - or a Kinesis Aethin. 105 groupset, Fulcrum Racing 3's and reasonable finishing kit that suits and fits you well. That would be my suggestion.

    Either that or a used Allez from ebay.

    You're right that the bike doesn't win the race.
    De Rosa http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13008529
  • jgsijgsi Posts: 5,062
    CAAd10 from Ebay... proper race frame
  • raisinberry777raisinberry777 Posts: 141
    Don't overthink it, just find something second hand that fits and won't break your heart if it breaks in a crash. Endurance geometry can be made aggressive if you go for a size smaller and compensate with a longer negatively angled stem.

    Look here for example, John Degenkolb's Giant Defy from when he won Paris Roubaix:

    http://www.bikeradar.com/au/road/gear/a ... efy-44135/

    Medium size (smaller than usual for a 180cm guy)
    -10 degree stem
    Traditional bend bars for deeper drop
  • onionmkonionmk Posts: 101
    I you want an out and out crit machine, I hear the specialized allez dsw sprint is a good call. You can get the frame and spec it to your liking for well under £1300 and have it perform like a bike 3x the price.
  • charlie_potatoescharlie_potatoes Posts: 1,921
    Canyon AL SLX or CAAD 10
    "You really think you can burn off sugar with exercise?" downhill paul
  • trek_dantrek_dan Posts: 1,366
    Don't race what you can't afford to replace.
    Or get insured properly.
  • okgookgo Posts: 4,368
    There was cervelo S1 on ebay the other day for £500 as a complete bike.
    Blog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com
  • imposter2.0imposter2.0 Posts: 12,015
    trek_dan wrote:
    Don't race what you can't afford to replace.
    Or get insured properly.

    Ironically, I suspect most people tend not to do that. I certainly didn't. Lots of really expensive kit to be seen in regional road races or evening crits and I'm sure the riders are not all investment bankers, hedge fund managers or career criminals (assuming those three aren't all the same thing).

    Anyway, if I was building up a cheap crit bike at the moment, I'd start with one of these..

    http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FRPXGAL/pl ... d-frameset
  • Alex99Alex99 Posts: 1,407
    Imposter wrote:
    trek_dan wrote:
    Don't race what you can't afford to replace.
    Or get insured properly.

    Ironically, I suspect most people tend not to do that. I certainly didn't. Lots of really expensive kit to be seen in regional road races or evening crits and I'm sure the riders are not all investment bankers, hedge fund managers or career criminals (assuming those three aren't all the same thing).

    Anyway, if I was building up a cheap crit bike at the moment, I'd start with one of these..

    http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FRPXGAL/pl ... d-frameset

    That looks extremely tidy. Nice in the blue FWIW.
  • Alex99Alex99 Posts: 1,407
    What about the B'twin 720Al. Full 6800. £1020.
  • Alex99Alex99 Posts: 1,407
    Imposter wrote:
    trek_dan wrote:
    Don't race what you can't afford to replace.
    Or get insured properly.

    Ironically, I suspect most people tend not to do that. I certainly didn't. Lots of really expensive kit to be seen in regional road races or evening crits and I'm sure the riders are not all investment bankers, hedge fund managers or career criminals (assuming those three aren't all the same thing).

    Anyway, if I was building up a cheap crit bike at the moment, I'd start with one of these..

    http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FRPXGAL/pl ... d-frameset

    I presume in most cases it's young folk without family commitments that sink a large % of income into kit.

    Also, I guess there are a fair few racing that are trying to 'make it', whereas I'm way past resigned to the fact that a pro team isn't going to come knocking at my door, no matter whether I have Zipp 808s or not.
  • imposter2.0imposter2.0 Posts: 12,015
    Alex99 wrote:
    Imposter wrote:
    trek_dan wrote:
    Don't race what you can't afford to replace.
    Or get insured properly.

    Ironically, I suspect most people tend not to do that. I certainly didn't. Lots of really expensive kit to be seen in regional road races or evening crits and I'm sure the riders are not all investment bankers, hedge fund managers or career criminals (assuming those three aren't all the same thing).

    Anyway, if I was building up a cheap crit bike at the moment, I'd start with one of these..

    http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FRPXGAL/pl ... d-frameset

    That looks extremely tidy. Nice in the blue FWIW.

    Can't work out which colour I prefer, tbh. As soon as I do, I'll probably buy one.
  • sheffsimonsheffsimon Posts: 1,282
    In what way does a "crit bike" differ from a "road race bike", or a bike for training in the summer?

    For me, they have always been one and the same thing.
  • Alex99Alex99 Posts: 1,407
    edited March 2017
    SheffSimon wrote:
    In what way does a "crit bike" differ from a "road race bike", or a bike for training in the summer?

    For me, they have always been one and the same thing.

    Probably just lower cost, less emphasis on comfort and more emphasis on stiffness. Hence the talk of aluminum.
  • fenixfenix Posts: 5,437
    Crit bike is one that's going to see more crashes ?
  • AK_jnrAK_jnr Posts: 717
    Small compact frame, internal cables, (just a preference) alu, Fulcrum Quattro LG wheels and 105 groupset. Thats what I'd look for in a dedicated crit bike.
    The Allez Sprint as mentioned above looks perfect.
    Or the CAAD.
  • supermurph09supermurph09 Posts: 2,471
    SheffSimon wrote:
    In what way does a "crit bike" differ from a "road race bike", or a bike for training in the summer?

    For me, they have always been one and the same thing.

    Assuming by road race bike you mean your best bike? If not then please ignore....

    For some it clearly doesn't. If I were able to afford an upgrade to my Ultimate SL I would be looking at different characteristics than something I wanted to race on, so for me the difference is mainly cost. I wouldn't want to be racing on a £3k bike. Would I be looking at an 8KG bike when upgrading the SL, no, I'd want something really light, 6.5kg maybe but for a crit bike weight (to a point) isn't really an issue.

    I guess for our "best bike" looks come into about 60-70%? of the purchase decision? For a crit bike I'd be looking at function as the main criteria, looks would be about 20%.
    Trainer Road Blog: https://hitthesweetspot.home.blog/

    Cycling blog: https://harderfasterlonger.wordpress.com/

    Blog: https://supermurphtt2015.wordpress.com/

    TCTP: https://supermurph.wordpress.com/
  • dow8519dow8519 Posts: 21
    I am selling a Caad10 ultegra 6800 with campag zonda wheels if you are interested?
  • JesseDJesseD Posts: 1,961
    AK_jnr wrote:
    Small compact frame, internal cables, (just a preference) alu, Fulcrum Quattro LG wheels and 105 groupset. Thats what I'd look for in a dedicated crit bike.

    This is basically my crit bike, bar the internal cables (external = easier to work on)

    I would say that in addition to a CAAD9, CAAD10 or Spesh Allez try looking at a second hand Felt Z or F series, relatively cheap second hand and perfect for smashing round a crit with a load of choppers (I have a Z75 as my crit bike)
    Obsessed is a word used by the lazy to describe the dedicated!
  • AK_jnrAK_jnr Posts: 717
    Yeah definitely easier to work on. I've only ever had external through a CAAD 8 and Supersix so if I had the money I'd want internal purely for aesthetics. Lol.
  • MatthewfalleMatthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    Palace, Aethein, CAAD 10, that P/X above or a P/X Superlight with something like full Ritchey WCS will do the job at a good price.

    Fit some nice wheels and a Rival group set and it'll be nice and light and do the job perfectly.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • Alex99Alex99 Posts: 1,407
    Matthewfalle wrote:
    Palace, Aethein, CAAD 10, that P/X above or a P/X Superlight with something like full Ritchey WCS will do the job at a good price.

    Fit some nice wheels and a Rival group set and it'll be nice and light and do the job perfectly.

    One bottle cage?
  • Alex99Alex99 Posts: 1,407
    Supermurph09 wrote:
    SheffSimon wrote:
    In what way does a "crit bike" differ from a "road race bike", or a bike for training in the summer?

    For me, they have always been one and the same thing.

    Assuming by road race bike you mean your best bike? If not then please ignore....

    For some it clearly doesn't. If I were able to afford an upgrade to my Ultimate SL I would be looking at different characteristics than something I wanted to race on, so for me the difference is mainly cost. I wouldn't want to be racing on a £3k bike. Would I be looking at an 8KG bike when upgrading the SL, no, I'd want something really light, 6.5kg maybe but for a crit bike weight (to a point) isn't really an issue.

    I guess for our "best bike" looks come into about 60-70%? of the purchase decision? For a crit bike I'd be looking at function as the main criteria, looks would be about 20%.

    "I guess for our "best bike" looks come into about 60-70%? of the purchase decision? For a crit bike I'd be looking at function as the main criteria, looks would be about 20%."

    You could go all out to make the crit bike look like something out of Mad Max to spook the opposition. Maybe a skull on the bars. I hear that there is a new Giro helmet coming out with a built in hockey mask.
  • MatthewfalleMatthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    Two for aesthetics (balances out the frame otherwise it looks lopsided), one bottle for racin'.

    Essentially you want something small, stiff, really flickable and crash resistant.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • pippi_langsamer-2pippi_langsamer-2 Posts: 1,470
    Yep, I’d look at finding a Specialized E5 Smartweld frameset and build it up.

    http://www.freeborn.co.uk/specialized-a ... meset-2016

    I used to have one of the older Aerotec E5 S-Works framesets back-in-the-day, and it was possibly one of the nicest framesets I’ve ever owned. It was superb around tight crit circuits too…
  • AK_jnrAK_jnr Posts: 717
    https://www.bestbikeproducts.com/m5b41s ... S_GB/29399

    Bang on budget and was designed purely for crits.

    Shame the colours they do on this frame as sh1te though
  • MatthewfalleMatthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    AK_jnr wrote:
    https://www.bestbikeproducts.com/m5b41s6p6837/SPECIALIZED-Allez-DSW-SL-Sprint-Comp-2017/RS_GB/29399

    Bang on budget and was designed purely for crits.

    Shame the colours they do on this frame as sh1te though

    Ooooh - put some of those wheels that shall not be mentioned on there and that will be well pukka.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • milemuncher1milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    I'd personally ensure the cranks were as short as I could fit, and get the gearing right ( close ratios, not to wide a range, aiming for 23t maximum, on the cassette, and a 53 big ring). The other bits and bobs are very much 'underpants test' territory, and a short wheelbase is a good idea too.
  • MatthewfalleMatthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    Why short cranks?
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • AK_jnrAK_jnr Posts: 717
    Matthewfalle wrote:
    AK_jnr wrote:
    https://www.bestbikeproducts.com/m5b41s6p6837/SPECIALIZED-Allez-DSW-SL-Sprint-Comp-2017/RS_GB/29399

    Bang on budget and was designed purely for crits.

    Shame the colours they do on this frame as sh1te though

    Ooooh - put some of those wheels that shall not be mentioned on there and that will be well pukka.

    Ha. Very good.

    https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.bicycl ... w-2x%3Famp
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