First step up from an Allez

Simon84uk

Hi All,

Apologies in advance for the huge wall of text, but I don't want to miss any information, I will put a TL;DR at the bottom.


I've switched over from MTB's to road about 2 years ago now as needed something less harsh on the knees. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much, but being in the New Forest I'm surrounded by awesome routes on my doorstep. I brought a second hand 2013 Allez 16 (the non-carbon fork one), under what everyone on here's advice was for a starter bike. Didn't realize about the fork at that time, ah well Noob mistake.

Anyway, I'm now looking to take the plunge into a "proper" replacement and have been reading reviews, guides and been to a few LBS (Giant, Specialized, Cube and Cannondale mainly) and have been looking for about 3-4 weeks. Think it's now a case of too much choice and too much information I don't know how to compile it. As you guy's suggestion of the Allez was spot on I trust your input on perhaps where I should lean.

I'm 6ft and 0.5 inch so keep falling between size guides which are usually 5'10>6'0 then 6'1>6'3. I brought a 56cm Allez and possibly it feels a bit too short, so wondering if I would actually fit a size up on that one. I was put on a 58cm when I tried track cycling and this felt very comfortable. Sadly this is my only sizing material.

I'm leaning towards an endurance bike with discs (my mate has just picked up a 2017 Roubaix Comp), I've had a go on this but it's way too small (54cm) to get a proper sense. I loved the brakes so want to keep them hydraulic, but the headshock was cool but not something I need. I'd like 105 groupset upwards to get the 11sp and ideally an 11-32 (I fitted a 11-28 8sp to my Allez) as I'm not as fit as I would like to be still and there's some nasty long hills not far from home which are tough with knackered legs on the return trip. I'm not a huge fan of matt finish or dark colours so after something glossy and bright, possibly white?

I wish it were possible to buy it outright, but with my wedding coming up in August that's not on the cards, but I would really like something I can enjoy over this spring/summer.

So, so far my thought's are towards either a Giant Defy Advanced 2 (105, don't like the look of the 1 or the pro 2 versions), the TCR Advanced 1 Disc (ultegra) or the new Ribble Gran Fondo Disc weekly special @ £1449 (ultegra, but not one review available for it). Budget-wise looking around £1500-£2000 but can stretch a bit for the right bike due to going the finance route.


TL;DR:
Looking to replace my 2013 Allez 16 with the following
- Carbon frame & fork
- Shimano 105/ultegra 11sp, ideally 11-32
- Hyrdro Discs ideally
- £1500-£2000 budget, with finance option due to other commitments (wedding)
- Something like Defy Advanced 2, TCR Advanced 1 Disc or Ribble Gran Fondo Disc
- Not boring matt black


Please if anyone can offer any further input I would be very appreciative, I know there's a wealth of knowledge here and I appreciate anyone willing to guide me a little.


Many thanks,
Simon

stueys

Take a look at a dale synapse, very comfy but you aren't trading giving much away for that comfort. A good bike shop should fit you before you order the bike and then match the geo/size to you. Once you've had hydro discs its hard to go back.

You should be comfortably able to get a decent bike with 105 for 2k. A bit of negotiation and you probably aren't too far from getting ultagra for that budget (though the new 105 is nice).

rick_chasey

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/factory-ou ... ce&order=1


Canyon are decent value anyway (were even more pre-Brexit, natch ) but the factory outlet has one offs that are cheaper on top.

So, depending on your size, a quick browse finds a Canyon ultimate CF SL 9.0 for £1,700, for example. https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/factory-ou ... 1&id=21429

Simon84uk

Thanks all for the fast responses! Good to hear that my wishlist is in line with the budget.

I saw the Defy Advance Pro 2 in the Giant-Southampton store, it was very nice and shiny but didn't pop for me at the time. They had a 2016 Advance Pro 2 in shop too, beautiful bike in that blue, but not financable They only had the Advance (non-pro) 2 in the odd matt orange, which was ok, but I would go with the black/white version of that. If the Pro 2 were closer to the £2k mark I'd probably have gone with it, but my mind couldn't justify the extra £500 when I was in there. Maybe I'll take another trip in there and try some.

I did see the Cannondale SuperSix Disc in another LBS (Hargroves), very bright! They didn't have any other disc one's out though when I was in recently. They also didn't have any male Cube's in the showroom, wish I had paid closer attention to them when I first went in as they are contenders. Don't recall seeing the Synapse there either, but have read a lot of great reviews on it, maybe someone else in the area has one. I remember seeing the Slate with the road equivalent of a lefty fork... yeah, that's not for me haha.

Re: Canyon, I did consider them and spent a few hours on their site eyeing them all up (inc. MTB's), until I realised finance isn't available. If they did finance then I'd probably have bought one on heart feel alone, beautiful bikes.

I'll see if I can get the shops to arrange some test rides of the Defy, TCR (to see how it compares geometry-wise) and maybe the Synapse and some Cube's.

My brother has a Cube aluminium road bike (possibly Aerial/peloton? 2010ish which he barely uses) and that was actually what I test-rode before I decided on taking up road cycling and get myself the Allez in June-2015. I think the geometry of that was pretty nice, so I haven't discounted Cube. I'll have to see if he still has it and take it for a whirl maybe.

No mention of the Ribble one yet, can anyone shed any light on it? I have heard a lot of mixed views on their range of bikes, nothing bad about their service, just about the frames being average and not quite as good as they perhaps could be. But none of these "negative" comments are at all recent. Does anyone have any more up-to-date information? The special here looks nice and great spec from what I can tell: http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-gr ... l-edition/

So, so far my shortlist hasn't shrunk any, possibly grown haha. But at least it sounds like I'm on the right track. Think my takeaway is I need to try some out.
List is now:
- Giant Defy Advanced 2 & Pro 2
- Giant TCR Advanced 1
- Specialized Synapse Disc 105
- Cube Attain/Agree Disc (although will depend on how they look as IIRC they're pretty matt)
- Ribble Gran Fondo Disc (unless anyone can advise against)


Thanks all,
Simon

Bobbinogs

Don't expect some revolutionary experience from buying a carbon fork. They are 'nice' but you will smooth a ride out much more effectively by running wide rim wheels and 25/28mm tyres with a lower psi, specially if you are a fatboy.

spatt77

Hi, A BMC Gran fondo might fit the bill for you, I`ve got one so maybe a little bit biased but i`m very impressed. like this, https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-granfon ... oCgEbw_wcB

mostly

I went from the allez to the TCR (2015) can't fault it at all, I'd buy it again without hesitation.

Simon84uk

Hi again all,

Thanks for the replies and information, all very useful. I have had a few days of going to see bikes and mulling it over, I have now boiled it down to two and so far trying to choose between them is a very tough call.

I have decided I will stick with Giant and go with the Defy, but will either be the Advanced 2 @ £1775 or Advanced Pro 2 @ £2499. I see now why oxoman went with the Advance Pro 2! Very shiny and decent.

So can anyone justify to me the extra £725 though! To me it boils down to this:

Giant Defy Advanced 2
Pros:
- Saves me £725
- I prefer the colour a little over the Pro
- Same groupset as the Pro (105)
- Same frame as the Pro
- Still has the option of the ANT+ RideSense, but just doesn't come with it

Cons:
- "feels" a little heavier by lifting the two (even a medium/large pro vs a small non-pro)
- Twig-like feel on the bars

Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2
Pros:
- Carbon wheels
- Carbon Fork Steerer
- Less twiggy/fatter bars
- "feels" lighter when lifting (even a medium/large pro vs a small non-pro)

Cons:
- Wallet will be £725 lighter spread over 18/24 months (£40/£30 per month)
- Slightly prefer the colour of the non-pro, but not by much


I appreciate neither of these have anything a huge advancement over the Allez, but has many smaller things which add up to a better feel. Which would probably be similar but maybe to a lesser extent between the pro and non-pro which I doubt at a 2 year rider would really notice.

I am really stuck between the two, and I can see a benefit of the pro but can't decide if it's worth fronting the extra now. PLEASE HELP!


Thanks,
Simon

Simon84uk

Wow! That's some serious distance!

Ok, so I slept on it and debated about it with the mrs, and have decided that the extra £725 for me was too far. I'm sure it will still be an awesome second bike!

My deciding point was largely down to I'm not going to save that much weight (and I wouldn't really notice it at my level) and the components are all upgrade-able anyway. The main things for me are having the discs for the bike and having something a bit more special than the Allez, which this fits the bill perfectly.

Maybe if I'm ever at a level where weight ever becomes a limiting factor for me I'll get a lighter race/aero bike, but I imagine that's many, many years away. Always got to adhere to the N+1 rule! Already saved myself £725 towards one haha.

I'll post up here to close the thread once I get it and let you know how it compares in case anyone finds this in a google/forum search and is in similar situation.


Thanks again all

Pippy aston

I've bought 3 ribbles and am more than happy with them. Use the advanced bike builder and you can have what stem and bars you want, like I had 46cm bars. Chainsets you can chose the length of the crank and go for a compact or a triple. Giant or Cube you have to have what they want you to have, with ribble you do get the full groupset as well. Only problem is you can't see the bikes but they will take them back. Also they do offer interest free finance. Hope this helps.

laurentian

Whatever you do, keep the Allez!!

Simon84uk

Haha, great idea. I was going to keep it as a backup bike, just in case also was going to let my friend use it who is also now considering the switch to road.

I am sad to admit I am a fair-weather cyclist, boo, hiss, etc... but coming from grippy MTB tyres to slick, skinny road tyres and having had a rather *brown* moment on my previous Yamaha Thundercat on a rather slippy corner I lack some confidence in the wet still. Will probably chuck my turbo spare wheel back on the Allez and leave that on there rather than go through the issues of getting the Giant's through-axle onto the turbo.

I did some more digging around and had swayed towards the Ribble after finding some more owners reviews and posts, even phoned them to discuss ordering the GF. It did sound very decent and am still sure it would have been just as good possibly better. But I made the decision to go for Giant as my local-most LBS is a Giant dealer so easier (in theory) should anything happen with it, also have a large Giant store in other side of Southampton.

Just had the call from Tredz, and it is being dispatched and arriving Tuesday next week!


Simon.

jimmocrates

Simon84uk wrote:

Wow! That's some serious distance!

Ok, so I slept on it and debated about it with the mrs, and have decided that the extra £725 for me was too far. I'm sure it will still be an awesome second bike!

My deciding point was largely down to I'm not going to save that much weight (and I wouldn't really notice it at my level) and the components are all upgrade-able anyway. The main things for me are having the discs for the bike and having something a bit more special than the Allez, which this fits the bill perfectly.

Maybe if I'm ever at a level where weight ever becomes a limiting factor for me I'll get a lighter race/aero bike, but I imagine that's many, many years away. Always got to adhere to the N+1 rule! Already saved myself £725 towards one haha.

I'll post up here to close the thread once I get it and let you know how it compares in case anyone finds this in a google/forum search and is in similar situation.


Thanks again all

Simon, marriage advice... NEVER discuss your cycling spending habits with your Mrs! They never give the right answer :-)
Kids often follow and then the screw really gets turned on your cycling spending.
My tip? Stretch yourself - you'll only find yourself wandering "what if?" in 6-12months if you don't

Simon84uk

Hi All,

So I have taken her out 3 times so far now, smashing PB's everywhere I go. It rides so much faster, so hard to describe. So happy with the bike and I love the aesthetics also. Brakes have started to bed in, these were a little worrying from new! haha.

Haven't had much time to do many real miles on it yet, just a short 20km when I got it, round a known route to see how it compared to the Allez, then parked it for a week as that Sunday I had 15km Rough Runner event. Took it out on the Tuesday evening to stretch my legs out, then again last night and she was flying

I didn't get on with the saddle, but to be fair I didn't give it much time only the first ride until I changed it out. I was intending to use my Specialized saddle, but felt a bit bad so gone back to something I used many moons ago. A Selle Italia Flite Titanium, seem to be getting on ok with this, but it's becoming apparent I'm not quite as narrow-butted as I was 15 years ago. So may be changing yet again... that's a whole new discussion/research activity.

To anyone reading this, if you're thinking twice about it, I would recommend the Giant Defy Advanced 2 (and the 1 as it's probably the same just Ultegra) to anyone. Superb bike, not the lightest with the discs and everything, think it was 8.9kg (ML frame) before I added saddle bag, cages etc... need to re-weigh it at functional weight (at a guess 9.5ish kg). So saving around 1-2kg on my Allez.

I'm not sure whether I'm noticing that weight difference, the tyres are rolling nicer, or the carbon is stiffer and I can get power down better, the 105 groupset shifting superbly, but all these little things add up to a much, much nicer ride. A lot better than I was imagining!

Thanks again to everyone who posted on this thread with help for me, hopefully I'll catch you guys around sometime!


Simon.