Carrera Velos vs Specialized Allez/ Canyon ENDURACE AL 5.0

hepz

Hello there,
I've been borrowing my brother in laws Carrera Velos to see if cycling is for me... and I think it might be so I'm looking at getting my first bike.

How much different would the Velos and Allez be to ride? because the velos feels like a real piece of sh!t...
Also would the Canyon Endurace 5.0 be any better? Love the look of that bike...

Cheeeeers guys x

SME

Hi Hepz, and welcome, to cycling and the forums.

The Zelos is the bottom of the range Halfords special and, as such, it won't be all singin', all dancin'. But it's a sub £300 road bike with just 7speeds and steel forks.

I think the lowest Shimano groupset now is Claris 8speed and is fitted to the entry level Allez, which also has a carbon fork and would give a smoother ride.

Out of those two, I'd take the Allez anytime, even for the £300 extra price tag.
The Canyon will certainly be a better ride than the other two, but once again is a jump in price. The 10sp Tiagra groupset is a couple of steps up from the Allez, so will give you a wider gear range and better shifting.

This might help...
http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/217 ... -%C2%A3500
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/arti ... 000-29719/

But, to be honest, it may be worth going along to a bike shop and getting a bike fit, and then seeing what they have in their range. A bike fit would sort out things like saddle and handlebar positions and frame size to fit the bike comfortably to you, especially if you're thinking of taking up cycling for more than just a 3 mile commute to work! Some bike stores may let you take it for a short spin.

Good luck.
Steve

hepz

SME wrote:

Hi Hepz, and welcome, to cycling and the forums.

The Zelos is the bottom of the range Halfords special and, as such, it won't be all singin', all dancin'. But it's a sub £300 road bike with just 7speeds and steel forks.

I think the lowest Shimano groupset now is Claris 8speed and is fitted to the entry level Allez, which also has a carbon fork and would give a smoother ride.

Out of those two, I'd take the Allez anytime, even for the £300 extra price tag.
The Canyon will certainly be a better ride than the other two, but once again is a jump in price. The 10sp Tiagra groupset is a couple of steps up from the Allez, so will give you a wider gear range and better shifting.

This might help...
http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/217 ... -%C2%A3500
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/arti ... 000-29719/

But, to be honest, it may be worth going along to a bike shop and getting a bike fit, and then seeing what they have in their range. A bike fit would sort out things like saddle and handlebar positions and frame size to fit the bike comfortably to you, especially if you're thinking of taking up cycling for more than just a 3 mile commute to work! Some bike stores may let you take it for a short spin.

Good luck.
Steve

Thanks a lot for the welcome and reply Steve, will give those articles a good read, buying a first bike seems to be quite a daunting experience...

Would the 2 bikes I mentioned be a much smoother ride than the velos? Because it feels incredibly shakey and I'm a big guy (6 ft, 16 stone) so comfort is of importance to me.

arlowood

If you're near a Decathlon store then you could do worse than popping along and having a look at their range. For entry level bikes they are generally well regarded and Decathlon gets good feedback on its customer service

One to consider in your budget range is the BTwin 520

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-520- ... 22663.html

9-speed Sora with a triple chainset so you've got plenty of gears to help with any challenging hills. Although they might be a bit pedestrian the 32 spoke wheels will cope with your weight. Once you get into it a bit more you could consider upgrading the wheels

SME

hepz wrote:

Thanks a lot for the welcome and reply Steve, will give those articles a good read, buying a first bike seems to be quite a daunting experience...

Would the 2 bikes I mentioned be a much smoother ride than the velos? Because it feels incredibly shakey and I'm a big guy (6 ft, 16 stone) so comfort is of importance to me.

It can be daunting, what with all the choices out there.

Try and set some criteria...
How much have you to spend - obviously the more you pay, the better the bike, but sometimes there is a trade-off (more later).
What groupset do you want/number of gears, and what crankset (more gears could mean a higher gear for hills, or just a broader spectrum - cransets come as a compact 50/34 teeth or 53/39, and with varying arm length to the pedals)?
Do you want a 'more comfortable' endurance/sportive bike, or something all out 'racey'?
Carbon or ally frame?
Disc or rim brakes?

What sort of riding do you intend to do, cummuting, Sunday/club rides, sportives or audaxs?
I think, in reality, a lot of us would like the lightest carbon frame, hydraulic disc brakes, aero wheels, and electronic shifting (although I'm no good at remembering to charge batteries!). I think the only real thing you can do is set a budget and then see what you can get for it, trying to prioritise brakes, gearing, etc. on what's important for you (hence the trade-off).

You can always update components later, wheels, gears, etc. as your budget, 'fitness'(?)/personal preference dictates.

hepz

I think I intend to do sunday rides/sportives by the looks of things.

I want a bike that looks great, has carbon forks, internal cables and gearing that will do the job for the occasional climb.

Definitely going to have a pop in to Decathlon,

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/ultra-900-a ... 77261.html

Really like the sound of this one, just trying to sort out c2w as I'm self employed...

string78

If you're looking at a budget of the Canyon or Decathlon then another one to consider would be:

https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-pro-sl-1000-bike-now-852768/aid:852782

Fin, the Rose Bikes UK rep also had an ex demo Rose Xeon RS 3100 up for sales at £850, excellent deal for a £1500+ bike.

hepz

string78 wrote:

If you're looking at a budget of the Canyon or Decathlon then another one to consider would be:

https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-pro-sl-1000-bike-now-852768/aid:852782

Fin, the Rose Bikes UK rep also had an ex demo Rose Xeon RS 3100 up for sales at £850, excellent deal for a £1500+ bike.

Yessss, really like the white and orange, but I am wanting to buy through c2w and don't think Rose are signed up to that...