Which bike to buy for £5k?

finknottle

I managed to borrow a Synapse (the Hi Mod Etap version) for the weekend and am very glad I did as it made me realise I don't want a comfortable endurance bike and I still crave speed and PBs up the hills. Compared to my Focus I found the Synapse sluggish and a bit boring. Although I must admit that is is super comfortable and soaked up all bumpy surrey roads. Descending was great and the disc brakes definitely made a difference, but not to the extent that I felt I have to get them. When I got home and checked the ride on Strava I was slower than normal for a similar ride, especially up the hills.

So I am back to the drawing board and now deciding whether to buy a new frame (that can take 28mm) and fitting all the components from my Focus with a few upgrades or going for something a bit racier like the SuperSix or R5.

If anyone is interested in a Synapse, Wheelbase are doing the Dura Ace Di2 Hi Mod for £4,799 (£3k off) which is a lot of bike for the money.

drlodge

+1 for the Wyndymilla, or a custom made Rourke. Or even a Condor. I own one of each!!!

finknottle

drlodge wrote:

+1 for the Wyndymilla, or a custom made Rourke. Or even a Condor. I own one of each!!!

On the subject of Wyndymilla... they are opening a new shop/cafe in Hampton Court.

drlodge

Finknottle wrote:

drlodge wrote:

+1 for the Wyndymilla, or a custom made Rourke. Or even a Condor. I own one of each!!!

On the subject of Wyndymilla... they are opening a new shop/cafe in Hampton Court.

And some Spa place in Belgium too

kingrollo

very marmite....but about the new whyte wessex

https://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/30259 ... efsky.aspx

furrag

I've built:
Colnago C60 (Merlin, £2600 for frameset)
Rotor 3D with Power2max - 2nd hand
Mavic Cosmic pros - 2nd hand, barely used
Dura Ace Di2 - Ebay
Finished with Pro Stealth carbon saddle, Zipp SL70 bars, Pro Vibe stem, Look Keo pedals, Jagwire elite brake cables, latex tube etc.

£4700 total build, but it can be done cheaper. It's just so much cheaper to go it alone, and even cheaper to bulk buy a second hand bike with all the whistles and bells.

I ride the same roads as you, and the C60 feels the best on climbs just because of how beefed up the BB is (out of Pro-Lite Cuneo, Wilier Izoard, Cervelo Soloist, Canyon Ultimate, Cervelo R3SL, Sworks Tarmac), feels VERY stable at speed, but isn't as racey as an Sworks Tarmac (some people say nervous/twitchy, but it just comes down to how much effort is required to turn in). Owing to its longer wheelbase, the C60 is also the most comfortable bike I've had since the Cervelo R3SL.

Plus it's sexy AF (not mine, but one to aspire to)

Camcycle1974

Plus it's sexy AF. It certainly is. Lovely bike that. The wheels are de-stickered presumably?

finknottle

That is a very nice looking bike, although a little bit TeamSky for my liking. I had looked at the C60 but couldn't find anything in my size.

Sigma have done me a good quote on a 2018 R5 upgraded to Di2. Sticking to rim brakes keeps the weight down and the cost below £4k and also means I can utilise my existing wheelset.

ryan_w-2

Buy this:



Cost me £12.5k to build but moving to disc...

pippi_langsamer-2

Ryan_W wrote:

Cost me £12.5k to build...

How??

Camcycle1974

oh no it didn't!
12.5k and the saddle isn't level!

drlodge

Cycled with a chap some months back who had a fiendishly expensive bike, £15k or so. The garmin mount where it attached to the "cockpit" was rattling around due a screw coming loose and his water bottles that were made to fit into the cages kept popping out when he went over a bump.

It beggars belief.

ryan_w-2

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

Ryan_W wrote:

Cost me £12.5k to build...

How??

Buy buying expensive parts, lots of them. Was actually £12,900 with the OSPW system.

Just saying, you couldn't buy anything close to it for £5k. I'll be breaking it for parts most probably. :roll:

Camcycle1974

That's sad. Why sell it then as it was obviously a labour of love. Why not just ride it and enjoy?

ugo.santalucia

32 severely limits your choice and you probably need to look into cyclocross bikes, which generally are lumps, especially those with disc brakes.

I suggest you stick to 28 as a max size, a lot more choice in the light carbon/aluminium market

finknottle

ugo.santalucia wrote:

32 severely limits your choice and you probably need to look into cyclocross bikes, which generally are lumps, especially those with disc brakes.

I suggest you stick to 28 as a max size, a lot more choice in the light carbon/aluminium market

Thanks Ugo, that is also the conclusion I came to. Was hoping for a “do it all” bike but decided it’s not really possible without too many compromises so this build will now be a pure roadbike. I may upgrade the winter bike in the future and will replace that with disc brakes, wider tyres etc.

term1te

southdownswolf wrote:

Take a trip down the M23 and have a look at Enigma, Mason and Reilly (Mark Reilly - ex head designer/frame builder at Enigma).
Hunt wheels are nearby too, so you could pick up a couple of sets...

Enigma currently have a few ex demo bikes for sale. Although they don't have DI2 on any of them, I'm sure it could be fitted and the other groupset sold on...

+1 for Enigma. I just turned up there one morning, and was given the full tour and coffee. Beautiful bikes, I now have an Excel.

finknottle

Thanks again for everyone's advice. I ended up going for a Cervelo R5 from Sigma and pick it up at the weekend. By sticking with rim brakes so I can use my existing wheelset and shopping around for the extra parts I managed to kit it out with Dura Ace Di2 for under my £5k budget.