Was going from a £500 to a £1500 bike noticeable?

cowboyjon

6 week novice here looking for points of view.

Bought myself a flat bar triban 520 from decathlon and have been very happy with it so far. It has been a solid companion as I continue to learn the ropes of cycling for the first time in my adult life.

However, as I have gotten fitter and able to push on (and recover) more and more I definitely find myself cursing the lack of aerodynamics and the cursed wind using my 6'2" body like a sail against me!

I wasn't even aware the sportive/endurance class of bikes existed until recently and I'm thinking that's the route I'd like to go down. I have my eyes on buying a last season model of a giant defy advanced 3 or one of its competitors in the £1500 range and was hoping someone with experience of going from a £500 to a £1500 bike could tell me it was worth the price hike or not?

I seem to enjoy longer rides more and have gradually built up to my first 50 miler this past weekend so that's the kind of riding the bike will be used for most of the time. What I have noticed is I definitely value the comfort of 32c tyres over skinnier ones as some of the roads here in Central Scotland could rattle your teeth out and was wondering specifically if the more expensive sportive bikes would give an easier ride in general than my decathlon bike.

Thanks in advance - I'm interested to hear all points of view on this please!

lettingthedaysgoby

Moving to drop bars will make the biggest difference.

MiddleRinger

lettingthedaysgoby wrote:

Moving to drop bars will make the biggest difference.

^ This. Moving from a Search £500 flat bar to a £1500 road bike, yes you will notice a difference!

The lower body position on the road bike will mean improved aerodynamics (assuming your position is dialled) so that's more speed right there. Narrower tyres won't be as comfortable, but will have less rolling resistance so increased ease of speed. More hand positions to choose from will increase comfort on longer rides and give options for climbing, descending, etc. Lots of little differences!

kingrollo

Yes.

Lots of good deals on now - so if you don't mind last years model you can pick up some cracking deals

vegas76

It is a great time of year to be buying a road bike!

joey54321

Depends where you spend the money.

fred.camargo

lettingthedaysgoby wrote:

Moving to drop bars will make the biggest difference.

I think 2 years ago I was in the same position as the OP, even sameish height!

When I first moved to London (I'm from Brazil), I bought a friend's MTB, had no idea about sizes (I'm 197cm/ 6'5 tall) and bought his 46cm frame, rode that for a long time as I did a lot of Uber Eats deliveries around the city to get extra cash and it felt "ok" but there was something missing even upgrading to longer seatpost to make the ride more comfortable.
Coming from a country with no bike culture it took me a while to discover the world of road bikes, but when I did, oh what a change!
Bought a Triban 500SE 23c tyres (didn't know about Cycle Scheme at the time), 63cm frame, and from that point I became addicted to road bikes as anyone who's into cycling do . Rode the Triban for 1 1/2 years and finally decided I was too hooked to the sport that I need an upgrade and got a £1k bike this weekend through Cycle Scheme.
Bike in question is an Orbea Orca M30 105 on summer sale. Amazing bike. Before that I tried a Boardman SLR 8.9 Carbon on the Prudential Ride and could feel the difference to the +10.6kg Triban very easily, broke almost all my PR on Strava with that bike and hope to do the same with the Orca.
Atm I rode 10k with this 8kg Orbea and is easy to spot the difference in components but most of all the weight.
So for me at least, it's noticeable because the weight and quality of components made all the difference. The Triban is for sale but will always be remembered though.
My recco to you is try swapping the handlebars as other recommended. And then if you really like the position, go for a road bike. Good luck and welcome to the group!

cowboyjon

Thanks for all the advice so far lads!

Yeah I'm aware the aerodynamic riding position of drop bars alone will make a huge difference - I can change that on my current triban 520 easily enough. I was more wondering how a £1k more expensive bike's frame and components would feel versus my £500 effort.

CitizenLee

Frame will likely feel stiffer, lighter and quicker to accelerate, brakes will be better, gears smoother etc... you'll notice a difference

ayjaycee

Assuming the new bike is the right size and set up properly for you, you should definitely notice the difference in the comfort, quality of the ride and groupset - I don't know much about your current bike but it might even turn out to be a significant difference if you buy well. However, don't expect a massive improvement in aerodynamics if you spend a lot of time on the hoods as it will be quite similar to your position on your current bike with flats. Somebody else mentioned that the rolling resistance will be better with narrower tyres but, within reason, I'm not sure that would be true. That used to be the general belief but I think that has now been debunked, at least for the sizes of tyres generally found on modern road bikes (say, 23 - 28mm).

Also, the latter half on August and September is often a good time to buy a bike as it's usually then that makers are trying to shift stocks of their current models at reduced prices to make way for the next one. That £1500 bike that you are looking at could well be a £2000 bike once the price has been reduced.

rollemynot

I sold my Halfords Carrera (circa £400) for a nice carbon job (circa £1800). Next sportive I was passed by a dude on a Halfords Carrera....

So it’s all about the bike!

cld531c

Rollemynot wrote:

I sold my Halfords Carrera (circa £400) for a nice carbon job (circa £1800). Next sportive I was passed by a dude on a Halfords Carrera....

So it’s all about the bike!