Is the jump from £1000 to £2000 worth it

stampz

I know this might be the equivalent of "how long is a piece of string", but I thought I would pose the question anyway.

Short version, I love riding, and am currently on my second road bike in about 3 years, currently riding a Specialized Allez Elite 2019, which cost me £1000 about 18 months ago....I get out about 3 or four times a week at 30-50miles a time with an average of 15/16mph and currently weigh in at 85kg...and could drop a couple of kg to lighten the ride :-) (just in case all that is relevant)

Im thinking of upgrading and have been nosing around at the "best" bikes between £1500 and £2000, a lot of the components seem similar (105 groupset for example), or I can upgrade more by looking at things like decathlon and getting a van rysel...but what I can't seem to find anywhere is a guide as to at what price the jump stops being as relevant as simpy upgrading what you have.

For a rider my level is it worth spending out a new bike, will I see a tangible difference, or would i be better buying new wheels or something for the current ride?

I was considering something with slightly more aggressive geometry like the"

Ppecialized allez sprint comp disc (£1900) or a Giant TCR Advanced (£1900) or maybe a Trek emonda alr disc 5(£16500)

Appreciate this is a minefield... going to stop typing now before I get lost even more down the rabbit hole.

oxoman

The extra money should get you better groupset and wheels tbh. However some brands don't necessarily follow this and still insist on charging a premium for their brand name, specialized being one of them. High end decathlon bikes are worth looking at as are merida, they actually make specialized bikes. I personally wait till end of season and pick up a bargain that way. I got a defy adv pro for well under 1800 because it was an end of season demo bike and the mech had got scratched. The bargains can be out there but you need to watch out. I'd sooner go decent wheels groupset and frame than mediocre parts with electronic shifting. TCR or Trek out of the 2, but better out there. Biggest problem at the moment is demand has outstripped supply due to Covid.

darrell1967

Hi,
Is your Elite the version with the black forks?

pblakeney

Long piece of string that. 😉
Probably better to buy a decent set of wheels and good tyres then use the time between now and your bike being thrashed to decide what you really want. The good wheels can then be put on any bike.
Buy the right bike and it will last a long, long time. I last bought a bike in 2011 for example.
A left field option, and certainly inappropriate for the foreseeable future, is to spend the money on a dream cycling holiday instead. I’d much rather do that than replace a perfectly useable bike. As time has shown. 😉

stampz

darrell1967 said:

Hi,
Is your Elite the version with the black forks?

It's this one :-)

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/road-bikes/specialized-allez-elite/

joe_totale-2

I'd definitely look to spend the money on upgrading the Allez instead of a new bike. Top of my list would be nice wheels and tyres, save the originals for the rainy days.

I'd also replace the brakes with some proper Shimano ones.

Maybe grab a carbon seatpost to shave a bit of weight and increase the comfort a bit as well.

darrell1967

stampz said:

darrell1967 said:

Hi,
Is your Elite the version with the black forks?

It's this one :-)

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/road-bikes/specialized-allez-elite/

That’s the newer model.
They are very good bikes and I loved mine. It got nicked in London back in February which upset me greatly.

As Joe says you’ll be better upgrading yours with a better wheel set and matching 105 brakes. I changed the chainset on mine to a Shimano so it all matched. Not sure if the Praxis originals are better but I like my collars and cuffs to be the same if you know what I mean.

I also fitted an S Works carbon seatpost, bar stem and bars. It was all topped with a more fancy Specialized saddle.

A few bits were probably unnecessary but I bought everything cheapish off eBay and sold all the bits I took off so it didn’t work out to be too expensive. It was a real Triggers Broom bike.

I stuck a pair of Gatorskins on and it ended up as my very fast and reliable commuter bike.
I’d have another one like a shot.

bmxboy10

I would say yes but only if you are buying at a discounted price. Best bike pound for pound I’ve had is A Tarmac Comp that was in the sale for £1500. I’ve built loads of bikes costing £2500 plus and currently have a bike with a RRP of £3800 and these are/were no better than that Tarmac with Ultegra and half decent wheels.

fenix

It's definitely diminishing returns on bikes.

Do you have a winter bike ? It's nice to have a slightly cheaper bike that can take full mudguards for the winter and have wider tyres on.

I think I've had my best summer bike about 8 years with only a few small changes but I see no reason to change it.

mrb123

As alluded to above, if you can get a good deal in the sales, such as a £3000 bike reduced down to £2000, that's probably all the bike you'll ever need.

In that kind of range you'll be getting Ultegra, a nice carbon frame and hopefully decent wheels.

Not many of us on here are good enough to really need much more than that.

singleton

£2k will buy you a very nice bike, usually.
There's not as many deals on at the moment as usual, so that might impact.
At that price point you can get a carbon frame, but then you'll be looking at lower end groupseuts, wheels etc. Fine if you can upgrade over time but maybe not cost effective.
Good aluminium frames are excellent, so I would say you are on the right lines. Have you considered a CAAD13? Gets excellent reviews.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

If you have no burning desire to switch to disc brakes, I'd look at a nice set of aero, deep rimmed wheels for the Allez Elite.

Currently, bike prices and availability have gone barking mad. My Cube's RRP was ~£1700 when released, I bought one of the last ones available in a Rutland Cycles EOL bank hol promotion in May 2017 and paid £900.

stampz

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far.

One of the things I have been considering is I think I want like a more racier geometry..I wouldn't be replacing the Allez, this would be "as well as", also I didn't mention it, but I will be taking full advantage of the cycle to work scheme, so in that regard a new bike is easier than upgrading components :-)

shortfall

It's all very subjective but you don't get a bike that's twice as good by spending twice the money. 2 grand however will get you something like a Caad with Ultegra or 105 mechanical and if you sell the stock wheels, enough left over to buy some nice handbuilt wheels of your choice. If you're desperate to have a carbon frame then Ribble have plenty of bikes at your price point that you can spec yourself with their bikebuilder, Merlin similarly so. If you're a brand snob then generally you can expect to pay more for a lesser spec. As above, wait until August/September and bargains can be had, although it may be different this year for obvious reasons.

dowtcha

I paid a 1000 euro for my first bike which was a defy 2 in 2012. In 2014 I bought discounted Look for 2300. The look is so much nicer than the defy and for me well worth the money. I still have the defy which I use for winter/turbo and every spring it's like getting a new bike when I switch back to the look for the summer. Don't think its cost effective upgrading wheels and groupset on starter bikes but that could just be me.

Cargobike

N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

If you have no burning desire to switch to disc brakes, I'd look at a nice set of aero, deep rimmed wheels for the Allez Elite.

Currently, bike prices and availability have gone barking mad. My Cube's RRP was ~£1700 when released, I bought one of the last ones available in a Rutland Cycles EOL bank hol promotion in May 2017 and paid £900.

Likewise.
I got a Focus Mares CX from Rutland Cycles for £1250, down 50% from it's RRP. There's bargains to be had if you shop around and don't buy the latest model.

junglist_matty

Slightly over budget, this is the best value TCR at the minute (in my opinion - I bought one a few weeks back)

https://www.devercycles.co.uk/25344/products/2020-giant-tcr-advanced-pro-2-carbon-road-bike-in-green.aspx

stampz

junglist_matty said:

Slightly over budget, this is the best value TCR at the minute (in my opinion - I bought one a few weeks back)

https://www.devercycles.co.uk/25344/products/2020-giant-tcr-advanced-pro-2-carbon-road-bike-in-green.aspx

Thanks! I seem to be leaning towards a Giant, but the naming and models is a bit of a headache to navigate, I was considering this TCR:
http://www.giant-leamington.co.uk/gb/tcr-advanced-1

As it was carbon and ultegra...is the advanced 2 above better?

Was also looking at the Propel, but thought that might be slightly too agressive for just wanting to shave a few seconds off my own PBs :-)

singleton

I'm not a Giant expert, but the frame on both papers the same to me - so the difference lies elsewhere.

The TCR Advanced 1 has an Ultegra groupset (with 105 cassette) and alloy wheels
The TCR Advanced Pro 2 has a 105 groupset and SLR-1 carbon wheels.

If it were me, I'd get the Advanced pro 2 - the wheels on their own are about £700-800 and there's not a big difference between 105 and Ultegra.

w12_lad

From what I remember when buying mine in the sales last December
(2019 Advanced 1 Disc £1299 for comparison) ,

There are disc or rim brake models (disc is more expensive).

There are 3 levels of TCR Frameset,
TCR Advanced - Carbon Frame and fork with Alloy steerer
TCR Advanced Pro - same carbon frame but full carbon fork
TCR Advanced SL - Super light pro level carbon frame and fork

3 is Tiagra
2 is 105
1 is Ultegra
0 is Ultegra Di2

There may be other combinations.

Worth noting that you get better wheels on the more expensive framesets.

cruff

My first 'proper' bike was an Alu CAAD8 with 105 on it, cost me £900. Rode it into the ground, bought some better wheels and then bought a Synapse with Ultegra on for £1800. The groupset and change to carbon made a massive difference IMO - the wheels on the CAAD8 were an incremental improvement. I'd say that the upgrade from Alu to Carbon and the difference between 105 & Ultegra are the two best value upgrades I ever made. Still got the Synapse, and it's a lovely bike for riding long distances on (if a little slower than my Venge or S5)

If you've got the money, replace the whole bike - if not, upgrade the groupset and the wheels

bmxboy10

https://www.merlincycles.com/wilier-gtr-team-chorus-road-bike-190010.html

This with a nice set of wheels would be a nice bike and a bit different. It has Chorus for gods sake!

bikes_and_dogs

Another contender in the Giant TCR corner - https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/555/products/giant-tcr-advanced-pro-1-road-bike-2018-blackred.aspx
If it fits and you like the colour, look no further.

junglist_matty

stampz said:

junglist_matty said:

Slightly over budget, this is the best value TCR at the minute (in my opinion - I bought one a few weeks back)

https://www.devercycles.co.uk/25344/products/2020-giant-tcr-advanced-pro-2-carbon-road-bike-in-green.aspx

Thanks! I seem to be leaning towards a Giant, but the naming and models is a bit of a headache to navigate, I was considering this TCR:
http://www.giant-leamington.co.uk/gb/tcr-advanced-1

As it was carbon and ultegra...is the advanced 2 above better?

Was also looking at the Propel, but thought that might be slightly too agressive for just wanting to shave a few seconds off my own PBs :-)

Yes, the 'advanced pro' have a full carbon fork and carbon wheels, the advanced has a carbon fork with alu steerer.

105 vs ultegra, you won't notice any difference (other than how it looks) - I've got bikes with both and I can't tell any difference.

The giant 42mm SLR1 wheelset is £1000 to buy new, whereas ultegra groupset can be picked up for ~500 (on sale - which it is end of every season).

So if you get the advanced and want to upgrade wheels to carbon, you'll have to pay at least 800 (hunt aero 50) for decent wheels (prime carbon wheels are slightly cheaper). If you get the advanced pro 2 and want to upgrade to ultegra (don't see the point) it would cost ~500, bit with the advanced pro you've always got the full carbon fork (not that it makes any noticeable difference to you or me).

Unless you live in a flat area don't bother with the propel, but I'm biased as I just don't get the point in aero frames for normal people (the aero benefits are not noticeable till you're at 30kmh+ and even then it's a marginal gain). The TCR is a far more compliant and versatile bike than the propel (in my opinion).

junglist_matty

cruff said:

My first 'proper' bike was an Alu CAAD8 with 105 on it, cost me £900. Rode it into the ground, bought some better wheels and then bought a Synapse with Ultegra on for £1800. The groupset and change to carbon made a massive difference IMO - the wheels on the CAAD8 were an incremental improvement. I'd say that the upgrade from Alu to Carbon and the difference between 105 & Ultegra are the two best value upgrades I ever made. Still got the Synapse, and it's a lovely bike for riding long distances on (if a little slower than my Venge or S5)

I had a Canyon Ultimate AL9 (2012) and going from that to the giant TCR is really no different in comfort, the only difference I've noticed is the position which is very similar on both bikes. In terms of stiffness, comfort, speed I've noticed no difference so I think it hugely depends on the alu frame more than anything. People who generally say alu is harsh don't know what they're talking about because all bikes are laterally stiff (they have to be) so 99.9% of road buzz dampening comes from your tyres, seat post, saddle cushioning and bin shorts pad. Not the frame material (which only have differences at the molecular level anyway).

But if you enjoy riding a bike and it feels good, that's the main thing because it makes you want to go out and ride it. At the end of the day, that's the biggest advantage with buying a bike you really like - It makes you want to go ride it.

wotnoshoeseh

If you want something a bit racier, you could look to something like a Bowman Palace or Kinesis Aithein frameset and then build up as appropriate...
Personally I bought an Aithein frameset on sale, then added an Ultegra 8000 groupset, some Racing Quattros, and Ritchey kit - all in around the £13/1400 mark.
It now has some Ksyrium UST's on with 28mm tubeless tyres so comfy and fast (well as fast as I can make it...).

As various people above have said, it's not all to do with the carbon frameset. There are many very viable, comfortable and high performing Aluminium frame sets (and bikes) out there too.

I think though if you want "bang for buck" you should probably be looking at the online Canyon and Rose types.
I would also look at Focus - something like this (if either of the two sizes available fit)....
https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Focus/Izalco-Race-98-Ultegra-Road-Bike/PY43