Which carbon bike

Pkjwharton
Pkjwharton Posts: 11
edited July 2012 in Road buying advice
Good afternoon this is my first posting so bear with me. I have been cycling for about 18 months and currently ride a Raleigh Airlite 300 with various upgrades. This is now on eBay and therefore I am now committed to buying my first carbon bike. I don't want to spend much over £2000.00 and am considering either the focus cayo 1.0 or focus izalco pro 3. Obviously I can see the difference in componentary however I am unsure given I am a relative novice will I really see the difference in performance from one carbon bike to another as moving from ally to carbon is the greatest step. The cost difference is £500.00 and is it worth it for cycling mainly at the weekend and taking part in 4-5 sportive events per year. Any thoughts and advice and other suggestions of bikes to consider would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Pete

Comments

  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Depending on the size you're after there are a couple of Scott Addicts for sale in the classifieds. Also, I think that Westbrook Cycles are doing the Cannondale SuperSix 105 for 1500 which is a steal.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • saprkzz
    saprkzz Posts: 592
    IMO the Moda Stretto is well worth a look for 2k, it gets great reviews.

    I have owned one for a year now, is fast, lightweight, and comfortable on the big miles and comes with a great spec of SRAM Force.
  • night_porter
    night_porter Posts: 888
    As you may have already guessed everyone has their own opinions about the bikes they have ridden/owned/chosen and this doesn't really help you with your decision.

    Only you can decide whether the £500 extra is worth it to you, you have to live with the decision either way e.g. I wish I had spent the extra or I wish I hadn't spent so much.

    Buying a bike can be great fun and one of the best parts is to ride different bikes and see how they feel to you. Sometimes ones that look great on paper or in the flesh do not deliver when you are riding them. So go and test ride the bikes you are looking at and if they feel the same then buy the prettiest one and if they both excite you the same buy the cheapest one.

    Most of all enjoy the ride (pun intended).
  • ianbar
    ianbar Posts: 1,354
    when i was last looking seriously i had narrowed it down to bianchi,scott and cannondale by looking online but when i went to look in person it was no competition....cannondale i just knew its what i wanted the moment i saw it for some reason i knew the bianchi and scott were not right just stood next to them, so it might just hit you when you start poking around more.plus, have you thought about spending a little less and buying some nice wheels for her too?
    enigma esprit
    cannondale caad8 tiagra 2012
  • the_fuggler
    the_fuggler Posts: 1,228
    I do love a 'dale, but I'd also consider a Giant Defy Advanced 2, which should be down around 2k as the season draws to a close. No idea about the Focus, but the reviews have been superb.
    FCN 3 / 4
  • Pkjwharton
    Pkjwharton Posts: 11
    night_porter wrote:
    As you may have already guessed everyone has their own opinions about the bikes they have ridden/owned/chosen and this doesn't really help you with your decision.

    Only you can decide whether the £500 extra is worth it to you, you have to live with the decision either way e.g. I wish I had spent the extra or I wish I hadn't spent so much.

    Buying a bike can be great fun and one of the best parts is to ride different bikes and see how they feel to you. Sometimes ones that look great on paper or in the flesh do not deliver when you are riding them. So go and test ride the bikes you are looking at and if they feel the same then buy the prettiest one and if they both excite you the same buy the cheapest one.

    Most of all enjoy the ride (pun intended).

    Good advice and this is what I have been doing seem to have read reviews on so many bikes, test ridden and phone most shops and am now completely confused. As you say everyone has an opinion and brand preference. For example I personally don't like specialised bikes but I can appreciate they are great bits of kit.
  • Pkjwharton
    Pkjwharton Posts: 11
    ianbar wrote:
    when i was last looking seriously i had narrowed it down to bianchi,scott and cannondale by looking online but when i went to look in person it was no competition....cannondale i just knew its what i wanted the moment i saw it for some reason i knew the bianchi and scott were not right just stood next to them, so it might just hit you when you start poking around more.plus, have you thought about spending a little less and buying some nice wheels for her too?

    This has also been recommended to my I.e. buy the cheaper bike, sell the dt Swiss wheels, keep my current mavics and then get a seriously good set of wheels. So I am also considering this. So many things in the melting pot. It's more difficult than buying a house it seems.
  • FunBus
    FunBus Posts: 394
    some good kit for the money from Kovert. New to the UK market in 2011 so you're not paying a massive premium for the brand, spec-for-spec, the prices are VERY good, especially with the intro prices they're currently offering - full carbon frame/fork with 105 for £1200....or if you're feeling flush, full carbon frame/fork/wheelset and Ultegra Di2 for £2700!!

    www.kovertracing.com

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