new flat bar

infopete
infopete Posts: 878
edited April 2015 in Road buying advice
We've been looking for a small flat bar for my wife and narrowed it down to a Specialized Vita Expert carbon EQ. But they are not sold in the UK. They are listed in France and Holland but are unavailable.

The Expert Carbon is shimano 105 and 11 speed at 1599 euros. However, there is a much cheaper Vita Elite, 9 speed Sora version at 1200 Euros.

The rate of exchange makes it great to buy in France at the moment and I get to go for lunch too.

Would my wife notice the difference with the Sora version?

Should we buy the cheaper one and upgrade to Ultegra?
Oh and please remember to click on my blog:

http://americanbicyclegroup.wordpress.com

The more clicks I get the higher it creeps up the google radar :)

Comments

  • arlowood
    arlowood Posts: 2,561
    From personal experience and also from other comments on here, the new 105 5800 is quite a significant improvement from earlier incarnations. Some say it's as good as 6700 Ultegra.

    I don't think buying the Sora bike and upgrading to Ultegra would be a good use of your hard earned. The 105 11-speed will be plenty good enough for her IMHO
  • infopete
    infopete Posts: 878
    The Vita Expert isn't available it's just a figment of the Specialized marketing department.

    So my wife will have to have the tiagra version.
    Oh and please remember to click on my blog:

    http://americanbicyclegroup.wordpress.com

    The more clicks I get the higher it creeps up the google radar :)
  • infopete
    infopete Posts: 878
    We've order a Specialized Vita Comp Carbon from France http://www.cycles-hermel.com Didier is very keen to get lots more English customers as he is so close to Calais.

    The shop has been very friendly. We ordered it last Thursday and the bike is ready for collection (I get dinner in France and maybe a glass or two :) ).

    It would have been £1400 over here but with the rate of exchange it's only costing £987.

    I know we'll spend a bit fetching it but we're making a mini holiday of it and the coast road from Calais to Boulogne is lovely to cycle.
    Oh and please remember to click on my blog:

    http://americanbicyclegroup.wordpress.com

    The more clicks I get the higher it creeps up the google radar :)

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