£6,000 budget, recommendations welcome

[djw1]

Hi,

After a 3 year absence from cycling and exercise in general, I’m in the midst of getting myself back together and back on it. Without going into the specifics, lots went ‘wrong’ in my personal life and I lost all motivation for exercise amongst other things.

As you’d expect, my weight ballooned from around 12st to 16st and my level of fitness was non-existent.

I’m now well on with getting myself stronger, fitter and lighter, with almost 2 stone lost in the last 3 months alone. To motivate myself I promised I’d buy myself a new bike once I hit a certain weight and fitness, and I’m pretty much there.

I’ve currently a 5 year old Neil Pryde Bura SL. It’s a really nice bike, light (7.5kg), Ultegra 6800 kit and Dura Ace 35 wheels. But I’m thinking of retiring it as a training/winter bike.

Things look to have moved on a lot in the few years I’ve been absent. I’ve never had/used Di2 and disc brakes but they’re looking pretty standard on high end bikes now.

I’ve a budget of up to £6,000 with maybe some stretch for the right bike and looking for some suggestions.

I’m currently training for an Ironman - I’ve completed a few in the past - next year and it’s a hilly course and I’m not interested in a dedicated TT bike. I’m starting to progress to 50+ mile rides at the weekend and aiming to get towards 100 miles, which used to be pretty standard, by year end. The road surfaces I tend to use are single track, rural and as rough and crap as anything.

I’m open to an aero bike but whatever it is, it’d ideally:

Weight 8kg or less
Decent wheelset (40mm profile or thereabouts)
Ultegra or above (not interested in SRAM)
Ideally Di2 and disc brakes
Stiff but comfortable

I don’t mind if it’s ‘last years’ model etc and I’m open to a bargain.

I’m 6ft so likely to need a 56cm frame (current bike is a 56).

I’m not sure whether it’s Covid-related and manufacturing has been impacted but it looks like it’s a struggle to get hold of anything of that size. I quite like the look of this but 56cm is sold out everywhere:

https://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/scott-addict-rc-pro.html

Thanks in advance.

 

[si_c]

What about the Trek Domane SLR7 - it's an endurance focused bike with wider tyres - the weight is about 8.5kg so slightly above your initial desire - but aero framed and disc braked bikes do tend to be slightly heavier and it's got more of an aero focus - the consensus seems to be that aero trumps weight even on hilly courses.

 

[vickster]

Pearson aero? You can spec as you want
https://www.pearson1860.com/collect...leven-carbon-aero-bike?variant=32250080755811

or more endurance
https://www.pearson1860.com/collect...er-and-tongs-road-bike?variant=32084794409059

heavily reduced Cervelo R5?
https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Cervelo/R5-Dura-Ace-Di2-9170-Disc-Road-Bike-2020/JNTB

Sigma have a good range of bikes in that price bracket
https://www.sigmasports.com/bikes/road-bikes?price[]=5000.0-8000.0&sort=price_low_high&p=1

 

[I like Skol]

£6k bike? I'd probably get 2, or maybe 3, really, really good bikes for that.



Seriously.

 

[Milzy]

£6k bike? I'd probably get 2, or maybe 3, really, really good bikes for that.



Seriously.

So would I but we can squander money on what we like. People will always sneer, "look at that fat MAMIL on their superbike" as they drop them on their 2014 Allez. If it makes you feel happy screw what others think.

 

[Mike Ayling]

I spent about GBP 3k on a Thorn Mercury with Rohloff.
If the OP wants to spend GBP 6k he should go for it!

Mike

 

[FrankCrank]

6K - wow. Guess I'm at the other end of the scale. In my shed back there, I have 3 bikes that cost less than a ton the lot. On my last trip there I had an old fifty quid folding bike stolen in town - make sure you get a good lock!

 

[Blue Hills]

£6k bike? I'd probably get 2, or maybe 3, really, really good bikes for that.



Seriously.

Yes.
Do you have room for more than one bike OP?

 

[DCLane]

Cervelo S3/S5 or Ridley Noah Fast would be my suggestions. You'd get a Specialized Tarmac or similar in that as well. Many 2020 bikes are sold out and 2021's are starting to appear.

NeilPryde's are good bikes; I've just sold my Nazare as it was a bit small for me.

 

[djw1]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'll never understand the inverse snobbery that's present amongst cyclists. It's OK to be critical of somebody wanting to spend a lot of money on a bike, and be negative towards them, but not OK to be critical of those who want to spend less? I wouldn't comment negatively on somebody running a cheaper bike and the reverse should apply.

I already have a bike, I'm after a second one, not a whole fleet of £2K bikes.

I'm not exactly fat - well not any more, definitely not middle-aged and with a couple of Ironmans under my belt have nothing to prove.

Sigma look to have a number of models I'd be keen to see and with suitable sizes in stock. Just a shame they're 3.5 hours drive away! But it's likely the only place I'll see them all under one roof so probably worth the trip.

I'll take a look at the suggested Ridley etc too.

The Neil Pryde is a great bike but I'd like something with Di2 and discs really.

 

[vickster]

Just ignore the green eyed monster peeking through in other posts

if you’re taking a trip to Sigma, add Pearsons in Sheen too. There are other high end bike shops in SW London but those two will show you a broad range. Neither stock Giant, but there’s a Giant store close by in Twickenham
Phone shops in advance to check what they have on the shop floor (potentially not your size), and make an appointment if needed. I‘d go in the week not Saturday as the traffic around both is shocking.
Nowhere closer to you with similar ranges?

 

[alicat]

Nothing to recommend. Since I am trying to lose weight, I'm happy with heavier/cheaper bikes that provide more resistance and so more return for the time I spend cycling.

 

[Jimidh]

What about the Trek Domane SLR7 - it's an endurance focused bike with wider tyres - the weight is about 8.5kg so slightly above your initial desire - but aero framed and disc braked bikes do tend to be slightly heavier and it's got more of an aero focus - the consensus seems to be that aero trumps weight even on hilly courses.

I’ve got one of these and it’s a delight to ride.

 

[gzoom]

Things look to have moved on a lot in the few years I’ve been absent. I’ve never had/used Di2 and disc brakes but they’re looking pretty standard on high end bikes now.

I think with a £6K budget you cannot really go wrong with any brand, however I have struggled to justify upgrading my 2011 Madonna with DuraAce wheels.

Di2/Disc brakes are 100% nice to have, but neither will make you any faster. Bizarrely I had no issues dropping £2k on a new commuter bike, but I've found it almost impossible to justify spending £2-4K on a new bike that weighs MORE than my current bike, and looks almost identical. For example this is a used Trek Emonda I was looking to upgrade to, versus my current bike, in the end I decided I could use the money on other things .

Having a new bike to motivate you to keep going on the bike is priceless tough.

Good luck with Ironman training, I did a normal Triathlon 7 years age and came to the conclusion only a masochistic could come up with a sport that required you to run after a bike ride.....I've never experienced so much pain/cramp in any other sports than the transition bit on a Triathlon.

 

[Milkfloat]

How about this?
https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road-b...ml?dwvar_2407_pv_rahmenfarbe=BU/BK&quantity=1