Aluminium for £1300 (Felt, Giant, Cube, Canyon or Scott)

[leedh]

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a new road bike that will get me around 50-100 mile sportives, the Derbyshire hills and leisurely 2-3 hour Sunday rides.
I've set my budget to around £1300 and the only "given" selection is 105 groupset and disc brakes.

I have a shortlist (2017 models) of:
Felt VR30 @ £1349
Giant Contend SL1 Disc @ £1149
Cube Attain SL Disc @ £1299
Scott Speedster 10 Disc @ £1299
Canyon Endurace AL Disc 6.0 @ £1199

I was leaning towards the Giant but put off by:
1. The hybrid braking system (cable going to a black box sitting on the handlebars)
2. Seems to list a lot of Giant proprietary parts (which may or may not be bad)

I was also leaning towards the Canyon but thought about what do I do should there be an issue with the bike? I am no mechanic and they don't have a local store. Also read horror stories with delivery delays and bikes turned up at the door with issues.

The Felt, Cube and Scott bikes look to tick all the boxes and have a decent spec but I don't read much about them. They seem to happily go under the radar.

I was wondering if anybody out there has any of these 5 bikes and would like to comment (good or bad) so I can final make a decision.

Or to throw a spanner into the works do I wait until the 2017 models are discounted and I opt for a ~ £1700 priced today carbon bike. My worry with carbon is mainly - if I hit something do I kiss it goodbye.

Many thanks
Lee

 

[fossyant]

Boardman ?

 

[Drago]

Ride them, see which you like best. None of them are bad bikes, the Contend and VR30 have especially good reps, so none of them are likely to give you a headache.

2018 models traditionally get announced starting around May, so if you're not inna hurry you might get this years model discounted, butnyou could play that game indefinitely

 

[vickster]

Cannondale CAAD 12?

Carbon isn't actually very fragile...just try not to hit anything very hard...it'll probably hurt you more than the bike if you do

How about this if you are tall http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant-defy-advanced-pro-3.html?gclid=CJXMj6ifsdMCFUMTGwod01gClw

There's always steel too...or titanium...

Review of the Cube https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/cube-attain-sl-disc-1000-mile-review.206137/

 

[NorthernDave]

I'd recommend looking at Boardman too.

Or to throw something else into the mix, what about this: http://road.cc/content/tech-news/221028-video-just-vitus-zenium-sl-disc ?

 

[Tin Pot]

I know nobody likes to have their opening position challenged, but I can't believe the number of people who think disk brakes are significant, let alone "must have". Such is the Marketing Machine. But then I guess, I'm a sucker for Cinelli so...

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cinelli-Experience-Veloce-2017-Road-Bike_101885.htm

My long ride machine for years. Light, agile and comfy

 

[Cycleops]

Have the Cubes still got those nasty unfinished frame welds? That would put me off. Boardmans have nice smoothed welds. Don't know about the others.

 

[Drago]

Being a slang term for testicles is sadly enough to steer me clear of Cubes.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I was thinking of looking at the Cube and the Scott you mentioned. My LBS (which doesn't stock either) recommended that I went with the Scott over the Cube. (They weren't impressed with the Cube frames)

Decided against both as I'm looking at Ti frames nows.

 

[Saluki]

Both my bikes are carbon and cope with the road conditions here (pothole city!!). I had some pillock on a hire bike ride into me, when I was on my carbon CX bike and it's fine. It did not break, crack or anything. It's pretty tough stuff.

 

[Cp40Carl]

Being a slang term for testicles is sadly enough to steer me clear of Cubes.

Cubes are nice with a Felt stem...

(sorry)

 

[Tin Pot]

Being a slang term for testicles is sadly enough to steer me clear of Cubes.

 

[Drago]

Cubes are nice with a Felt stem...

(sorry)

Felt Scotts Giant Cubes?

Forgive me derailing the thread . Giant or Felt would be my gut call as a starting point on your list, but my esteemed colleagues have come up with some good suggestions. Don't buy anything you can't test ride - you wouldn't drop 13 ton on a car without trying it first, and the principle is the same.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Being a slang term for testicles is sadly enough to steer me clear of Cubes.

Suggest you see a doctor about your condition

 

[steveindenmark]

I ride my Koga Solicio road bike over all sortd of terrain. It is carbon and Di2. I use it like a CX bike and it is perfect for it. The idea that carbon will break if you blow on it is a myth. But it will mark easy if you let it slide down a wall.