best audax bike for max of £ 800.00

[blazingsaddles]

I'm after an audax bike and I'd like to spend £ 500.00 to £ 800.00 max. Actually I'd like to spend less if possible but I'm not sure I can and get some sort of quality. Preferable steel framed. Any Ideas out there? I'd like it to be fairly light more on the Audax side of things than touring.

Advice appreciated.

Regards
BS

 

[mercurykev]

Spa cycles have some good deals on Dawes Audax bikes:

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s21p0

The 2006 Audax (only in 54cm) for £650 or an Audax Supreme for £720. I personally wouldn't bother with the Audax Sport but it can be has for £460.

Another option is buying a Thorn Audax Mk3 frame and forks for £299 and building it up yourself - the other bits (wheels, groupset etc) being sourced from the cheapest retailers on the internet.

HTH

 

[P.H]

Byercycles do an Arvis Audax for a little over your budget, £820 Campag Mirage or £845 with Shimano Tiagra, they could probably build one a bit cheaper with Sora. The photos on the site don't do it justice, the finish is excellent;
http://www.byercycles.co.uk/bikeprice 01- 01- 08/10R1008.html

If you'd consider aluminium there's loads more choice. I have a Kinesis Racelight T with carbon forks, it’s almost as comfy as my Hewitt steel tourer.

 

[vernon]

I'm after an audax bike and I'd like to spend £ 500.00 to £ 800.00 max. Actually I'd like to spend less if possible but I'm not sure I can and get some sort of quality. Preferable steel framed. Any Ideas out there? I'd like it to be fairly light more on the Audax side of things than touring.

Advice appreciated.

Regards
BS

You might like to consider the Ribble range of bikes. There's a winter trianer/audax bike at less than £500 but you might have to spend a tad more if you want to have a triple chain set and gear changers. Ribble after sales service generates some ill-will from some punters in cycling forums. Having said that an acquaintance of mine has had good service from his Ribble bike.

 

[jay clock]

I have a Trek 1.2 - good basic road bike with room for mudguards and all the fittings etc for them, plus a rack if needed. £426 for a 2008 model from my LBS and I think he still has one left in 56cm. Ideal for audax/winter bike, but it is aluminium

 

[blazingsaddles]

Thanks for replies. Some good info and sites on there.

What is the general opinion regarding gears for Audax bikes? Thorn Mk3 in standard trim comes with Deore lx (a mountain bike set) whilst you pay more for a set of road gears. Other firms such as Byercycles offer their Audax bikes with road gears. Are road gears better for Audax bikes or is it a case of if you're going to tackle hilly terrain then go for the mountain bike set?

Regards
BS

 

[blazingsaddles]

Also what hubs are best. Again are mountain bike hubs more robust as in Shimano XT or LX or is a good road hub ie Shimano Tiagra preferable on an Audax bike?

 

[mercurykev]

On my audax bike I have an ultegra front hub, XT rear hub, XT long cage rear mech, Tiagra front mech, a road 52/42/30 chainset and Campag 10 speed ergo shifters. The mountain bike rear mech allows me to run a wider range cassette and the Campag 10 speed shifters index 9 speed Shimano perfectly.

Some would say that Mountain bike hubs have better seals and so could be better suited to the all weather riding that can be encountered when riding audaxes. However, you'd need a frame that can take a 135mm rear hub, such as the Mk3 and you're limited to 9 speed; although, 9 speed is deemed to be slightly hardier than 10 speed and the chains are cheaper. Road hubs are slightly lighter and you can run 10 speed.

Like for like, you probably wouldn't notice much difference in running i.e Deore:Titgra; LX:105; XT:Ultegra; XTRura Ace.

One of the joys of audaxs is that there isn't any hard and fast rules. Decide what you want from the bike and then go from there.

 

[Randochap]

Bike choices are somewhat different in the UK (though there are plenty of American brands on offer) so I won't go into specifics here. Still, you might get some ideas on bike design, kit and gearing from the following sections of VeloWeb:

On Randonneuring (Audax) bikes . Also follow the "My Bikes" links.

The Randonneuring page and associated links.

 

[amaferanga]

Specialized Tricross. Not steel, but a great bike and very cheap at Pearsons at the moment (something silly like £275) leaving you plenty of cash for some serious upgrades.

 

[blazingsaddles]

Thanks for replies.

As some must be aware I'm new to cycling, but I'm enjoying it a lot and look forward to a good stint in the saddle when possible. I've done a few 40 milers recently on my Thorn Sherpa, which is very comfortable but one was very hilly and the bike is heavy and the wheels very heavy (sun rhino rims). So I'll eventually get a lighter audax bike, but I now feel better armed for my decision. In the meantime I'll use the Sherpa which is great for those supermarket trips!

Salud,
bs

 

[jay clock]

Surosa
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/audax-08-31016 looks good but the price seems higher now at their website http://www.surosa.co.uk/4352/product/Surosa_Audax_Comp_Sora.aspx

 

[cheadle hulme]

If its steel you're after, there's a few in the Jamis range from buy a bike that are worth a look.

http://www.buyabikedirect.co.uk/products.php?action=prodinfo&pid=3225

 

[Cope]

Surosa
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/audax-08-31016 looks good but the price seems higher now at their website http://www.surosa.co.uk/4352/product/Surosa_Audax_Comp_Sora.aspx

I'm looking at this too - anyone got one? Am a little worried that the frame might be a bit poor.

 

[david k]

I'm after an audax bike and I'd like to spend £ 500.00 to £ 800.00 max. Actually I'd like to spend less if possible but I'm not sure I can and get some sort of quality. Preferable steel framed. Any Ideas out there? I'd like it to be fairly light more on the Audax side of things than touring.

Advice appreciated.

Regards
BS

which did you go for, im looking