Claud Butler San Remo ??

[Grayduff]

I have been offered a 2011 Claud Butler San Remo for £200, has anybody had any experience on one of these, my main comcern is the steel forks and the groupset with only 16 gears any comments would be welcome

EDIT He now tells me it is a Milano ..

 

[mrandmrspoves]

I assume at that price it's second hand -So is it in really good condition?
If it's new/shop soiled it is a very cheap buy!
Steel forks may give a less harsh ride than alloy - probably not much difference at this end of the scale.
This is a racing style bike so it would be unlikely to be equipped with a triple on the front.
What use will you give it? Have you ridden it or if not, can you?

 

[ajb]

I had a Claud Butler San Remo back in about 2008, loved it as it was my 1st road bike, never gave be any problems, at that price I dont think you'll go far wrong.

 

[Grayduff]

I assume at that price it's second hand -So is it in really good condition?
If it's new/shop soiled it is a very cheap buy!
Steel forks may give a less harsh ride than alloy - probably not much difference at this end of the scale.
This is a racing style bike so it would be unlikely to be equipped with a triple on the front.
What use will you give it? Have you ridden it or if not, can you?

It is my nephews bike and he needs the cash (new house), very good condition and well looked after. i have been riding a GT Tachyon 4 hybrid bike and the thought of a decent roadd bike is very tempting, i ride 60/80 miles a week which includes a 25/30 mile ride at weekends, i am also thinking on joining my local club, were i ride in and around Dorking it can be quiet hilly so the 16 gears do bother me, my GT has 24..

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Well if you know it's history and it has been well maintained, I don't think you will go wrong for £200. It looks like it will have quite high gears - so you may want to change them. The thing with gears is, it isn't the number of gears that counts - its the range.
You could easily have an old 10 gear set up that had a considerable range suited to touring - whereas racing gearing is set up with a fairly limited range.....generally hard to push - to bloody hard to push!
Looking at the spec for the 2011 it came as standard with a front crank of 53/39 and a rear cluster of 13-26. You could swap the rear cluster to something like an 11/32 or 34 which would give you much lower gears - but the rear derailleur would need changing as the 2300 model has a maximum capacity of 28 teeth and this would also require a new chain - in total this would add upwards of £50 to the cost of the bike. You could swap the front crank for a smaller one to achieve a similar reduction in gearing or just change the chain rings if you can find compatible ones which may be cheaper still.

 

[Grayduff]

Well if you know it's history and it has been well maintained, I don't think you will go wrong for £200. It looks like it will have quite high gears - so you may want to change them. The thing with gears is, it isn't the number of gears that counts - its the range.
You could easily have an old 10 gear set up that had a considerable range suited to touring - whereas racing gearing is set up with a fairly limited range.....generally hard to push - to bloody hard to push!
Looking at the spec for the 2011 it came as standard with a front crank of 53/39 and a rear cluster of 13-26. You could swap the rear cluster to something like an 11/32 or 34 which would give you much lower gears - but the rear derailleur would need changing as the 2300 model has a maximum capacity of 28 teeth and this would also require a new chain - in total this would add upwards of £50 to the cost of the bike. You could swap the front crank for a smaller one to achieve a similar reduction in gearing or just change the chain rings if you can find compatible ones which may be cheaper still.

A little embarrassed ...it seems it is a Milano and not a San Remo and thank you for making sense of the gearing, i am new to all this and you have explained it brilliantly thanks..

 

[mrandmrspoves]

....no worries!
The Milano was slightly better specc'ed than the San Remo I believe - but puzzled as my search shows they were 9 speed?

 

[Grayduff]

....no worries!
The Milano was slightly better specc'ed than the San Remo I believe - but puzzled as my search shows they were 9 speed?

Claud Butler 2011 Milano Mens Road Bike​

2011 Claud Butler Milano Mens
Mens 50cm, 53cm, 56cm, 59cm
Frame 6061 T4 T6 Aluminium
Fork Carbon Rigid
Rear Gears Shimano Sora
Freewheel 9 Speed Cassette 11-26
Gear Shift Shimano Sora
Brakes Tektro R350 49mm
Wheels Shimano Sora 32h With Double Wall Rim
Chainset Shimano Sora Compact Hollowtech 2 34-50
Tyres Kenda 700 X 23
Stem Ritchey Comp Ahead
Bars Ritchey Comp
Saddle Active Racing Plus

Still no idea if this is any good, But at £200 i think i will give it a go..

 

[Oldspice]

If it is the 2011 go here
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/claud-butler/milano-2011-road-bike-ec027611#features

18 gears with a 39/50 and carbon forks. If you like it buy it.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Better forks too!

 

[RWright]

If it were my nephew's I would test ride it for a while, make sure it was the right size before I bought it, then try to negotiate him down 50 more if I liked it. ....actually I don't have a nephew but if I tried that on one of my nieces I would end up paying 300 for it.

I would try it and make sure it is the right size.

 

[Grayduff]

If it were my nephew's I would test ride it for a while, make sure it was the right size before I bought it, then try to negotiate him down 50 more if I liked it. ....actually I don't have a nephew but if I tried that on one of my nieces I would end up paying 300 for it.

I would try it and make sure it is the right size.

I think i have paid for it many times over in the past and he should give it to me Free BUT that`s not going to happen, going to give it a test ride tomorrow