Claud Butler?

[sannesley]

I visited a local bike shop today as I'm on the hunt for a road bike to upgrade from my current hybrid.

He talked about a Claud Butler Torino SR5 for £700.

Now I'd never heard of Claud Butler before today. I was more familar with brands like Trek, Cube, Giant, Vitus and Boardman.

Has anybody got a Claud Butler bike and if you do what are your impressions of the brand?

 

[busdennis]

claud butler have been around decades and made very nice bikes in the past, they also put their name to very cheap bike.
whats the bike spec?

 

[Cycleops]

Interesting isn't it. All the older people on here like me know the old established brands of yore but the youngsters don't! Looks like a good bike with a reasonable spec. Carbon forks are worth having. It will be quite fast on 28c tyres which are quite narrow, but still comfortable. Here's the link: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/claud-butler/torino-sr5-2014-road-bike-ec061589 would be a good buy.

 

[gavroche]

If you go for it, change the tyres right away. Kenda tyres are cheap rubbish and puncture easily.

 

[MartinQ]

Seems an OK bike, although the dearth of reviews about it goes along with my gut reaction which is that you could probably do better for that money. The bike is 2014 and there are some good discounts on other 2014 bikes at the moment. I'd generally have a read over something like:
http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/116764-10-best-£500-£750-road-bikes
http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/121928-10-best-road-bikes-under-£1000
and get an idea of what the trade-offs are as you pay more for the bike. With the discounts you could probably pick up a Cube Peleton, Spec Allez or .. for £5-600 and have a bit of spare cash to upgrade wheels, tyres, ... whatever you think ....

 

[Berk on a Bike]

A couple of months ago the company that owns the Claud Butler brand claimed the UK bike boom was a myth, so yeah, buy one to shut them up

 

[sannesley]

claud butler have been around decades and made very nice bikes in the past, they also put their name to very cheap bike.
whats the bike spec?

Cycleops has put a link to the bike spec

If you go for it, change the tyres right away. Kenda tyres are cheap rubbish and puncture easily.

I currently have a carerra hybrid which has Kenda tyres as stock. I've had my fair share of punctures inthe last couple of months but then I suppose it doesn't help that I end up on roads where farmers have been cutting blackthorn and hawthorn hedges!!

Seems an OK bike, although the dearth of reviews about it goes along with my gut reaction which is that you could probably do better for that money. The bike is 2014 and there are some good discounts on other 2014 bikes at the moment. I'd generally have a read over something like:
http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/116764-10-best-£500-£750-road-bikes
http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/121928-10-best-road-bikes-under-£1000
and get an idea of what the trade-offs are as you pay more for the bike. With the discounts you could probably pick up a Cube Peleton, Spec Allez or .. for £5-600 and have a bit of spare cash to upgrade wheels, tyres, ... whatever you think ....

MartinQ, I'll have a look at those links. Some food for thought

Interesting isn't it. All the older people on here like me know the old established brands of yore but the youngsters don't! Looks like a good bike with a reasonable spec. Carbon forks are worth having. It will be quite fast on 28c tyres which are quite narrow, but still comfortable. Here's the link: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/claud-butler/torino-sr5-2014-road-bike-ec061589 would be a good buy.

Cycleops,

Thanks for calling me a youngster, being on the wrong side of forty I often feel anything but young LOL. I had nothing to do with cycling for at least 20 years until this Summer past and to be honest I'd never heard of brands like Cube, Giant or Felt until then either. That's what I like about this, you're always learning something new.

 

[Cycleops]

I get the impression you want to buy from your LBS, thTs a good idea if anything goes wrong. As MartinQ says it's not spectacular for the price so if you're really keen on it push for money off or ask them to add a few bits and pieces, maybe better tyres, you can sell the Kendas on eBay.
Here's something from the heyday of CB.

 

[sannesley]

I get the impression you want to buy from your LBS, thTs a good idea if anything goes wrong. As MartinQ says it's not spectacular for the price so if you're really keen on it push for money off or ask them to add a few bits and pieces, maybe better tyres, you can sell the Kendas on eBay.

I really do want to buy from a LBS as they have the knowledge base and experience that I can take advantage of. Because of the significant amount of money that would be changing hands I'm thinking that the LBS would ensure that the bike is set up right before it leaves the shop. I find frame sizing confusing as every brand seems to use their own measurements and the LBS would make sure the frame size is right for me.

 

[MartinQ]

As cycleops (and you) says, its a good thing to build up a relationship with the LBS. One possibility is to actually spend less and get one of the cheaper CB Torinos, for example, at maybe around £400. Use it as a first bike, don't worry if you come off and it gets a bit damage and just get some experience and hopefully enjoyment. In a couple of years, if you're still enjoying it, get a better bike and by that time you've got some more knowledge / relationship with the LBS, and a few hundred quid spend for 2-3 years enjoyment/fitness/commuting/... isn't a bad price to pay. Some people on here have traded up from their iniitial Tribans in a similar way.

 

[sannesley]

Just reading your replies and discussions and having a think I'm beginning to go off the idea of the Claud Butler bike as a bike to consider. ANother LBS seems to stock Giant and Trek so I might revisit them and have another look at Halfords which is local to my work

 

[jagman.2003]

I recently purchased a new (old stock) Claud Butler San Remo for a winter commuter.
The frame isn't the lightest or the prettiest (steel forks), but it's been good enough. It doesn't look as exotic as the Torino either.
I've done a few longer rides on it at weekends & it feels pretty comfortable.
With full mudguards & winter gear it's still capable of only 1-1.5mph less on my average commute than my carbon bike.
If you want something different to the major brands & the spec ticks all your boxes give it a go.