Cope
Senior Member
- Location
- Wickham, Hampshire
So having dismissed the idea of a self-build on the grounds that it's looking to be uneconomical, I've narrowed my choice down to two. First, my criteria:
- Something with good disc brakes, suitable for a fairly hilly 25 miles/day nasty winter weather commute
- Something which will be happy on bumpy/muddy bridleways / paths
- Low maintenance / highly reliable
- If using derailleur gears, Campag. I've always used Campag, and dislike the Shimano shifters; Never used Sram
- Possibly internal hub gears
With this in mind, I've narrowed down the choice to:
1) Genesis Day One Alfine 8 2014
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/day-one-alfine-8-2014-cyclocross-bike-ec055501
This has a nice steel frame, felt responsive and not too heavy, and with a 28 inch lowest gear, should be fine for my hills. It's available right now in my LBS (not Evans) at a very attractive price (£800)
2) Dolan CDX
http://www.dolan-bikes.com/dolan-cy...carbon/dolan-cdx-carbon-cyclo-cross-bike.html
This is a carbon frame and forks with a veloce groupset. At £1200 it's right at the top of my budget, but it ticks all the boxes. I've had a Dolan frame before, and liked it, but never a Carbon one.
My concern is that the Dolan is remarkably cheap, which makes me wonder what quality the frame is.
So my questions:
- Do you think the Dolan is worth the extra £400
- Are you concerned by the quality of the frame/forks
- Any experiences / comments / questions?
- At the price of the Dolan have I missed anything else obvious that fits the requirements?
Thanks!
- Something with good disc brakes, suitable for a fairly hilly 25 miles/day nasty winter weather commute
- Something which will be happy on bumpy/muddy bridleways / paths
- Low maintenance / highly reliable
- If using derailleur gears, Campag. I've always used Campag, and dislike the Shimano shifters; Never used Sram
- Possibly internal hub gears
With this in mind, I've narrowed down the choice to:
1) Genesis Day One Alfine 8 2014
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/day-one-alfine-8-2014-cyclocross-bike-ec055501
This has a nice steel frame, felt responsive and not too heavy, and with a 28 inch lowest gear, should be fine for my hills. It's available right now in my LBS (not Evans) at a very attractive price (£800)
2) Dolan CDX
http://www.dolan-bikes.com/dolan-cy...carbon/dolan-cdx-carbon-cyclo-cross-bike.html
This is a carbon frame and forks with a veloce groupset. At £1200 it's right at the top of my budget, but it ticks all the boxes. I've had a Dolan frame before, and liked it, but never a Carbon one.
My concern is that the Dolan is remarkably cheap, which makes me wonder what quality the frame is.
So my questions:
- Do you think the Dolan is worth the extra £400
- Are you concerned by the quality of the frame/forks
- Any experiences / comments / questions?
- At the price of the Dolan have I missed anything else obvious that fits the requirements?
Thanks!