Hybrid rider buying road bike - unsure what spec to go for?
- Thread starter Roadhump
- Start date
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OP
OP
Roadhump
Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted
- Location
- The flatlands of South West Lancs
After a great deal of dithering, and constant weighing up pros and cons of various options for several days, I finally made a decision today. I went to the Giant shop in Liverpool and have to say that the staff there were excellent, extremely helpful, realised I was going through a process of weighing things up and wasn't buying today, but still explained things thoroughly. I wanted to see if they had the Defy 1 so I could ty it, but they said that despite it being on their website for £729, they had none in stock and it has been discontinued anyway, and replaced by the Contend.
The assistant showed me a Contend SL 2, which has Tiagra components and a price of £849, which is more than I wanted to pay, but as I said in the OP I would be prepared to stretch it for the right bike. I did say to the guy that having looked at various websites and many options, and learned about the componentry hierarchy that I had started to look at 105 or above, but was beginning to wonder if that was a bit more than I really needed. His response was that you don't need 105 or Ultegra to have a great bike and that Tiagra is a very good standard, which is similar to the stuff on my hybrid. It looks a lovely bike, although I didn't ride it, but I left quite tempted by it.
However, my mind kept coming back to the fact that elsewhere last year's Defy 1, which has mainly 105 components, was available for £629 and as nice as the Contend SL looks and even though it is no doubt an excellent bike, paying £220 more for it in this instance just doesn't seem a good decision - unless, I suppose, you want the latest model rather than last year's. So, I ordered a Defy 1 later this afternoon and am looking forward to being able to go out on it soon.
I just thought I would say how this concluded and say thanks for all the advice and suggestions, I feel I know a great deal more now than I did this time last week, and particular thanks to @vickster for pointing out the Defy 1 at Paul's Cycles, and also to @Cubist for offering his bike for sale and his very kind subsequent offer of letting me try it out, even though I couldn't buy it due to my childish footballing prejudices - I follow Everton and it's a red bike. Thanks again, cheers, Paul.
The assistant showed me a Contend SL 2, which has Tiagra components and a price of £849, which is more than I wanted to pay, but as I said in the OP I would be prepared to stretch it for the right bike. I did say to the guy that having looked at various websites and many options, and learned about the componentry hierarchy that I had started to look at 105 or above, but was beginning to wonder if that was a bit more than I really needed. His response was that you don't need 105 or Ultegra to have a great bike and that Tiagra is a very good standard, which is similar to the stuff on my hybrid. It looks a lovely bike, although I didn't ride it, but I left quite tempted by it.
However, my mind kept coming back to the fact that elsewhere last year's Defy 1, which has mainly 105 components, was available for £629 and as nice as the Contend SL looks and even though it is no doubt an excellent bike, paying £220 more for it in this instance just doesn't seem a good decision - unless, I suppose, you want the latest model rather than last year's. So, I ordered a Defy 1 later this afternoon and am looking forward to being able to go out on it soon.
I just thought I would say how this concluded and say thanks for all the advice and suggestions, I feel I know a great deal more now than I did this time last week, and particular thanks to @vickster for pointing out the Defy 1 at Paul's Cycles, and also to @Cubist for offering his bike for sale and his very kind subsequent offer of letting me try it out, even though I couldn't buy it due to my childish footballing prejudices - I follow Everton and it's a red bike. Thanks again, cheers, Paul.
OP
OP
Roadhump
Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted
- Location
- The flatlands of South West Lancs
Yes, Giant have an online sizing chart and at my height (5'9") I am well within the medium size range. The chap at the Giant shop confirmed this.
