I need of serious help...too much choice!

[MrH]

Hi guys,

Ok, so new to the fourm and fairly new to the road bike scene.

I'm after a new road bike and I've spent days upon days looking but just can't make a decision. I started off with going for a Specialized Allez Race (£1300) then found the Cube Peleton Race and for a £1000 seemed to good to be true, spoke to someone at cycle surgery and he kind of put me off, but after reading through 9 pages of the cube vs ribble thread I'm kind of leaning towards it again.

I also saw and liked the Trek Domane 2.3. Budget is about £1300 and I'd like a ally frame, I weigh around 85kg and decided ally would be best for me.

Any thoughts on this? I plan to use the bike for a mixture of uses. Any other ideas to make my life more difficult lol?

Thanks for reading and look forward to your replies!
H.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Cannondale CAAD10, it has the best alu frame money can buy

 

[User269]

Hi guys,

Ok, so new to the fourm and fairly new to the road bike scene.

I'm after a new road bike and I've spent days upon days looking but just can't make a decision. I started off with going for a Specialized Allez Race (£1300) then found the Cube Peleton Race and for a £1000 seemed to good to be true, spoke to someone at cycle surgery and he kind of put me off, but after reading through 9 pages of the cube vs ribble thread I'm kind of leaning towards it again.

I also saw and liked the Trek Domane 2.3. Budget is about £1300 and I'd like a ally frame, I weigh around 85kg and decided ally would be best for me.

Any thoughts on this? I plan to use the bike for a mixture of uses. Any other ideas to make my life more difficult lol?

Thanks for reading and look forward to your replies!
H.

I've said this before...........................you mean you've go a choice?? The bikes you've mentioned are actually available anywhere, in your size and desired colour? At the end of the day it boils down to whether your chosen bike exists online or in store, and is available anytime soon. In my experience this is rarely the case.
Otherwise, all I can say is, make sure the bike fits, is comfortable, has suitable gearing, and most importantly..........is the right colour. Ally frames are fine provided they have carbon forks, I think full carbon is better if available at your budget. I think whatever takes your fancy and captures your imagination, given what I just said, is more important than agonising over reviews. There's no such thing as 'the best bike'; that's for you to decide.

 

[jowwy]

For 1300 i would get the tarmac sl4 - i know its sora, but the frame is unbelievabley good for the money

For an extra 100 the spesh tarmac sport in black nd red with 105 groupo is a no brainer in my eyes.

 

[Custom24]

You've not said anything about your mixture of uses.

I was in a similar quandary to you a few weeks back and I've ended up with one of these

http://whyte.bike/2014/product.php?xProd=116&xSec=163

But that's because I want to be able to commute year round on it, hydro disc are really good for me coming from MTB, and I liked a few other things about it. It's not the fastest, but that's not important to me. I almost bought a Giant Defy 1 instead, which would have also fit the bill and been a bit faster and cheaper, but less of an all-year commuter.

 

[Custom24]

I'd like a ally frame, I weigh around 85kg and decided ally would be best for me.

If your concern is that you are too heavy for a carbon frame, that's not true. For example, the Giany Defy Composite 2 (£1,300) has a rider weight limit of 125kg.
In my case, I would have preferred a carbon frame but there were other factors which meant I ended up with an Aluminium one, principally that there are few carbon bikes that have proper support for mudguards.
I appreciate this is widening your choice, which probably isn't helping.
What are you currently riding?

 

[MrH]

Thanks for the replies guys. I did also see the caad10 and is a nice bike.

Custom24, that kind of was my concern since that's what I read on the Internet and also a friend mentioned something like that too which put me off, described it as a ticking time bomb.

I'm currently riding a b'twin triban 5, but want something I can go faster on. He's running 105 groupset which feels so much nicer than my sora stuff, so that's what I want on the new bike.

 

[mrbikerboy73]

I bought a Giant Defy 1 a year ago after setting myself a £1000 budget and I've no regrets, it's a brilliant bike. I've upgraded the brakes and pedals to 105 to match the other stuff on it and that's it. But.....
I look around now and see some excellent bikes with carbon frames for the sort of budget you have. Ok, the groupset won't be as high, but they are a great platform to start with and ready for upgrades when you wish to change things. A little bit of me wishes I'd pushed the budget a bit and gone down this route. But like I say, I've no real regrets. Just my thoughts.....good luck with the search!

 

[smokeysmoo]

FYI, a lot of people make the assumption that carbon fibre is an upgrade over almost anything else, it isn't.

Carbon, alu, Ti, steel, bamboo, whatever, each one has pros and cons but are ultimately just different materials with which a bike frame can be built.

Don't believe the hype that carbon is more comfortable than alu, some people will believe it is, some won't. Yes cf forks can reduce road buzz, (and every bike in your budget will have them), but if a bike fits you correctly and you feel comfortable riding it then it doesn't matter what it's made of, fit is key IMO.

To illustrate this I've owned several cf road bikes and FWIW also a cf MTB, yet I find my alu CAAD10 more comfortable than any of them, but it fits me best as well, go figure. Also FWIW my CAAD10 is lighter than the cf Trek Madone 5.5, Focus Cayo Pro and Focus Izalco I had, so don't get hung about cf bikes being uber light compared to others.

The best rule of thumb I've ever been given is to buy the very best frame within your budget, make of that what you will.

 

[Peteaud]

FYI, a lot of people make the assumption that carbon fibre is an upgrade over almost anything else, it isn't.

Carbon, alu, Ti, steel, bamboo, whatever, each one has pros and cons but are ultimately just different materials with which a bike frame can be built.

Don't believe the hype that carbon is more comfortable than alu, some people will believe it is, some won't. Yes cf forks can reduce road buzz, (and every bike in your budget will have them), but if a bike fits you correctly and you feel comfortable riding it then it doesn't matter what it's made of, fit is key IMO.

To illustrate this I've owned several cf road bikes and a FWIW a cf MTB, yet I find my alu CAAD10 more comfortable than any of them, go figure. Also FWIW my CAAD10 is lighter than the cf Trek Madone 5.5, Focus Cayo Pro and Focus Izalco I had, so don't get hung about cf bikes being uber light compared to others.

The best rule of thumb I've ever been given is to buy the very best frame within your budget, make of that what you will.

Friend (ish) of mine has a CAAD8 with full DuraAce and cosmic Carbone wheels on it, ride is amazing.

 

[MrH]

I agree. Better to go for a better alu frame than a cheap cf frame. Epic cycles are offering the caad10 for 1525 with fulcrum wheels which is a pretty good deal.

I've had a look at the giant Defy 1 and like it too.

 

[Custom24]

Is upgrading the group set on the triban an option? The full 105 group set is available for around £300. I don't know technically what fits, just a thought.

 

[vickster]

Why would you upgrade a Triban with a £1000+ budget? I can't see why 105 gearing will make it faster? Upgrade the wheels and tyres if budget limited
Speed comes a bit from the bike but mostly the rider. I could have a £10k bike but I still won't go £8.5k faster than on my £1500 bike...I may get a little psychological boost until my legs and lungs quit (which will happen more quickly by trying to go faster to justify the bike)

Go out and testride options in your budget with 105 gearing if that's what you have your heart set on

To the other point, I am somewhat more than 85kg and have zero issues with my carbon bike! What a lot of stuff and nonsense

 

[SteCenturion]

Spech Allez, Cube Peloton Race, Emmerdale CAAD 10, Giant Defy 1, don't believe you would go far wrong with any of these.

I will refrain from advising which is best or you will end up buying a CUBE PELOTON RACE for £999.
(see what I did there).

Seriously try 'em all out & buy with your heart.

 

[MrH]

Hi Ste, thanks for the input. I went over to evans and cycle surgery today, but of all the bikes they only had the spech allez, and not in my size so i couldn't test any.

Think I might go for the Allez, the CAAD10 gets praise from anyone I ask about it mind you...and to make things worse I was shown a BMC GF02 today at evans and looked really nice, but again not in my size.