- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
Crikey - that KTM is one fine looking beast!
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Citius
Guest
I had an Etc once - it was a great bike..
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Of the two, KTM. Plenty of great options in carbon. BMC GF01 sprang to mind- C+ Bike of the Year winner, multiple rave reviews. Would suggest you don't rule out 'anything that isn't purely focused on riding on tarmac'- not just the Datum, this covers a lot of bikes. The idea that anything more than a 28mm tyre makes a bike slow, heavy, etc is pish, pure and simple. Extra comfort is helpful on plenty of British road surfaces even if you never go off road, and nothing stops you fitting skinnier tyres anyway.
On the Ti side, apart from Litespeed (T5 Disc frameset now £1100 at Wiggle, the T5 Gravel I bought is now £1300, so both would build up very nicely for your budget), there are some real crackers from Kinesis (GF Ti, Tripster ATR), Boardman (SLR Titanium), Enigma (lots of models..).
On the Ti side, apart from Litespeed (T5 Disc frameset now £1100 at Wiggle, the T5 Gravel I bought is now £1300, so both would build up very nicely for your budget), there are some real crackers from Kinesis (GF Ti, Tripster ATR), Boardman (SLR Titanium), Enigma (lots of models..).
themosquitoking
Guru
- Location
- Spain
Have a look at Swift frames, you'd build up a very nice bike for 3k with one of those and they're beautiful to ride.
OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
As I had a couple of hours spare, I went and had a pootle around a couple of the LBSs.
The first thing I found was a 56cm Trek Domane 5.9 Di2 (2015) for £2200. That's a lot of bike for the money. There were some Cervelos and a Colnago CXzero in there at interesting money, but they really served to show why I've written off the boutique brands. Even if you assume you are getting a better frame, you pay for it with cheap peripherals. To be fair, the shop in question said much the same thing suggesting the Domane was a better bike, even at full price.
Onward and the next LBS was the Genesis and Ridley stockist and lo and behold, they had a Datum 30 in my size. If ever there was a bike that need to be seen in the flesh, it's the Dataum, because the pictures just do not do it justice. Not only is it a lot prettier, you can really see the tidy and thoughtful attention to detail that has been lavished on it. Very impressive. Still not sure that I want, much less need the level of versatility it offers, but it's going to get a test ride along with the Zero Zi.
While I'm at that, I'll have a crack on the Ridely Fenix SL 20 and as they carry Trek, I can reality check that issue too.
Russell
The first thing I found was a 56cm Trek Domane 5.9 Di2 (2015) for £2200. That's a lot of bike for the money. There were some Cervelos and a Colnago CXzero in there at interesting money, but they really served to show why I've written off the boutique brands. Even if you assume you are getting a better frame, you pay for it with cheap peripherals. To be fair, the shop in question said much the same thing suggesting the Domane was a better bike, even at full price.
Onward and the next LBS was the Genesis and Ridley stockist and lo and behold, they had a Datum 30 in my size. If ever there was a bike that need to be seen in the flesh, it's the Dataum, because the pictures just do not do it justice. Not only is it a lot prettier, you can really see the tidy and thoughtful attention to detail that has been lavished on it. Very impressive. Still not sure that I want, much less need the level of versatility it offers, but it's going to get a test ride along with the Zero Zi.
While I'm at that, I'll have a crack on the Ridely Fenix SL 20 and as they carry Trek, I can reality check that issue too.
Russell
EasyPeez
Veteran
- Location
- Cottingham, East Yorkshire
That Orro looks gorgeous.
My eye kept getting dragged towards a Wilier in the LBS last year, and at the reduced price this looks a real bargain to me - http://www.cyclelane.co.uk/m4b122s6p7855/WILIER-GTS-Ultegra-Disc-2015/RS_GB/32379
But looking at their 2016 range I'm not sure they're offering much to tempt you.
Too racy?
http://www.condorcycles.com/collections/road-bikes/products/condor-leggero-frameset
Lots of lovely customisability to be had here, though I have no idea what you'd be looking at for a bespoke build
http://www.parleecycles.com/custom/
If you wanted something that you could guarantee you'd never have to park up next to its twin, it's perhaps not too long to hang on for this, though I expect carbon to be in the minority among the exhibitors, if you're set on that as your preferred frame material -
http://www.bespoked.cc/
My eye kept getting dragged towards a Wilier in the LBS last year, and at the reduced price this looks a real bargain to me - http://www.cyclelane.co.uk/m4b122s6p7855/WILIER-GTS-Ultegra-Disc-2015/RS_GB/32379
But looking at their 2016 range I'm not sure they're offering much to tempt you.
Too racy?
http://www.condorcycles.com/collections/road-bikes/products/condor-leggero-frameset
Lots of lovely customisability to be had here, though I have no idea what you'd be looking at for a bespoke build
http://www.parleecycles.com/custom/
If you wanted something that you could guarantee you'd never have to park up next to its twin, it's perhaps not too long to hang on for this, though I expect carbon to be in the minority among the exhibitors, if you're set on that as your preferred frame material -
http://www.bespoked.cc/
vickster
Legendary Member
The only built Parlee I've seen was in Sigma, beautiful cherry red, a snip....
At 12k
EasyPeez
Veteran
- Location
- Cottingham, East Yorkshire
Gadzooks!! I could almost pay off my mortgage for that!The only built Parlee I've seen was in Sigma, beautiful cherry red, a snip....
At 12k
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Parlee stock-size models start from £3499. For the frameset. For flex-fit (semi-custom geometry), £4800 upwards. Full custom from £5899-£7399. So definitely out of budget!
OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
The Rose CDX-3100-Di2 was an early front runner, but with ever lengthening lead times in my size, I was left wondering if the renaissance in German cycling is leaving the big on-line brands increasingly stretched?
On another note; I'm told the Revelator Sky Black has just won the disc bike group test in the latest issue of Bikes Etc. I guess that you have to weigh up the testers preferences against what else was in the group test, but the timing is certainly fortuitous. If nothing else, It's feed back that is otherwise a bit thin on the ground, unless you Google Translate European tests.
Russell
On another note; I'm told the Revelator Sky Black has just won the disc bike group test in the latest issue of Bikes Etc. I guess that you have to weigh up the testers preferences against what else was in the group test, but the timing is certainly fortuitous. If nothing else, It's feed back that is otherwise a bit thin on the ground, unless you Google Translate European tests.
Russell
OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
It's actually small change compared to my loudspeakers. Don't presume I haven't spent this sort of cash, or a lot more, before. The fact is, I enjoy owning something different.
Back in the motorbike days, when my mates had R1s, 916s or Blades, I bought an RSV Mille. Nobody had won an SBK round on one (read pro peloton) and yet I somehow ended up with the bike that could ride 200 miles to a track day, hoon it round 100 laps as fast as the rest of them, ride back and do it all without feeling crippled. Indeed, I always, without exception, enjoyed the ride back more than their tired bodies did. It was near as made no difference as fast, but it was a lot more comfortable and I didn't have to plip the alarm to find out which one was mine.
The left field isn't necessarily a bad place to be, if you're happy to be out there and know why.
Even at this moderate level, we're well beyond the utilitarian and quite frankly, already into the irrational, so pure enjoyment of ownership has more to do with it than need. Even ruling out the brands you'll struggle to differentiate in a bike park, still leaves me a wide range of bikes that will always be better than me.
To be honest, based on experience, I (like many) probably don't have the ability to justify spending more than £1500 on a 105 equipped me-too. But I'm passed that and comfortable to do it, just for the hell of it. Heck! It's a hobby. so why should I be rational?
Russell
Back in the motorbike days, when my mates had R1s, 916s or Blades, I bought an RSV Mille. Nobody had won an SBK round on one (read pro peloton) and yet I somehow ended up with the bike that could ride 200 miles to a track day, hoon it round 100 laps as fast as the rest of them, ride back and do it all without feeling crippled. Indeed, I always, without exception, enjoyed the ride back more than their tired bodies did. It was near as made no difference as fast, but it was a lot more comfortable and I didn't have to plip the alarm to find out which one was mine.
The left field isn't necessarily a bad place to be, if you're happy to be out there and know why.
Even at this moderate level, we're well beyond the utilitarian and quite frankly, already into the irrational, so pure enjoyment of ownership has more to do with it than need. Even ruling out the brands you'll struggle to differentiate in a bike park, still leaves me a wide range of bikes that will always be better than me.
To be honest, based on experience, I (like many) probably don't have the ability to justify spending more than £1500 on a 105 equipped me-too. But I'm passed that and comfortable to do it, just for the hell of it. Heck! It's a hobby. so why should I be rational?
Russell
Since I purchased my 3100 Di2 (and including the 3 months prior to that) I've only seen 2 other Rose bikes on the road (none like mine). Everyone who see's it for the first time asks about it. Definitely in the exclusive club.
As far as I'm concerned it's one hell of a bike. Was the 3100 in the group review you reference ? It's very rare to even see a Rose bike reviewed in the UK, let alone to be in a group "test".
Btw - I believe Canyon are well and truly screwed. However this doesn't reflect on Rose in any way. All reports I've seen show bikes being delivered quickly at the moment.
OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
It wasn't - It was the KTM, Lapeirre Sensium Disc 700 and a Kinesis Aithein build in that review. There was a "German bike review" on Bike Radar recently, but although it included Canyon, Bombtrack, Storck, Silverback, Cube and Focus, Rose didn't get a look in. Still, it's nice to see that Canyon can pony up a review bike at a moments notice, if not actual customer bikes!
