Road bike. Budget £450. 52-54 size frame?

[burntoutbanger]

Narrowed my search down to these bikes. Anyone with any experience of them/know of anything I've overlooked? I currently own a old fully rigid MTB which I use for work and a Raleigh Maverick Tour http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/raleigh-maverick-tour-road-bike-2015/rp-prod138998 which is great for long rides but I'm looking for something a little lighter and faster for shorter rides. I did have a Giant Defy 5 http://www.rutlandcycling.com/28497...b-ZSEiPD6EhbUm7oKN2J2pTkSD00gansIMaAicr8P8HAQ which I loved but was written off and unfortunately is no longer available in my size, I am 5'7" with a 29" inside leg.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cube-peloton-triple-road-bike-2015/rp-prod127980

Pros, lighter, same gear set up as my Raleigh, well under budget.
Cons, maybe too similar to my Raleigh.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-bikes-razor-road-bike-2015/rp-prod120683

Pros, lighter, compact chainring, well under budget.
Cons, know nothing about Vitus bikes, not sure the 34-28 lowest gear will be low enough for me around Dartmoor.

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/285130/products/2015-specialized-allez-road-bike-orange-black.aspx

Pros, nice colour and brand, same gearing as I had on the Giant
Cons, only available in a 54 when I think a 52 would fit better, scraping the top of the budget.

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Saracen-Tenet-2-2015-Road-Bike_72862.htm

Pros, Sora 18 speed, large discount, nice design.
Cons, scraping the top of the budget.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mekk-pinerolo-se-01-claris-2016/

Pros, like the design, same gearing as I had on the Giant, well in budget, this years model.
Cons know nothing about the Mekk brand.


Thoughts anyone?

 

[steve50]

Boardman sportbike, bang on your budget limit. Very nice bike, I own one and can vouch for the quality of the ride.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-road-sport-bike

Edit; got to admit though , that peloton ticks all the same boxes at a much better price than the boardman.

 

[vickster]

One that fits, a 54cm sounds too big

However, cube bikes come up small so you may need to make the 53cm bigger!

Can you not find some to testride locally rather than relying on the Internet? That would be the aldvantage of halfords

Or if you know the defy will work for you, ashcycles have lots of older models in all sizes, e.g the defy 4 which comes with carbon fork

http://www.ashcycles.com/site/giant-defy-4-2015

On the gearing, you could always change the rear mech and cassette assuming compatibility and availability (not sure what you can do with 8 or 9 speed in that respect)

 

[steve50]

@burntoutbanger , you are the same height and inside leg as myself, 53cm is perfect for me which is why I ended up getting the boardman (not what I originally wanted) but no regrets, i really like the bike and it fits me perfectly.

 

[burntoutbanger]

Yes can try a few local bike shops but I find it very time consuming and overpriced in relation to online, never had a sizing problem buying online.

 

[the snail]

I'd have a think about what gearing you need - if you need the lowest gears on your triple, then I'd go for the same again. Maybe work out what the equivalent gear to 34/32 is on your current triple and try some hills in that gear. Having a lighter bike helps on hills, but IME when the going gets really tough it's more about gearing than weight, certainly with ~2kg difference.

 

[burntoutbanger]

I'd have a think about what gearing you need - if you need the lowest gears on your triple, then I'd go for the same again. Maybe work out what the equivalent gear to 34/32 is on your current triple and try some hills in that gear. Having a lighter bike helps on hills, but IME when the going gets really tough it's more about gearing than weight, certainly with ~2kg difference.

Yes the Giant I had previously was a 34/32 and was fine up hills, not sure I'd be able to manage a 34/28 though.

 

[the snail]

Yes the Giant I had previously was a 34/32 and was fine up hills, not sure I'd be able to manage a 34/28 though.

That's only £15 or so to change to 32T cassette though.

 

[vickster]

Yes can try a few local bike shops but I find it very time consuming and overpriced in relation to online, never had a sizing problem buying online.

If you loved the giant, I'd get one of those again as linked, you can go one up the model tree for a 2015

You can always negotiate locally especially on older models

 

[burntoutbanger]

True. I guess I'd be happy with any of these bikes, just wondering if I was missing anything before taking the plunge. Torn between the Cube and the Mekk at the moment....

 

[vickster]

The Merlins get good feedback

https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-performance-pr7-road-bike-2016-85148.html

 

[burntoutbanger]

If you loved the giant, I'd get one of those again as linked, you can go one up the model tree for a 2015

You can always negotiate locally especially on older models

The Defy 4 you linked to is £447.95, I paid £299 for a Defy 5 from Rutland cycles. If I'm going to the top of my budget I think I'd go with something else, as much for a change as anything.

 

[burntoutbanger]

The Merlins get good feedback

https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-performance-pr7-road-bike-2016-85148.html

That Merlin looks nice, thanks.

 

[vickster]

The Defy 4 you linked to is £447.95, I paid £299 for a Defy 5 from Rutland cycles. If I'm going to the top of my budget I think I'd go with something else, as much for a change as anything.

Fair enough. I'd personally pay £100 for the carbon fork, personal preference

 

[*Dusty*]

http://m.startcycles.co.uk/cannonda...5sysals.html?gclid=CPOyqKaumssCFdS7GwodjdgOqA

Just a suggestion