Road Bikes

[Plax]

I own a hybrid (GT Nomad Sport) and a tourer (Dawes Ultra Galaxy). I'm looking to treat myself to a road bike this summer. I have bought both my bikes from the Internet and have been lucky with getting the right size. However this time I'm looking to use the LBS. The brands they stock are;
Cube
Felt
Kona
Merida
Commencal
Kuota
Sabbath

To be honest with you the only brands from here I've heard of are Cube, Felt & Kona.

Are any of these brands in particular worth considering? I don't want anything super dooper flash. I don't want anything cheap and cheerful but something mid range up to £1,000 ish.

Ta

EDIT - It's very hilly round here so recs of suitable gearing would be appreciated. A compact perhaps?

 

[fossyant]

Sabbath - bit custom..... cube and felt good

 

[Goffins]

You could get a nice Bianchi for that price

 

[montage]

I have a felt - brilliant bike!

 

[Enso108]

I ride a Cube Aerial Comp 2008, I like it, you could get a decent Cube for a grand.

 

[Wigsie]

Have heard nothing but positive things about Cube and Felt road bikes, happy shopping!

 

[Radius]

Cube road bikes are quite nice...

 

[Plax]

I've had a quick Wiggle and CRC of the Kona, Felt and Cube. The Cube Axial Comp (womens) has caught my eye. Kona Ladies Lisa also tempting but I'm not keen on a white bike. The Felt Ladies ZW30 looks nice too, but not as good a groupset as the others by the looks of it (and it's white!).
What is the road bike gearing btw? Is Sora bottom of the line, then Tiagra, then 105 then Ultegra etc?

 

[Radius]

Yup you've listed the groupset orders right (2200 is below Sora, but you wont be getting that on a £1k bike)

 

[Wigsie]

Yup you've listed the groupset orders right (2200 is below Sora, but you wont be getting that on a £1k bike)

Its pretty rare in my experience to get a 1K bike (2009 model) with anything less than Tiagra, really for the money it should all be 105, or at least mostly 105 with a spattering of Tiagra. IMO a bit of Tiagra is not enough to put you off the bike as the difference between that and 105 is negligable to most mere mortals.

 

[Ant]

I rode around on Shimano Sora for a couple of years and couldn't fault them to be honest. In fact my first impression when I started using my Current Campagnolo Veloces was that the Soras were smoother.

 

[Enso108]

The only significant modification I made with the Cube was to up upgrade the Sora brakes to 105.

 

[accountantpete]

If it's hilly you want a decent pair of wheels - I'd source ebay etc for the frame and mechs etc and then splash out a bit more on the wheels.

 

[monnet]

Kuota are nice and you get plenty for your money.

 

[Alembicbassman]

You could do a local search on ebay (25 mile radius or so) There are some shops on ebay that sell good bikes below RRP.

Trek, Giant and Specialized are very sniffy about discount retailers, but you can get bargains in other makes.

I got a new boxed 58cm Raleigh U6 (Avanti) Pro with full 105 for £491. Carbon chainstays and seatstays, carbon forks. You could only get a Defy 3 with Sora for the same money.

I also just picked up a new 09 Marin Larkspur city/hybrid for £199.

RRP for the Raleigh is £1000, RRP for the Marin is £400, so pretty much half price for both.

I had no problems registering the warranties for both bikes either.