Ventura cp 50 (argos)

[Justinslow]

Just had a reasonable ride on the Ventura, superstar wheels fitted, she flies!
https://www.strava.com/activities/305196602
Beat my 10 mile TT Time by about a minute and a half
Ok I'm bigging myself up a bit but I don't often get the chance!

 

[Cuchilo]

Added bonus as you rode a strava penis

 

[Justinslow]

Added bonus as you rode a strava penis

Ha, yeah good spot, hadn't noticed that! How apt.
Our regular club TT on that course was cancelled on Thursday due to rain and unsafe conditions so was chomping at the bit to give it a blast on the new wheels.
As added incentive I kept thinking about yellow saddles thoughts, great motivational tool, whenever I start to suffer I just think of YS and it gives me a boost!

 

[MiK1138]

Argos have this back at £499.99

 

[SteCenturion]

Hi Justin,
The Spoon is a good bang for the money saddle and maintains good overall comfort, even on long rides.

I've been wondering if a Thompson seat post upgrade, will make any noticeable improvement in the ride, compared to the oem Ritchie one?

Cheers all

If your seat post is aluminium the try a carbon post, reduces vibration & generally speaking are lighter & more comfortable.

 

[Drago]

A plain cylindrical carbon seat post is no more likely to dampen vibes than a plain cylindrical alloy one. Properly laid carbon is very strong and stiff and requires proper laying up on seat stays etc to attenuate road buzz, otherwise its just as strong and stiff as a comparable metal structure.

 

[Justinslow]

Sadly it seems the Ventura CP50 has been dropped from the Argos website and the catalogue. I guess a higher spec carbon bike than the usual Argos fare didn't really catch on with the punters hence the regular "sale" prices, I wonder if they did sell out or whether there is a warehouse full of them somewhere.
It never got down to the bottom price of £399 that I paid nearly a year ago however.

 

[albion]

Well it is online again at £399.

Whether it is 'last orders' for this who knows, but looking at falling carbon prices I excpect to see carbon bikes at £500 or less in future.

 

[sight-pin]

Cool, Has to be well worth it at that price, nice to see Argos have them in stock again.

 

[User269]

Sadly it seems the Ventura CP50 has been dropped from the Argos website and the catalogue. I guess a higher spec carbon bike than the usual Argos fare didn't really catch on with the punters hence the regular "sale" prices, I wonder if they did sell out or whether there is a warehouse full of them somewhere.
It never got down to the bottom price of £399 that I paid nearly a year ago however.

Perfectly good frame, even at twice the price; I don't buy all this stuff about 'cheap' carbon frames as they're all made by the same few manufacturers in Taiwan etc. The Ventura is made by http://liyangbikes.com/ along with other badged brands, and at hugely variable prices.
Having said that, if you continue with the upgrades at your present rate, you might as well have bought Pinarello in the first place!

 

[Justinslow]

Well it is online again at £399.

Whether it is 'last orders' for this who knows, but looking at falling carbon prices I excpect to see carbon bikes at £500 or less in future.

Good spot, and an absolute bargain at that price! Strange that it disappeared off the website but is now back again?

 

[Cuchilo]

Couldn't you get another one and put a TT headset on it ? No idea if the geometry is right for that though

 

[Justinslow]

Couldn't you get another one and put a TT headset on it ? No idea if the geometry is right for that though

Interesting idea, I've just been out on my mates moda TT bike and done my local 10, improved by 18 seconds. Ok, it was quite a radical change for me in bike position and in no way was i "comfortable" and I had a few beers last night , but the difference for me at the moment between TT bike and my trusty Ventura is not so great.

 

[Rodderstrotter]

Very tempted. Thinking of replacing my triban 3 red. Groupset looks similar, calipers not as good (can upgrade later), wheelset an improvement. Sell mine on ebay for about £150, worth about £250 to upgrade, any thoughts?

 

[Justinslow]

Very tempted. Thinking of replacing my triban 3 red. Groupset looks similar, calipers not as good (can upgrade later), wheelset an improvement. Sell mine on ebay for about £150, worth about £250 to upgrade, any thoughts?

Calipers are fine, I just replaced blocks with clarks cps 240.
As to whether it's better or worth it to upgrade, I've no idea!