What bike? - for combination of - commuting, racing and touring?

[James T]

Hey folks,

My bike budget is anything up to £2000

I've had a normal touring bike for years and now I want something lighter, sleeker for fast road riding. So that would take me more down the race/road bike route. But I also want something that Is comfy enough to commute to work on and something I can do the occasional tour on. Maybe 3 or 4 one week - two week camping trips a year. Its really difficult finding one that fits nicely into all categories. I probably need 3 gears on the front to handle hill climbs with a fully loaded rear pannier. I also want to be able to fit mud guards front and back. Also the aesthetics of the bike are important to me, I want it to look good and look forward to riding it. My research kind of led me down the cycle cross route but I personally haven't seen many cycle cross bikes that I like the look of. its usually road bikes that catch my eye in the looks department. So i'm just generally stuck and still researching.

The first bike that caught my eye was...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/sportif-11-compact-2014-road-bike-ec053263

I liked the looks, it has fittings for mud guards and a pannier, disk brakes which meant good for all weather, comfy seating position, half decent group set. So i gave it a test ride and it felt good. However due to my lack of knowledge and experience in bikes im still not sure. Would it handle a tour? I'm not sure. Hearing so many difference opinions and advice from people has kind of left me unsure now.

Any advice or thoughts regarding bikes, equipment, parts and general riding would be greatly appreciated. I want to get sorted in the next month or so as summer is coming up!

Thanks,

James.

 

[Onyer]

Have a look at Enigma Etape which will fit all your criteria and will be a bike for life. If you can build it yourself you should be within your budget with Ultegra groupset and wheels http://www.enigmabikes.com/collections/road/products/etape
I'm just waiting for mine to be delivered.

 

[Shadow]

Exactly what I was going to recommend! But was not sure about the budget or if it is best for racing. I have the Eclipse and am extremely happy with it. Every time I ride it, I think this is superb. Sadly, sometimes it makes me think I'm a wonderful cyclist!
@velovoice was going to get this model but not sure what happened next - hopefully she'll be along soon to tell us!
@Onyer - you won't be disappointed!

 

[James T]

Cheers @Onyer and @velovoice ill check the enigma out tonight!

 

[velovoice]

Exactly what I was going to recommend! But was not sure about the budget or if it is best for racing. I have the Eclipse and am extremely happy with it. Every time I ride it, I think this is superb. Sadly, sometimes it makes me think I'm a wonderful cyclist!
@velovoice was going to get this model but not sure what happened next - hopefully she'll be along soon to tell us!

Yes, I got the Etape - custom fit/geometry. It's all in the "Show us your titanium..." thread (various posts on pages 18-21)
Also on my blog: http://velovoice.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/custom

@Onyer - you won't be disappointed!

I concur!

 

[velovoice]

@James T, I've just now
read your original post. I personally do not think it is possible to combine all three functions race/commuting/touring in one bike. Any given bike will be, at best, very good at one job, perfectly acceptable for a second, and... well, can make do for the third but with compromises.

The Enigma Etape is a touring road bike that also makes a responsive, comfortable commuter. It is NOT a race bike. You could of course enter races but -- making allowances of course for the 'unknown engine' i.e. you -- you won't be winning against most carbon bikes.

Sportives on the other hand will be great. And audaxing... ah, now there something like the Etape really comes into its own.

Also - re price. £2000 will certainly get you a very good complete bike that will either race, commute or tour, or a good mixture of two of those. But that's a tall order (or low price ceiling) for a complete bike with titanium frame. If you buy the frame & forks alone, you'll need to already have a lot of good stuff ready to transfer over to build up the bike to keep to a £2000 total budget.

ETA: I've just noticed Enigma have added a "Bike Builds" tab on the Etape page, with some example builds with prices. The Tiagra groupset just squeaks in under £2,000. Now, I happen to love Tiagra, but it'd seem pretty lowbrow on a ti frame. It's almost certainly a double crankset, not a triple as you're considering. The rest of that build option is pretty un-special. Nonetheless, it would still get you a beautiful bike with a first-rate frame, which you can always upgrade in stages later on.

 

[Andrew Br]

velovoice (as ever) is talking sense.
You won't get a bike that will do well for touring, racing and commuting.
Since (I think) you already have a tourer, can't you use that for touring (doh !) and commuting and get yourself a bike purely for racing ?
For £2000 you could get a pretty light and responsive race machine that would also be suitable for long sportives and audaxes.

I've tried the "one bike" approach and I came to the reluctant conclusion that it doesn't work, even with two sets of wheels/tyres.

.

 

[HorTs]

How about the Kinesis Decade Tripster ATR?

 

[2pies]

While you mentioned racing in the title, you didn't mention it the body of the post so I suspect you're misleading us a little. Are you really riding in competitive races? If so, tell us more. As other have said, riding a touring bike in a race is like bringing a knife to a gunfight.

Your options are probably:

Reasonable Ti frame to build a bike around
Entry-level Ti frame with basic components
Custom made Steel frame with reasonable components

 

[HorTs]

By racing I think the OP means speeding along rather than track racing/ultra competitive.

 

[HorTs]

Here is a link for the Kinesis Decade Tripster ATR http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/decade/tripster-atr

 

[vickster]

Genesis equilibrium Ti or the top steel model? Around 2k

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/road/sportive/equilibrium-ti

 

[HorTs]

Genesis equilibrium Ti or the top steel model? Around 2k

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/road/sportive/equilibrium-ti

I looked at this, but for touring it doesn't have the rack mounts, though you could use the mudguard mounts and a single central support to the brake mount.

 

[HorTs]

Firstly - I'm not a salesman for Kinesis bikes - I've just spent a lot of time looking for a do-it-all bikes and the Kinesis seems to be the only one (so far at least).

The disc brakes make it easy to swap wheels depending on use without having to worry about calliper clearances.

 

[lejogger]

It IS perfectly possible to have a bike that is suitable for commuting, touring AND elite level racing...
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/andy-wilkinsons-dolan-time-trial-bike-29431

However, it helps to have a custom made frame, and a bit of imagination... oh and an engine like Andy's!

My best pal has an Enigma Etape. He uses it for commuting, touring, club rides and the odd time trial. They're a perfect (do everything bike). Andy had (I think) two enigmas prior to his Dolan. They are excellent.
My pal and I are both in the same club as Andy and they are firmly in the 'one bike for all' school. The idea is that an efficient position and overall familiarity with one bike and position will make you far more effective at cycling fast than riding most of the time on one bike and then pulling out a super carbon time trial machine once a week for 3 months of the year.