Wilier Gran Turismo Centaur v Focus Izalco Pro 3.0 - which would you choose?

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OP
OP
6

69xians

New Member
The Canyon's do indeed look outstanding value and well equipped but it's tricky buying off spec when there seems so few reviews for them, although they do have a favourable review in the Cycling Plus bike of the year last month. I agree that there must be a trade off somewhere and I reckon it is purely cutting out the middle man. Put it this way, when speaking with my LBS and telling him about my interest in Focus, he offered to do the Wilier Gran Turismo Altura for the same price, instantly shaving £600 off the price and presumably still making money. One of my remaining hang ups is CF, I've never had anything other than Alu or steel and I was really looking forward to making the jump to CF for no rational reason whatsoever. But I really do like the look of the Canyon. Perhaps I'll save a little longer and look at their carbons.
 
Noodley

Noodley

Guest
Apologies if I have made things more complicated :wacko:

Looking at the Cycling Plus "Bike of the Year" review, I can't work out why they threw in the Canyon Alu into the mix rather than one of the Carbon Canyons - maybe they liked the electronic shofters beign available within their price range?

Anyway, the Ultimate CF 8.0 (Athena 11 with Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels) for £1700 and the Ultimate CF 9.0 Pro (Chorus 11 with Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels) for £2200 would be the two bikes I'd be giving consideration to.

But if it was a choice between the two bikes you mentioned in the OP, I would go for the Wilier. But still after the Canyons :laugh:
 
OP
OP
6

69xians

New Member
I've had a run out with the Wilier and it was very, very nice but the Campags struck me as being quite clunky and agricultural although I was assured it was purely because it hadn't been set up properly yet, and I wasn't entirely taken with the colours, plus I used to own an Alfa Romeo which looked great, made all the right noises but kept breaking down - Italian, appreciate the pedigree etc but there's just something that I don't trust, you know, once bitten .... On the other hand I have an Audi, German, engineered to the nth degree and pretty solid. Sweeping generalisations?

I don't know what to do. Would love to have a go on a Canyon, and a Focus for that matter. Maybe I'll just hang fire for a bit longer and see if any other reviews come out or owners give any feedback on the forum.
 
Rando

Rando

Guru
Location
Leicester
OP- what are the best prices you can find on the 2 bikes in question.
After a very quick search it looks like the Wilier is approx £700 more than the Focus and nearly £900 more than your original decision of a Trek Madone 3.5.
I have no idea if the price is an issue for you but the Wilier does look expensive against the others including the Canyon's.

They are just far too many nice bikes to chose from !!:biggrin:
 
OP
OP
6

69xians

New Member
Rando said:
OP- what are the best prices you can find on the 2 bikes in question.
After a very quick search it looks like the Wilier is approx £700 more than the Focus and nearly £900 more than your original decision of a Trek Madone 3.5.
I have no idea if the price is an issue for you but the Wilier does look expensive against the others including the Canyon's.

They are just far too many nice bikes to chose from !!:biggrin:
Click to expand...
I can get the Wilier for the same price as the Focus £2,095 and my budget is approx £2k. It's not easy is it? Way too much choice and I just don't have the knowledge to be able to differentiate between what all look like really great bikes. When I was younger, I bought a bike with no name but all the kit and it turned out to be a disaster, half decent components but the whole the frame was a shocker and the thing practically fell apart in front of my eyes, which is why I feel a bit anxious about commiting to a relative newcomer with all the bling but no pedigree or very little in customer feedback. I think I'm just going to have to take the plunge with my instincts on this one.
 
HLaB

HLaB

Marie Attoinette Fan
Location
That little part of Scotland known as Peterborough
Noodley said:
Here's an article on the history on Canyon, not as "new" as you might think.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canyon_Bicycles

And for the 2012 season they have taken over from Focus as supplier to Katusha pro team.
Click to expand...
IIRC they were the supplier for the Silence Lotto team for a while too.
7018_134346399481_654289481_2457991_2966567_n.jpg
 
smokeysmoo

smokeysmoo

Legendary Member
Location
Bolton, not very far from Nob End
HLaB said:
IIRC they were the supplier for the Silence Lotto team for a while too.
Click to expand...
I can't remember the team(s), but you're right in that they have been used in the pro peloton before this year.
 
OP
OP
6

69xians

New Member
Thanks for all your feedback, I'm going to hang fire for a month because I've got to invest £4k into my business but come May I think I'm more or less decided on the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8.0 (found a great review in Cycling Plus last year) - I'll keep you posted. Thanks again
 
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