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Dream bike build

I am in the fortunate position of being (finally) able to afford a dream bike, so I thought I'd ask (or troll  1 ) here for thoughts... [and yes, I am slightly inspired by the program with Rob Penn that was repeated on TV the other week.]

I ride 50 - 100km at the weekends and the odd sportive, I have an existing bike that will be the commuter, but I'd commute on the new bike too when the sun is out. So, the new bike just needs to be a bike to ride for fun, no need for guards, panniers etc, it won't be used for touring. Not interested in racing eithjer, more interested in a good "feel" and a bit of comfort. So, I'm looking for the bikes marketed as "classics" or "endurance" rather than "race". That said, I'm not interested in the marketing terms as such, just how the bike rides and how I'd feel after 3 or 4 hours.

I'm currently thinking of Colnago CX Zero + Campag Chorus. It's not exactly a budget option as the UK distributers don't sell Colnago with Campag, so I'll be ordering frame and group set separately. I'm not sure about the wheels, obviously something light would be good but given the shoddy roads where I live that might be false economy. Is there a good compromise between light and tough? I'd run 25mm tyres on it, any less is just too much like hard work on my roads (maybe I'd switch to thinner for a trip to the alps), the fella in the shop reckons Mavic Ksyrium SLS C would be a good match for "that kind of bike" (his words). Last time I bought a bike it cost less than those wheels, so I'm slightly in new territory here. I don't think the shop is trying to rip me off, but I don't have enough knowledge to know for sure.

Any thoughts? Should I look at other options for any/all of these option?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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8 comments

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Miles253 | 9 years ago
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I've got a set of Shamals very pleased with them, Zondas are better value however, Shamals look nicer I think too.

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Nick T | 9 years ago
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Nick T | 9 years ago
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Campagnolo Bullets are 500 squids at Merlin currently.

Depends if you want something deep like that or a mid depth jack of all trades. If it's the mid depth, I personally don't see anything in the Shamals to justify the price over Eurus or Zonda - all there have very similar rims and the hub are functionally identical so I'd go for Zondas for a mid depth alloy wheel at half the price.

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marcopanatone replied to Nick T | 9 years ago
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Quote:

I personally don't see anything in the Shamals to justify the price over Eurus or Zonda

Yeah, there is a heck of a price difference for a 100g saving between the Shamals and the Zondas. Is that the only difference? Are the hubs the same? Would the expensive ones stay truer longer, or does that depend more on the number of potholes I hit than the rim design?

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marcopanatone | 9 years ago
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shamal's sound like just the job for my posh bike, thanks!

A specialist wheel builder sounds like an interesting option though, I'd not thought of that, any tips for one in the Berkshire area?

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allezrider | 9 years ago
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+1 on the shamals (especially with Campag groupo) - fantastic wheels.

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ajmarshal1 | 9 years ago
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Shamals. £600 on Wiggle. Thank me later.

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Jimmy Ray Will | 9 years ago
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Mavic wheels are a sound enough bet. Campag make some lovely wheels too, but if you are building a dream bike, go talk to a specialist wheel builder who can put something bespoke together for you.

They should be able to select a rim/hub/spokes and spoke pattern that matches your riding style, objectives and budget.

I'd only choose a factory set over handbuilt if you were exploring carbon rims etc.

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