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Which bike for Ironman under £1400.

Hi all, newbie here,
I'm doing the UK Ironman and I'm looking to upgrade my Triban 5. Budget is upto £1300 ish. I have been looking at Ribble and Planet X with some nice 50mm aero wheels on them. Just wondered if anyone had any recommendations and advice thanks. See links below for what I've been looking at, thanks. I'm confuse don this whole SRAM, Shimano, Tiagra thing people talk about and also what gears, 11 or 20 etc? I'm quite a bike novice in terms of spec.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/specialedition.asp?action=GenerateConstruc...

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road-track-bike/ribble-evo-pro-carbon-...

Been recommended this below with upgrade wheels for £1400.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road-track-bike/ribble-sportive-azzurr...

Mark

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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21 comments

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Ants | 8 years ago
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As I understand it, 11 speed will give a finer difference in ratios between gears but not necessarily much higher or lower gears than 10 speed. Double = 2 front chainrings. Triple = 3 chainrings. 3 can give better (lower) gears for climbing and are usual on mountain bikes. Downside is a perhaps bit of extra weight. 11 speed also needs 11 speed shifters but guess these will automatically update when choosing the spec online but isn't available in all flavours of groupset.

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Waddy-UK | 8 years ago
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Free hub? Sorry so do I need to upgrade the cassette?

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Waddy-UK | 8 years ago
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On that ribble below when I select the wheel part:

part: CSN Superleggera XL50 Clincher Wheels Pair
size/colour: Pr Whls Superleggera XL50 Cli Blk/Red 10 Shim

It says I can't have shimano 105 11speed and have to have a 10 speed Tiagra how come. Surely doing Ironman an 11 speed is better as I wont be the fittest or fastest and its all about comfort. Also whats this double or triple groupset.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bbd/road-track-bike/ribble-evo-pro-carbon-...

I'd like comfort and the extra gears that someone just looking to get round will need, so what do I need thanks? I'd also like some 50mm aero wheels.

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Nat Jas Moe replied to Waddy-UK | 8 years ago
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The free hub is for a 10 speed so won't take 11 speed cassette.

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Waddy-UK | 8 years ago
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Think I'm going to get the Ribble.

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pants | 8 years ago
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I think it's best to go for the best frame possible, gear shifting difference is minimal if you look after properly, and i am guessing the cycling in ironman is mostly flat so weight isn't much of an issue.

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Vejnemojnen | 8 years ago
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"'m confuse don this whole SRAM, Shimano, Tiagra thing people talk about and also what gears, 11 or 20 etc? I'm quite a bike novice in terms of spec."

 1 don't say that! There's a reason why 99% of BikeShop owners and mechs HATE triathletes..  1 Don't be "that guy".

I would advise you to take a look at radon-canyon-rose. Because GBP to EUR exchange ratios are now very favourable for UK citizens, and those three has the best value_performance ratio offerings.

Ide Est:
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/products/bikes/road/

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/road-bike-aluminium/l-24/o-preis

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Stef Marazzi | 8 years ago
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Canyon Ultimate AL - the £1499 one

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devoid99 | 8 years ago
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The one you have will be fine then  1

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Waddy-UK | 8 years ago
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Not after a tri/tt bike thanks. I just wanna get round and be comfy.

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Derny replied to Waddy-UK | 8 years ago
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Waddy-UK wrote:

Not after a tri/tt bike thanks. I just wanna get round and be comfy.

You're on the right track here. The specs of the equipment will not affect your comfort significantly. Bike fit and training time will. Your budget is big enough to give you many great options, so you should focus primarily on fit. Since you are a novice, you need to find a good source of fitting advice (ie, a person, not a web site). Bike clubs and reputable shops are the way to go. Ask about a fitting session. It won't be free but often the fee can be applied toward a purchase at the shop doing the fitting.

(On the other hand, bike spec can affect training time - a sexy bike may make you want to ride it more.)

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dafyddp | 8 years ago
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Depending on your size, this bike from Rose might be worth a gander http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-pro-wsl-300-666694/aid:666725

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devoid99 | 8 years ago
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Planet-x stealth for £999.99 with some £349.99 deep section carbon wheels, then take the discounted bike fit and good to go.

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Waddy-UK | 8 years ago
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Cheers, looked at them too actually and was a choice between Ribble and Planet X.

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fitzey50 | 8 years ago
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have a look at planet x

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Waddy-UK | 8 years ago
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Not sure tbh?

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Waddy-UK | 8 years ago
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ok think I'm going to go for this one below so with a budget of £1500 what spec should I get please?

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road-track-bike/ribble-evo-pro-carbon-...

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atgni replied to Waddy-UK | 8 years ago
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Waddy-UK wrote:

ok think I'm going to go for this one below so with a budget of £1500 what spec should I get please?

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road-track-bike/ribble-evo-pro-carbon-...

Is that 950g just the frame?

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Waddy-UK | 8 years ago
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Thanks great advice, so any of the bikes in my link be a worth it enough upgraded from my Triban 5?

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Mungecrundle | 8 years ago
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From experience and assuming that you are looking to finish, but maybe not in a podium position.

Rule #1: Take comfort and reliability over speed, remember you have to be in good enough shape to climb off your bike and run/walk/crawl/drag yourself using your lips over a full marathon.

Rule#2: Don't use anything in the race that you have not trained with, a lot.

Rule#3: If this is your first IM then just finishing is a huge achievement. You can always go for a better time in the next one.

Good luck
M

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edvelo | 8 years ago
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The specs are pretty simple to get. There are three main makes of groupset, Shimano, Sram and Campag.

Each has a range of products of differing standards.

So

Shimano has (in order from most expensive to cheapest)

Dura-Ace
Ultegra
105
Tiagra
Sora

SRAM has

Red
Force
Rival

Campag has

Super Record
Record
Chorus
Athena
Veloce

I think that's correct. More money spent tends to equal better equipment, although I've read a lot of people stating the new shimano 105 is just as good as the Ultegra.

This article should explain

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/group-tests/road-bike-groupsets-buyers-gu...

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