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A few ideas for my next bike...

by DanJ
Fri, May 13, 2016 17:57
8

Well, the time has come where I am thinking of getting myself another bike. After getting my first road bike 2 years ago I love the sport and there is really no sign that I will get bored of it, so I'd love to get myself a second really nice bike to use throughout the summer and retire my trusty Cube for winter and poor-weather cycling.

Originally I had intended to get myself a carbon frame for my next bike, but after some reasearch, I have found that in the price range I am willing to spend (£1,500), a nice aluminium bike may be a much better option.

Looking for something with a slightly less relaxed geometry than my Cube Peloton.

A few ideas I had:

Canyon Ultimate AL, I have heard this is a great frame, and with a Ksyrium Elite WTS wheelset and full ultegra, ritchey wcs cockpit, it seems like a steal for £1,399. I have faith in Mavic wheels and tyres as they have seemed really good on my Cube. 

Caad 10 or 12, I have heard lots of good things about this frame and know it is very popular and renounded to be one of the best aluminium frames out there, slightly cheaper than the Canyon (£1,199 I think) depending where I get it and which years model but only a (partial) 105 groupset and skimped on the wheels - I've seen RS10 and Aksium.

Rose Xeon , again, hear their frames are fantastic, FULL ultegra like the Canyon, in house wheelset which I don't much of and I'm not overly keen on the design of the paintjob, but I have heard rose are good.

 

Leaning more towards the Canyon or Cannondale but it's a hard choice. Canyon seems to be the better buy but many say the Caad is the best alu frame out there but also heard it is a very aggressive geometry - I want something inbetween which I feel the Canyon may be albe to offer?

Has anyone ridden these bikes? Thoughts?

Cheers

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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AKH | 7 years ago
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I have the Canyon in last year's model. Love the frame but can't comment on the finishing kit as I bought the frameset and built it up myself as 105.

It's not that aggressive in reality. The reach is shorter than many frames in the equivalent size, from memory, shorter than the Cannondale. It also comes with 2.5cm of spacers under the stem, plus 16mm or so for the headset, so it's not exactly slammed either. I'd avoid the Cannondale if you plan to run a Shimano groupset, saves running an adapter.

Avatar
Griff500 | 7 years ago
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Take a look at the race pedigree of the Focus Cayo, as used by the French AG2R team to great success in Le Tour among others. Light, quality build, internal cables. With your budget you could get a decent 105 configuration on a frame with genuine race pedigree which has plenty of scope for upgrade at a later date, and is different enough so you won't just be one of the crowd. (I have no bias here, I have just shelled out £2.5k on a Scott Addict!) 

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L.Willo | 7 years ago
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Not the same street cred points as a Cannondale or Canyon but I had a go on my brother in-law's Hoy Alto Irpavi with the 105 groupset and disk brakes. I think it is in the same price range as your candidates and outstanding value for money.

The frame is stunningly good almost the equal of my Focus Izalco Max which is twice the price. The wheels are OK but with an upgrade, that thing will fly. 

Avatar
Ogi | 7 years ago
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CAAD12 is amazing. I tried it and it flies, I'd recommend it instantly. Similarly, Supersix EVO 105 can be found for your budget - again, amazing bike. The difference between the two...not much. 

 

Other stuff...well, as someone mentioned - going the "build your own alu race machine" could be the way...Kinesis Aithein, Bowman Palace, Canyon Ultimate AL is also amazing. I heard very good stories about BMC Teammachine ALR, similarly I think you can also get the Teammachine SLR03 105 for the money.

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700c | 7 years ago
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Kinesis Athein? Never ridden one but they look good, have racy geometry, a light frame and as a company they have good customer service if anything goes wrong..

Also heard good things about Cannondale CAADs.

Maybe test ride and see what you prefer?

The Canyon I'm sure is a lovely bike but you need to be prepared to risk their questionable service levels in the ordering process or in the event that something goes wrong..

Avatar
mostly | 7 years ago
1 like

TCR advanced 1? full ultegra 1499 the 105 is a few hundred quid less.  2015 advanced pro 2 can be had for 1300 depending on your size.

 

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TypeVertigo | 7 years ago
0 likes

I'm told the CAAD12 is aggressive geometry-wise but makes up for it with the tuning of its tubes, so it's not all that jarring to ride. If you're seriously eyeing it, I guess you have to be honest with how long you will be able to adopt the riding position it dictates.

Regarding "full" groupset - BB30 and BB30A basically ensure you won't see many Cannondale frames that come stock with a Shimano crank. At the very least, you'll need to run a reducer adapter to fit those, as you're trying to make a 24 mm spindle work with a 30 mm shell.

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Laddie-147 | 7 years ago
0 likes

At £1500, you are only £500 away from a good quality carbon frame, maybe sightly less if you pick up a sale bike or slightly more. There are so many retailers offering 3yrs 0% finance on high quality brands an excellent carbon frame with good spec is attainable. Granted,I know that some of the latest aluminium offerings are supposed to be very good

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