Help needed with bike purchase

Also, try the Roubaix. It seems to make sense and has great reviews but one forum post I read the guy said he couldn't get used to it, the feeling of the ride freaked him out.

When I was looking 2 years ago, Evans were the best retailer. A lot of bike shops have expensive demo bikes, the cheapest starting at over 2k. My budget was about 1.5, so the only Giant I could demo was a 2.5k Propel. It was amazing, and I almost stumped up for it, but I woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and phoned the shop to rein my spending in to my original budget. But Evans let you demo anything they sell, from a £500 budget bike to a 5k dream machine (for a deposit and id and a booking)
With your budget I would consider a titanium bike. Enigma and Kinesis would get me excited. Consider how much use you want to get out of it at this time of year, winter roads and conditions will mean you spend more keeping it running. Mudguards are dull but if it's your only bike they make sense.
In your original post, the Defy would make more sense to me for your needs than the racier TCR. The BMC Gran Fondo is more like the Defy, the Time Machine more TCR. A friend has an older TCR which I ride now and then, great bike but it has a saddle I just can't stand ; 10 minutes on that is like 3 hard hours on my saddle. Bear that in mind when testing!

No one's opinions or recommendations will give you the comfort you really need from trying a few you fancy and whittling them down.
Last year my road bike was nicked and I was desperate to get a new one and had my eye on a specific bike - test ride was so disappointing as it just didn't feel how I thought it would. So I relaxed reconsidered and tried a bunch more and ended up buying a bike that was cheaper than the one I thought I wanted and I love riding it.
I may even get a newer lighter bike later as I'm more focused on what I want now. I'm fitter than I was and can ride much further.
My tupence is the only way to be sure is a test ride - the shops or your mates bikes and Bike Swanky makes a good point the wheels are usually the weakest link at some price points. Time is your only real commodity.

The most important thing I have learnt when buying bikes is to check out the STACK and REACH of your existing bike. It's worth googling so you understand what they are - they are as close to an industry standard as you'll find. Once you have these figures, you can work out if a bike will fit you just by comparing these figures to other geometry charts. 

You really don't want to end up with a bike with extremely aggressive race geometry like I did (short stack, long reach). And you don't want to end up with something too upright either (also like I did - I've made quite a few errors in buying bikes, and learnt a lot.)

e.g. Defy v TCR - comparing figures for 'Large'

Defy reach 39.0 stack 60.4

TCR reach 40.2 stack 58.1

So you can see the TCR has a reach 1cm longer and a stack 2cm shorter. That's a fair bit more aggressive. OK, you can flip stems, add spacers, etc, and you may be flexible enough for it not to bother you. However, I once moved a 5mm spacer from below to above the stem of my current ride, and began getting headaches almost straightaway.

You also need to understand if your current ride has been modified at all to make it more comfortable for you, or more aggressive. E.g. if the stem has been flipped up to bring the bars closer, that in effect is increasing the stack height, so you should look for a bike with a taller stack. Or if you've gone a size down and extended the stem, that means you can probably cope with a longer reach.

So, if you've made a list of the bikes you'd like, you can start eliminating a few models using the stack and reach figures. 

When you've got so much room for physical improvement (not being rude, just practical) I'd save throwing money at bikes until you can make use of the marginal upgrades. Think of the literal kilos you'll lose for nothing compared to £££ for grams.

If you've got money to spare then buy whatever but I'd save a bit on the bike and buy some decent kit if you're planning on knocking out longer distances.

Personally, I don't think 2-3K is required to buy a great bike. Bike Radar's bike of the year last year was the Cannondale CAAD12 at £1300 with 105 group. It's as much bike as most of us will ever need.

As some have said, at 2-3k you won't really find a bad bike as such however a few thoughts from me...

- Save £100 of your budget and get yourself a proper bike fitting session

- In my view, Ultegra is slicker operating than 105 and I do notice the difference on my bikes. I have 1 Dura Ace, 1 Ultegra, 1 105 and the bike I take the dog for sprints on is a Claris. The Ultegra seems to take just a little less effort, especially noticeable when shifting up through the gears or under strain on a hill for example than 105. Interestingly my Claris bike performs very well, I recently serviced the bike and have changed to a different winter lube and its very smooth, not advocating a 2-3k bike with Claris but it really is a great value Group.

- You say you're never going to be a Wiggins or Froome and you are cycling as part of your get fit journey etc so how about a brand with a bit of soul? Rather than focusing squarely on the spec what about something that might inspire/encourage you to just want to be on it and riding? A Bianchi Sempre Pro is within your budget and is a lovely bike and for me personally, whenever I catch a glimpse of that celeste green it makes me want to be out on the roads. 

Just my humble views - Best of luck with the hunt mxgeldar! 

Hi mxgelder,

Following your message if I had that sort of money I'd definitely have the Spa Cycles Elan on my shortlist.

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p3553/SPA-CYCLES-Elan-(105-11-Speed-Hydraulic)

I'm not sure where you are but if you're anywhere near being able to get to Harrogate I'd get along to Spa Cycles to speak with them and I'm sure that you'd be able to arrange a test ride and speak to some very knowledgeable people.

http://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=109407&hilit=elan

If you can find and pick up a copy of the January 2017 edition of Cycling Plus they had a review of it in a group test (which also include a Mason Bokeh following bbir's mention of Mason Cycles) and they were very complimentary of the Spa Cycles Elan.

https://www.buysubscriptions.com/back-issues/cycling-plus-back-issues

Good luck with your search and finding the right bike for you.

John

Hi there,

First of all, I applaud you on your efforts to get fit!

It's not really possible to say which bike is best for you as so many factors determine which would suit you most appropriately.

The fact is that it is quite diffiult to find a "bad" bike now in the £2k-£3k range.  However, it is possible to get the wrong bike still

Finding lots of bikes to demo can be quite a challenge unless you go to specific demo days run by a brand or retailer, or an individual brand superstore.

6 years ago, my wife told me that I couldn't get a new bike......I realised a lot of cyclists here the same message from their partners.........so I started a bike business.......now we offer around 50 different brands of bikes

The good news for you is that part of this idea involved solving the problem of finding out which bike is best suited for the individual.

We run demo fleets of lots of different models, across all sizes.  Last year we ran 103 demo bikes

I'll let you run your own conclusions from this

So, returning to topic, you mentioned the weight "thang".  One of the criteria for you to consider is the wheelset fitted to the bike.  A £3k bike might look awesome and weigh next to nothing, but it may well be fitted with a wheelset that is not right for you as standard.

Geometry is likely to be pertinent as well.  It's worth mentioning that many manufacturers do not have rider weight limits that affect the warranty for their framesets, as the wheelset is often the determining factor.

Anyway, if you'd like to discuss any further I'd be happy to help.  Our number is 02081336432.

I am biased with two Focus bikes but you should look at the Focus Cayo range. Just perfect for Sportives, comfortable and if you want to give it something responsive.

Just within your price range - Mason Cycles - worth a look

Have you thought of building a bike. If your bike is comfy then getting a framesize isn't a problem. Reach, stack and head angle, will give you decide application/use. Then just choose frame material

Maybe look at a 2016 Genesis Datum 30?

Depending on what size you require there might be a few kicking about for around the £2.5k mark

Firstly, get a bike that fits you and your needs, have a short list of manufacturers and try them all out, drive train is a personal thing, I have 2 bikes with ultegra and one with 105 I cannot tell any difference between the two to be honest with you, both change up and down gears faultlessly .

any bike you buy regarding 2016 or 17 will come with the same warranty, good luck with your search I hope you find the correct bike,