Re: Road Bike buying advice

I'm so pleased to see you actually test riding bikes before you buy. It's the best way to find out. Sooner or later one of these is going to feel perfect and that's the one. Now is a good time to buy, too, because everyone is starting to discount in anticipation of 2014 models.

Consider a (not very) used bike?

http://road.cc/content/forum/90090-fs-eddy-merckx-amx2

Before you start, think of the FIT FIT FIT....

FIT THE RIDING: What type of road bike do you need and for what? Club runs, fitness, audax, sportive, or competitions? This will sort out the comfort v performance issue.

FIT THE RIDER: What are your measurements? Get yourself measured at your LBS. or look at this: http://www.worcester.ac.uk/discover/bikefit.html - in that way the bike will fit you. You can then look at Ribble, Planet X , etc IF the bike fits.

ALROUND FIT: Do not forget the wheels. Most packages boast 105, arbon forks, but rubbish wheels. I replaced 8 rear spokes at £10 a pop inc truing, within the first 6 months on my entry level bike, until I decided to get some enrty Mavics and i am now flying.

FIT THE BUDGET: Finally, if you become serious in the future, this very bike will become your winter trainer anyway, so make sure that you do not get dazzled or confused by the thousands of threads giving you all sorts of advice, and do not feel that unless you get the best of everything your bike is not good enough. Stick to £1k and upgrade in the future.

Hope this helps

Hi,

Imho the best route to go down is a 'direct from the manufacturer bike' from either Canyon or Rose. The value that you can achieve for a brilliant frame with carbon forks, 105, mavic wheels and continental GP4000 tyres. A friend bought one and the frame is stiff with lots of spring when you climb (He was very fast in the Alpes). The posting was also very fast and he got £25 off because of an optical defect that no-one at our club can find Honestly worth checking out their website and outlet section and as they take your measurements, you'll get a good fit

Liam

No Giant Defy, Specialized Allez, Trek Domane or Cannondale CAAD?

I read that Cube geometry is a bit more aggressive than most. If you're keen to "get it right" then there's no substitute for sitting astride a number of bikes. Look at this recent account:
http://road.cc/content/forum/89467-new-bike-purchased

I wouldn't discount Sora since it went 9 speed (effectively rebadged Tiagra). Don't chase small specification differences, they're all so similar at any price point. 10 speed doesn't make a bike any better than 9.

On C2W you can include clothing (padded shorts, jacket etc), SPD pedals and pump, multitool etc to the VAT-free total.

Cannot go wrong with a CUBE; and if you can ad a wee bit more cash to the Scheme you could get a Cube Agree Pro at Sigma Sport for just under £1260.00 on offer at present! Also look at Felt Bikes or a lightweight Ridley? Have a look on Wiggle they have some offers on at present, also Evans Cycles are doing discounts.

There's not a single bit of bad advice here. We're totally spoilt for choice. Go with the one that makes your heart sing and your legs fly!

Hello. Virginracer.

Get a bike thats comfortable for you, that fits you properly. There is no point in asking us we can only gave you advice and thee end dissension is yours.

Race and Performance - looking for the lightest and stiffest bike possible.

longer events and sportive – look for performance with an element of comfort

groupset

see which fits best ergonomically in your hands and which feels best for you when changing gear. Groupsets wear out. Below would be my chose of groupset under the £1000 mark to look for

shimano - Hard working, reliable and not too expensive

105

SRAM – new kid on the block, straightforward engineering, trashy appearance

Apex

Campagnolo - racing fraternity, speed and beauty .

Veloce

My choses of bikes

Cannondale caad8 - halfway house,Good all round

claud butler Vicenza – good value for money, reliable

Kinesis TK3 – frame and fork developed highly

Norco Valence A1 – long ride comfort , limited bar height adjustability.

Ribble Winter Trainer- the best sub £750 for money

Scott Speedster 20 Compact - not cheap but stable

This is my choses and you can use them for your opinion, the bike need to be what you want and not others peples choses

frame then wheels then groupset

use that order for importance to help make your decision.

I have a MEKK, its fantastic! Done about 2000 miles since easter. Joy to ride, fast and as trek have pointed out the frame is great so in time very upgradeable! My other choice was the canondale CAAD tiagra - both great bikes, mekk had a better deal.

Hello! Clearly, I work for Trek, so that's what I'm going to talk about.

We've just introduced our new 1 Series bikes which have a redisigned frame for this year, and carbon forks. There are 3 models in the 1 Series, the most expensive of which is £875 (which leaves you some room for kit with Cyclescheme, if you need it).

If what you want to spend is £1000 on the bike only, then that puts you into the Domane 2.0. There are several reviews available on this bike (this fine site reviewed the 2.3 which has the same frame: http://road.cc/content/news/73585-just-trek-domane-23). It's pretty safe to say that the Domane is a bit of a game-changer.

I would highly encourage you to take a couple of test rides, as the bikes already mentioned won't fit you the same as others. Fit is absolutely essential.

Also, please don't be fooled into buying a bike based on the components. You want to invest your money in the best frame you can get. The components are the moving parts that will wear out and eventually need to be replaced. You can always upgrade them later on. There's no point in having great furniture if your house isn't built that well.

Happy to answer any questions you have.

Would recommend one of these (from this store too!):http://www.epic-cycles.co.uk/Genesis_Equilibrium.html

I got the 20, but the 10 looked great too. Hope that helps.

Oh yeah, the Canyon is lovely too. But seeing as it comes from Germany, I've a feeling you might struggle with the cyclescheme.

Gonna go again and recommend Canyon Roadlite 6.0 AL, which I own. Sports a Shimano 105 set, weighs 8,15 kg, has carbon fork, can't fault my choice so far.

Not being from UK, I don't know about the cycle2work scheme though, what that even means haha.

Have a look at PlanetX and Boardman, maybe Ribble too - they all make bikes for that £1k cycle scheme budget. There's a good few threads lurking with similar questions too, so have a browse through past pages on this forum.
It's really intimidatingly complicated, getting into road bikes, but the more you ride with people and endlessly discuss groupsets and gear ratios, the more you will know. It's endless geeky fun!