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Road bikes for around £1500
I am looking for a new road bike to use for general riding & fitness and also a few sportives. I dont think i will be racing at all but may do some more competitive based stuff in the future depending on how fast I get.
I have been cycling road for about 18 months only really getting into it properly since mid last year. I currently have an older Spesh allez with a few upgrades and it rides ok but cant help but notice how heavy it feels and slow to accelerate up climbs. I also ride a giant defy as a winter bike or for slower paced rides. I know theres loads of people saying how i should focus on getting fitter and quicker but having a good (looking) bike is important for me and I am always doing adjustments and servicing my bikes as i love having everything working perfectly.
I really want something with racier geomtery as the defy is really too relaxed for my liking. Ideally a second hand or maybe new ish frameset would be ideal as I have decent training wheels and a fairly new shimano groupset off the specialized. However its probably easier to buy a complete bike and better value so either way would be fine by me.
I was thinking about a carbon frame but would like to know people thoughts in regards to how they ride compared to alloy frames. I know my specialized gives a lot of road 'feel' compared to the giant which makes it feel more lively but slightly less comfortable.
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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4 comments
Coincidentally BikeRadar's 2016 bike of the year was announced yesterday as the Cannondale CAAD12 105 which is only £1299. It sounds exactly like the sort of thing you're after, with racy geometry (same as the Supersix Evo I'd imagine).
Interestingly it's got an alloy frame (albeit a superb one, given Cannondale's aluminum legacy) and it was up against carbon bikes up to the £10k mark. It's got the same carbon fork and seatpost off the Evo too. I'll leave the research to you, the youtube video of the announcement is a good summary.
A quick response to your question: in general, aluminium's going to be a stiffer ride because first and foremose you need stiffness to transfer energy efficiently, and since it's a homogenous material you can't get the nice directional properties that a composite has from layup and mixes of fibres (to get more deflection in a different plane). However don't let that put you off, tyres are where you should be looking for the majority of your comfort these days with wider rims, tyres and frame clearances.
If you're spending the full £1500 on a frame and switching over the kit you can find some really lovely stuff around. I found a new Colnago EPS frame for £1100 and switched the groupset and wheels over. Another time a new Bianchi Sempre Pro for £950. Both were new superseded stock. You can always upgrade kit bit by bit if you have a frame worth it.
You can bag a carbon Viner from Planet X at the moment for just over £1500 with full Chorus. Probably the best looking bike you'll get for the price and, with that groupset, represents great value.
After spending many happy hours over the past four years on my Allez I thought it would take a lot for me to take the plunge and go for something lighter and with 105. Since I am not the lightest or fastest rider I thought that a carbon fibre frame wouldn't really make much difference to my performance. However Wiggle currently have an offer on a 2015 NeilPryde Zephyr (just under £1000) and, with my 40th birthday approaching and a few wee signs that I was going to have to replace my groupset anyway, I ordered one. Even though it only arrived on Thursday and I have only managed a few short spins it really is like night and day. The response when I put the power down is scarily quick and the few hills I have tried it on have been a revelation.
It is a good mix between endurance and race bike- it is more comfortable than a full on speedster but still wouldn't look out of place under someone with a number on their back. So while I was initially cynical about how much it would suit me I can say I am having no regrets so far. I plan on getting a bigger run out on Sunday but my experience up to now has been very positive- how much of that is down to the actual bike and how much is a placebo effect I'm not yet 100% clear on!
There is a Road.cc review on the Zephyr (although review bike had Ultegra rather than 105) here http://road.cc/content/review/126772-neilpryde-zephyr-road-bike .
Now the only thing holding me back (apart from being 2 stone overweight) is the nagging feeling that I have let my LBS down by going online to buy from one of the big boys!