50th Birthday (Summer bike) - :-)

my 50th pressie ended up being a Mason Definition .... all weather loveliness with

di2 and discs - bliss.

I must agree with Smark, that custom Rourke is just drool inducing!

I did the custom Rourke thing a couple of years ago, and it stays tucked up at this time of year, sitting in the utility room, glaring at me saying 'when are you gonna let me see the light again!'

For that budget, you should go Stainless Steel (953 - I would guess at around £1600), then stick on it the best components that you can find. Don't worry about the weight penalty, my 853 weighs less than my carbon bike, given I threw the lightest components that I could afford at it, and I think 953 might be a lighter material? Certainly more resiliant.

Of course the best thing is you would get a full measuring/fitting before it's even built, so there would be no chance of the fit not being right (all included in the price).

I always say that if I won the lottery, the second place I would be at is the estate agent - the first would be on the M6 back to Rourkes!

But that's just me. Out of those you list, the Colnago C60 would be my choice - but at that budget there is so much quality out there if you want something off the peg, there are almost too many to list.

@SuperPython59  

Hey man, I'm just pointing out the obvious here, that the OP and or anyone should buy a bike designed for purpose. In opposition to your view that someone should buy any bike they like and it it's too extreme, buy up a size (or two) as it'll be more comfortable.

You ride bigger bikes and get on fine, great, crack on and enjoy.  But my possibly 'inelegantly worded' point was that that's not great advice for 'most' people. If I offended you I apologise, but I took umbrage with your point/post. 

How long are your legs by the way (cycling measurement obvs)?

As someone who often dreams of a new bike (as much as I like my current one), I must say great decision on what to treat yourself!  I'm still a few years away from my 50th, but hoping I can get the wife to sign off on at least a modest upgrade in the next couple years.  As it is, I'm still fighting to complete my set of deep carbon wheels, only have a rear one so far 

Looking at your initial list, I'm guessing you're trying to keep to a somewhat reasonable budget, so I can understand looking at a Canyon.  Maybe it seems more special to me since I still can't get one here in the US, but besides the questionable customer service they seem like a good bike for the money.  My dream at the moment is an Oltre XR4 (or perhaps a Storck Aerfast), but since I'm currently on a CAAD8 I'd be quite happy to upgrade to an Aeroad!  A bike doesn't always have to be super-customized, one-of-a-kind, handbuilt by celebate supermodels at the top of Alpe d'Huez to be special to YOU 

This looks nice :

http://www.jlaverack.co.uk/r-jack-range/

It is also my 50th in September so watching this thread with interest as I am also going to treat myself to celebrate the big 50 !

This also caught my eye

http://www.2pedalz.com/ridley-fenix-sl---ultegra-di2-2017.html

As others have said, it's your 50th so go for something special.  No Bianchi's on the list is good that means mine will be the only one in the advanced group you're looking to join

If you want it in time for your actual birthday, probably best to give Canyon a miss. You'll probably still be waiting for it when you're 51.

...

Crikey!!! I thought I liked bigger bikes. I'm 5' 11" and ride a Giant M/L (which I think is roughly a 57cm) and a 58cm steel winter bike.

5' 11" and riding a 59, a 61, & a 62?!  Wow.  What kind of saddle height do you run, just out of interest?

I think current trend is to copy race bikes for the mass market.  They have 73 degree head angle, low stack and long reach.  My own Boardman CXR has this head angle with a 130mm stem, its a twitchy bike for handling and needs a bit of concentration when riding fast.  Reducing the stem length would only make the bike more twitchy.  At the time it had the best features and frame size with a better stack than standard road bikes, but over time(through injury and age) I need more stack and a more relaxed head angle.  My new bike is the Kinesis Tripster V2,  The head angle is 70 degrees. I run a 90mm stem, the handling is very stable and much less twitchy.  The stack is also 20mm higher than my Boardman.  This makes for an all round tourer, which is what I primarily wanted.  I'll stick some 40mm G Ones on it for day to day riding.

Ridley, Storck... Don't discount a good TI frame set such a van nichols... Lucky boy!! 

Go for a Legend if you want something away from the norm...or if you can afford something bespoke and money is not a barrier then look at a Pegoretti (neither of which I have ridden, but have admired from afar)

I currently have a Defy Adv 2E (2016) with 105 as my general/winter bike and an Aeroad CF SLX 6.0 (Ultegra/Cosmic Carbon  Exalith wheels) as my 'Sunday best'.

Both are reasonably comfortable off the peg and the Canyon is quite eye catching (meteor grey/lime)...the Aeroad  6.0 would have been the entry level 2016 version, but still a sizeable outlay of hard earned cash.

It should be about what you want and feel comfortable on/with for the type of riding you do.

You don't necessarily need to 'make a statement' by going overboard/over the top in the spending stakes - and/or listening to the opinions people that may not even have ridden any of the bikes on your short list - and Shimano groupsets are no lesser than Campagnolo...

Yeah getting to the 50 milestone is great, I'll be hitting that myself in May, I don't need any more bikes...so I'm off to cruise the Caribbean in October instead.

Enjoy whichever bike you decide to get.

At this price, self building for sure! Also a bike fit and last before you spend this amount, check this http://fitwerx.com/carbon-fiber-frame-manufacturing-techniques-part-one-...

Get whichever bike really floats your boat are you wanting to impress yourself or others?
Just make sure you can fit with it, pro bikes look shit with a pile of spacers and maybe horror upon horrors a stem pointing upwards.
I'd like a full on race bike but cannot get on with a really low headtube.

Make sure you like the look of the bike. I had a BMC Gf02 for 2 years. As good a bike I had ridden.

However, I never took to the look or matte finish.

I then bought the bike I'd always looked at and thought "I want one." A celeste Bianchi infinito in gloss finish. I never tire if looking at it but would never go for the silver red finish they also do, even though it will ride the same.

Finally, if you go BMC consider joining Cycle UK (CTC). My local Evans do 10% off for members. Check your branch but quite a saving and plenty of benefits.

When I was looking, I found Evans to be the best in terms of demo bikes.  You have to book it, and lave them your credit card details, and it may take them a few days to get a specific bike in from their warehouse, but you get to ride anything in the range, not just the top end stuff, which is what a lot of retailers have as demo bikes.  Mind you, with your budget, I think most shops will be keen to let you out and about.

Kinesis GF Ti disc gets a stunning write up from road.cc.  It's close to top of my wish list.  I've also enjoyed my Defy 

I think your conclusion is right though, test rides are a good idea

Oh and.. Giant TCR Advanced SL. I'd love a go on the new one, sounds like mad hardcore fun. Canyon Ultimate EVO frame set is a great buy, and makes the twitchy Specialissma look like a half effort. 

Of course, if you want something really baller, Cipollini. But not for everyone's tastes. 

All great bikes. Aeroad is probably the fastest/stiffest out of those and as been tested as such. Ridden the missus one a few times and it's ridiculously amazing. Very aggressive though. Hers is 7.06kg now and will go 'illegal' next year with posher wheels. That's sick for an aero bike. Show me any custom bike in the world that is as amazing a piece of engineering and has been tested to prove it. Red Aeroad is stunning too. Have a black one in the house which is lovely to look at but red is wow IMO. Saw a guy at the lights on one recently.

If you want something wanky, then yes go custom and get little metal badges and shit on it. If you want a mental main ride, go to Tour magazine, look at their bike tests, and pick one. 

XR4 - would be a nice compromise if you want something like looks 'special'  and is actually right up there with the best bikes in the world in terms of weight, low drag, comfort etc 

Anyway, just giving you the other side of the coin. The 'custom' crowd tend to troll every 'which bike' thread with heavy, retro tubed bikes and seem to think a bike's production location makes any sort of difference. Irrational guff.

The Paralane is a completely different type of bike to the others, have a look at a Focus Izalco or Cayo for something more comparable. Both are great value for money IMHO and each offers something slightly different from the other.

I was in the same position a couple of years back. I came to the conclusion that owning something beautiful and a little bit different was at least as important as how much spec you could get for the money. I ended up with a De Rosa Idol which I am still very much in love with. I went to a local shop to make sure I got the right size but if I was doing it again I would definitely get in touch with someone like Bike Swanky and discuss a bit more customisation for a personal build as I now have a spare set of wheels, a compact crankset, a saddle and a cassette all spare from the original build.

skmark, that is a fabulous looking bike and nice photography.