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Head or Heart

by steviep
Sat, Sep 15, 2018 11:31
15

Looking to buy first road bike.
Ive narrowed it down to a couple.
My heart tells me to get Giant Contend SL2 Disc for £999. But my head tells me to get Pinnacle Dolomite 2 £1050 but i have a discount of £400 so £650.
What would you do ?

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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15 comments

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Griff500 | 6 years ago
0 likes

Well done! I hope you enjoy it.

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hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
3 likes

If you're riding professionally then use your head. If you ride for fun then go with your heart.

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RMurphy195 | 6 years ago
0 likes

Your head decides the spec of the bike you are going to buy - type of brakes, range/difficulty of gears etc.

Your heart decides which bike to buy -in my case, given a tourer spec i plain black, plain grey,or a traditional colouring with white banding on the downtube - its the trad look every time!

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Daveyraveygravey | 6 years ago
0 likes

Heart definitely. Even down to looks and colour scheme, because that is what will make you ride it. There are always cheaper alternatives.
And nothing wrong with that Giant either, a friend at work has one as his commuter. One man's Focus is another man's Giant...

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matthewn5 | 6 years ago
0 likes

Here's a few end-of-season bargains:

Planet X RTD-80 Shimano Ultegra R8000 Mix Mechanical Disc Road Bike

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXRTD80R8000MIX/planet-x-rtd-80-shimano-...

Planet X London Road SRAM Rival 22 Hydraulic Disc Road Bike

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIVHRD/planet-x-london-road-sram-ri...

HOY Alto Irpavi .002 2017 Road Bike

https://www.evanscycles.com/hoy-alto-irpavi-002-2017-road-bike-EV246162

One bit of advice: if you're new to road cycling, be very sure that you actually need an XL bike. It's easy to convince yourself from online recommendations that you do, only to find they've been made by experienced cyclists who like to stretch out low. You can put a longer stem and a layback seatpost on a smaller bike, but you'll be stuffed if the bike is too big, and XL bikes can be hard to sell.

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steviep replied to matthewn5 | 6 years ago
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matthewn5 wrote:

Here's a few end-of-season bargains:

Planet X RTD-80 Shimano Ultegra R8000 Mix Mechanical Disc Road Bike

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXRTD80R8000MIX/planet-x-rtd-80-shimano-...

Planet X London Road SRAM Rival 22 Hydraulic Disc Road Bike

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIVHRD/planet-x-london-road-sram-ri...

HOY Alto Irpavi .002 2017 Road Bike

https://www.evanscycles.com/hoy-alto-irpavi-002-2017-road-bike-EV246162

One bit of advice: if you're new to road cycling, be very sure that you actually need an XL bike. It's easy to convince yourself from online recommendations that you do, only to find they've been made by experienced cyclists who like to stretch out low. You can put a longer stem and a layback seatpost on a smaller bike, but you'll be stuffed if the bike is too big, and XL bikes can be hard to sell.

Im going by various manufacturer size guides and from visits to local bike stores regarding frame sizes.

Thanks for your suggestions .

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matthewn5 replied to steviep | 6 years ago
0 likes

steviep wrote:

Im going by various manufacturer size guides and from visits to local bike stores regarding frame sizes. Thanks for your suggestions .

Excellent, there's no better way than going for a test ride.

Oh, and follow your heart, cycling is supposed to be fun.

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steviep | 6 years ago
0 likes

Thanks for your help and time Griff. Im 6'4 thats why i quoted XL frame size. The Focus looks fantastic unfortunately i would need a 62 frame according to focus frame chats.

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steviep | 6 years ago
0 likes

Struggling to find any of previous yr bikes in my size ( XL ). The search continues

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Griff500 replied to steviep | 6 years ago
0 likes

steviep wrote:

Struggling to find any of previous yr bikes in my size ( XL ). The search continues

Eh????

Lets start with the Cube Attain SL disc (hydraulic + 105) I mentioned previously. This is available in all sizes (I am assuming by XL you mean 60cm?) from Hargroves £999 or Chain Reaction £1069.

But now you've told me you're a big lad, I can do much much better for you. The Focus Cayo, now discontinued, had a very highly regarded (fast and comfortable) race geometry carbon frame and nice tidy internal cables. Plenty of reviews available on line. This is the real deal, being a proper carbon race frame, whereas the others we have discussed are butted alu. Pair this with a 105 groupset (your Giant is Tiagra), hydraulic discs, and just for you, a 60cm frame. OK, so its a discontinued 2016 model, but light years ahead of the other bikes we've discussed here! One only, reduced from £1999 to £999.99 at triuk.com.

Your OP asked what we would do. That's what I would do!

(Edit: Having now read a couple of those reviews, the only negative to this specific configuration seems to be that the discs are slightly noisy due to having 3rd party rotors fitted. £20 should get you a set of proper Shimano rotors)

Avatar
steviep replied to Griff500 | 6 years ago
0 likes
Griff500 wrote:

steviep wrote:

Struggling to find any of previous yr bikes in my size ( XL ). The search continues

Eh????

Lets start with the Cube Attain SL disc (hydraulic + 105) I mentioned previously. This is available in all sizes (I am assuming by XL you mean 60cm?) from Hargroves £999 or Chain Reaction £1069.

But now you've told me you're a big lad, I can do much much better for you. The Focus Cayo, now discontinued, had a very highly regarded (fast and comfortable) race geometry carbon frame and nice tidy internal cables. Plenty of reviews available on line. This is the real deal, being a proper carbon race frame, whereas the others we have discussed are butted alu. Pair this with a 105 groupset (your Giant is Tiagra), hydraulic discs, and just for you, a 60cm frame. OK, so its a discontinued 2016 model, but light years ahead of the other bikes we've discussed here! One only, reduced from £1999 to £999.99 at triuk.com.

Your OP asked what we would do. That's what I would do!

(Edit: Having now read a couple of those reviews, the only negative to this specific configuration seems to be that the discs are slightly noisy due to having 3rd party rotors fitted. £20 should get you a set of proper Shimano rotors)

Thanks for the help. The budget ended going out the window along with what i originally wanted. Just ordered cube attain gtc pro.

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Griff500 | 6 years ago
0 likes

...... Could I suggest for example, the Cube Attain Sl disc. On sale through a number of retailers within your budget, and in addition to hydraulics discs, comes with a 105 groupset?

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steviep | 6 years ago
0 likes

Thanks for your reply. Do you have any other suggestions for bike with hydraulic disc brakes for around 1k.

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Griff500 replied to steviep | 6 years ago
1 like
steviep wrote:

Thanks for your reply. Do you have any other suggestions for bike with hydraulic disc brakes for around 1k.

Just remember 'ti's the season of discounts, with retailers trying to offload those outdated 2018 colour schemes, to make way for 2019 colour schemes. At this time of year you should be looking to get 25% off the bike of your choice. So with circa £1k to spend, start looking at bikes with a list price up to £1400, and prepare to negotiate.

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badgermat | 6 years ago
3 likes

 

Heart, every time. Otherwise you'll always be left wondering. Head is for post-rationalising only.

 

Though I am struggling with the idea that any Giant would be a heart choice. Each to his own, I guess.

 

bm

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