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Looking to buy my second ever road bike - would like some help deciding on the spec

by mjkeny84
Sat, Jul 04, 2020 13:17
9

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and relatively new to road cycling. A couple of years ago I bought a BTwin Triban 540 from Decathlon, mainly for commuting to work and to see if I would enjoy road cycling. Turns out I do!!! and now i'm looking to upgrade to a newer, higher spec bike.

I'm looking to spend up to around £2000 (little more if I can justify it). Now, i'd like a carbon frame/fork with Ultegra groupset and decent wheels with tubeless tyres. However, trying to find a bike with all this isn't easy! I had another look at Decathlon and they sell their Van Rysel RR 920 CF bike with pretty much all of the spec i'm looking for except it has Mavic cosmic pro carbon wheel and i don't think these can run tubeless?? (I may be wrond, road cycling is new to me!). It retails for 2k.

So this leads me to...
1. Is this Decathlon bike good? worth the money?
2. What other bikes should I look at / consider?
3. To get a bike within my budget, would is least important? Ally or carbon frame? 105 or Ultegra? Decent wheels or cheaper wheels (Mavic askium for example?)

I know I should probably go to a shop and have a look and try some but it isn't so easy at the moment. Any advice would be very welcome.

Thanks!!

Mike

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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9 comments

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Cargobike | 4 years ago
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We all buy bikes with different criteria in mind. I personally think it's a pointless exercise asking other people what their opinions are, as they will all be different from your own.

Do your relevant research and buy what you decide you want, not what others believe is best. As long as it's got a decent rating and the price fits your budget you'll pick up something decent these days.

Unless you are a top pro any performance gains will be negligible. Far better training harder and smarter than wasting another few £k on the latest hyped gizmo. You are the engine and still the most important part of the overall package. 

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iandusud | 4 years ago
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If you're thinking of buying online consider Rose bikes. I bought one of their bikes three years ago, a carbon framed endurance bike, and it is an excellent bike and very well speced for the price. Also you have options on the spec which can save quite a lot of money in changing parts. It has been admired by club mates who have very impressed by its weight and very surprised when I told them the price. They were also very good to deal with. Bike was delivered one week ahead of schedule. When I had some queries I was able to phone them in Germany free of charge and talk to someone who was extremely helpful. I have since used them for buying parts and accessories and their service is still as good as everm giving accurate dates for delivery of out of stock items. They dispatched an order to me on Thurday this week and it was delivered on Saturday morning.

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Dingaling replied to iandusud | 4 years ago
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I'll add to that. I bought a Rose full suspension mtb in 2003 and rode it for 7 years. I only got rid of it because I didn't want full suspension and had never really liked the Rohloff hub. The Rose frame was fine and my son took it, put his parts on it and carried on riding it for years. He only stopped using it because he fancied something newer. A mate of mine bought his Rose bike in 1998 and still rides it. 

I've been an online customer of theirs for around 26 years and never had a problem with them and, while I don't currently ride one of their bikes, I still go up to Rose Biketown occasionally for kit, parts or tools. 

 

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mtb_roadtripper | 4 years ago
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Direct to seller brands are very hard to avoid, I know, Ive had two YT mountain bikes over the past 5 years. (Everything flawless)

Do your due diligence on Canyon and Ribble though. I am pretty sure Ribble have bitten off way more than they can chew in terms of taking orders and money from customers and then not having a clue about lead times, when customers will actually see their bikes and the ability to rectify the inevitable problems that arise from attempting to fire out bike builds as fast as possible. Their trustpilot review page is fast becoming a shit show....

I'll confess, I've ordered a Ribble Endurance SLR because I am one of those people that cant get away from a bargain....if my expected delivery time comes and goes without any updates from Ribble I'll grab a refund and probably go for a Giant TCR as an upgrade to my current Giant Defy, which I love. 

Check out the Giant TCR/Defys if you havent already.  

 

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Secret_squirrel | 4 years ago
1 like

Ultegra is where I would compromise too.  I have last gen Ultegra and Current gen 105 on my bikes and I can honestly say the 105 shifts better.

I had a look at the Van Rysel and I think although it's a decent bike it's not quite the value lower range Decathlon bikes are.  It's nicely light for a 2k bike but some of that is coming from the rim brakes.   Also I would say it probably won't hold its value being rim brake and decathlon than some other brands so I would class it as a "keep it until it dies" type of purchase.
 

The Orro Venturi Evo 105 is in your price range, gets shining reviews and is "British" to boot if that floats your boat.

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Jem PT | 4 years ago
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I've got a Canyon Ultimate (albeit with DI2) and love it. It felt a bit too racy at first (compared to what I had riden before) but once I  got used to it there was no stopping me. Personally I wouldn't worry about tubeless tures, but each to their own.

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EddyBerckx | 4 years ago
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I'd go for a Canyon Ultimate (what I have currently) or a Ribble Endurace tbh. As the others have said, ultegra only beats 105 on weight (300 grams overall?) and those 2 bikes are excellent for the money (not ridden the Ribble, just going on reviews)

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mike the bike | 4 years ago
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Bobby is exactly right.  I have previous generation Ultegra (less than 3 years old) on one bike and the latest 105 on another.  For smooth, slick changes the 105 is definitely a little better, although it does, of course, weigh slightly more.

For two grand I would probably choose carbon and if it's mostly for commuting I'd be looking at Ribble, Kinesis or Ribble.  Did I mention Ribble?

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BobbyG | 4 years ago
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I don't think you should be concerned about going for 105....there really is very little in it (between Ultegra).

I'd be going here:

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road-bikes/race-bikes/ultimate/ultimate-cf-...

 

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