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Help – carbon road bike.

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  • June 7, 2014 at 9:58 pm #21625
    bikegirl

    Hi all,

    I’m searching for my first road bike and my requirements are carbon + 105 groupset.

    My high-end choices are GIANT Avail Advance2, Ridley or Colnago CLD, all around the £2K mark.

    Then there are some cheaper options, which I’m strongly considering as this is my first road bike – Ribble and Norco Valence C3 Forma. I do like their frame colour and their geometry does fit me.

    Norco does not have the full 105 kit, which I can get with Ribble, but Ridley are currently out of stock for my frame size…

    My main question – is the carbon specification of these cheaper bikes much worse than the more expensive ones?

    Ribble = ‘mix of Toray T700/T800 carbon fibre’
    Norco = ’24T Mid-Modulus Carbon’

    I am not sure which of those two is better, does anyone know? I’ve also noticed that Ridley’s spec is 24t HM Unidirectional carbon – would HM (high modulus?) be much better than Mid-Modulus?

    Any big issues anyone sees with Norco that I’m missing? If I like the frame I’m guessing I can always upgrade the breaks and other non-105 parts in the future? Will I regret going for a Norco versus these high-end bikes?

    Thanks so much!

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  • June 8, 2014 at 5:14 pm #798101
    0
    mtbtomo

    At £2000 you should get a
    At £2000 you should get a reasonable carbon frame AND groupset comparable to full 105. Anything less would strike me as not particularly good value.

    You can also get a decent alloy frame but with Ultegra for sub £2000 easily.

    June 8, 2014 at 5:09 pm #798099
    0
    crazy-legs

    Don’t get a cheapo carbon
    Don’t get a cheapo carbon frame!

    Like a cheap Alu or cheap steel frame they’re heavy, a bit dead feeling and, if you’re buying some no name thing from Taiwan as someone suggested, you’ve got little in the way of warranty.

    Get the best frame you can for that money and make do with whatever parts are on it, they can always be upgraded later.

    Choice between a cheap(er) frame and full 105 at £2000 or a comparatively more expensive frame and full Tiagra at £2000, I’d go for the latter option every time.

    June 8, 2014 at 12:02 pm #798097
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    Charliegr555

    I’d personally go boardman
    i
    I’d personally go boardman
    i know there’s a bit of a stigma but in my experience the frames look the part are light and stiff and you get a good overall package but do look into where you get yours built my Halfords in Ipswich centre are fantastic and the bike was built to a T the other one Iv been told to steer clear of in my area though

    Look at either the low elite range on boardman a website or the pro carbon or SLR carbon from Halfords

    June 8, 2014 at 9:12 am #798095
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    mtbtomo

    Hi-mod is stiffer so you can
    Hi-mod is stiffer so you can use less (and therefore lighter frame) to achieve the same stiffness. Some frames claiming to be hi-mod aren’t hi-mod throughout and for the mere mortal it will be difficult to tell the minute differences between frames (other than poisition and distinctly differing design purposes like aero Vs sportive).

    £2k is a lot to spend on a first road bike. Some very good alloy framed bikes (cannondale CAAD, Giant TCR SL alloy if you can find one, Kinesis, etc etc) with 105 for around £1000 at the moment. Having seen some of the weights of low end carbon frames, its not necessarily better than alloy.

    Get one that fits and the one you like the look of.

    June 8, 2014 at 5:44 am #798093
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    Welsh boy

    timtak wrote:Carbon forks and

    timtak wrote:
    Carbon forks and rear triangle bend to give the effect of suspension….

    Not a good (or accurate) description of the effect of carbon on a road bike. Carbon can flex slightly (as can aluminium if designed to do so) but carbon does not transmit vibration in the same way as steel or aluminium so you tend to feel the road vibration less. Because you go on to say that if you are thin then you dont need a bike, I take it your post is made very much tongue in cheek and none of it is meant to be taken seriously.

    June 8, 2014 at 4:19 am #798091
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    timtak

    Carbon forks and rear
    Carbon forks and rear triangle bend to give the effect of suspension, like riding a mountain bike except as light as an aluminium road bike. If you are very thin then the suspension may not be needed but if you are that thin you probably don’t need a bike or, more likely you already have one. Cheap carbon for the win.

    June 7, 2014 at 11:45 pm #798089
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    chiv30

    What’s wrong with aluminium?
    What’s wrong with aluminium? For the price you are willing to pay for carbon , you will get a far better spec in alu with (likely) complete 105 minimum also likely to have better spec wheels

    June 7, 2014 at 11:44 pm #798087
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    timtak

    I’d go cheapo and did
    I’d go cheapo and did (Azzurri) and did not regret it. OEM frames from Taiwan on ebay and aliexpress look like a good deal too.

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