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First Road Bike – B’twin Triban 500 SE vs Specialized Allez 2015

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  • May 27, 2015 at 1:48 pm #24094
    alexdm50

    Hi All,

    So I’ve been looking at bikes for the last couple of weeks and finally came down to 2 options:

    Specialized Allez 2015 Road Bike – £480
    (50% rebate over 12 months with my Vitality making the final cost £240 but this is 12 months down the line not immediate)
    http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/allez-2015-road-bike-ec070568

    OR

    B’twin Tiban 500 SE – £330
    http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-se-road-bike-black-id_8306187.html

    It really is a choice of these 2 and while I intended to go higher I will be taking advantage of bike2work scheme in about 6 – 12 months to get something much nicer but what does everyone think? Does the Specialized warrant the extra £150? I’ve ridden both and they both feel great but these were test rides and rather short.

    The bike will be used primarily for commuting and weekend trips to the market and local parks. 10 mile round trip a day for work. I intend to purchase this Friday!

    Thanks in advance all!

    A

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  • May 30, 2015 at 8:17 pm #847705
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    huntswheelers

    Triban all the way……
    Triban all the way…… and don’t be afraid of the MicroShift gears…. they are really good…no I don’t have them or a bike with them…but I have serviced and set them up ( I’m a Pro Bike Mechanic) and they are so much easier than Sram IMHO to set up… and equal to Shimano… I’m guessing that in the UK the blinkered will do their Brand Love thing ….but they are missing out….

    May 29, 2015 at 10:07 am #847703
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    I am a human

    I was in your situation this
    I was in your situation this time last year and tied myself in knots looking at all the road bike options between £250 and £1000! I ended up saying “Stuff it, get the second cheapest” and got the 500SE. I definitely don’t regret it.

    A year on and it’s still really fun to ride and the gears are still very well behaved. I got a set of pretty nice wheels from Superstar Components just to add a bit of pizzazz. The only thing that I think I’ll do to it is change the bar tape to something a bit plusher.

    May 28, 2015 at 6:20 pm #847701
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    Ade-Miller

    I have the 500se and can’t
    I have the 500se and can’t fault it. I am a mere beginner but it has not let me down in 12 months. I was wary of the microshift gears but like I say no issues. Get it and you won’t regret it. 🙂

    May 28, 2015 at 5:34 pm #847699
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    Chez_worldwide

    You will not regret buying
    You will not regret buying the Triban. I still ride my Triban 5 to work every day, 2 years after getting it, and don’t mind taking it out on wet weekends when I don’t want to get my newer, shinier things dirty. You can’t go wrong for the price.

    May 28, 2015 at 3:34 pm #847697
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    DrJDog

    Triban has a carbon fork, as
    Triban has a carbon fork, as mentioned above, and has a triple at the front if that is your thing. Dull colour scheme.

    Allez has full shimano claris (which is pretty good), and a compact double, if that is your thing. Probably slightly better than the microshift gears on the triban. The Allez comes in bright orange (this alone might swing it for me).

    I think if it was me, and I could wait for the rebate, I’d get the Allez. Better gears, a more racy setup, only downside is the fork, and that should not be a deal breaker.

    If I needed the triple to get up hills I might get the triban.

    I doubt you could go wrong with either. Maybe the price should be the deciding factor…

    May 28, 2015 at 1:10 pm #847695
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    bfslxo

    The B’twin has a carbon fork
    The B’twin has a carbon fork which will be more comfortable but the spec is slightly better equipped gear wise – personally if your getting a better bike so soon i would go for the B’twin, they get very highly praised for a lot of corners

    May 28, 2015 at 12:23 pm #847693
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    alexdm50

    thanks stan it looks like the
    thanks stan it looks like the Triban is a good one to go for appreciate the help. Shame I couldnt find a review anywhere on the specialized

    May 28, 2015 at 11:38 am #847691
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    StantheVoice

    The Triban was voted road.cc
    The Triban was voted road.cc best commuter and best budget bike, so I really think there’s not much doubt you’ll be happy with it. Did you see our review:
    http://road.cc/content/review/116333-btwin-triban-500-se-road-bike

    We’ve not been able to get the Spesh in for review for some reason.

    May 28, 2015 at 11:31 am #847689
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    P3t3

    You said they both feel great
    You said they both feel great so get the cheap one.

    I don’t think anything you can get on the bike to work scheme will feel significantly better in the real word.

    It’ll get stolen in 6 months anyway and your stated use doesn’t require a high performance machine.

    May 28, 2015 at 11:24 am #847687
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    alexdm50

    anyone?
    anyone?

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