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8 comments
Good luck I hope its not too wet for you I think I'm having to don the scuba gear if the weather man is right.
Thought you might be interested in finding out that I did go for the Spesh in the end!
The Jamis was ok, but heavier and the sizing wasn't as good for me.
Picked it up last weekend and it's been great so far for commuting. Drops are taking a bit of getting used to and the brakes aren't as good as Vs/discs with the stock pads, but it's so much faster and more responsive than my Roadrat.
I've got my first long Sunday ride on it coming up tomorrow, will be interesting to see how it handles in the wet and if it's still as comfortable over greater distances...
I've got the 2011 Secteur with a 2300 triple. Great first bike for me, its done touring, time trials and club runs. Its always been comfy after long days in the saddle - I don't know how much the zertz insert helps, I suspect its more likely due to the geometry. Doesn't feel sluggish though!
Thanks for the replies,
Glad that integrated headsets aren’t too bad in reality, I was initially put off a bit by that Chris King article knocking their durability.
The downgrade of the paddle levers to the Sora range was one of reasons I was thinking of getting a new bike, the ones with the little ears just sound badly designed. Roadie shifters are ridiculously expensive in comparison to MTB ones!
Looks like the Secteur it is then, now just need to book in a test ride.
@Noiseboyfeetman. The Giants look good but they both have a double/compact. I normally add a few goes up/down a 20% ish hill after a relaxed club run, there is no way I could currently do it with that range of gearing. I know it gets easier the more practice you get, but I would want a bail out gear if any really hilly bits come up.
No shock here when I say get the Spesh!
Yeah I would go for the Specialized too. The new Sora levers are the old Tiagra so no little thumb button. A solid bike that’s easy on his back according to my brother.
How about a Giant Defy? They always get good reviews and are well specced for the money, the Defy 2 is £50 cheaper than the Spesh and is Tiagra as opposed to Sora. If you can stretch to the Defy 1 at £999.99 you get 105 instead.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-giant-d...
I'd go for the Spesh personally.
integrated headsets are ok ... most of my fleet has them now
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One thing ... sora sti's used to have a thumb shift on
the hood which was a pain to use