The £3k bike question

[Markp13]

Ok, I realise this may get a few "buy what fits you" answers but for ideas more than anything else I'll ask anyway.

If you had £3k to drop on a new road bike, what would you plump for?

One of the bike mags done a £2k best bike at the start of the year and I think the focus izalco won that one.

At the minute, even though I've not seen much in the way of reviews, I think I'd go for a Canyon Ultimate CF Slx 7.0 DI2. It just seems incredible value for money.
http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=30...

I currently pilot a cannondale caad9 if that makes any difference which I think would become a winter bike.

Edited by Markp13 on Wednesday 24th October 17:57

[Jimbo.]

Specialized Tarmac Expert (mechanical Ultegra). You've a bike for life with Specialized's warranty

[Markp13]

Jimbo. said:

Specialized Tarmac Expert (mechanical Ultegra). You've a bike for life with Specialized's warranty

Does anyone actually want a bike for life anymore though? It's like having a car for life. I'd always want a upgrade after a few years. The caad's lasted me 5 years thus far.

Also, is the draw of electric shifting not a big draw when specing a bike now?

To be fair though, I have looked at the Tarmac and they are very nice.

[Rolls]

Cannondale super6 ultegra, and upgrade the wheels? - thats what i did!

[Magic919]

Isn't £3k a bit low for Di2?

For that money I'd probably have a trip to Wyndy Milla and see what I could put together.

[Jimbo.]

Markp13 said:

Does anyone actually want a bike for life anymore though? It's like having a car for life. I'd always want a upgrade after a few years. The caad's lasted me 5 years thus far.

Also, is the draw of electric shifting not a big draw when specing a bike now?

To be fair though, I have looked at the Tarmac and they are very nice.

If I was spending £3K on a bike (which I know is mid-range these days!), then yes. At the least, I'd certainly want the manufacturer to have enough confidence in their product to offer a lifetime warranty (cough Ridley cough) and not wangle out of it (cough Trek cough)

EDIT: re. electronic shifting. Not for me. Not yet, anyway. I actually like the feel and operation of mechanical gears: the maintenance and compromised trimming is a price I don't mind paying

[Markp13]

Magic919 said:

Isn't £3k a bit low for Di2?

For that money I'd probably have a trip to Wyndy Milla and see what I could put together.

It doesn't seem to be, the Canyon I've linked is DI2 and I know the Focus Cayo DI2 2012 is even less at around £2.3k.

I actually don't know much about DI2 but the tech seems pretty good to me.

I've just had a look at the wyndy milla bikes, I've never seen or heard of them before, they look, erm, interesting to say the least.

Edited by Markp13 on Wednesday 24th October 18:37

[MadDad]

I have just bucked the trend and bought a Titanium bike with SRAM Force/Red setup - rode a couple of carbon bikes but loved the way Ti rides, mind you it took me ages of deliberating until I finally went with Ti.

A logical approach is to think about the sort of riding you do, are you a racer?, Sportif rider? Evening bimbler? Weekend warrior? Start with the sort of bike geometry you need, this will help you narrow it down to begin with. Once you have a few bikes in mind go and test ride them, your 'dream' bike might simply not fit, or suit your riding style.

If you have a decent local bike shop go and have a coffee with them and chat through your needs. I visited a few LBS's for a chat to get a balanced view (including Wyndymilla), my 'usual' shop knows me quite well and actually steered me away from a number of bikes on my list as they didn't believe it would be the right choice for me.

If it has to be carbon I would also suggest a chat with Wyndymilla, mind you 3k might be a very basic build (105), that said they have some ex-team bikes on sale at the moment - all come with a lifetime warranty.

Good luck, and enjoy those test rides!!!

[BMWBen]

Will be watching this thread intently as I will be in this market in the next couple of months.

My thoughts at the moment are:

Boardman Air 9.2s (just come out)
http://www.boardmanbikes.com/road/air92s.html


Felt AR3 or AR4 (due early next year) - shame the 3 is in white...
http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2013/Road/AR-Serie...
(will be ultegra in the UK - AR3 is Ultegra Di2)


I was thinking about the canyons, but a read a few reviews that noted the frame's flex. And given that you can't ride before you buy... it might be a dealbreaker. Which is a shame because you get an AMAZING spec for the money.

[Markp13]

I don't race but myself and a few friends are reasonably regular bikers when weather allows.

Typically spending anywhere between 1hr to 3hrs on a ride covering between 20- 55 miles at a time. My average speed being between 17-19 mph.

I haven't heard of a flex issue with the Canyons so far.

I see I can get a 2012 venge expert for around £2.6 but I'm guessing aero isn't to important at my speeds.

[Rouleur]

This for £3100 from an LBS of mine http://www.royles.biz/product/11199/Cervelo_R5_VWD...

[nammynake]

Canyon CF SLX but I'd probably go for the mechanical 9 - a few hundred quid more with better wheels.

[Markp13]

Rouleur said:

This for £3100 from an LBS of mine http://www.royles.biz/product/11199/Cervelo_R5_VWD...

That is a cracking deal, I don't seem to get along with SRAM however.

[Markp13]

nammynake said:

Canyon CF SLX but I'd probably go for the mechanical 9 - a few hundred quid more with better wheels.

A few!? £650 more you mean.

[okgo]

Tarmac expert with ultegra for three thousand fking pounds? Are you on drugs Jimbo? Got to be up there with wiping your arse with £50's in terms of wasting money.

If you're going new, its go to be a Canyon I reckon. Don't worry about frame flex, its absolute nonsense, I know a bloke who has one, he's a big guy, VERY fast and has no issue.

[castex]

De Rosa Neo Primato in Molteni orange with Record, please.

[Rob_T]

I bought a specialized venge expert knocked down from 3500 to 2700. Great bike. Not a great deal better than my £1295 giant defy advanced 3, but it's shiny and new. Read into that what you will.......

[Markp13]

Rob_T said:

I bought a specialized venge expert knocked down from 3500 to 2700. Great bike. Not a great deal better than my £1295 giant defy advanced 3, but it's shiny and new. Read into that what you will.......

I looked at Giant in Dales Cycles in Glasgow this morning and they did look very well put together. As did the Scott Foil. The only Venge they had was a S-works and that's a long way off my budget.

[London424]

I've wondered why Giant dont seem to get more recommendations...any reasons guys?

[MadDad]

Probably not 'sexy' enough in terms of brand (despite the fact that they build a lot of kit for others - e.g. most Mavic rims are manufactured by GIANT). I have a GIANT Trance MTB and for the money it has been excellent and can turn its hand to just about anything, I have ridden it on black runs at trail centers as well as all day XC rides and it has performed faultlessly on both. It does not however have the same 'draw' as an Orange, Yeti etc.

During my recent bike hunt I was looking at the TCR Advance 0 - LBS said they are very quick, exceptionally well made, but very harsh to ride for more than a couple of hours.