Radon road bikes

[nammynake]

I'm looking for a new bike for fast training rides and eventually racing. I don't want to spend lots as I already have a 'best' bike (for Sunday club rides and long/hilly rides) and this offering from Radon caught my eye.

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-r1-4.0-23...

- Triple-butted Alu frame
- Full carbon forks
- New 11-spd 105 groupset
- Mavic Askium wheels
- 7.85kg without pedals

Currently going for £775 plus delivery which seems excellent value to me. I would replace the Askium's with some carbon clinchers I already own so selling the Askium's would net me £100.

There's little information and review on-line so just wondering if anyone has any knowledge of this model or Radon bikes in general. Are they 'generic' Alu frames or bespoke to Radon?

Thanks

[Daveyraveygravey]

Very little info about Radon. Have you looked at Rose? May not be as cheap as that but they do some very light alu bikes.

[Barchettaman]

What will that Radon do that the PX RT-58 Alloy Sram 22 for 699 can't?
Apart from its manufacturers being in a different country if it breaks?

[jamiebae]

My boss has a couple of Radon bikes and they're very well regarded in Germany and Switzerland, and they seem to be decent value for money.

Can you find a B'Twin Alur from Decathlon? Similar spec but cheaper, and easier to sort issues with.

[anonymous-user]

I never get these "issues" that would put me off buying a bike from overseas, sure it's a pain in the tits to send it back but that's only a requirement for fundamental issues like frames breaking.

Everything else can easily be fixed by the owner or an LBS and wouldn't be the fault of the manufacturer, sure you can argue you shouldn't have to fix it, eg it's a shimano component but it's on their bike they supplied.... but it's not like it's a proprietary part that no one else can stock. To me this "a generic part may fail" risk is the risk I'd quite happily take to save some cash compared to Trek et al.

[nammynake]

Barchettaman said:

What will that Radon do that the PX RT-58 Alloy Sram 22 for 699 can't?
Apart from its manufacturers being in a different country if it breaks?

It won't necessarily "do" any more, but the Radon is better specified and a kilo lighter as a result. So the question in my mind is "which is the better bike?"...hence my original question. I've looked at various offerings from Dolan, Ribble etc, and just want to compare bikes in the same price range before making my choice. Buying direct from oversees does not phase me in the slightest. I've bought three bikes in that way previously.

[Barchettaman]

Oh, OK.

Well, the Radon looks a nice deal for the money, if you're desperate for alloy frame/carbon fork/11 speed. That's a pretty narrow demographic as (rightly or wrongly) the market is after carbon frames at that price point.

I can't say I've seen any over here. Canyon, Rose and Focus seem to be the biggest players alongside the usual big brands.

[seadragon]

I was looking into the same recently but for Mtb. There were many bikes but of my shortlist the 3 main ones that offered great spec for the money were Radon, Canyon and Vitus (which you buy from Chain Reaction Cycles). I bought a previous years model Vitus Rapide 1 with Sram XO spec for £1100 which is amazing (a year go)

Good luck

[Birdthom]

Chap I know has a Radon MTB, looked good to me and he's very happy with it. I'd have one.

[Barchettaman]

nammynake said:

It won't necessarily "do" any more, but the Radon is better specified and a kilo lighter as a result.

The weight quoted on the Radon website is for the smallest size (50cm).
The weight for the PX is for a medium and it has heavier wheels (+/- 200g).

I'd be surprised if there were any discernable differences between them. Two lovely alloy bikes.

[yellowjack]

Thanks, OP, for the spot!

That seems like a nice bike. I also noted the R1 5.0, with the Ultegra group, but it was only c50 grams lighter for an extra £150+.

So now I'm looking at the Radon Ignite 9.0 SL, with an Ultegra group and Ksyrium Elite S wheels, for about £1350 delivered, and only 6.95kg if their claims are to be believed! So it's been added to the shortlist, as it doesn't seem to be wanting anything in the way of upgrades straight out of the box. Well. Maybe a nice white Deda bar/stem combo, some white bar tape and a white saddle, but nothing that couldn't wait a while.

Radon are not an entirely new brand to me, but I've not seen any out and about, and only vaguely knew of the brand, so I hadn't considered them as a possibility up until now. A lot of the other stuff I'm looking at is more expensive to start with, and would really benefit from a decent wedge spent on better wheels and brakes to get it 'just so' from the off.

[nammynake]

Similar bike from Rose, which seem to be a slightly better-known name:

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-pro-sl-2000-b...

[nammynake]

Went for the above Rose in the end. £808 total. Aksium wheels will be sold on immediately and replaced with some Reynolds Assault clinchers that I already have. Now the wait....estimated at 4 weeks.

Frame gets a good review too. This review is for the higher-specced model, but it shares the frameset:

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/...

Edited by nammynake on Wednesday 11th February 23:05

[Barchettaman]

Looks like a great bike. Lots of Rose racing bikes seen over here on group rides/sportives, so they must be doing something right!

[tjdixon911]

Not wanting to start another thread thought I'd piggy back this one as its related to the same bikes... hope the OP doesn't mind.

I've been looking around for a new road bike recently, the Radon and Rose are pretty high on the list together with the Canyon Endurance AL - https://www.canyon.com/en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=35... All seem to be similar spec with the Canyon being the most expensive, is it worth the extra money? Then it gets close the Ultegra spec Radon... So easy for the budget to creep.

The cost of these bikes is getting close to / exceeding the entry level / lower priced Carbon Framed bikes from the likes of Boardman, Planet X and Ribble - should I be looking at these? What will be more comfortable / rewarding to own?

I'd be looking to use it all year round, mainly for fitness and a few Sportive type events.

It would be nice to stick to about £800 if possible...

[Barchettaman]

If you want comfort, get a bike that fits 622/28 tyres.

Rewarding to own? That's a tricky one to judge!

I personally think all the bikes on your list are excellent, go with the one with the funkiest colour scheme.

[Daveyraveygravey]

Barchettaman said:

Oh, OK.

Well, the Radon looks a nice deal for the money, if you're desperate for alloy frame/carbon fork/11 speed. That's a pretty narrow demographic as (rightly or wrongly) the market is after carbon frames at that price point.

I can't say I've seen any over here. Canyon, Rose and Focus seem to be the biggest players alongside the usual big brands.

I read somewhere the Germans are less bothered about carbon than us in the UK, hence all the German makers seem to have more alu offerings and they all look like realistic competition to the carbon versions.
I'm in this ballpark budget wise for a new bike but have had my head turned by aero bikes like the Propel or Fuji Transonic.

[tjdixon911]

Daveyraveygravey said:

I read somewhere the Germans are less bothered about carbon than us in the UK, hence all the German makers seem to have more alu offerings and they all look like realistic competition to the carbon versions.
I'm in this ballpark budget wise for a new bike but have had my head turned by aero bikes like the Propel or Fuji Transonic.

The Propel is a good looking bike, is it a good bike for comfort and doing some distance on? I was told it wasn't suitable for what I wanted... plus its a few ££ over my budget..

[Daveyraveygravey]

I'm having a demo ride soon, will let you know. Guy in the (Giant) shop rode his on the Marmotte, someone else rides his everywhere. Admittedly that is the 4k version but then if I had that kind of bike I wouldn't ever be off it either.

[nammynake]

Piggy back away!

Canyon make great bikes - not quite as good value as they used to be but still much better value than the mainstream brands. The Endurance is aimed at the sportive rider (whatever that means), so basically a slightly more upright position due to longer head tube hence higher stack. The Rose that I've ordered is slightly 'racier' geometry (similar to the Canyon CF) but it depends how flexible you are and what kind of geometry you're looking for.