Which £1500 road bike is best for me?

[sagarich]

I purchased a £500 Pinnacle Laterite 2 back in 2018 and I have well and truly caught the bug. Looking to upgrade to my first "proper bike", with a budget of £1500, I'm looking at 105 and entry carbon. Having a young family, free time is precious and I tend to do a power hour or two, mainly on local hilly routes around the Meon Valley... hence the racier selection.

Thoughts on below and have I missed anything else obvious:

Canyon Ultimate CF SL



Giant TCR Advanced 2



The Alu alternative - Cannondale CAAD13

[IrateNinja]

For what it's worth, I personally probably wouldn't buy a canyon or Cannondale with the associated manufacturing tolerance and bottom bracket issues. I do think the CAAD13 (and CAAD12) are very nice looking, which almost trumps any mechanical considerations.

There was a Specialized Tarmac deal recently at around this price with a threaded BB which I was tempted by.

[Get Karter]

Giant TCR will probably be the best quality per £ you can get, unless there’s some big discounts on the others.

[sagarich]

IrateNinja said:

For what it's worth, I personally probably wouldn't buy a canyon or Cannondale with the associated manufacturing tolerance and bottom bracket issues. I do think the CAAD13 (and CAAD12) are very nice looking, which almost trumps any mechanical considerations.

There was a Specialized Tarmac deal recently at around this price with a threaded BB which I was tempted by.

I didn’t realise there were quality issues with the Canyon and Cannondale. What is the BB issue?

I missed out on that Tarmac deal in my size unfortunately. Still a few kicking about, but only in a 56.

[sagarich]

Get Karter said:

Giant TCR will probably be the best quality per £ you can get, unless there’s some big discounts on the others.

Does anyone own a TCR on here? Any feedback would be great.

[nammynake]

Canyon from that lot.

[MockingJay]

I'd go for the Giant myself.

[BeirutTaxi]

sagarich said:

Does anyone own a TCR on here? Any feedback would be great.

I own a 2018/2019 TCR Advanced 2 Disc

It's utterly, utterly fabulous in my experience. Not surprisingly it won Bike Radar's Road Bike of the Year

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/road-bikes...

Superbly comfortable, aero/race geometry, nice finishing kit. Tubeless setup out of the box only adds to the ride comfort.

Also, you get an entire Shimano drivetrain; no sub-standard FSA bits to make it cheaper.

[Gareth1974]

Looks decent for the price https://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant-tcr-advan...

[cs174]

I think it's worth looking at the Cube Attain GTC SL disc as this is within budget and has the Ultegra gears and carbon frame.

[BoRED S2upid]

https://www.rutlandcycling.com/bikes/road-bikes/sc...


Seems to tick some boxes for you. Last years model but that’s why it’s reduced.

[R1gtr]

Cube make great value for money bikes. I would be looking for a 2019 model as you will get so much more for your money.
If you are looking at Canyon then Rose may be worth a look, great spec for the money and direct order just like Canyon.

Not sure on your size but there are deals like this kicking about, amazing spec and lightweight...
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/827/products/cube-li...


https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/1313/products/cube-a...

https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/484/products/giant-t...

Edited by R1gtr on Saturday 15th February 12:02

Edited by R1gtr on Saturday 15th February 12:45

[sagarich]

BeirutTaxi said:

sagarich said:

Does anyone own a TCR on here? Any feedback would be great.

I own a 2018/2019 TCR Advanced 2 Disc

It's utterly, utterly fabulous in my experience. Not surprisingly it won Bike Radar's Road Bike of the Year

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/road-bikes...

Superbly comfortable, aero/race geometry, nice finishing kit. Tubeless setup out of the box only adds to the ride comfort.

Also, you get an entire Shimano drivetrain; no sub-standard FSA bits to make it cheaper.

Thanks for the feedback, I had seen that review and it helped the TCR make the shortlist. Silly question, but what are tubeless like to live with? What happens when you get a puncture?

[sagarich]

Gareth1974 said:

Looks decent for the price https://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant-tcr-advan...

That looks like a bargain! Added to the shortlist.

[sagarich]

BoRED S2upid said:

https://www.rutlandcycling.com/bikes/road-bikes/sc...

Seems to tick some boxes for you. Last years model but that’s why it’s reduced.

A very good looking bike indeed, I had seen that... but didn't think an aero bike would suit my needs (I maybe wrong).

[PulsatingStar]

Breaking the rules no doubt, but I have an ML TCR Pro I need to move on but have been lazy about... Was looking for 1k. 6800 DI2 (except 105 calipers) and SLR Integrated Bars...

[sagarich]

PulsatingStar said:

Breaking the rules no doubt, but I have an ML TCR Pro I need to move on but have been lazy about... Was looking for 1k. 6800 DI2 (except 105 calipers) and SLR Integrated Bars...

That looks lovely! Unfortunately I'm a short arse and would be looking at an S

[PulsatingStar]

No worries. The TCR is a great bike. Im just a tart and wanted something new so got a Tarmac Disc. There really isnt anything between them being honest though. Also have a Propel, which I had before I got the TCR and as an all round bike the TCR is better.

[BoRED S2upid]

sagarich said:

BoRED S2upid said:

https://www.rutlandcycling.com/bikes/road-bikes/sc...

Seems to tick some boxes for you. Last years model but that’s why it’s reduced.

A very good looking bike indeed, I had seen that... but didn't think an aero bike would suit my needs (I maybe wrong).

N+1 we all need an aero bike.

[mathmos]

ribble an option? R872 perhaps?