New Bike Time! (Soonish)

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

Post Reply
JamesGRC
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2016 8:13 pm

by JamesGRC

So a while ago I posted about upgrading my spesh allez because I wasn't allowed to get a new bike. Well, after realizing that it would take ridiculous sums of money to get my bike down to a decent weight my dad has said I can get a bike in... February. Yes its a while away but British winter is coming now so I wouldn't really have a chance to ride a 'nice bike' now anyway.
I'm a bit stuck for ideas at the minute so am pretty much open to anything with a few excecptions:
I'd prefer a shimano groupset but am open to SRAM
I'm gonna need something around 6.8kgs or below
Currently swinging to a rose but would maybe like something a bit more exclusive
Budget is around £2500 so obviously can't have anything to extravagant
I plan to race on it as well if that is of relevance

Any suggestions are welcome!

raisinberry777
Posts: 313
Joined: Wed Jul 30, 2014 1:09 am

by raisinberry777

Don't race what you can't replace, that's the big rule.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Zakalwe
Posts: 786
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:15 pm

by Zakalwe

+1, especially with the number of nobbers ready and waiting to run out of talent next to you on the uk racing scene currently. Get some kind of deng fu thing with gigantex-esque tubs for racing on, put the rest towards your next nice bike for club runs

dudemanppl
Posts: 1262
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:09 am

by dudemanppl

Can you purchase used parts?

wingguy
Posts: 4318
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:43 pm

by wingguy

JamesGRC wrote:So a while ago I posted about upgrading my spesh allez because I wasn't allowed to get a new bike. Well, after realizing that it would take ridiculous sums of money to get my bike down to a decent weight my dad has said I can get a bike in... February.

That's a bad call. There are still a lot of great deals on 2016 bikes around right now but by Feb most of it will be gone and it'll be a crap shoot over whether you can find the right bike at 40% off or end up paying full up for something from 2017 in a lot lower spec.

Convince your dad that you can spend his/your money much more wisely if you spend it now!

jmaccyd
Posts: 120
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 4:12 pm

by jmaccyd

raisinberry777 wrote:Don't race what you can't replace, that's the big rule.



Rule 1

User avatar
jekyll man
Posts: 1570
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:23 am
Location: Pack filler

by jekyll man

JamesGRC wrote:I'm gonna need something around 6.8kgs or below



Thats a pretty important "need" :shock:

If your 6ft 4 it'll be a lot harder than if you're 5'2!!

Priority should be something that fits, nothing else.
Then consider budget and what you are planning on doing with it.

I'm presuming you'll be junior racing, so expect a few crashes.
Things like rear mechs and shifters are normally in the firing line, so 105 is fine and not too expensive to replace.

For the frame, personally i'd pick a half decent alloy frame over a low end carbon one. More likely to withstand the knocks than a bunch of teeneagers falling on a generic chinese thing. It'll probably ride better, and be lighter for similar money.

I'm sensing caad or Emonda ALR.

Save some of your budget for unplanned for emergencies such as accident damage, or a pair of sunday best wheels
Official cafe stop tester

User avatar
BRM
Posts: 817
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:43 pm

by BRM

Don't think that with a lighter bike you are suddenly faster.
If the Allez fits you well, it will be a good bike to start races with.

JamesGRC
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2016 8:13 pm

by JamesGRC

Thanks guys,
@Zakalwe I was thinking of going Chinese but maybe somewhere like pedal force that has a bit more security, thoughts?
@dudemanppl used parts are definitely on the table
@wingguy I was thinking that but rose don't tend to do end of season sales but just sell the same bikes for a couple of years then change
@jekyll man I'm 5ft 8 so around 54cm frame which should make 6.8kg achievable. As for frame material I like the look of things like caad 12, kinesis aithein and bowman palace but feel that going alloy again isn't much of an upgrade even if they are light frames. Although I'm light and probably don't need to worry about stiffness a lot of people say that light alloy lacks stiffness and comfort, both of which carbon are said to be good at broadly.
This is the Rose I'm currently looking at if anyone wants to share their opinions:
https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-x-lite-team-3000-887928/aid:887930

User avatar
BRM
Posts: 817
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:43 pm

by BRM

I gave you the best advice but you ignored it . . . . :wink:

I totally understand you want something new (and lighter) and if you go for another bike. Look carefully to the geometry of your current bike and consider if you want changes to that. Look carefully what you dislike and what change it needs to satisfy you more. Your old bike is a perfect reference for optimizing things. With that info you can hunt for a bike that has the right geo/properties.

jeffy
Posts: 1325
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2014 11:51 pm

by jeffy

for cheap / light / great value. and ~£2500 you cannot do better than TCR ADV PRO 1

pretty sure a small would be around high 6 low 7 kg

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bi ... 557/99152/

you can even test drive one for a few days

test-ride.co.uk

wingguy
Posts: 4318
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:43 pm

by wingguy

JamesGRC wrote:@wingguy I was thinking that but rose don't tend to do end of season sales but just sell the same bikes for a couple of years then change

Yeah... but you also said you weren't set on the Rose. For example locally I've just seen an Izalco Max with upgraded wheels sold for a shade over your budget and 100g under your weight target. There's a Scott Addict here with DI2 that would leave £500 in your budget for upgrades. There's a Supersix Evo Hi-Mod for £250 less than you have to spend. There are a select few TCR Pro and Propel Pros still left. These are available now. You'll be lucky to find many of them in february.

JamesGRC
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2016 8:13 pm

by JamesGRC

Where are these bikes? I am a fan of the addict

JamesGRC
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2016 8:13 pm

by JamesGRC

BRM wrote:I gave you the best advice but you ignored it . . . . :wink:

I totally understand you want something new (and lighter) and if you go for another bike. Look carefully to the geometry of your current bike and consider if you want changes to that. Look carefully what you dislike and what change it needs to satisfy you more. Your old bike is a perfect reference for optimizing things. With that info you can hunt for a bike that has the right geo/properties.

Sorry, I have considered the geo and need something a bit lower than my allez. My allez is quite long so I can get stretched out but it's my quite low enough. Have you got any bikes you would suggest? Thanks for your advice :)

emcardle
Posts: 82
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2015 5:39 pm

by emcardle

Specialized allez sprint? Plus some chinese carbon wheels?

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply