Which Bike / Frame on a budget

[Richard (Apples)]

Like Alan I'm thinking about which bike to upgrade to for next year . I have a more modest budget but want something that I can race on and will be light and comfortable for longer sportiffs which I'm planning on doing next year.

I have three favourites which I've put in the poll. Your thoughts and comments would be appreciated

[Rob]

corsa

[Richard (Apples)]

Thanks Rob

Is there a website I can look at ? Who's Phil
Sponsored eh! Sounds great what do you do?

[George]

Richard for this budget you can get full carbon Planet X with Ultegra (great bike for the cash) from Geoffrey Butlers.

They also have a full carbon Bianchi 928l with Ultegra for a couple of tons more, hurry I just bought the other one.

But if you go for a Pinarello, Colnago, De Rosa, Cannondale expect to say goodbye to another £500 at least.

Cheers George

[George]

Ooops

Actually the Planet X bike is only £1200 Ultegra mix and £1500 Dura Ace.

Not Bad eh

[Rob]

not bad it you want some chinese crap...yeah
if you want top end carbon bikes.and your only spending like 1500....putting it politely, its gonna be sh1t!




and remember, heavy people and carbon shouldnt mix(never met you so not sure of your size)

[Graham O]

Following on from the comment regarding sh*t carbon.

Why not think about a top end aluminium. Why not consider a bike based upon the Cervelo Soloist Team Frameset.

This is basically, the training bike for the CSC squad. Its probably the cheapest bike you can get that is used by the pro's.

Additionally, I have a time edge frameset which is pretty good. You can get this frame for £850 and build up with ultegra and a set of £150 wheels for £1500.

[Grahame]

How many times do I have to say this?

People come in many different shapes. So do bikes (the different shapes are called different geometries as well as different sizes).

Here's my proposed process:
Fix your budget.
Find out what is available for that budget.
Test ride as many of the bikes available as possible (you may need to leave your bank card and/or passport/driving licence at the shop whilst you test the bikes)
Choose the bike that you feel most comfortable on after a decent length test ride (at least 1/2 hour, preferably an hour or more)
Buy it
Be prepared for people to say "you should have bought this or that"
Retort with "I bought the best bike for me, not for you"
Ride it lots
Smile a lot

[Graham O]

In fact - Here is the offocial word on the soloist...

Ridden to victory by Team CSC in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Paris-Nice, Tour de l'Avenir, Criterium International and many other races - it is the most affordable way to ride what the pros ride

[Richard (Apples)]

Thanks for the help so far chaps.

I was up at Condor last night and taking Grahame's point I really like the emphasis they put on measuring you for a proper fit .

Sean , how did I know you would say that - I am tempted though

What do you all think of the Scott ? It gets good reviews and looks great in what they call nude carbon.

[Jon H]

Take your budget then divide it by three, then spend roughly equal thirds on the frame, the wheels, and the groupset/finishing kit. That should give a well balanced package in which nothing outperforms or underperforms the rest. That guidance is for a race bike which could be trashed, outdated or you could get bored with in two or three years. If it's a dream bike you intend to keep for years to come then spend a larger proportion on the frame and upgrade the rest later.

[adrian]

[quote="Jon Hemming"] That guidance is for a race bike which could be trashed, outdated or you could get bored with in two or three years.

[Richard (Apples)]

Thanks Jon

I'm thinking more on frame wheels etc, with a slightly lower groupset so there's upgrade potential down the line

I know what you mean Adrian I've got so many bills for odds and sods I'm hoping its tax deductable

[adrian]

It gets to the point where your bank and credit-card statements read like the cycling section of the Yellow Pages

[Andrew G]

Squadra is nice, but I think you end up compromising somewhere with an off-the-peg, unless you can haggle swaps in the price (I've only ever seen Specialized sold with Shimano).

Biased opinion:
I got a GB Carbon 7 frame, got a bit carried away building it up with Chorus etc but Phil N has a v. nice bike from the same frame with Veloce which would bring the price down if you couldn't afford to go the whole hog. If you want full Carbon you could build up around the Pearson Carbon Pro.
Honest opinion:
Agree with Grahame though, make sure you get what you want, it's a lot of money if you get it wrong. It's still a lot if you get it right, just easier to justify the expense.