Right guys you have €2500 what do you buy?

BUACHAILL

got myself a budget of 2500 maybe 3000 what do i buy ?

vms7ply9t6dw4b

A Car!

penexpers

Bit of an open question. Why kind of bike would this be?

BUACHAILL

agh no they are no fun

BUACHAILL

sorry was a bit open, road bike

Caroline_ie

http://www.racycles.com/SpecializedTarmacProDoubleBike-idv-7644-264.html

My Specialized bike's brother: and bang on budget if you buy if from the US.

BUACHAILL

thats savage isnt it

Caroline_ie

Specialized bikes rule ...

Explosive_Cornflake

Self build?

BUACHAILL

its a lot of money to spend without having a shop to bring it back to though

BUACHAILL

what self build? gimme yours ?

Caroline_ie

BUACHAILL wrote: »

its a lot of money to spend without having a shop to bring it back to though

AAaaah - you don't bring back a bike that beautiful ... you keep it, adore it, take care of it, THIS bike can become the best thing that can ever happen in your life.

BUACHAILL

im thinking warranty not adoption ha

blorg

To be honest Buachaill, I wouldn't do it if you are just starting out. I'd spend €500-750 on a second-hand or entry-level road bike, having tried it out and reasonably sure that it fits, cycle that from now until the end of the summer and then, when you have a much better idea of what you want/need, consider dropping €2,500-3,000.September/October sort of time is a good time to be buying a bike, you can get some cracking deals on current year stock.

Not 100% sure from what I recall reading about your commute plans- did you buy an entry level racer already?

If you spend that money now it could work out OK but you might end up with something that was just wrong for you (whether fit, geometry or the type of bike.) You can always keep the other bike as a winter bike or for your monster commute.

Drapper

blorg wrote: »

To be honest Buachaill, I wouldn't do it if you are just starting out. I'd spend €500-750 on a second-hand or entry-level road bike, having tried it out and reasonably sure that it fits, cycle that from now until the end of the summer and then, when you have a much better idea of what you want/need, consider dropping €2,500-3,000.September/October sort of time is a good time to be buying a bike, you can get some cracking deals on current year stock.

Not 100% sure from what I recall reading about your commute plans- did you buy an entry level racer already?

If you spend that money now it could work out OK but you might end up with something that was just wrong for you (whether fit, geometry or the type of bike.) You can always keep the other bike as a winter bike or for your monster commute.

+1 on this!

penexpers

Caroline_ie wrote: »

http://www.racycles.com/SpecializedTarmacProDoubleBike-idv-7644-264.html

My Specialized bike's brother: and bang on budget if you buy if from the US.

The only thing I don't like the look of on that bike is the integrated crankset. I believe this means you can't upgrade the crankset and if it ever breaks then it's an expensive trip to a Specialized dealer to have it repaired.

BUACHAILL

yeah i hear you and thanks for the advice but i sold it today just wasnt happy with it. so now i need a bike and have a pretty good idea if what i am looking for. have cycled before so i know my needs. but as i said i am bikeless as and from today

blorg

Number one question then would be- why weren't you happy with it?

As that could give a good indication as to what you should be looking at that you would be happy with.

BUACHAILL

yes indeed, i bought it with a limited budget and was the best i could get for the money but didnt like the gearing system, but again was thinking with moneyand not needs. my commute is fairly big so i have decided to take the plunge, oh it had shimano sora on it, wasnt rated well and performed worse

TinyExplosions

I agree with Blorg, but if I had too, either a Trek Madone 5.2, or a custom build around a Cinelli Estrada with Ultegra groupset (Treason I know to pair an Italian frame with a Japanese groupset, but I like Shimano)

Drapper

BUACHAILL wrote: »

yes indeed, i bought it with a limited budget and was the best i could get for the money but didnt like the gearing system, but again was thinking with moneyand not needs. my commute is fairly big so i have decided to take the plunge, oh it had shimano sora on it, wasnt rated well and performed worse

that will be some bike to commute on! (where do you work :p hope you got a good lock mate!!)

BUACHAILL

can keep the bike indoors, and i dont have to commute but am going to anyway. losing the company car for the summer fancy the bike, wicklow - loughlinstown

penexpers

I guess you bought the last bike in a hurry so I wouldn't do the same thing again. Go to various shops and take test rides on a large range of bikes and see what works and doesn't work. After you've done this you should have a fair idea of what you like. This process should take at least a couple of months. If you buy the wrong bike after spending 2500 euro on it, you'll find it alot harder to sell on.

BUACHAILL

yeah see thats it, dont wanna make a mistake on this one, i was looking for 4 weeks before i bought my last. i am gonna make a decision this week.i have been doing a lot of homework the last few weeks. i like the trek and i like the pinarello but think they are overpriced. was also looking at the focus cayo pro. just wondered on other peoples opinion!!

penexpers

What you're mainly paying for with the Trek and the Pinarello is extra labour costs. The Madone 5 and upwards is manufactured somewhere in the US (Wisconsin, I think?) and (I think) Pinarello are still manufactured in Italy.

BUACHAILL

what would you buy pen ?

jefferson73

Self build might be an option with regard to current exchange rates and up to 3000 budget

Thinking:

Endorfin Speed III
or
Look 555
or
Cervélo Soloist Team

Need your Height and weight?
Climber?
Preference for Ti, Carbon, Alu or steel?

penexpers

I don't know. I'm not too up on road bike. I'm not really a fan of carbon fibre so I'd probably get some that had a steel frame. The last bike I got was a self-build Surly Cross Check and the next bike I'm getting will be a self-build Surly Big Dummy. So I would say get a Pacer (the Surly racer) but I have no idea if it would suit your needs.

BUACHAILL

i like the carbon ,height is 5ft 8 and 13.5 stone

blorg

Buachaill- I have a Focus Cayo (standard, although I have upgraded a few bits like the wheelset and saddle) - you could do worse than just get the standard Cayo.

I considered the Focus range a lot when deciding on the new bike and decided that the basic Cayo offered the best value of the range. I didn't feel the more expensive ones really justified the price difference from the base model for what you got, so I got the base one and then upgraded- letting me get exactly what I wanted.

This is especially true now as the price on the basic Cayo is back to 999 while the other ones are still elevated from where they were (Wiggle put prices up as a result of the strong Euro- the bikes are German.) At the end of the day the Cayo frames are all the same (although the forks are lighter on the more expensive ones) so you can get the basic one and then upgrade as you see fit; I went for a lighter wheelset and tyres, chopping around 500g off the overall weight.

A Cayo at £999 (€1,300) would not be a bad idea at all, better than spending €2,500-3,000 outright - you can give it a go and then upgrade as you see fit. It's a nice bike.

You will not fault Ultegra as a groupset!

BUACHAILL

thanks blorg i had that in the back of my mind alright and is wellworth considring in the mix, did you upgrade there and then or later on down the road?

Diarmuid

How about the Cervelo Soloist Team? I've my eye on that for a future buy. Alu frame but good enough for CSC to have used it in pro races.

BUACHAILL

yeah another good option,ok officially confused

blorg

BUACHAILL wrote: »

thanks blorg i had that in the back of my mind alright and is wellworth considring in the mix, did you upgrade there and then or later on down the road?

I upgraded pretty quickly but only because it wasn't a first bike by a long shot and I had a fair idea as to what I wanted. I would have been happy had I had to stick to the bike as it came, it is a great bike stock.

I replaced saddle (for a Brooks Swallow, heavy as hell but I like it), seatpost (for Bontrager XXX lite carbon, saved all of 25 grams! but was primarily looking for less layback), and wheelset/cassette/tyres- for DT Swiss RR 1450, Ultegra cassette, Schwalbe Ultremo tyres. Great wheels and they did make a noticable difference going up hills, although there was no problem with the Aksiums the bike came with.

The only thing that HAD to be upgraded from the get-go was the saddle, it was a nightmare. But saddles are personal things.

I had originally ordered a Focus Izalco Team at £2,400 (then €3,200) but gave up on it after waiting on it for a month (out of stock.) Heard they were raising the Cayo prices so cancelled that and got an order in for the basic Cayo. Very happy with it, it goes up hills like nobody's business (the engine is also important mind; Raam's Cervelo stormed past me on Killiney hill today but on reflection I put it entirely down to the Cervelo ;-)

Once you get to a certain point most of the increased price is down to marginal weight savings- and unless you are a pro cyclist you can generally get that off your belly easier (and cheaper!) than off the bike- bear that in mind!

King Kelly

My tuppence halpenny worth......

http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=j1073

One of the guys in my CC bought one of these in March. Rode the Gorey 3 day on it and numerous other open races since. No problems. Fantastic value.

Ordering one for my brother at the moment. Upgrade the wheels to a pair of Mavic Kyserium ES in a years time and you have a great racing bike

blorg

You should also consider the Planet X Dura-Ace build for £999 or thereabouts. Not full Dura-Ace (brakes, cassette, crankset) but any of these bikes will give you a great introduction while holding a pretty good resale value I would imagine should you want to get something else in the future.

jefferson73

Roughly and i mean roughly...

Frame:
http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=17194

Groupset
http://cgi.ebay.ie/2008-Campagnolo-Record-Race-Feel-Carbon-Groupset-NEW_W0QQitemZ170231967667QQihZ007QQcategoryZ109120QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

Wheels
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360026717&n=Fulcrum%20Racing%205%20Evolution%20Wheel%20Set

Stem and handle bar
http://www.aspirevelotech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PCBARCOMBO&Category_Code=PC_BARS

headset
http://www.aspirevelotech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CKNTS18BLK&Category_Code=CKNTS

seatpost
http://www.aspirevelotech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=AVT&Category_Code=TH-ENSB-318

Ask asprie nicely for your Gifts:)

BUACHAILL

ok guys have i this right ? buy something around 1k-1.5k and upgrade if i want. focus, planetx seems to be the top two in this bracket but excellent bikes,that way covering your outgoings as much as possible and offers great optional upgrades!!

am i close ?
who sells planetx here?

blorg

BUACHAILL wrote: »

ok guys have i this right ? buy something around 1k-1.5k and upgrade if i want. focus, planetx seems to be the top two in this bracket but excellent bikes,that way covering your outgoings as much as possible and offers great optional upgrades!!

am i close ?
who sells planetx here?

Buachaill- that is certainly what I would recommend. Spend less now and upgrade in the future; get a good frame that will justify it.

Focus are sold exclusively by Wiggle in the UK/Ireland so you have to buy it online, although it does come set up immaculately. Planet X you generally buy direct too but they do sell through shops, I know you can get them in some NI shops, maybe you could get a shop down here to get one for you either.

http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/

Bambaata

i ordered a Focus Cayo on Thursday, should have it by Tuesday (was processed and shipped Thursday cos i emailed them and they said they fast track it ;-) ) so i can give you my thoughts on it then

blorg

Bambaata wrote: »

i ordered a Focus Cayo on Thursday, should have it by Tuesday (was processed and shipped Thursday cos i emailed them and they said they fast track it ;-) ) so i can give you my thoughts on it then

Hope you plan to try it out on the Ring of Kerry next weekend?

Chips Lovell

Thanks for the beep today, even if I did think you were an irrate motorist at the time;) I was the guy in black.

If I was spending that much on a bike I'd definitely go for a build rather than a stock bike. The reason is that with stock bikes you'll rarely find the right combination of components you want and invariably spend more money swapping stuff out.

Saddle and tyres are the most obvious ones, but my main issue would be wheels. Most stock bikes are sold with wheels that usually aren't up to the same grade as the rest of the bike, primarily I think because punters tend to focus too heavily on the groupset. However the wheels are even more important in my view.

I wouldn't worry about warranty issues, since all the parts come with their own warranty. You don't necessarily have to build it yourself either, you can get a shop to build it up. Having said that, you'll be limiting yourself to buying all the bits from that shop, or at least enough of them for the shop to consider it worth their while building it up for you.

However, going down the build route means that you need to know exactly what you want to make it all worthwhile. If you don't, save your pennies and wait until you're sure.

For that kind of money, you'll get yourself a nice carbon frame, a reasonably high level groupset and very good wheels.

For what it's worth, here's what I'd build for €2,670:

Look 555 Frame €1,279.00 Cycle Superstore
Campagnolo Zonda Wheels €378.00 Chain Reaction
Chorus Shifters €188.00 Chain Reaction
Centaur Cranks €214.00 Chain Reaction
Centaur RD €82.00 Chain Reaction
Veloce FD €25.00 Chain Reaction
Veloce Brakes €78.00 Chain Reaction
Veloce Cassette €47.00 Chain Reaction
Campagnolo Cable Set €25.00 Chain Reaction
KMC X10L Chain €31.00 Chain Reaction
ITM Visia Bars €50.00 Wiggle
ITM Visia Stem €65.00 Wiggle
Easton EC70 Seatpost €63.00 Chain Reaction
Selle Italia SLR Saddle €83.00 Wiggle
Continental GP4000S Tyres €62.00 Chain Reaction

I'd probably find better value for money on the parts by shopping around more than a five minute trawl. And you'd probalby build it up for less if you went for Ultegra or Sram Rival.

You'll get varying recommendations here because everyone's opinion is somewhat skewed towards their own preference and experience. I know my build list certainly is.

BUACHAILL

Thanks el tonto oh and the group looked very well yesterday apart from the slow lad wearing black in the back ha ha,just kidding.I have taken today off and gonna go have a look at everything I am now leaning towards spending less on a stock bike and upgrading the parts. Think its wiser all round

Bambaata

blorg wrote: »

Hope you plan to try it out on the Ring of Kerry next weekend?

I'd love to but alas i am playign at a music festival in Gort, Galway. Im then heading around the country for a week with the girlfriend and we are bring in the bikes so i'm going to do the ring of Kerry the following week. Hitting Clare, Kerry, Sligo and Galway in the week and hopefully get a few spins during that time.

tunney

penexpers wrote: »

The only thing I don't like the look of on that bike is the integrated crankset. I believe this means you can't upgrade the crankset and if it ever breaks then it's an expensive trip to a Specialized dealer to have it repaired.

you sure its just not cranks designed to work with the new BB30 technology?

tunney

el tonto wrote: »

Thanks for the beep today, even if I did think you were an irrate motorist at the time;) I was the guy in black.

If I was spending that much on a bike I'd definitely go for a build rather than a stock bike. The reason is that with stock bikes you'll rarely find the right combination of components you want and invariably spend more money swapping stuff out.

Saddle and tyres are the most obvious ones, but my main issue would be wheels. Most stock bikes are sold with wheels that usually aren't up to the same grade as the rest of the bike, primarily I think because punters tend to focus too heavily on the groupset. However the wheels are even more important in my view.

I wouldn't worry about warranty issues, since all the parts come with their own warranty. You don't necessarily have to build it yourself either, you can get a shop to build it up. Having said that, you'll be limiting yourself to buying all the bits from that shop, or at least enough of them for the shop to consider it worth their while building it up for you.

However, going down the build route means that you need to know exactly what you want to make it all worthwhile. If you don't, save your pennies and wait until you're sure.

For that kind of money, you'll get yourself a nice carbon frame, a reasonably high level groupset and very good wheels.

For what it's worth, here's what I'd build for €2,670:

Look 555 Frame €1,279.00 Cycle Superstore
Campagnolo Zonda Wheels €378.00 Chain Reaction
Chorus Shifters €188.00 Chain Reaction
Centaur Cranks €214.00 Chain Reaction
Centaur RD €82.00 Chain Reaction
Veloce FD €25.00 Chain Reaction
Veloce Brakes €78.00 Chain Reaction
Veloce Cassette €47.00 Chain Reaction
Campagnolo Cable Set €25.00 Chain Reaction
KMC X10L Chain €31.00 Chain Reaction
ITM Visia Bars €50.00 Wiggle
ITM Visia Stem €65.00 Wiggle
Easton EC70 Seatpost €63.00 Chain Reaction
Selle Italia SLR Saddle €83.00 Wiggle
Continental GP4000S Tyres €62.00 Chain Reaction

I'd probably find better value for money on the parts by shopping around more than a five minute trawl. And you'd probalby build it up for less if you went for Ultegra or Sram Rival.

You'll get varying recommendations here because everyone's opinion is somewhat skewed towards their own preference and experience. I know my build list certainly is.

Wouldn't touch a look frame with yours.......... they really don't last.

cantalach

tunney wrote: »

you sure its just not cranks designed to work with the new BB30 technology?

I'm 99% sure that 'integrated crankset' here is simply referring to Hollowtech II or Ultra-Torque style of crankset, where a hollow spindle is integrated into the cranks, and that gets slotted through outboard bearing cups.

cantalach

Bang for buck, it's hard to beat the Giant TCR C range. The C2, has full Ultegra and a decent saddle. The Aksium wheels are OK and will get you by until funds recover to buy some decent wheels. You'll get it for €2,750 from here. Or consider dropping down a group to the C3 (exact same frame as the C2) which is €2,200 from here. For this money you still get full 105 but with some crappy wheels. However you can use the €550 saved to get a very nice set of hoops indeed!

Hey if Giant simply changed the last 't' to an 'i' and put a small little Italian flag somewhere on the frame they could add €500 to the prices of their C range just like that

paddyb

agree with el tonto there. with the exception of maybe focus bikes, alot of 2k bikes come with aksiums which cost less than €150.
I would go for the build as well because if you are spending that much money, you should know exactly what you want.

tunney

cantalach wrote: »

I'm 99% sure that 'integrated crankset' here is simply referring to Hollowtech II or Ultra-Torque style of crankset, where a hollow spindle is integrated into the cranks, and that gets slotted through outboard bearing cups.

Thats what I thought.

The newer Spesh, C'Dale and the like bikes are BB30, more stiffer and less friction that the existing external bearings.

tunney

paddyb wrote: »

agree with el tonto there. with the exception of maybe focus bikes, alot of 2k bikes come with aksiums which cost less than €150.
I would go for the build as well because if you are spending that much money, you should know exactly what you want.

Why spec an expensive wheel when most people will just swap them out for their race wheels when racing and aren't too concerned when training?