Claud Butler Torino

jag con

Hi all any advice on the Claud Butler Torino road bike

it has full Shimano 105 group set
Full carbon frame

price is about 1265

Any thoughts

Colmhayden76

I have seen this machine in my lbs and it looks good and has decent kit for entry level carbon bike. The only problem at the end of the day is how would you feel riding a Claud Buttler! At least it's not the baby blue coloured one which regardless of how good it is would be a no no!

scratchgolfer

i bought a Claud Butler Torino about a month ago. have found it a great bike, nice and light. i cycle to work on it daily and do a few miles in the evening time/weekends. would highly recommend it. bought it for about 1200 quid in Hollingsworths on the cycle to work scheme

ArphaRima

I wouldnt buy a Claud Butler, and I wouldnt buy from Hollingsworth. Buy a better bike, better brand, and at a better price from the UK or NI.

jag con

cheers guys explain what you mean how you would feel riding a Claud Butler bike

Con

jag con

Fluffer please explain why you would not buy a Claud Butler bike.

The other bikes i am looking at are Trek 2.1 2.3 road bikes

Con

RobFowl

I personally like the Claud Butler name. It's an old and historic brand steeped in cycling culture. That looks like a nice bike and nice kit/spec. All carbon frames at that level are much the same.
Also its a bit different as lots of treks out there already.

Colmhayden76

It is a name that for years has been assosiated with dross aimed at the cheaper end of the market. My wife had 1 of thier mtbs and it was ok . I think that you should be fairly safe with a carbon frame as they would have not had too much involvment in the manufacture. I would say that it's probably comparable with the Focus cayo if maybe even a little more comfy. Try to see if your local bike shop will allow you spin out on it for 20 minutes or so and compare it against any other bikes you are looking at. If it feels good and you are comfortable on it go for it. And remember that if you don't like things like the saddle you can allways change that.
I don't know where you were looking at it but when I bought my bike last year it was actually the 1 that least impressed on the shelf in the shop but felt the best on a 10 minute spin around the block against the 2 bikes which I prefaired the look of but rode horribly.
If the bike shop won't let you take your buisness else where as if they want to sell this bike they need people to experince it and get the word out coz as you see people have preconseptions about certain brands.( i did)
Let us know how you get on as they did have a good rep for road bikes before we all found out about Giant,Trek and Spesh etc

RobFowl

Colmhayden76 wrote: »

It is a name that for years has been assosiated with dross aimed at the cheaper end of the market. My wife had 1 of thier mtbs and it was ok . I think that you should be fairly safe with a carbon frame as they would have not had too much involvment in the manufacture. I would say that it's probably comparable with the Focus cayo if maybe even a little more comfy. Try to see if your local bike shop will allow you spin out on it for 20 minutes or so and compare it against any other bikes you are looking at. If it feels good and you are comfortable on it go for it. And remember that if you don't like things like the saddle you can allways change that.
I don't know where you were looking at it but when I bought my bike last year it was actually the 1 that least impressed on the shelf in the shop but felt the best on a 10 minute spin around the block against the 2 bikes which I prefaired the look of but rode horribly.
If the bike shop won't let you take your buisness else where as if they want to sell this bike they need people to experince it and get the word out coz as you see people have preconseptions about certain brands.( i did)
Let us know how you get on as they did have a good rep for road bikes before we all found out about Giant,Trek and Spesh etc

True to an extent but have a read of this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claud_Butler

GTryder

I,ve got a Claud Butler torino carbon, and it's a great bike, rides very well, i've upgraded most parts like seatpost, stem and handle, add some bontrager Racelight aero wheels 1.7kg and the bike becomes very light 7.2kg and unbelievably fast.
To be honest the frame comes in at 1.6kg only because the fork weighs 600g. You can always put a full carbon Easton 300g on if you're a weight freak.
But for the that price that's what you'll expect. If you want a frame and fork that is below 1.2k be prepared to spend £5000

saying all that if put all the top spec groupsets and fork on the torino frame you get the weight down to below 6k.

It's a Carbon frame and I find it durable, solid yet very responsive and smooth.

Quigs Snr

That Planet X deal with the Ultegra 6700 mentioned in a thread today is a pretty decent deal too, certainly a lot lighter and proven in races. Would be a lot lighter than the Claude Butler which is good looking but could well be filled with cement, the weight of the thing compared to other carbon frames (yes, I have held one in the flesh)

Still for the money its not bad. Not much between it and the cayo (apart from the Cayo having a more acceptable badge), the PX on the other hand is a nice machine. Popular around these parts and light.

GTryder

I agree with you and to be honest most carbon frames are similar in weight when it come to the standard shape, the difference is you pay for the badge. Unlike the elite brnds like Cevelo, trek etc where some additional technology comes in with the lesser weight. Butler, Cayo, Ribble they're all the same. And what the point splashing 3000 for a frame thats 300g-500g lighter with a crap groupset to keep the price down. atleast with the Butler you can upgrade with full SRAM RED and a set of Easton 90 wheels and you'll be surprised that it'll 6kg or less.

townale

I have just ordered one of these and should have it in a couple of weeks. In my opinion, the name isn't that important, a carbon frame is a carbon frame and comes with a 10 year guarantee.

Once you have a good frame you can upgrade everything else as you need it. Which for me may be wheels and the seatpost. It already has a 105 groupset which is better than trek or giant have as standard in the same price range.

I bought a cheap Claud butler MTB about 10 years ago when i was starting out mtbing. It took an amazing abuse before I traded up, so I've no concerns about riding a Claud Butler.

blorg

Wheels yes, seatpost is a strange one though, it is not really a particularly crucial component on a bike. Bars and saddle (to get something that suits you rather than looking at saving weight) would be much more important.

Enjoy the bike.

townale

blorg wrote: »

Wheels yes, seatpost is a strange one though, it is not really a particularly crucial component on a bike. Bars and saddle (to get something that suits you rather than looking at saving weight) would be much more important.

Enjoy the bike.

Cheers, They reason I'd change to a carbon fibre seatpost would be mostly for comfort due to the road dampening effect. It's a common enough upgrade.

Lumen

GTryder wrote: »

at least with the Butler you can upgrade with full SRAM RED and a set of Easton 90 wheels and you'll be surprised that it'll 6kg or less.

I would be very surprised. Also, it is not necessary to spend anywhere near €3000 to get a lightweight frameset.

Planet-Xs are considered to be very light for the money, but the frame (excl. fork) is 1040-1210g + 380g for the fork. Is the Claud Butler frame really only 1000g excl. fork?

Regardless, it's best not to get too hung up on weight for an entry-level carbon frameset.

blorg

townale wrote: »

Cheers, They reason I'd change to a carbon fibre seatpost would be mostly for comfort due to the road dampening effect. It's a common enough upgrade.

It probably makes less of a difference than you might think- certainly less than getting your position right and the right saddle and bars- and indeed bar tape.

I speak from the position of having upgraded many an alloy seatpost