What Road Bike? €1500-€1600 Budget

jgflan

Ladies and Gents,

My company have started doing the cycle to work scheme and I'm using the opportunity to upgrade equipment from my Trek 1000. With a budget as specified above, what if any are your suggestions. I'm not overly pushed about upgrading to carbon. At the moment I am looking at a 2010 Felt Z75 in Dublin. Any suggested alternatives?

Thanks.

blorg

Must... resist. Some one else will be along shortly to fill you in on what you should do. Starts with a P and ends with an X.

On the carbon topic it is a big upgrade from aluminium. I went from an aluminium Trek to a carbon Trek with same groupset etc. and the difference was night and day. Geometry of both frames was identical. It's the comfort and feel of the bike more than anything else, that it is lighter is just the icing on the cake. Others who have done frame swaps with the same components will say the same.

ROK ON

Echo the above. I have a light alu bike and a full carbon bike. There is only 1kg in the difference in terms of weight between the bikes.
I have identical set up in terms of drops, saddle height etc.

The carbon frame takes the road better, with significantly less vibration, thus more comfort for me.

jimshady101

I bough a 2009 Fuji Team Pro Carbon from ebay last month. Upgraded from my trek 1.2.

The difference is amazing! The smoothness of the gears, the feel of the bike on the road and comfort is fantastic. I didn't think there would be so much of a difference. The bike is actually quicker on the road too, I seem to be traveling 1-2mph faster than before with the same sort of effort (if that makes sense)


Worked out at around €1300 delivered.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fuji-09-Team-Pro-56cm-Full-Carbon,-Ultegra,-105,-Mavic_W0QQitemZ260550372497QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxq20100209?IMSfp=TL100209186001r21034

jgflan

There is a good spec being offered on bikez.ie. Anyone got any info?

poolboy

blorg wrote: »

Must... resist. Some one else will be along shortly to fill you in on what you should do. Starts with a P and ends with an X.

On the carbon topic it is a big upgrade from aluminium. I went from an aluminium Trek to a carbon Trek with same groupset etc. and the difference was night and day. Geometry of both frames was identical. It's the comfort and feel of the bike more than anything else, that it is lighter is just the icing on the cake. Others who have done frame swaps with the same components will say the same.

+1 on the p..... x got 1 couple of weeks ago upgrade from alu very happy with it. Also they are doing savage deals at the moment i did a lot of research and looking at bikes and they were by far the best value for money i could find

velo.2010

If your talking carbon bikes at that price, you must consider the Boardman Team Carbon in Halfords at about E1250. Comes with Sram Rival gruppo.

Echo the comments above re. comfort between Alu and carbon.

fixie

right so i know not a lot about road bikes,especially carbon frames.
and fair enough a lot of people on here say the planet x in good quality and good value.but surely a fully carbon bike for €1250 is crossing the line from good value to cheap and bad quailty build?

blorg

fixie wrote: »

right so i know not a lot about road bikes,especially carbon frames.
and fair enough a lot of people on here say the planet x in good quality and good value.but surely a fully carbon bike for €1250 is crossing the line from good value to cheap and bad quailty build?

No, it is not. They sell direct and to be honest most bike "value" over that sort of price point is marketing and distributor margins. If there were quality problems you would have heard of them, rather than the hundreds of positive internet testimonials from owners (as well as magazine reviews, although I would believe the forum reviews before those.)

DirkVoodoo

fixie wrote: »

right so i know not a lot about road bikes,especially carbon frames.
and fair enough a lot of people on here say the planet x in good quality and good value.but surely a fully carbon bike for €1250 is crossing the line from good value to cheap and bad quailty build?

Oh, this should be interesting

I have yet to ride one, but read many of the reviews online as well as testimony from some pretty serious amateur racers and they will tell you the planet x is not "cheap and bad".

EDIT: Hey, we both said testimonial, is that part of the planet-x brainwashing?

fixie

as i said i know not a lot and now im scared im going to get slautered by a lot of planet x lovers when i said they were good?..!...:eek:
by the way how much is the planet x? i never said that was cheap and bad DirkVoodoo, i was simply aking about the halfords bike

Murph100

Before the brainwashing takes hold, another option to Planet X is Ribble, also consider Canyon. Other brands that have decent bikes in that price bracket are Orbea & Viner, both have lifetime warranties. Have a look at 2008 & 2009 models also, which are heavily discounted, you can get a great deal from the likes of Evans Cycles etc.

DirkVoodoo

Sorry, I thought you were talking about the planet x (in fairness the way your sentence was structured I think this is understandable), which is pretty much that price. As for the boardman, well the exact same advice applies.

Boardman Team Carbon

Murph100

Holy Crap Dirk !! Considering the cult you've just bought into, that last post could be considered as blasphemy punishable by stoning to death ! :eek:

DirkVoodoo

Wait, I'm getting confused. I meant my confusion at which bike he was on about was understandable. I have yet to ride a planet x but seeing the number of boardsies who ride them, ride them well and don't complain about the frame, that was good enough for me.

Murph100

Ah ! I thought you had bought one, still the 'real bike' Ridley so then ?

DirkVoodoo

Focus Cayo 105 Ltd seems ok. Good frame, 105 groupset. Shame the crankset isn't 105 as well, but it's an alternative if you don't want a boardman or planet-x

DirkVoodoo

Murph100 wrote: »

Ah ! I thought you had bought one, still the 'real bike' Ridley so then ?

No, I wouldn't want to be associated with the rest of those planet x bike owners. The frame owners, however, are a different story

Murph100

Phew, I thought we'd lost ya !

DirkVoodoo

I'm a double agent, taking them down from the inside!

Murph100

Da bear is in da park

bryaner

fixie wrote: »

as i said i know not a lot and now im scared im going to get slautered by a lot of planet x lovers when i said they were good?..!...:eek:
by the way how much is the planet x? i never said that was cheap and bad DirkVoodoo, i was simply aking about the halfords bike

A Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

abcdggs

Thoughts on getting decals. I'm thinking something along the lines of

NOT PlanetX

blorg

The Planet X is a better bike than the Cayo IMO having owned both. Substantially lighter and seems stiffer too. Tends to come with a far better spec also. The one downside on the PX is that as the frame is extremely compact getting the seat tube water bottle out is a bit of a hassle. This is really only an issue if you are in a race with a 750 on the seat tube, it is fine with a 500 or on leisure cycles.

ROK ON

Believe it or not after all the slagging if the Px brigade I actually nearly bought one a few months back.
Reason I didn't was Medium would have been too big and small too small. Now I could have taken the small and used a long stem but the lack if ability to fit a 2nd bottle age on the small would have been an issue for me.

jgflan

Thanks for all the comment folks. I took delivery today of my new Dolan Mythos with full Ultegra. I forgot to mention I was buying under the cycle to work scheme so a lot of your suggestions were'nt options for me but thanks nonetheless. Took it out this evening for a two hour spin and have to say the difference in comfort is instantly noticeable. The bike to work scheme is fantastic. I would never have considered upgrading to this level without the tax incentive. Looking forward to a great summer!!:):):)

templer27

Broke my frame last week car went over it.It was my fault,wheels,hoods,chainset and chain are ok just the frame is shot.I have just been on the planet x web site and a new frame is £399,wow seems cheap.There must be a catch,I looked at frames from wiggle chain reactions but the planet x looks like fantastic value.Does it have a press fit bottom bracket?

DirkVoodoo

templer27 wrote: »

Broke my frame last week car went over it.It was my fault,wheels,hoods,chainset and chain are ok just the frame is shot.I have just been on the planet x web site and a new frame is £399,wow seems cheap.There must be a catch,I looked at frames from wiggle chain reactions but the planet x looks like fantastic value.Does it have a press fit bottom bracket?

Exchange rate ain't so good, shipping is also 45 pounds, so the cost goes up quite a bit. I think it's about 530 euro delivered, not sure though.

Bottom bracket is threaded for an external bearing system.

templer27

Thanks for the reply Dirk Voodoo.I have priced a few frames on the net,giant tcr sl about 1700 euros!!!Great frame I think press fit bottom bracket though.Time speedster about the same price,cervelo rs 1800 euro.Planet x frame for 530 or there abouts seems dirt cheap at double the price.Plus I know the medium planet x is the right size for me.

I am in between sizes on a lot of bike frames being that I am 5` 10,well just under.My last bike was perhaps a little small, and on longer spins it was noticeable:(

Mr.Mc

Hi

There was also looking at this bike how do you find it and what kind of bucks did
you pay

templer27

Mr.Mc wrote: »

Hi

There was also looking at this bike how do you find it and what kind of bucks did
you pay

Don't quite understand the question,what bike do you mean