Man seeks dream bike...

thebouldwhacker

I found out during the week that my employer is involved in the cycle to work scheme so I guess now is the time to buy me a dream bike. I'm open to suggestions but am looking at this at the moment....


I know there are a few Kuota riders about these parts so just wondering if anyone can advise about this bike and other options. I have a flexible budget (def €3k max) (ish) so any options are welcome.
I must say as a boardsie I do have my likes and dislikes, therefore I will not be buying Trek, Giant, Specialized and the like (no offence to those who own them I have 2 treks and a specialized already)
Anyway a bit of guidance would be much appreciated.

Cheers

feck sake lads

check out Tom Parlee.

SurferDude41

Personaly I don't like carbon bikes, it's ok if you can afford to replace the frameset if you crash it.
Im a huge fan of titanium, Merlin/Litespeed, although Lynsky and Moots and Kent Erikson....would be of better quality...SD..

Hail 2 Da Thief

If I was dropping 3k on a bike I'd probably buy this. Don't mind me though, I'm just daydreaming!

murf85

Had my eye on the Kebel myself last september but unfortunately my budget wudnt stretch that far... So i picked up the Kharma...Absolutely love the bike!
Cudnt fault the Kuota to be fair and looks sweet too!

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

I found out during the week that my employer is involved in the cycle to work scheme so I guess now is the time to buy me a dream bike. I'm open to suggestions but am looking at this at the moment....


I know there are a few Kuota riders about these parts so just wondering if anyone can advise about this bike and other options. I have a flexible budget (def €3k max) (ish) so any options are welcome.
I must say as a boardsie I do have my likes and dislikes, therefore I will not be buying Trek, Giant, Specialized and the like (no offence to those who own them I have 2 treks and a specialized already)
Anyway a bit of guidance would be much appreciated.

Cheers

ROK ON

Bould.
I ride a Kuota Kebel. Got a nice deal on it in Worldwide Cycles. They seem to have increased in price.

Large headset so comfy from a geometrical point.
Huge BB and very stiff. Fast, corners and descends well.

There is a noticeable downside to stiffness. Some roads down in Cork and Kerry mean that bike is not suitable on some roads. The bike doesn't absorb some of the more agricultural road versus my Dolan which isn't as comfy geometrically but takes rough roads better.

The Kuota will literally bounce on parts of poor road.
However on good roads it is an utter joy to ride and noticeably faster than my other bikes with better geometry for me.
I would recommend it for events when you want a good bike if you already have a workhorse bike.
However you should be able to get one with say something like Fulc 5 wheels and either Ultegra or Rival for 2100/2300.

I would look at Merckx, Argon and Colnago also.

Murph100

Just some more to consider :

You might squeeze a full custom made Viner Perfecta for that money, worldwide cycles used to do them, you can also get them here http://www.downlandcycles.co.uk/viner.htm

Other contenders for that dosh:

Bianchi Infinito or Sempre ( Slane Cycles ), pick up a 2010 Infinito Veloce ( shimano versions dont come in Celeste ) and flog the groupset and put on whatever you want.

Colnago CLX 2.0 ( not the 1.0 )

Eddy Merckx EMX 5 ( Some of the 2010 ones still about ) and EMX 3, watch the geometry, the 2010 in general had a more relaxed geometry, but most of the 2011 have changed.

Willier Izoard ( great bike and pretty rare ) or Granturismo ( great deal here http://www.bikebuster.com/details/120955.html )

You could also get a Storck depending on your fit but it will beat the crap out of you on West Cork roads, not fun believe me, takes all the joy out of long spins !

Dont get caught up on frame weight, its a load of bollix.

Try and find some 2010 sell offs.

8kvscdpglqnyr4

I ride a Kebel - super bike! I've only taken it out in the last 3 weeks after what felt like a long winter in hibernation for the bike. I was on my winter training bike and just couldn't wait to get back on the Kebel.

I put a good bit of planning into this bike and I knew for some time I'd be building it myself so I was on the lookout for parts for 3 or 4 months.

I bought the frame for €1,200 - this came with the fork, and seat post only. I had a full Ultegra groupset ready to go onto it. Picked up brand new Ksyrium Elites on eBaby last summer from a bike shop in Germany - half price! The only reason I found out about them was thanks to boards.

Transferred my Selle Italia saddle from my old bike on the new bike a picked up a cheap-ish saddle for the winter bike.

I put Felt 1.2 UHM Ultra High Modulus carbon fiber monocoque handlebar (over-sized) on the bike ... definitely go for the oversized bars - my 2nd bike has regular bars and it doesn't feel like you're holding the bike at all.

kellyoncobbles

I have a Kebel myself. Bought the f&f only in Aug 09 for €1200-ish and did a build on it. Last year was an upgrade to Ultegra 6700 and a few weeks back took delivery of 2011 Csomic Carbone Sl's. Hopefully have it up on 'Images of..' soon. I agree with Rok On there that it doesn't like some of our 'drop of burnt oil with a few stones rolled in' excuses for roads. But get it out on a good surface and its stiff and very responsive. I think it climbs very well too. If I had around 3k to spend I might go for the Specialized Tarmac Expert 2011. Rode a mate's 2010 couple times last year - stiff but comfy - same mould used as the S-Works. Some may say that the world is going Specialized mad, like with the Trek-fest of the Lance era, but they are a good piece of kit once you move up to the better models. Pity we can't get a frame only option here and in the UK. Kebel - spot on too.
http://www.primera-sports.com/products/specialized-256/specialized-2011-tarmac-sl3-expert-double-8116.aspx

DirkVoodoo

Wilier Cento Uno or the Colnago CLX 2.0 for me.

I have already seen one of my "dream bikes" recently, still waiting for the owner to make the leap and stick some photos up in the images of beauty thread.

Pat Kavanagh

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

I found out during the week that my employer is involved in the cycle to work scheme so I guess now is the time to buy me a dream bike. I'm open to suggestions but am looking at this at the moment....


Cheers

It's interesting how much advice you got without anyone asking what you wanted the bike for. E.G. if you are racing the option might be very diffrent to what would suit if you are doing sportive-like stuff with your mates - long, fairly fast riders etc.

If the latter, I think a stiff and jiggy bike may not be the best option. For example, you could get a very nice titanium for that budget and you might have a classic frame for life. With 25mm tyres at around 100 psi you will get a much nicer ride etc.

Then if it's for racing, it's another story ....

Joff

SurferDude41 wrote: »

Personaly I don't like carbon bikes, it's ok if you can afford to replace the frameset if you crash it.
Im a huge fan of titanium, Merlin/Litespeed, although Lynsky and Moots and Kent Erikson....would be of better quality...SD..

Have to agree with SD........buy a good quality Ti frame and build your own dream bike......last you a lifetime

AstraMonti

And why wouldn't a carbon bike for example last him for life? Do they disintegrate over time?

Anyway, I d look at a cx2 as well. Although have you ruled out a Cervelo? Amazing looking machines.

Lumen

My carbon bike has better ride quality than my Ti one.

Murph100

Hmmm ... Its interesting how you assume that we dont know anything about the Bouldwhackers cycling habits.

Pat Kavanagh wrote: »

It's interesting how much advice you got without anyone asking what you wanted the bike for. E.G. if you are racing the option might be very diffrent to what would suit if you are doing sportive-like stuff with your mates - long, fairly fast riders etc.

Lumen

I would approach the €3k bike challenge as follows:

1. Find a bunch of complete bikes from the likes of Epic Cycles, Canyon, Rose, Planet-X etc.

2. Break the budget down and see what you could build for the same money, e.g.

€1400 frame
€800 groupset
€600 wheels
€200 finishing kit

Option 1 could yield, for example;

2011 Bianchi Infinito Athena Squadra Edition, £2609 (€3020) with Campag Athena 11sp and Ksyrium Elite wheels.

Canyon Ultimate CF 9.0 SL, with Dura Ace 7900 and Mavic Ksyrium Elite, €2700.

Option 2 could yield, for example:

Scott Addict SL Frameset, £1100 (€1275)
SRAM Force groupset, £700 (€810)
C24 CL Clincher 7900 wheels, €700
+€200 for finishing kit
---
€2985

oconnpad

That bianchi is a sweet looking machine

thebouldwhacker

Sorry for not replying sooner, thanks for all the posts, some great suggestions.
I'm in no rush to buy the machine so am taking my time and looking up all the links/ ideas ye are posting so thanks again.

I'm thinking full carbon for this bike, when my gf and bank balance gets over the shock of this purchase I'd love to buy a titanium bike as a tourer, I guess after so many years of 'slumming' it with entry level bikes I just want an insanely beautiful bike that is Bling Bling (I would like to remove my self from this attitude and put the blame squarely with the euro boardsies for this influence... you know who you are)

jdt101

Murph100 wrote: »

Just some more to consider :

You might squeeze a full custom made Viner Perfecta for that money, worldwide cycles used to do them, you can also get them here http://www.downlandcycles.co.uk/viner.htm

Other contenders for that dosh:

Bianchi Infinito or Sempre ( Slane Cycles ), pick up a 2010 Infinito Veloce ( shimano versions dont come in Celeste ) and flog the groupset and put on whatever you want.

Colnago CLX 2.0 ( not the 1.0 )

Eddy Merckx EMX 5 ( Some of the 2010 ones still about ) and EMX 3, watch the geometry, the 2010 in general had a more relaxed geometry, but most of the 2011 have changed.

Willier Izoard ( great bike and pretty rare ) or Granturismo ( great deal here http://www.bikebuster.com/details/120955.html )

You could also get a Storck depending on your fit but it will beat the crap out of you on West Cork roads, not fun believe me, takes all the joy out of long spins !

Dont get caught up on frame weight, its a load of bollix.

Try and find some 2010 sell offs.

Signal_ rabbit

Gotta love that Bianchi, almost as good as my Trek! lol

FrankGrimes

I was browsing for dream bikes online recently, purely as I thought what I'd seen when popping into Wheelworx for a bike for the other half didn't offer a lot of bang for buck: 3 grand or something like that for a beaut of an aero looking Felt that had Ultegra on it had me in shock that you weren't even getting DuraAce for that money. But when I looked online it was pretty much a similar story - seems you're looking at close to 5Gs to get a full DuraAce build unless you build yourself.

Is that an accurate reflection of current pricing? It's 2.5 years since I last was in the market and I was pure daydreaming thinking 'if I do X this year on the bike, I'll reward myself with a dream bike...now what would it look like?', so maybe I'm well out of touch with the specs and prices. Is Ultegra now generally so good you needn't bother with DuraAce and/or are more and more people going for SRAM Rival instead of DuraAce?

Think I saw a Colnago World Champion edition frame on the images of beauty thread - that bad boy (is it carbon), with quality spec kit would be pretty much dream material, but you'd be cursing the white paint after the first wet spin.

Surprised none of the pics so far are of the really aero looking road frames like the Felts in Wheelworx - not mad on Felt paint jobs but the shape of the frames are class. Wonder if those frames are a bit heavier though than standard frames so maybe not one for the peaks.

Reckon Lumen's self-build approach is worth looking into: unless you find your dream built bike happens to come with the exact set of wheels you're looking for, it'd only be a matter of time before you're forking out again for those dream wheels, so getting it right first time might be the way to go.

Now when it comes to dream spec for me, its a custom-built frame with a custom predominantly sky blue paint job, with personalized decals on the frame instead of a brand name, running top notch kit all along (which I'm not even up-to-date with but would still want )....any ideas how much she's gonna run me?

TinyExplosions

AstraMonti wrote: »

Although have you ruled out a Cervelo? Amazing looking machines.

+1 on Cervelo for me.... they're still my dream bike I think...

ednwireland

SurferDude41 wrote: »

Personaly I don't like carbon bikes, it's ok if you can afford to replace the frameset if you crash it.
Im a huge fan of titanium, Merlin/Litespeed, although Lynsky and Moots and Kent Erikson....would be of better quality...SD..

crashed my steel commuter last year it broke 2 weeks later its not only carbon that breaks
(and i did read, ithink in the RBR newsletter of a guy who has broken 2 high end titanium frames)

as to boulderwhackers problem

love the kebel
always wanted a merckx but arent they just rebadged pinarellos these days sort of put me off
colnago, its a colnago cant go wrong with that
hate cervelo's with a passion (no idea why)

Lemag

FrankGrimes wrote: »

But when I looked online it was pretty much a similar story - seems you're looking at close to 5Gs to get a full DuraAce build unless you build yourself.

This Canyon CF 9.0SL as linked above by Lumen comes with mostly Dura Ace for €2699 or there's the CF SLX 8.0 for € 2999 which comes with full Dura Ace and a slighty lighter and stiffer frame than the previous one.

It's unlikely that a bike build with new parts will come out cheaper.

@ TBW - How goes your dream bike search? You wouldn't be whetting our appetites with a thread like his and not keep us up to date on purpose, would you?

Morrisseeee

+1 on the Colnago for me.
Can you buy a Canyon with your Cycle-to-work scheme ?
You do know that the scheme only covers the first €1000 of your purchase !
I was in TheEdge (Kinsale roundabout) recently and they have a nice selection in there (expensive tho), and the one that caught my eye was a Cube (dunno the price, but it looked sweet & I could lift it with one finger!!!, could have been this one). They had a few Scott's aswell. How about the Lapeirre.

Lemag

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Can you buy a Canyon with your Cycle-to-work scheme ?
You do know that the scheme only covers the first €1000 of your purchase !

I did. If your employer allows it then it is fine. The BTW scheme itself doesn't place any restriction on where the bike must be bought.

kilns

Loving this frame on Planet X, special Giro edition. €1400 which is 52% off the normal price

thebouldwhacker

OK but which bike did you decide to go for?

I'm still very tempted by the Kouta Karma tbh though ^that frame looks amazing.
Colagno are very tempting too. I bought a second hand tourer last week to take the edge off so I'll make the most of that for the mo, I'm in no rush to buy the big one, I want time to soak in the options, like a nice wine but yea, right now the Karma......... with Scram

spyderski

Have to agree with the other posters on Canyons. I have a Cervelo S2, and im sorry i didnt buy a canyon ultimate cf instead. The finish on Cervelos is absolutely appalling for a frame at the price (i also have a P2 TT bike & its as bad). Canyons appear to have achieved the perfect blend between price, "exclusivity" and quality.

I had a Planet X until recently & was very happy with it. Had a fancy build, but theyre just too common for my liking.

Have a Specialized S-works now & love it. Great finish, great feel, but theyre still seen as a "only a specialized", which are a little sneered at by the cognoscenti.

At the moment, it would be Canyon all the way for me, if I was in Your position......

dave.obrien

I certainly wouldn't be sneering at a Spesh s-works...

I reckon that Canyon are going the way of Planet-X; good bikes, good prices and for the next 12 months, fairly exclusive. In time, saturation point will have been reached and that "exclusivity" will be gone. Lovely bikes though, and, to be honest, who cares if some eejit sneers at you for not having a unique hand crafted italian work of art?!

Weird, I've also noticed that about the finish on the Cervelo's too. I mentioned to someone in a bike shop how nice the frame looked on the wall, but he pulled it down and asked me to look at the junctions, and the ends on the tubing. He had never seen that particular frame before, but he was right, the thing was hardly neat. Still, I'd say you'd forgive it if you rode it!

briano

spyderski wrote: »

I have a Cervelo S2, and im sorry i didnt buy a canyon ultimate cf instead. The finish on Cervelos is absolutely appalling for a frame at the price

Crap. I was going to go and have a look at an S2 this weekend.

Also, Spyderski; Flashest Guy on Boards!

spyderski wrote: »

...I have a Cervelo S2...i also have a P2 TT bike....I had a Planet X ...Have a Specialized S-works now...typing on ipad

I'm just jealous

spyderski

Didn't mean it to sound that way! But, when you put it all together like that, I think I may have a bicycle addiction !:(