Any opinions on this bike ??

BUACHAILL

Only getting back in the saddle and looking at getting a bike in December ! Have a hybrid but really looking to up my mileage and training so am looking to invest in something!! im not sure if this is far to good for my needs but love the spec and look of it !!

http://www.eurocycles.ie/Road-b/Road_Bikes/Felt_AR4_Roadbike/4355_p.aspx#

Anybody have one or opinions on it ?
Would I be better off getting something 2nd hand maybe ?

Thanks in advance

fat bloke

BUACHAILL wrote: »

Only getting back in the saddle and looking at getting a bike in December ! Have a hybrid but really looking to up my mileage and training so am looking to invest in something!! im not sure if this is far to good for my needs but love the spec and look of it !!

http://www.eurocycles.ie/Road-b/Road_Bikes/Felt_AR4_Roadbike/4355_p.aspx#

Anybody have one or opinions on it ?
Would I be better off getting something 2nd hand maybe ?

Thanks in advance

That's a beautiful bike. If you have the beans, go for it, you'll love it.

Eurocycles are a mahoosive bike shop as well and supply a lot of other bike shops in Dublin, so don't be afraid to bargain further, see what you can get off.

BUACHAILL

Have the beans for it but hate squandering money !! Im not exactly an athlete but fully plan on putting in the mileage. I hate buying something I'm not fully happy with and this bike ticks all the boxes for me, but all that said logic must prevail and if I can get something for a good bit less that is every bit as good I need to consider it also !!

thanks for comment

crystallove

nice bike, but I think it is a little expensive

Lumen

It's a lot of money. Do you know what you're buying?

There are a hundred bikes you could choose at that price.

Aero framed road bikes have a reputation for being heavy and having poor ride quality. I have no idea whether this is the case for the AR4 as I haven't ridden or weighed one.

It has a standard double chainset which is a common choice for racing but for less extreme riding a compact chainset may be more suitable.

It also has internal cable routing, which can be fiddly to maintain, give poorer shifting, and rattle. Again, I have no idea whether the AR4 suffers from these problems.

BUACHAILL

Thanks guys this is the reason I put it out there, haven't purchased a bike with any reasonable spec in a long time, I would know what to look for to a degree yes but whether it's value or not is another thing !!

Taking that my budget is 2 - 2.5k please suggest me a bike. Wont be raced just used to clock up the mileage any suggestions on a bike?

If I can get away with spending less better again !!

Thanks again guys

bad2dabone

if I had 2.5k to spend on a bike.....
http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2509


nomnomnom

BUACHAILL

any other opinions ? Nice bike bad2dabone thanks !!

Lumen

BUACHAILL wrote: »

any other opinions ?

The 8.0 offers much the same for €600 less.

BUACHAILL

Thanks Lumen

Do you recommend any site/shop to purchase from ? or is it from them directly ?

Anybody got a Canyon on here that can speak for them??

Thanks again guys

Lumen

BUACHAILL wrote: »

Do you recommend any site/shop to purchase from ? or is it from them directly ?

Direct sales only. That's why they're good value. Check availability on website, delivery times can vary considerably.

BUACHAILL wrote: »

Anybody got a Canyon on here that can speak for them??

I have one. Not that one. It's great.

There are many, many bikes you could buy, but if you can't be bothered to sift through them all then a Canyon is a good default choice.

BUACHAILL

I have no problem doing the sifting but I always find people who are in the know and wont steer you wrong are people who take the time to post on boards. Go to any shop and you will be told that every bike in there is brilliant and best out there for the money etc yadda yadda. Thats why I appreciate peoples input good or bad. Im not up to date on the equipment either and their ratings which doesnt help.

Thanks again Lumen the Canyon looks like a great piece of kit for the money!! wouldnt describe it as a default bike ha

bad2dabone

Lumen wrote: »

The 8.0 offers much the same for €600 less.

true, i'm saving for an 8.0 myself, and i don't have €2,500

alfalad

Loads of other brands you could try at that level, all depends what your preference and priorities are. Do you want a brand thats not to common? Do you want a brand that it common and therefore there are plenty of stockists? Do you like Italian bikes? What groupset do you have a preference for? Are you happy to buy off the net? Personally I like Italian bikes (own a Wilier but sadly it's in my room at home in Ireland, I long to get back on it!). If your not exactly sure of your sizing then maybe best buy from a shop and getting a fitting or given you are willing to out lay that much spend 100 and visit someone who would recomend a good bike for your needs (flexibility, style etc) which may help in your decision. You could look at Colnago, Pinarello Bianchi, Orbea, Look(maybe for that price), Ridley, Storck and the list could go on a while. Maybe have look at the images of beauty and see if anything takes your fancy there. Equally maybe google for top bikes for 2k and it might throw up some extra ideas.

If there a lot of bikes which you like the look of then it's down to try to find which are the best compromise of comfort so you can do hours in the saddle, good position so that you are not sitting up catching the wind, and being able to get the power through the pedals.

BUACHAILL

Thanks so much for your advice Afalad.

I think a lot of my problem is I like them all and honestly dont have the time to one by one go see them and try them etc. I do agree that I at least need to know which components are better suited for me and my type of cycling, thats my second problem I am not up to speed on a lot of these anymore, whats good, whats not etc and thats the first thing I am going to tackle before deciding on any bike.

I would'nt care so much for a main brand name provided I know that I am sacraficing a name brand for better spec on the bike, at the end of the day thats what is going to need to stand the test. Im trying to do this as sensibly as I can but as already said I dont have loads of time with work so I will have to do my homework best I can and take my chances!! I know my size so there is no problem ordering from the internet. My thinking on my budget is buy the best you can for what you can afford (within reason) that way your not thinking should I have went for this, upgrade this, maybe looked at that etc.

I was hoping people on here could suggest and put forward recommendations and ideas and so far you have, fair play

Anyway thanks again for your input, some very valid points and lots to think about.

bcmf

Dont forget that everything is upgradeable as time goes on eg you can u can upgrade the wheels if need be.
I wouldnt get hung up too much on on groupset compenents.
For example Shimano 105 is a great groupset as is Campy Veloce and Sram Rival.The only difference in them is in reality a slightly better shift and a few grams in weight and of course price (and brand snobbery)

Vélo

If you were to stretch the money to €2900

You could get Ultegra Di2 shifters

BUACHAILL

Vélo wrote: »

If you were to stretch the money to €2900

You could get Ultegra Di2 shifters

Looks very nice but wouldnt have that much to spend !!
The new shifters look nice but could prob get full dura ace on a planet x for less, jesus this isnt easy is it

Lumen

BUACHAILL wrote: »

The new shifters look nice but could prob get full dura ace on a planet x for less, jesus this isnt easy is it

IMO full Dura Ace is a bit wasted on a Planet X.

BUACHAILL

Can you explain your thoughts on that ? very interested to hear why you feel they are wasted on a planet x

cheers

Lumen

BUACHAILL wrote: »

Can you explain your thoughts on that ? very interested to hear why you feel they are wasted on a planet x

Since Ultegra does the same thing as Dura Ace, with just a tiny bit more weight, I would rather spend the money on a more expensive/higher perceived quality/more attractive frame.

In any case I don't think Planet X offer bikes with full dura ace, so you'd have to build it yourself.

With SRAM it is worth spending more money on (say) Force over Rival because the shifters are more durable. Not sure that's the case with Shimano.

Paul Kiernan

Lumen wrote: »

IMO full Dura Ace is a bit wasted on a Planet X.

BikeRadar would seem to disagree - http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-planet-x-pro-dura-ace-09-35138

Mind you, I'm inclined to agree with you. A £400 frame with a £1200 groupset and £120 wheels just feels a bit unbalanced. I'd rather have Ultegra and upgrade the wheels to these.

BUACHAILL

its an interesting argument and one I tend to agree with you on the more I think about it ! My last decent bike was a planet x. I did have to get it built to order but bike worked really well.

Anyway dont have €3k to spend on the cube. The more I think about it 2k is my budget. I wont see the difference in a bit of weight here and there, sure I'm a lump myself so. Just want something nice that I will be eager to get back onto and has components that will take some use and work smoothly

Lumen

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

BikeRadar would seem to disagree - http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-planet-x-pro-dura-ace-09-35138

(a) BikeRadar reviews are shít, IMO.
(b) Last time I checked Planet X do not offer a bike with full dura ace.

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPDACE/planet-x-pro-carbon-dura-ace-road-bike

SRAM PG 1050 Cassette
SRAM PC1051 10 Sp Chain 114 Links
Planet X Ultra Light FORGED Brake Calipers
FSA SLK Pro Carbon Chainset Megaexo

That's half the groupset that isn't dura ace.

There is a link for a "Planet X Nanolight Dura Ace" but it redirects to the Force version:

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/YBPXNAFO/planet-x-nanolight-force-carbon-road-bike

BUACHAILL

I was comparing to what I paid for my last one ! came in around 1100 with dura ace and some ultegra parts. Thats all. Maybe they have gone up in price.

In anycase I am leaning towards something with a better frame !!

thanks as always

Lumen

FWIW I have owned three Planet X/On One bikes (Uncle John, Stealth and Pompetamine) and one Canyon (Ultimate AL), and I whilst they're all differently focused I think the Canyon a higher quality product than any of those Planet X/On One offerings, but then it was also more expensive.

Canyon don't do cheap, but they don't do shoddy either.

HivemindXX

You might be in the same situation as me. I did a few sportives this year and I want to do more and longer ones next year. I've been thinking dreaming about upgrading my bike to support this.

I don't want to race. Comfort over long distances is very important to me. I will need some pretty low gears so I can slowly spin my way up the steeper hills.

In the course of my dreaming I liked the look of the following bikes

Planet X Ti Sportive
Thorn Audax Mk 3
Van Nicholas Zephyr
Engima Eclipse

smacl

HivemindXX wrote: »

I don't want to race. Comfort over long distances is very important to me. I will need some pretty low gears so I can slowly spin my way up the steeper hills.

Pretty much the same criteria as myself. Any reason none of your bike choices include a triple, as I would have thought this would have given you that extra bit of range in the hills?

Lemag

BUACHAILL wrote: »

I think a lot of my problem is I like them all and honestly dont have the time to one by one go see them and try them etc. I do agree that I at least need to know which components are better suited for me and my type of cycling, thats my second problem I am not up to speed on a lot of these anymore, whats good, whats not etc and thats the first thing I am going to tackle before deciding on any bike.

Shimano 105 < Ultegra < Dura Ace
Ultegra Di2 < Dura Ace Di2 (electronic shifting)
Sram Rival < Force < Red
Campag Athena < Chorus < Record < Super Record

Having had each of shaimano, sram and campag, sram is my favourite. Shimano and Sram are cross compatible which makes finding secondhand replacement parts from here and elsewhere a little easier.

Regarding finding your bike. Decide on a budget and then come up with a list of reputable brands that you like. For each of these look for whichever suitable model which they have whose RRP is a bit above your budget and then search around for the best price. Google product search can be good for this. It's also a handy way of stumbling across shops that you wouldn't have been aware of.

I started this thread a couple of months ago for a bike serch of my own.

There should be some 2011 (last season) and older models out there which are heavily reduced, btw.

edit - I would suggest a stardard or a compact double over a triple. If there are hills which you can't conquer with a compact then you probably wouldn't be able to do so with a triple either. There is such a thing as going so slow that you might as well be going backwards. If you're relatively young and not over weight (by much) then a standard should do trick regardless of your fitness level. Btw, you can convert from a compact to a standard by just swapping out the chainrings fairly cheaply (considering your apparent budget).

HivemindXX

smacl wrote: »

Pretty much the same criteria as myself. Any reason none of your bike choices include a triple, as I would have thought this would have given you that extra bit of range in the hills?

Heh. Peer pressure. I figure I can manage with a compact double and triples aren't cool.

I know how I currently manage on hills with my triple equipped hybrid and I can compare gear ratios to see what sort of gears I can get in a double. If my lowest two gears disappeared I'd live (I wouldn't be very happy, but I'd live). The theory is that it's good to force myself to try harder on hills. Obviously I could do this with a tripe as well though.

So realistically the only thing stopping me looking at triples is my inner fashion victim. I intend to keep my current bike for commuting to work so I can always use that if I plan on riding an extremely steep course. I'll probably never actually buy any of these bikes so the fact they don't have triples won't actually matter.

Castlepark

I'm going to piggy back this thread a little.
Just got back into cycling this year bought a Specilaized Allez on the CTW scheme.After a summer clocking up the miles I've started to think about upgrading after noticing a few limitations on the bike(or maybe the pilot) the entry level sora groupset isn't the best.
I'm looking for a bit of advice.I have been offered €600 trade in price and I can add maybe €700 with it.
Would I better off going for an entry level carbon and if so which one.
Spending €700 on a new bike makes more sense than upgrading the groupset on my current bike for about €550.

Lumen

Castlepark wrote: »

the entry level tiagra groupset isn't the best

What's wrong with it?

Tiagra isn't entry level, 2300 is entry level and Sora is next above that.

Castlepark

Sorry Sora I meant,it's 16 spd was thinking of upgrading to 20 spd with a better gear range and with the prices quoted to just upgrade the groupset it would make more sense to upgrade the bike altogether for roughly the same money.

Paul Kiernan

The Allez is a good light frame and well worth upgrading. If you buy a new groupset (e.g. 5600 105 for €350, 5700 105 for €450 or Ultegra around €600) you could probably sell all the Sora stuff on Boards and maybe get up to €150 for it. I don't know much about the Allez wheels but I assume they're crap fairly basic. Likewise the tyres. Spend £120 on a set of PX Model B's and £50 on GP4000s tyres and you're laughing.

Castlepark

Yeah Paul the frame is light no complaints there just when you total the upgrade, and its over 500 quid, I was thinking I could add a little more and make it into carbon territory with higher spec components.
Just find the gear range not the best on the steeper hills and the bike is a bit buzzy on the rougher country roads.
Sound for the suggestion anyway.

Paul Kiernan

TBH, it's not that easy to find a carbon framed bike with a reasonable spec around the €1300 mark. PX and Boardman used to be in that range but they've got a lot dearer. You sometimes get the odd bargain like this.

I assume if you're getting a Trade-in you'll have to buy your new bike from that shop? You might be as well off selling your bike and then you can buy anywhere, including online. Allez's are always popular and should sell easily.

Lance Vance

Anybody have one or opinions on it ?

I don't have the AR4 but do have the AR5 which has the same frame as the AR4. I love the bike, like the way it handles and I think it looks great.

Whatever bike you choose make sure it's the correct size and fit for you.

Best of luck with your decision.

Here is the 2012 AR4 http://www.feltbicycles.com/Ireland/2012/Road/AR-Series/AR4.aspx

BUACHAILL

Thanks Lance

Is it possible do you know to upgrade the components on the bike ? I love the look of the Felt bikes but as mentioned and I agree for the money the you can get better value better spec'd bikes out there. If I upgrade im thinking it will push the price of them through the roof !

Thanks for your thoughts

Lance Vance

I don't know if it is possible to upgrade components at the time of purchase, it may be prohibitively expensive. The AR3 is the same frame as the AR4 but with more expensive components (and a more expensive price).
I guess your options are

• buy the AR4
• buy a bike with similar components but for less money
• buy a bike for a similar price as the AR4 but with better components than the AR4.

My advice; have a look at a few other bike shops to see what is on offer. Buy the bike you prefer the most at the price that suits you.

sparkie12

i was same as you earlier this year had my heart set on ar4, but price was above what i could afford, so it was back to the drawing board, after lot of browsing bike sites the one bike that kept getting great reviews was the cube gtc agree, full carbon frame ultegra/105 components, eventually went to see one, it was 1799.00, that was it, 1400.00 with a trade in, wudnt swap it for any bike now,
theres loads of bikes with same spec as ar4 that are at least 5-800.00 cheaper,
but then again the ar4 looks a beauty,
good luck with your decision anyway.

petethedrummer

I'm not a huge fan of Pinarellos (purely for aesthetic reasons) but this looks like a decent deal.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/pinarello-fp-quattro-ultegra-2011/

BUACHAILL

petethedrummer wrote: »

I'm not a huge fan of Pinarellos (purely for aesthetic reasons) but this looks like a decent deal.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/pinarello-fp-quattro-ultegra-2011/

Funny you say that, had spotted that deal the other night while looking. I'm of similar thoughts not the prettiest but cant argue with the spec in fairness. I wonder if cycle superstore would entertain a price match ?? My wife is going to sign it up on the BTW scheme so allows me a little more margin. I am self employed so cannot avail.

Cycle superstore asking 3300. some difference

petethedrummer

I do actually like the bob (black on black) one quite alot.

I doubt css could match that price, but no harm in asking I suppose. They might knock a few hundred off their price. Why don't you just buy it from Wiggle? You said earlier you know your size.

If you have an LTD company you can use the scheme. Regular self-employed you can't. And you can buy from the interwebs under the scheme.

BUACHAILL

petethedrummer wrote: »

I do actually like the bob (black on black) one quite alot.

I doubt css could match that price, but no harm in asking I suppose. They might knock a few hundred off their price. Why don't you just buy it from Wiggle? You said earlier you know your size.

If you have an LTD company you can use the scheme. Regular self-employed you can't. And you can buy from the interwebs under the scheme.

Thanks for that ! Sounds like a very possible runner, yes I know my size, Bob would be the nicer colouring of that model for sure. Anything I should watch out for with pinarello ? Any issues with them in general ??

Thanks again lads you have been very helpful, this buying lark is tougher than it looks !!

Lumen

Pinarelli are heavy

BUACHAILL

In regards to the lighter of them whats gonna be the difference? will it be enough for me to notice ? I dont plan on racing

Paul Kiernan

BUACHAILL wrote: »

I am self employed so cannot avail.

Why not?

Edit: Sorry! Stupid comment. I'm self-employed myself so I should know better.

BUACHAILL

I was misinformed that self employed people could not avail of it. Obviously not the case !! cheers

Paul Kiernan

BUACHAILL wrote: »

I was misinformed that self employed people could not avail of it. Obviously not the case !! cheers

No. You were right. My mistake. I'll go and make myself a strong cup of coffee:o.

Lumen

BUACHAILL wrote: »

In regards to the lighter of them whats gonna be the difference? will it be enough for me to notice ? I dont plan on racing

Sure, it doesn't make much difference, but by that token what's the point in spending over €2k on a fancy bike?

Most of the difference between a €1k bike and a €5k bike is weight.

BUACHAILL

If you have a Ltd company you can avail of the scheme. Standard self employed cannot.
See Petethedrummers post above. I had been told by various people once your self employed you cant take up the scheme.

Everydays a school day