Advice Needed: Best Value Road Bike with relaxed Geometry

Peadarmac1

Hi, I am currently using a Giant CRS0 (Commuter/Tourer) and while happy with it, I am currently considering getting a road bike for longer rides etc. with a price range €1000 - €1200.I am looking for something with a relaxed geometry, I am considering something like a specialized Secteur, can anyone recommend this model and what other brands offer something similar? What’s the best bang for buck? Also what are the main differences in the shimano gears i.e. sora, Tiagra and 105 and should I put much thought into this when considering my choice of bike?

dancecatz2000

You could buy a cyclo x bike, they have more relaxed geometry than a standard road bike, maybe the Giant tcx 2 think there about €999, looks better in the flesh too.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/tcx.2/9328/49856/

kingoffifa

agree with the cyclocross idea.

hard to beat this for the money. nothing comes close to it for spec in the cyclocross category for the cash. 15% extra off if you produce an Axa insurance cert. current discount of 10%. sometimes that goes to 20%. I got mine at christmas when the 20% was on. great bus to be fair

whips along nicely and have clocked up a good few km on her. taken it offroad as well and not a bother on it.

saddle doesnt suit me but it is a good make badged as boardman. brakes are a bit stubborn to set up but awesome when bedded in. loads of people are using these in the uk as commuter bikes or pimping them up to be tourer bikes.

my 10 cents to confuse you some more

Bigus

A bit more than your budget but you won't yearn to upgrade for years planet x rt 57 from planetxIreland .com, in athlone . I went from hybrid and beer belly to one and have done 5 hr 120 km stints already ,within weeks of buying.

I was going to buy cheaper or secondhand but now I'm not looking enviously at bikes on the road or Internet so ultimate ly cheaper in the long run IMHO

http://planetxireland.com/products-page/rt57/planet-x-rt-57-sram-force-build/

petethedrummer

Disagree with the cyclocross idea, get a road bike.

ednwireland

get eddy to make you one of these

Lumen

I also disagree with the cyclocross idea.

A Canyon Roadlite has a tall head tube, which is a kind of relaxed geometry. It's also only €1k with SRAM Apex or Shimano 105.

Nothing particularly wrong with a Secteur though.

smacl

I'm also looking for a relaxed bike, primarily for long spins, the occasional sportive and possibly touring, and following from a recent similar thread the SPA Ti Audax has grabbed my attention. Well outside the OPs budget, but what's boards.ie about if not budget stretch? Any opinions on this bike?

Lumen

smacl wrote: »

I'm also looking for a relaxed bike, primarily for long spins, the occasional sportive and possibly touring, and following from a recent similar thread the SPA Ti Audax has grabbed my attention. Well outside the OPs budget, but what's boards.ie about if not budget stretch? Any opinions on this bike?

The geometry seems quite long and low, although it may be that the combination of a fork with clearance for mudguards and a non-integrated headset makes the front taller than the head tube length suggests.

manwithaplan

ednwireland wrote: »

get eddy to make you one of these

That's mad Ted. It's half way to being a recumbent. He must be hauling on those bars when putting the power down.

Peadarmac1

Thanks all for your thoughts, I am leaning more towards a road bike than a Cyclocross, but will consider all options,:)

will post back when i review all the advice given

smacl

FWIW, having recently moved from flat bar hybrid to drop bar road bike doing regular longish spins (100k+) a few points to consider;

- Moving from 32c to thinner tyres, go with 25c rather than 23c starting out, as they'll provide more comfort.

- Get a good saddle. Personally, I'm a brooks fan but YMMV. This also goes back to having narrower harder tyres than you're used to.

- Moving from your Deore gear set, with 26 front / 28 rear as your lowest gear, try climbing a few steep hills on any of your prospective purchases. Compact gearing 50/34 with a hill friendly cassette e.g. 12/28 may be a good option.

- I personally find compact drop bars more comfortable than deeper drops. I'd recommend picking your geometry based around being comfortable in the drops as well as the hoods. I never really got comfortable on the road bike until I started using the drops properly, though part of this could be a bike fit issue on my current set-up.

The secteur would certainly seem like a good starting point if you got the chance for a test ride. Well worth taking a few different bikes on short spins to see what works for you.

Peadarmac1

Thanks smacl, I will certainly consider all the points you've mentioned,but I dont know if you have made my decision any easier:D

Donie75

The PX RT57 is definitely not relaxed geometry. It has a very short headtube and it's very racey. The Secteur is a very comfortable and capable bike. I have on a its great. It's the same geometry as the specialized roubaix.