Please help me pick a bike to order between the following options?

Deedsie

Hi, I am looking to order a new bike this weekend. Would really appreciate some advice picking between the following options! I am a bit lost.

Which bike would ye choose between a Giant Defy 2 or a Kelly's ARC 3.0?

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/...2/11833/56805/

http://kellysbike.com/int/bikes-2013/road/arc-3-0

Also, does anyone know is there any 10 Speed 2013 Trek Road bike with Tiagra groupset available for ~€1000?

Hopefully someone can help me out. Thanks

nilhg

Hard to go wrong with a Giant, weak point may be the wheels, the Kellys looks good and well specced but as always with less common makes your secondhand value may suffer if you ever wanted to trade in/ sell off the bike.

The Trek equivalent would be the 1.5, again hard to go wrong with this,

http://www.wheelworx.ie/bikes/road-bikes/road-bikes-men?product_id=3621

prices should be similar in any other shops more local to you.

kenmc

why just those 2 options?

Deedsie

In my local bike shop, I have it down to the:

2013 Kelly ARC 3.0 for €950 (will take a month to arrive)
Giant Defy 2 for €999
Trek 1.5 for €1090

The shop I am buying in Moynans in Nenagh, (I have absolutely no connection) also has a deal, if you spend over €1000 you get €50 worth of accessories free!

I went for these as I was recommended by someone with far more knowledge than me, that for ~€1000 in a 2013, 10 speed road bike these three are the best value! I just wanted to pool the vast knowledge on this site to make sure I was getting the best bike for the money!

Personally I like the look of the Kelly's Arc myself. What do ye think?

Deedsie

Hoping to order this tomorrow, so if anyone does have any advice it would be great to hear from ye.

Otherwise, I'm gonna go for the Kelly's Arc 3.0

fat bloke

kenmc wrote: »

why just those 2 options?

Maybe because after an eternity of shopping and googling and thinking and pondering, eVENtually, a man has to make his bloody mind up and buy a bike!:).

If you ask me, they're all grand. Buy the one you like best and you'll enjoy riding it and cleaning it and minding it


Bit of a pain in the stones to wait a month for one though

CaoimH_in

Fair play for supporting your LBS.

Of the three I'd think the Kellys bike would be the best for all-round between performance and recreation. Assuming you're after a comfortable and fairly light bike with a very good range of gears. I use very, very similar gear ratios and won't be changing very much in the future. They'll get you up The Step in the Silvermines and they'll let you motor it along the flats, too. So they're really agreeable. Tiagra, in the Shimano hierarchy, come in just under the 105. I've been led to believe that it's a completely agreeable and functional gearset (the Tiagra). I've no experience with it myself. But most people seem to agree the 105 is a grand groupset choice for an ambitious competitive cyclist, so I'd be confident as long as you maintain the Tiagra well you'll get very good performance out of it.

If you are after a more competitively driven bike, have a look at the Scott Carbon bike with the Shimano 105 in Moynans. But that's only if that's what you want. The Scott would be a lot more competitively driven in frame geometry--so a bit more uncomfortable--would have a better gearset designed to perform at a higher standard, and would be a fair bit lighter, probably around 2kg lighter.

If you aren't after a very competitive bike, the Kellys is a fine choice for leisure, fitness, and club racing with friends for fun.

For return servicing and unforeseen issues regarding faults/warranty etc. the lads at Moynans are grand, they can be forgetful, and usually have a workload to get through of other bikes if you have maintenance issues later on, but they know their stuff. They'll also get you sorted with a basic bike fit and can get you linked in to the local cycling community. They do punch above their weight as regard stock as a LBS in a town as small as Nenagh. Good crowd. They'll look after your warranty claims or other issues of assurance too.

Hope this helps!

Deedsie

fat bloke wrote: »

Maybe because after an eternity of shopping and googling and thinking and pondering, eVENtually, a man has to make his bloody mind up and buy a bike!:).

If you ask me, they're all grand. Buy the one you like best and you'll enjoy riding it and cleaning it and minding it


Bit of a pain in the stones to wait a month for one though

Ya, I have been humming and hawing to long... I will order the Kelly for €950 and if I order €50 worth of accessories, bottles cages, saddle bag etc, I will get another €50 worth free as per there deal. I don't mind waiting a month. It'll be worth the wait to get what I want! Thanks for the reply fb

Deedsie

CaoimH_in wrote: »

Fair play for supporting your LBS.

Of the three I'd think the Kellys bike would be the best for all-round between performance and recreation. Assuming you're after a comfortable and fairly light bike with a very good range of gears. I use very, very similar gear ratios and won't be changing very much in the future. They'll get you up The Step in the Silvermines and they'll let you motor it along the flats, too. So they're really agreeable. Tiagra, in the Shimano hierarchy, come in just under the 105. I've been led to believe that it's a completely agreeable and functional gearset (the Tiagra). I've no experience with it myself. But most people seem to agree the 105 is a grand groupset choice for an ambitious competitive cyclist, so I'd be confident as long as you maintain the Tiagra well you'll get very good performance out of it.

If you are after a more competitively driven bike, have a look at the Scott Carbon bike with the Shimano 105 in Moynans. But that's only if that's what you want. The Scott would be a lot more competitively driven in frame geometry--so a bit more uncomfortable--would have a better gearset designed to perform at a higher standard, and would be a fair bit lighter, probably around 2kg lighter.

If you aren't after a very competitive bike, the Kellys is a fine choice for leisure, fitness, and club racing with friends for fun.

For return servicing and unforeseen issues regarding faults/warranty etc. the lads at Moynans are grand, they can be forgetful, and usually have a workload to get through of other bikes if you have maintenance issues later on, but they know their stuff. They'll also get you sorted with a basic bike fit and can get you linked in to the local cycling community. They do punch above their weight as regard stock as a LBS in a town as small as Nenagh. Good crowd. They'll look after your warranty claims or other issues of assurance too.

Hope this helps!

That was a fantastic reply... Thanks very much for taking the time to give such an in depth reply. Ya I'd always like to give my local shop a turn if I can... People complain if they don't have a local shop, but happily order from wiggle.co.uk etc...

I think my heart is set on the Kelly's ARC 3.0, though with a months wait for it to get here it will be the middle of February before I get to take a crack at step!

I'm hoping they'll set the bike up for me, saddle and handlebar height etc? I have my own pedals and a cycling computer I hope they might put on/set up for me too on the day I collect the bike in February!

CaoimH_in

I'm fairly sure they will. Go in with a clear idea of what size frame you want and get all your measurements too. Last thing you need is for information to get lost in transition.

This will be a good website to make sure you get exactly what you need.
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

Deedsie

CaoimH_in wrote: »

I'm fairly sure they will. Go in with a clear idea of what size frame you want and get all your measurements too. Last thing you need is for information to get lost in transition.

This will be a good website to make sure you get exactly what you need.
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

Ya, I said it to him today and he said he'd put on the computer and set it up for me! The bike will be ordered Monday, so hopefully it will be delivered ahead of schedule. I'm excited to get it now. I may do a bit of running in the meantime! Thanks again for the advice.