Claud Butler Torino Alloy framed

[Antracer]

Found this nice looking bike for sale. Same as this : http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/claud-butler-tor...

Tiagra running gear & Mavic rims. Problem is i cannot find a full spec, year, price when new & i have nothing good to compare it against.
Ive been told its in very good condition & the carbon version retailed @ £1k+ when it was out. Ive read conflicting info about CB bikes.

Would this be a wise choice for a first proper road bike or should i stick with the known brands? Also whats it worth?

[rhinochopig]

You can buy a new Decathlon Triban 3 for that money.

The bike in that link is about 200quid over priced IMO.

[anonymous-user]

CB suffered because the bulk of their sales were tourers and people preferred road bike brands they could easily associate with the pro peloton but they are still good bikes. The same principle applies to Dawes who are still knocking out great touring bikes that will reliably circumnavigate the world...

To be honest, I'd take an old Claud Butler with Tiagra and good components over something new for the same price although Decathalon are normally the exception and do seem to put out good bikes for stupily low prices. If you go for it, you should get it for £225 with some negotiation!

This review seems to suggest its fairly average but no farm gate.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/...

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 31st May 09:55

[Mr Will]

pablo said:

CB suffered because the bulk of their sales were tourers and people preferred road bike brands they could easily associate with the pro peloton but they are still good bikes. The same principle applies to Dawes who are still knocking out great touring bikes that will reliably circumnavigate the world...

The difference is that where Dawes continued doing what they do best, CB was bought out (IIRC) and started knocking out cheap and nasty road bikes to compete at the bottom end of the market. I believe they made a few decent bargains as well but this is what tarnished their reputation.

[anonymous-user]

Mr Will said:

The difference is that where Dawes continued doing what they do best, CB was bought out (IIRC) and started knocking out cheap and nasty road bikes to compete at the bottom end of the market. I believe they made a few decent bargains as well but this is what tarnished their reputation.

Ah, I assumed they were bought out but didnt realise they were essentially just an old name fromthe past slapped on BSOs. The early days make for a fascinating story!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claud_Butler