Up to £3500

[aea730]

I'm looking at a change and have about 3k and a bit to spend to improve on my Ribble Sportive racing. I'm proposing buying a new bike and stripping my Ribble to build a winter bike out of the bits.

So I've looked at the Cervelo R3 or S3 Pinarello Marvel and a few, more mainstream bikes. I don't want a giant/trek/spesh/focus or similar.

I've also considered a casati, de rosa, ciocc, basso, and one or two others.

I keep coming back to the cervelo and the pinarello does look a work of art.

I've also consicered a Look 695 but built up they are prob above my budget.

So.......any offerings from the wise on these things.

I do still like my Ribble, made better recently by the addition of some Mavic Elites but do really fancy a change

Edited by aea730 on Saturday 16th August 23:07

[Disco You]

What do you want from your bike? What sort of riding do you do?

For £3.5k, you will find it hard to do better than this, IMO:
http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=10...
or this, if you prefer campy:
http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=32...

Edited by Disco You on Saturday 16th August 23:17

[Gizmoish]

The Canyons are awesome value. But at that price, I'd be seriously looking at titanium or steel, possibly custom made.

Pinarello do nothing for me, strangely.

[aea730]

Thanks gents. I'm a 600 mile a month rider of average ability, club rides on a weekend and solo during the week. No competitions. I weigh 13 stone and cut an average speed of about 18mph.

So I guess I'm looking for something which will do a bit of everything and not cripple me on a 100miler

Mmmm I like the look of the canyon/campag SLX

Edited by aea730 on Sunday 17th August 07:27

[anonymous-user]

Agree, I'd be looking at an Enigma Equinox or the Condor Super Acaccio...

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 17th August 07:28

[astroarcadia]

I had a similar budget and wanted an Enigma at first.

Eventually came round to a Canyon, the bikes/spec are great value. A friend has an R5, again a great bike, but at a premium.

Very pleased with the build quality and ride.

Edited by astroarcadia on Sunday 17th August 09:00

[BadgerBenji]

aea730 said:

I don't want a giant/trek/spesh/focus or similar.

Surely the Canyon comes into the similar bracket. Not sure why you are excluding those brands they all have had top riders on them at the recent tour de france.

Have you looked at the S-Works side of specialized if you are after something a bit more exclusive?

[andySC]

pablo said:

Agree, I'd be looking at an Enigma Equinox or the Condor Super Acaccio...

Edited by pablo on Sunday 17th August 07:28

I've got a Super Acciaio & it's a fantastic machine. Not carbon of course so that'll put the majority off right away but with the right build it's more than light enough (SRAM red, DA c24's for me) to surprise people & they can't believe it's steel. The other bike I use on a regular basis is a Scott Foil 10, a great bike for sure but I much prefer the Condor. The Condor looks amazing , the welds are perfect & there are some tasty finishing touches & details that set it apart. Handmade in Italy too.

Canyon are amazing value & great bikes (I've got one of their carbon mtb's) & I know a good few lads who have them. If the Scott Foil met a sticky end & I wanted another bike of this ilk, Canyon would be where I'd look (truthfully as I don't do road races anymore I'd buy a stainless steel Acciaio)....a word of warning though, their customer services is dire. It took them 10 weeks to replace my defective frame (even though they were in stock)...pretty crap tbh. That said everyone else who I know who has one (3 with mtb's & 3 on road bikes) nobody has had any bother, I was unlucky so I'll still endorse them & would by from them again.

Edited by andySC on Sunday 17th August 09:28

[astroarcadia]

Agree with above.

For me, one of the deciding factors against Ti was that I already have a well specced Al cross bike as a go-anywhere winter hack so wanted an outright road/race bike.

I do see the attraction of a good spec Ti bike as all the bike you will need but you may struggle for under £3500.

[Dammit]

Are you looking for a frame and fork or complete bike?

[anonymous-user]

Really? I think 3500 is plenty, Enigma frameset is 1500, Campag record 11sp is 1000 from Merlin leaving 1000 for wheels and sundries! Not a campag person myself but it just looks nicer on metal frames than SRAM or Shimano and record is top end. I'd spec some neutron ultra wheels for 500.

[Rocksteadyeddie]

Be surprised if this is more than £3500 if it's your size.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331287914488?ssPageName=...

There's a deal to be done here I would think....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131256709690?ssPageName=...

Or a Venge.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2013-S-Works-Specialised...

You get the idea. Loads of "used" bikes around and £3500 buys you a cracker.

[Rocksteadyeddie]

This looks like a proper new bargain...

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40...

[anonymous-user]

Hadnt really thought of second hand but if its an option, make sure you know something about the previous owner....

Katusha Canyons
Garmin Sharp Cervelos
Ben Swift's 2011 Dogma

Lots of pro tour teams sell off their old race bikes, might be worth keeping an eye on the websites of the other teams too if something like this appeals.

[jamiebae]

On the steel subject, how about one of these?

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/road/performan...

RRP is £5k but the frame set is cheaper and you could build one to your spec, does way more for me than a carbon spaceship which will probably be out of date in 3 years. One of these with Ultegra Di2 would be ideal for me.

[Dammit]

pablo said:

Hadnt really thought of second hand but if its an option, make sure you know something about the previous owner....

Katusha Canyons
Garmin Sharp Cervelos
Ben Swift's 2011 Dogma

Lots of pro tour teams sell off their old race bikes, might be worth keeping an eye on the websites of the other teams too if something like this appeals.

Having a bike with a story is nice- but there is no way I'd buy a used race bike, especially one used by a pro.

The race versions are often reinforced (Scott's race frames are heavier than production models for e.g.) but they are designed to last a season.

[julianm]

Buy 2! - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Colnago-Bititan-Titanium-b...

[Matt_N]

jamiebae said:

On the steel subject, how about one of these?

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/road/performan...

RRP is £5k but the frame set is cheaper and you could build one to your spec, does way more for me than a carbon spaceship which will probably be out of date in 3 years. One of these with Ultegra Di2 would be ideal for me.

Guy in our club got one of these for £3k the other week, they had a few in the larger sizes on offer, lovely bike.

[Matt_N]

julianm said:

Buy 2! - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Colnago-Bititan-Titanium-b...

Bititan's have a bit of a reputation for cracking.

[TKF]

Dammit said:

Having a bike with a story is nice- but there is no way I'd buy a used race bike, especially one used by a pro.

The race versions are often reinforced (Scott's race frames are heavier than production models for e.g.) but they are designed to last a season.

Do they fall apart after 1 season then? I would have thought a bike that's been meticulously maintained by a team of mechanics would be better than your average 2nd hand bike (assuming no crash damage)