Discussion
Looking at possibly buying a new bike and Beacon Bikes have been suggested as an option and i quite like the look of them and sound of the brand.
Going up in the next couple of weeks for a test day of the BF80, BF100 and BF110 but wondered if anyone has any experience of them and the company.
Going up in the next couple of weeks for a test day of the BF80, BF100 and BF110 but wondered if anyone has any experience of them and the company.
A friend of mine has one (BF 100) and absolutely loves it.
The shop is run by Ex pro cyclist & Ex pro team mechanics, nothing is too much trouble, and always happy to deal with any issue. There is a huge amount of experience & knowledge of pro cycling & triathlon.
The frames are designed in house, and manufactured in the far east.
I believe the bikes also come with a bike fit too.
The shop is run by Ex pro cyclist & Ex pro team mechanics, nothing is too much trouble, and always happy to deal with any issue. There is a huge amount of experience & knowledge of pro cycling & triathlon.
The frames are designed in house, and manufactured in the far east.
I believe the bikes also come with a bike fit too.
Mister K said:
A friend of mine has one (BF 100) and absolutely loves it.
The shop is run by Ex pro cyclist & Ex pro team mechanics, nothing is too much trouble, and always happy to deal with any issue. There is a huge amount of experience & knowledge of pro cycling & triathlon.
The frames are designed in house, and manufactured in the far east.
I believe the bikes also come with a bike fit too.
Yes their process is;The shop is run by Ex pro cyclist & Ex pro team mechanics, nothing is too much trouble, and always happy to deal with any issue. There is a huge amount of experience & knowledge of pro cycling & triathlon.
The frames are designed in house, and manufactured in the far east.
I believe the bikes also come with a bike fit too.
1) full on bike fit
2) take all the Frame options with same chain/wheel sets out for back to back ride test rides to see which Frame you prefer (BF80 is softer, BF100 is stiffer, BF110 is a more Aero version of the BF100)
3) decide on chain and wheelsets
Marcellus said:
cheers Pablo, not sure of the relevance of the bomber piginapoke.
Pablo, which other manufactureres would you suggest looking for a "non main stream, nice looking, full carbon, try before you buy" bike?
Dolan,better vfm, only one shop and it's in lancsPablo, which other manufactureres would you suggest looking for a "non main stream, nice looking, full carbon, try before you buy" bike?
Pearson, reasonable vfm compared to beacon and it's a thing of beauty
Condor, buy frameset from them after fit, then buy finishing kit from various online sources, save loads on their rrp
I don't like the companies who charge rrp on finishing kit when you buy their frame.
Wyndymilla, if you're intent on burning the same amount of cash as the beacon of get one of these
With the caveat that I currently ride a Giant. 
My previous bikes (predominately MTB and BMX) have all come from the larger companies. GT, Rocky mountain, Ridgeback etc
I dunno if it's a marketing thing, as much as ease of purchase. But these little bike companies (and I include Dolan) don't really appeal to me. I live not a million miles from Roberts bikes (famous for the d.o.g.s. b.o.l.x frame
(not my pic)
But all I ever thought at the time was. Very expensive and not exactly cutting edge technology wise. I do suspect that a Spesh Venge Vias or Cervelo S5 are better products than anything from Beacon or Dassi et al.
My previous bikes (predominately MTB and BMX) have all come from the larger companies. GT, Rocky mountain, Ridgeback etcI dunno if it's a marketing thing, as much as ease of purchase. But these little bike companies (and I include Dolan) don't really appeal to me. I live not a million miles from Roberts bikes (famous for the d.o.g.s. b.o.l.x frame
(not my pic)
But all I ever thought at the time was. Very expensive and not exactly cutting edge technology wise. I do suspect that a Spesh Venge Vias or Cervelo S5 are better products than anything from Beacon or Dassi et al.
So, Friday was the day of my visit to Beacon and test rides.
I wasn't too sure what to expect as I loaded the car and set off, would I, a middle aged slightly overweight not particularly good cyclist, be able to tell the difference between bike a, b and c?
I was met by "spike", had the obligatory coffee and chat about bikes n stuff and introduced to Ed and Darrin.
Soon I was being told to get changed, Ed was measuring my existing bike and swapping pedals, there guys were being very careful not to sway my opinion on any of the bikes, being very factual with "this is the 100, it's got a campag groupset on, go for a pedal" they told me of a nice little (5mile) loop and waved me off.
My 1st reaction was "ooooooo this is nice, feels comfortable and goes nicely" then I remembered what I was there for and tried to ignore the gears (Campag Record) and focus on how does it feel and what'd the relationship between the road surface, gradient, feeling, speed and comfort.
The route itself started on a little bit of billiard table smooth tarmac and I accelerated hard and it responded well, I then turned onto a fairly flat section where the road surface was quite rough, on my current bike I'd be feeling my fillings rattle and the vibration would upset the rhythm on the 100 it was slightly smoother and after a mile and a bit reached the brow of the hill, the descent was pretty cut up and flowing corners and the bike handled them well, then there was a bit of undulation before a little climb past a cement works. This was an interesting tester as the road was really cut up by all the cement lorries climbing it so I was searching for the smoothest line but even so had to go "little gear" as my rhythm wasn't the best due to the holes in the road. Finally back to the shop.
This was the 100 I rode;
Back at the shop and Ed had already set the 80 for me and quickly swapped the pedals, they were all careful not to distract me (just saying this is the 80 with Di2) and just said remember how it felt and now compare this one and I was off again.
Smooth black stuff, accelerated and felt good and I thought "see I know I wouldn't be able to tell the difference" then into the rough mile and a bit of roughish bit and suddenly "oh hello" suddenly there was no vibration through the bike it was as if I were on my MTB and went from "full locked out suss" to "fully unlocked", the slight descent was a dream really encouraging me to press on which I did bike seemed to iron out all of the roughness. On the back straight as opposed to looking for the smoothest line I found I wasn't bothering it wasn't needed, so instead I went looking for the roughest and it was still smoother than the smoothest on the 100. At this point I really started to try and analyse what was going on and why, was it the wheels? were the tyre pressures the same? is it the gears? The final test was the "cement works rough climb"... wow straight up no messing I was able to keep a flowing cadence throughout and back to the shop.
Here's the 80;
Now for the tough bit, decision time.... I really liked them both, I checked that the bikes really were the same apart from the Frames which was confirmed so the difference I was feeling was all down to the Frame which really surprised me as to my inexpert eye they looked the same.
This is when Spike started to explain and got all techie on me, tbh I didn't understand most of what he was actually saying but the bits I understood was;
- it's all down to how you lay down the carbon,
- if you lay it in one way it will be stiff one way but flex in another,
- if lay down a different way it will be stiff in both directions
- there's different types of carbon which have different properties
- so you need to choose where and how you want the frame to flex and by how much.
He was then very good at drawing out from me my thoughts on the rides and the bikes, leading me to actually work out which Frame I preferred.
Having made that decision Darrin came back to discuss the spec and cost, as I was building to a budget he was very good at showing me some options, with everything from an "entry level 105 spec" costing sub £2k up to an all singing all dancing "Dura Ace Di2 handmade 50mm wheelset" costing nearly £10k!
Over more coffees there was much discussion on me, my riding, the spec and the cost etc. and we finally agreed on "the appropriate spec" and how much it would cost.
So a fantastic experience and I left their premises a very happy and excited bloke.
When I got home I started to do a little bit of research and it was here that I started to become a little disillusioned; I worked out that if I bought the "entry level 105 spec", chucked away the group and wheel sets and installed the group/wheel sets to the same level as the "appropriate spec" I could save c20% and that was with throwing away close on to £1k of kit so if I took that off the cost as well!!
I started to have some serious reservations, so spoke to the guys and their response was pretty much "yes, it's ridiculous it's an industry issue and you can buy the upgrades for cheaper than we can and we'd actually make more profit supplying you the entry level bike than discounting the fully upgraded bike to you for much less than the current offer".
It really seems strange to me that I can buy the bike I want plus a spare group and wheel set for 20% less than I can buy just the bike I want!
I'd still get the full bike fit, set up, build service etc etc from Beacon but then have to sort locally swapping the mechanical out and putting in the Di2 at the same time I'll probably upgrade the seat post, stem and handlebars (any suggestions?).
So there you have it, I've always been a "you really need to ride a bike before you decide if you like it" but was sceptical that I'd be able to tell the difference between two almost identical frames but am no more and I have on order a bike that will, eventually, be a superb bike plus I can upgrade my existing 10 year old group and wheel set!
So in two weeks I'll be making the 5 hour return trip to bring home the new bike, I'll let you know how I get on.
I wasn't too sure what to expect as I loaded the car and set off, would I, a middle aged slightly overweight not particularly good cyclist, be able to tell the difference between bike a, b and c?
I was met by "spike", had the obligatory coffee and chat about bikes n stuff and introduced to Ed and Darrin.
Soon I was being told to get changed, Ed was measuring my existing bike and swapping pedals, there guys were being very careful not to sway my opinion on any of the bikes, being very factual with "this is the 100, it's got a campag groupset on, go for a pedal" they told me of a nice little (5mile) loop and waved me off.
My 1st reaction was "ooooooo this is nice, feels comfortable and goes nicely" then I remembered what I was there for and tried to ignore the gears (Campag Record) and focus on how does it feel and what'd the relationship between the road surface, gradient, feeling, speed and comfort.
The route itself started on a little bit of billiard table smooth tarmac and I accelerated hard and it responded well, I then turned onto a fairly flat section where the road surface was quite rough, on my current bike I'd be feeling my fillings rattle and the vibration would upset the rhythm on the 100 it was slightly smoother and after a mile and a bit reached the brow of the hill, the descent was pretty cut up and flowing corners and the bike handled them well, then there was a bit of undulation before a little climb past a cement works. This was an interesting tester as the road was really cut up by all the cement lorries climbing it so I was searching for the smoothest line but even so had to go "little gear" as my rhythm wasn't the best due to the holes in the road. Finally back to the shop.
This was the 100 I rode;
Back at the shop and Ed had already set the 80 for me and quickly swapped the pedals, they were all careful not to distract me (just saying this is the 80 with Di2) and just said remember how it felt and now compare this one and I was off again.
Smooth black stuff, accelerated and felt good and I thought "see I know I wouldn't be able to tell the difference" then into the rough mile and a bit of roughish bit and suddenly "oh hello" suddenly there was no vibration through the bike it was as if I were on my MTB and went from "full locked out suss" to "fully unlocked", the slight descent was a dream really encouraging me to press on which I did bike seemed to iron out all of the roughness. On the back straight as opposed to looking for the smoothest line I found I wasn't bothering it wasn't needed, so instead I went looking for the roughest and it was still smoother than the smoothest on the 100. At this point I really started to try and analyse what was going on and why, was it the wheels? were the tyre pressures the same? is it the gears? The final test was the "cement works rough climb"... wow straight up no messing I was able to keep a flowing cadence throughout and back to the shop.
Here's the 80;
Now for the tough bit, decision time.... I really liked them both, I checked that the bikes really were the same apart from the Frames which was confirmed so the difference I was feeling was all down to the Frame which really surprised me as to my inexpert eye they looked the same.
This is when Spike started to explain and got all techie on me, tbh I didn't understand most of what he was actually saying but the bits I understood was;
- it's all down to how you lay down the carbon,
- if you lay it in one way it will be stiff one way but flex in another,
- if lay down a different way it will be stiff in both directions
- there's different types of carbon which have different properties
- so you need to choose where and how you want the frame to flex and by how much.
He was then very good at drawing out from me my thoughts on the rides and the bikes, leading me to actually work out which Frame I preferred.
Having made that decision Darrin came back to discuss the spec and cost, as I was building to a budget he was very good at showing me some options, with everything from an "entry level 105 spec" costing sub £2k up to an all singing all dancing "Dura Ace Di2 handmade 50mm wheelset" costing nearly £10k!
Over more coffees there was much discussion on me, my riding, the spec and the cost etc. and we finally agreed on "the appropriate spec" and how much it would cost.
So a fantastic experience and I left their premises a very happy and excited bloke.
When I got home I started to do a little bit of research and it was here that I started to become a little disillusioned; I worked out that if I bought the "entry level 105 spec", chucked away the group and wheel sets and installed the group/wheel sets to the same level as the "appropriate spec" I could save c20% and that was with throwing away close on to £1k of kit so if I took that off the cost as well!!
I started to have some serious reservations, so spoke to the guys and their response was pretty much "yes, it's ridiculous it's an industry issue and you can buy the upgrades for cheaper than we can and we'd actually make more profit supplying you the entry level bike than discounting the fully upgraded bike to you for much less than the current offer".
It really seems strange to me that I can buy the bike I want plus a spare group and wheel set for 20% less than I can buy just the bike I want!
I'd still get the full bike fit, set up, build service etc etc from Beacon but then have to sort locally swapping the mechanical out and putting in the Di2 at the same time I'll probably upgrade the seat post, stem and handlebars (any suggestions?).
So there you have it, I've always been a "you really need to ride a bike before you decide if you like it" but was sceptical that I'd be able to tell the difference between two almost identical frames but am no more and I have on order a bike that will, eventually, be a superb bike plus I can upgrade my existing 10 year old group and wheel set!
So in two weeks I'll be making the 5 hour return trip to bring home the new bike, I'll let you know how I get on.
So let me see if I understand this correctly...
If you buy the bike with posh groupset attached it costs masses more than if you buy the boggo 105 version and then buy a posh groupset from Merlin/Ribble etc. ?
So you're getting the bike you want and a spare groupset to update one of your older frames all for less than you would have paid the bike shop for the frame with the spec you chose built up already?
If you buy the bike with posh groupset attached it costs masses more than if you buy the boggo 105 version and then buy a posh groupset from Merlin/Ribble etc. ?
So you're getting the bike you want and a spare groupset to update one of your older frames all for less than you would have paid the bike shop for the frame with the spec you chose built up already?
Timothy Claypole said:
So let me see if I understand this correctly...
If you buy the bike with posh groupset attached it costs masses more than if you buy the boggo 105 version and then buy a posh groupset from Merlin/Ribble etc. ?
So you're getting the bike you want and a spare groupset to update one of your older frames all for less than you would have paid the bike shop for the frame with the spec you chose built up already?
Yep, posh/bling groupset & wheels and boggo standard bits spare to be sold/scrapped/used on old bike and save 20%!If you buy the bike with posh groupset attached it costs masses more than if you buy the boggo 105 version and then buy a posh groupset from Merlin/Ribble etc. ?
So you're getting the bike you want and a spare groupset to update one of your older frames all for less than you would have paid the bike shop for the frame with the spec you chose built up already?
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