Cost of a competitive road bike
Discussion
Deferring to the PH collective knowledge base (and riding on the back of the earlier thread re TT v road bike) what do you guys believe a new competitive road bike would cost/examples would be helpful. When i say competitive i mean IF i got my @rse into gear and put my name down for something like this
http://www.rapha.cc/index.php?page=490
i would want to be riding something that would be relatively inkeeping
i was thinking something in the order of £1.6k to £1.8k
thanks in advance CAB
http://www.rapha.cc/index.php?page=490
i would want to be riding something that would be relatively inkeeping
i was thinking something in the order of £1.6k to £1.8k
thanks in advance CAB
Something light and with a triple chainset I would guess looking at that..
Alot of good carbon frames are around now, and you should get something with as light as possible wheels.
Some of the offerings from Focus or Radon from Germany seems to be good value for money in terms of bike components.
Otherwise a Vision 980gram frame with SRAM Red group series with a set of carbon wheels.. would be good but alas waay off budget.
A
Alot of good carbon frames are around now, and you should get something with as light as possible wheels.
Some of the offerings from Focus or Radon from Germany seems to be good value for money in terms of bike components.
Otherwise a Vision 980gram frame with SRAM Red group series with a set of carbon wheels.. would be good but alas waay off budget.
A
Marcellus said:
tbh - whatever your budget would fit right in at most events in France including L'Etape....you might not be the most competitive but over here it's more about the ride than looking good!!
Ok put another way what would you view as an average bike at one of these events.Not so much about looking good but rather knowing i only have myself to blame for my poor showing. If i go in too low i will only end up uprating components to bring it upto an acceptable level.
LRdriver II said:
Something light and with a triple chainset I would guess looking at that..
Alot of good carbon frames are around now, and you should get something with as light as possible wheels.
Some of the offerings from Focus or Radon from Germany seems to be good value for money in terms of bike components.
Otherwise a Vision 980gram frame with SRAM Red group series with a set of carbon wheels.. would be good but alas waay off budget.
A
Thanks any specific/inidicative models in mindAlot of good carbon frames are around now, and you should get something with as light as possible wheels.
Some of the offerings from Focus or Radon from Germany seems to be good value for money in terms of bike components.
Otherwise a Vision 980gram frame with SRAM Red group series with a set of carbon wheels.. would be good but alas waay off budget.
A
I think if you’re asking that kind of question 1.5 - 2k for a road bike from one of the mainstreams would get you a really good set up and enable you to participate in bigger events.
As you say the biggest limiting factor is going to come down to your health and fitness.
My cousin races in the bigger events around Europe and here in the UK and he's just taken delivery of a bike which would of cost him 3.5 - 4k to build if it had not been for his sponsors.
But the difference is he does it as a semi pro and feels every ounce added to a frame and every twitch of movement that might come from lesser components... will you? (wish I could say I do)
Just make sure you take advice from the people you trust, who know what makes a good racing bike and really understand the true requirements of what you'll be doing to make a decision on what you'll ultimately need.
As you say the biggest limiting factor is going to come down to your health and fitness.
My cousin races in the bigger events around Europe and here in the UK and he's just taken delivery of a bike which would of cost him 3.5 - 4k to build if it had not been for his sponsors.
But the difference is he does it as a semi pro and feels every ounce added to a frame and every twitch of movement that might come from lesser components... will you? (wish I could say I do)
Just make sure you take advice from the people you trust, who know what makes a good racing bike and really understand the true requirements of what you'll be doing to make a decision on what you'll ultimately need.
it really depends on how much you want to pay!!
Go to your local bike shop who has a range of bikes from a range of manufacturers and see what fits and feels good.
WHen I got back into cycling after 20years I wasn't sure it it was "fad" so set myself a budget of £750....bought a Bianci with Carbon forks, Campag chainset and campag vento wheels...if got me up and running and starting to do some competitive riding....I wrote it off and bought a Scott CR1 with Shimano 105 chainset and bog standard wheels (£1600 iirc) have now upgraded wheels and chainset.
Can I really tell the difference between the Bianchi and the Scott??
No..
Go to your local bike shop who has a range of bikes from a range of manufacturers and see what fits and feels good.
WHen I got back into cycling after 20years I wasn't sure it it was "fad" so set myself a budget of £750....bought a Bianci with Carbon forks, Campag chainset and campag vento wheels...if got me up and running and starting to do some competitive riding....I wrote it off and bought a Scott CR1 with Shimano 105 chainset and bog standard wheels (£1600 iirc) have now upgraded wheels and chainset.
Can I really tell the difference between the Bianchi and the Scott??
No..
Having recently completed the Etape du Dales,110 miles,3500m climbing I have some experience of the quality of bikes.
£4000 Italian carbon fibre -a friend
£2500 Trek Madone 5.5 -my bike
15 yr old steel racer built by a local company in Lincolnshire worth say £150,another friend
The bikes passed the finish line in reverse order of the above ! -It makes little difference what you pay you've still got to turn those f*cking pedals !!!
Seriously for sportive rides would recommend Trek Madone (there are cheaper models) or Specialised Roubaix.
Loads of reviews/info on www.bikeradar.com
PS get plenty of miles in,it nearly killed me !
£4000 Italian carbon fibre -a friend
£2500 Trek Madone 5.5 -my bike
15 yr old steel racer built by a local company in Lincolnshire worth say £150,another friend
The bikes passed the finish line in reverse order of the above ! -It makes little difference what you pay you've still got to turn those f*cking pedals !!!
Seriously for sportive rides would recommend Trek Madone (there are cheaper models) or Specialised Roubaix.
Loads of reviews/info on www.bikeradar.com
PS get plenty of miles in,it nearly killed me !
T5BXR said:
Having recently completed the Etape du Dales,110 miles,3500m climbing I have some experience of the quality of bikes.
£4000 Italian carbon fibre -a friend
£2500 Trek Madone 5.5 -my bike
15 yr old steel racer built by a local company in Lincolnshire worth say £150,another friend
The bikes passed the finish line in reverse order of the above ! -It makes little difference what you pay you've still got to turn those f*cking pedals !!!
Seriously for sportive rides would recommend Trek Madone (there are cheaper models) or Specialised Roubaix.
Loads of reviews/info on www.bikeradar.com
PS get plenty of miles in,it nearly killed me !
Thanks for the advice£4000 Italian carbon fibre -a friend
£2500 Trek Madone 5.5 -my bike
15 yr old steel racer built by a local company in Lincolnshire worth say £150,another friend
The bikes passed the finish line in reverse order of the above ! -It makes little difference what you pay you've still got to turn those f*cking pedals !!!
Seriously for sportive rides would recommend Trek Madone (there are cheaper models) or Specialised Roubaix.
Loads of reviews/info on www.bikeradar.com
PS get plenty of miles in,it nearly killed me !
can i ask where you trained - with the sort of hill climbing involved i would have thought that you need quite a bit of exposure - day after day - of that sort of abuse prior to embarking on the ride.
Edited by CAB on Saturday 28th June 19:37
CAB the most important thing is that you select one that fits correctly and is comfortable,the amount of people I have seen with bad backs or knee injuries through incorrect positions is unbelievable.You can get a competitive decent road bike that you can race on for less than £1000,you should also budget for spare wheels for training on and use your spare set for special days.
Go to a specialist shop or ask at a decent club who they recommend and get measured up properly.
Go to a specialist shop or ask at a decent club who they recommend and get measured up properly.
I too would say its more important that it fits you.
An example of the bike a pro rider i know uses, one of several identical rigs.He has a stock alloy frame with carbon fork which is all just standard off the shelf cheap stuff painted in team colour, durace group set, alloy bars ,stem and post but a 1200g wheelset.This was raced in the one day classics, is all available to the public and costs less than a mid range madone.
If you turn up to some of the hard races on the world scene people would be suprised how much gear is raced that is cheap and run of the mill.
Position on the bike is more important though because riding full throttle on the drops with your back flat in the gutter at 45kph(if you can) is more efficient than sat up on the hoods on the most expensive bike there is.
But if you want to look cool, just about every new bike over a couple of grand looks bling
An example of the bike a pro rider i know uses, one of several identical rigs.He has a stock alloy frame with carbon fork which is all just standard off the shelf cheap stuff painted in team colour, durace group set, alloy bars ,stem and post but a 1200g wheelset.This was raced in the one day classics, is all available to the public and costs less than a mid range madone.
If you turn up to some of the hard races on the world scene people would be suprised how much gear is raced that is cheap and run of the mill.
Position on the bike is more important though because riding full throttle on the drops with your back flat in the gutter at 45kph(if you can) is more efficient than sat up on the hoods on the most expensive bike there is.
But if you want to look cool, just about every new bike over a couple of grand looks bling
i have a small problem/need to change the subject title - the bike2work scheme my firm is using wont let you spend more than the coupon price (although I will be applying some pressure)...
so now firmly of the view that you can get a compeitive bike for a grand... question answered ;-)
now which one and how the feck does this firm cost it up!!!! Joy!!
so now firmly of the view that you can get a compeitive bike for a grand... question answered ;-)
now which one and how the feck does this firm cost it up!!!! Joy!!
Edited by CAB on Wednesday 25th June 22:17
About £2 is the minimum for a good Sportive machine. However choose your groupset carefully as the wrong choice can be an expensive error. Allow for two pair of wheels, best and everyday/wet ones. Also expect to get some different cassettes. The choice between a triple chainset or a compact has to be taken seriously. Crank length is another area. I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that the standard 170mm cranks are obsolete and 172.5 should be the norm for everyone of average height. Complete machines can come with a saddle which is not suited to every individual.
CAB, looks to be a lot of sensible comments above - I'm in the process of also getting a road bike, been very much a MTB'er up until now, and I dont know why its taken me so long to realise, but I think fast/light road bikes are more my cup of cha'
On recommendation from a v good friend, I went to a friend of his who owns East St Cycles in Farnham (nowhere near where I live, but I have a customer just down the road, so convenient)
Prob the best 2hrs I've spent in a bike shop, for a very long time. Got a proper fitting done (the name of the fitting kit escapes me..late night brain fade, but its a Dutch manufacturer), plugged the results in the computer, got all the geo's that would be ideal, and thanks to me being "Mr ISO9000/British Standards", a 56cm frame on a Trek Madone seemed the perfect choice.
Only double the budget I was toying with last week!!...me all over though, rather spend up front and get good groupset rather than bin n replace later. I'm going to place an order for the Madone 4.7 tomorrow, about the £1600 mark. The items that I know aren't really up to par (or wont be once my ability develops) are the rims - Trek being renowned for underspeccing this, only Bontrager Race's, on the other hand, on the 4.7 you get full Ultegra groupset, and fairly standard Bontrager finishing kit, so some scope for upgrade-itis later on (saving for some Ksyriums already!)
However...with my ability, I KNOW that a bike half that cost would be more than adequate, and was looking at Le Monds and Trek 1.7 or 1.9 to start with, but been swayed off the idea of ally frames perhaps being a bit buzzier than carbon - I want a bike that isnt torture and that I can ride for many miles on.
My MTB (in fact the last couple of MTBs) is a Specialized Stumpy S-Works, so am a Specialized fan by default, however, when looking at the comparable Roubaix's and Allez models, they dont seem to come up anywhere near as good VFM as this years Treks (the new 2008.5 model year Madones, by all accounts, move the game on from prev models quite significantly in terms of frame design). Decided against a Specialized Tarmac, on basis that its a bit too hardcore-racer for what I want.
Very very excited now...just hope I can get it in time for leaving for hols on Tuesday!!
ETA - Just ordered Madone, it'll be here for tomorrow, collect Sat!!...YES!!..ooh, I think I just wee'd myself...just got to tell Mrs Spenny_b that we're now taking 3 bikes not 2 on hols!
On recommendation from a v good friend, I went to a friend of his who owns East St Cycles in Farnham (nowhere near where I live, but I have a customer just down the road, so convenient)
Prob the best 2hrs I've spent in a bike shop, for a very long time. Got a proper fitting done (the name of the fitting kit escapes me..late night brain fade, but its a Dutch manufacturer), plugged the results in the computer, got all the geo's that would be ideal, and thanks to me being "Mr ISO9000/British Standards", a 56cm frame on a Trek Madone seemed the perfect choice.
Only double the budget I was toying with last week!!...me all over though, rather spend up front and get good groupset rather than bin n replace later. I'm going to place an order for the Madone 4.7 tomorrow, about the £1600 mark. The items that I know aren't really up to par (or wont be once my ability develops) are the rims - Trek being renowned for underspeccing this, only Bontrager Race's, on the other hand, on the 4.7 you get full Ultegra groupset, and fairly standard Bontrager finishing kit, so some scope for upgrade-itis later on (saving for some Ksyriums already!)
However...with my ability, I KNOW that a bike half that cost would be more than adequate, and was looking at Le Monds and Trek 1.7 or 1.9 to start with, but been swayed off the idea of ally frames perhaps being a bit buzzier than carbon - I want a bike that isnt torture and that I can ride for many miles on.
My MTB (in fact the last couple of MTBs) is a Specialized Stumpy S-Works, so am a Specialized fan by default, however, when looking at the comparable Roubaix's and Allez models, they dont seem to come up anywhere near as good VFM as this years Treks (the new 2008.5 model year Madones, by all accounts, move the game on from prev models quite significantly in terms of frame design). Decided against a Specialized Tarmac, on basis that its a bit too hardcore-racer for what I want.
Very very excited now...just hope I can get it in time for leaving for hols on Tuesday!!
ETA - Just ordered Madone, it'll be here for tomorrow, collect Sat!!...YES!!..ooh, I think I just wee'd myself...just got to tell Mrs Spenny_b that we're now taking 3 bikes not 2 on hols!
Edited by spenny_b on Thursday 26th June 12:43
Cool.. congrats and hope you are gonna like it.
Using the local bike shop is invaluable in cases like this sorting out what YOU need.
So what if you think the bike is above what you need, a bike with bling-factor and looks cool is also damn motivational.
I cant ride for jack, but still enjoy my Yeti hardtail and Full XTR xc race mtb as they look so cool..
Using the local bike shop is invaluable in cases like this sorting out what YOU need.
So what if you think the bike is above what you need, a bike with bling-factor and looks cool is also damn motivational.
I cant ride for jack, but still enjoy my Yeti hardtail and Full XTR xc race mtb as they look so cool..
Thanks LRDriver, feel better about the per-chase for reading your post, well, less guilty certainly! Think you're right though, if you like nice kit (read, bling) then you feel a lot more inclined to try it out and make best use of it.
Coincidentally, where we're going on hols is only about 30mins drive from the finish of the 3rd stage of La Tour in Nantes, may try and get across as I missed last years stages in London & Canterbury. Ironically, my Wife was heading up the crowd management/security for the C'bury stage, so could've got "backstage" very easily, had I been in the country. Doh.
Sorry, back on topic....
Coincidentally, where we're going on hols is only about 30mins drive from the finish of the 3rd stage of La Tour in Nantes, may try and get across as I missed last years stages in London & Canterbury. Ironically, my Wife was heading up the crowd management/security for the C'bury stage, so could've got "backstage" very easily, had I been in the country. Doh.
Sorry, back on topic....
They may well do, however, as with car geo setups, setting up to a set of numbers is one thing (and relatively easy), but interpreting and then applying years of knowledge and experience is quite another.
I know the chaps at East St who are qualified to use the measurement system both have about 18-20yrs experience each, and many contacts at the top level of the sport. Compare that to an enthusiastic "oik" (no offense meant to anyone reading this, I was once a Halfords lad many many moons ago), and the difference is huge.
Just my 2p worth...
I know the chaps at East St who are qualified to use the measurement system both have about 18-20yrs experience each, and many contacts at the top level of the sport. Compare that to an enthusiastic "oik" (no offense meant to anyone reading this, I was once a Halfords lad many many moons ago), and the difference is huge.
Just my 2p worth...
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