Another attempt at getting a winter bike that meets my needs

[jay clock]

The London Road with Ultegra hydraulics does look good. Still a bit puzzled as to how effective the guards will be (and more importantly LOOK) with narrow tyres. I may go for 28mm but no bigger

I do like being able to choose bar width etc, but would be nice to have a wider choice of tyres

Curious as to which wheels people recommend out of the stock choices

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

The London Road with Ultegra hydraulics does look good. Still a bit puzzled as to how effective the guards will be (and more importantly LOOK) with narrow tyres. I may go for 28mm but no bigger

I do like being able to choose bar width etc, but would be nice to have a wider choice of tyres

Curious as to which wheels people recommend out of the stock choices

As long as you fit SKS Longboard then you'll have no problems

I got mine with the WTB rims and ended up swapping them for Aksium Disc as I'm a mavic fan. But I bought another bike (RTD80) with Fulcrums that are now my CX tyred set on London Road.

Can't speak for the Vision wheels but cost wise they are in all in the same price range.

 

[jay clock]

As long as you fit SKS Longboard then you'll have no problems

I got mine with the WTB rims and ended up swapping them for Aksium Disc as I'm a mavic fan. But I bought another bike (RTD80) with Fulcrums that are now my CX tyred set on London Road.

Can't speak for the Vision wheels but cost wise they are in all in the same price range.

excellent news. I do like the look. What size tyres are they on there @T.M.H.N.E.T ? And what frame size? You have a monster seat post. My next question if I go for that bike is what size!

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

28mm Schwalbe Durano. 54cm w 130mm stem,I'm all leg and no spine.

Size, I can't comment as I'm some sort of freak

 

[jay clock]

28mm Schwalbe Durano. 54cm w 130mm stem,I'm all leg and no spine.

Size, I can't comment as I'm some sort of freak

@T.M.H.N.E.T Are the Longboards the 35mm version?

 

[Andrew_P]

@jay clock

In 105 guise can be had for 2k Retail I picked this up for 2350 Unfashionable road bike brand - bit weird frame with the GT triangle but a good ride. Full Ultegra except the cassette and chain Hydro discs with 160mm rotors. DT Swiss 240s hubs on Stan's No tubes Grails 28 spoke. I run Schwalbe one tubeless.

It is not a feather light but is around 9kg with all my gear on it. Wiggle are doing them with whatever your discount level and interest free so there must be deals around with retailers. Depends how you feel about the brand. I gave up looking and waiting for a normal road bike geometry disc and mudguard bike so had to compromise!

Domane, Roubaix came with hidden mounts as did Merida Ride.

 

[samsbike]

I think it's hard to meet that weight level because discs and guards add quite a bit in weight.

Depending on budget I quite like the trek domane but hydraulics really drive the cost. Mason bikes may have something or do a build around a genesis datum frame set.

Don't Rose bikes have something as I think at that price they are probably the most credible alternative

 

[Andrew_P]

I emailed Rose and they said none of their Disc braked bikes had them The BMC Gran Fondo Alu definitely has them and tack mounts but I asked a question on the Carbon 105 on Evans website which clearly said does it have mounts and they replied it will take raceblades!! BMC emailed saying the carbons will take guards but didn't confirm it had mounts and referred me back to their UK distributor Evans

 

[jay clock]

Thanks @Andrew_P - interesting. And nice to see a real picture of mudguards in action. Wiggle are out of stock as it happens but I am not a big fan of tubeless ( although I assume I can just stick tubes in?

Re weight @samsbike I know what you mean, but 99% of the bikes assume that riding in rain needs a heavier duty bike with beefier tyres. 9kg sounds fine to me btw

If Canyon can't come up trumps very soon I will likely look hard at the London Road. Also going to look up Mason

 

[Andrew_P]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GnASmbG64U

 

[StuAff]

Masons are excellent, nothing but very enthusiastic reviews. @User482 has a Definition, their aluminium bike, he raves about it. Don't rule a bike out because it takes wider tyres- my Litespeed (I'll assume you don't want to stretch the budget that much...oh and no mudguard fittings on the fork!) absolutely flies on 35mms. Any tubeless-ready wheelset is perfectly happy to be run with regular clinchers (five years on Zonda 2-Way Fits here).

 

[jay clock]

Masons are excellent, nothing but very enthusiastic reviews. @User482 has a Definition, their aluminium bike, he raves about it. Don't rule a bike out because it takes wider tyres- my Litespeed (I'll assume you don't want to stretch the budget that much...oh and no mudguard fittings on the fork!) absolutely flies on 35mms. Any tubeless-ready wheelset is perfectly happy to be run with regular clinchers (five years on Zonda 2-Way Fits here).

Those Masons do look lovely, but an equivalent spec to a London Road for Ultegra Hydro is £2695 vs £1299. For a an aluminium bike. I can easily stretch my budget but that is not value for money

 

[StuAff]

Those Masons do look lovely, but an equivalent spec to a London Road for Ultegra Hydro is £2695 vs £1299. For a an aluminium bike. I can easily stretch my budget but that is not value for money

They're never going to match Planet X on price, for sure, made in Italy for one thing!

 

[jay clock]

Just read this review of the Mason and it does sound amazing http://road.cc/content/review/149005-mason-definition-road-bike

 

[User482]

Those Masons do look lovely, but an equivalent spec to a London Road for Ultegra Hydro is £2695 vs £1299. For a an aluminium bike. I can easily stretch my budget but that is not value for money

They're not a value option but in my view the Mason is perfect. I don't much care if I have 105 or ultegra but I do care about having a practical bike that is a joy to ride.