Best Road Alu Road bike (For commuting) in £1000 Range. ?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
slowmotion

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
I commute on a Cinelli Experience with Campag Veloce gearing. It's great fun to ride and very good value if you shop around.

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s6p0

They do a 105 version if you are set on Shimano but I like Veloce much more.
 
Kestevan

Kestevan

Last of the Summer Winos
Location
Holmfirth.
I like Skol said:
This just rocks my boat!!!

I have been hankering after the carbon Grade 105 since it was launched and the Ali version seems great at the price except it doesn't have the full Shimano hydraulic brakes which kind of breaks the deal for me :sad:

@Andrew_P Please don't tell me how fantastic your carbon Grade is because I just don't want to know, especially as the new C2W season is approaching and I might be able to do a deal with my LBS to allow a cash top-up.

I have to admit, my GT Traffic 1.0 commuter machine is just so good at commuting in all conditions with little maintenance using only lower spec Deore components that I already believe the Grade would be equally as capable with it's 105 parts.
Click to expand...
Best not turn up to the Manchester to Llandudno ride then Skol... As I'll be on the new GT grade carbon. I mean I'd take no delight in pointing out just how brilliant it is.... Or indeed in reminding you that Mrs Kes won it in a compo and it was therefore completely free....no pleasure in that at all, oh no. :smile:
 
slowmotion

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
I'm not sure why disks are a desirable feature. Conventional brakes are pretty good these days. Disks just add a lot of stuff to faff about with and go wrong. OK, they do save your rims, but I don't use particularly expensive wheels. I've never felt I had a lack of braking power when riding in heavy traffic.
 
MrGrumpy

MrGrumpy

Huge Member
Location
Fly Fifer
788200_zoom.jpg
Will be picking one of these up this weekend only thing is most sizes now sold out but an idea of other options for you?



 
Andrew_P

Andrew_P

In between here and there
I like Skol said:
This just rocks my boat!!!

I have been hankering after the carbon Grade 105 since it was launched and the Ali version seems great at the price except it doesn't have the full Shimano hydraulic brakes which kind of breaks the deal for me :sad:

@Andrew_P Please don't tell me how fantastic your carbon Grade is because I just don't want to know, especially as the new C2W season is approaching and I might be able to do a deal with my LBS to allow a cash top-up.

I have to admit, my GT Traffic 1.0 commuter machine is just so good at commuting in all conditions with little maintenance using only lower spec Deore components that I already believe the Grade would be equally as capable with it's 105 parts.
Click to expand...
Not that I am trying to encourage you, but! I think it is a brilliant bike. I done a deal with my bike shop who is not even a GT stockist for £2275 for the Ultegra 2016 version. That included swopping out the rear cassette to a 28, short cage rear mech, mudguard's and swapping the tyres to tubeless Schwalbe ones. My main bike was a Cannondale Supersix Evo Red, which I still have. A little background, I hate getting soaked from road spray in the winter and all the muck everywhere so in 2011 I bought a Boardman CX which did everything I wanted except I just plain hated riding it and it did one winter and from then on my "best bike" took on the commute and I just used various bodges to get me through 3 winters.

My previous experience with the Boardman was I knew within a week it had been a mistake so it really put me off this sort of genre bike. So I was really nervous about spending this sort of dosh on a commuting bike. But the GT is much more like a road bike than it a CX. I even changed the tyres to Schwalbe S-One tubeless 30mm recently and still run full mudguards and it hasn't slowed me down. The Hydro Shimano brakes are brilliant wet or dry. Not touched them in 1500 miles, no rim wear only needs washing every couple of weeks, fun to ride the wheels on the Ultegra are £500 hand built Stan's ZTR Grails on DT Swiss 240s Hubs tubeless ready. My only complaint is it is a little upright but I have it slammed which made that better. With those 30mm tubeless run at low pressure the ride is so lush and grippy.

If you can get a test ride get one out on the road.
 
outlash

outlash

also available in orange
Location
ice station zebra
slowmotion said:
I'm not sure why disks are a desirable feature. Conventional brakes are pretty good these days. Disks just add a lot of stuff to faff about with and go wrong. OK, they do save your rims, but I don't use particularly expensive wheels. I've never felt I had a lack of braking power when riding in heavy traffic.
Click to expand...

FTFY
 
OskarTennisChampion

OskarTennisChampion

Guest
Location
West Central Scotland
slowmotion said:
I'm not sure why disks are a desirable feature. Conventional brakes are pretty good these days. Disks just add a lot of stuff to faff about with and go wrong. OK, they do save your rims, but I don't use particularly expensive wheels. I've never felt I had a lack of braking power when riding in heavy traffic.
Click to expand...

This.
I only switched to discs a couple of years ago,not because I had to,but the market forced me to.
"rim specific" is pretty hard to track down these days if you want mid to top range components on MTB's.
More maintenence=More Money=More Hassle.
The stopping power ? .No difference from my old XT units,none at all.
And my rims were never shredded with "V's",even though I was battling through mud most of the time.
The weight issue is neither here nor there though,as good disc units are pretty lightweight.And for an amateur like me, not noticeable.
You would have to be an incredibly obsessive weight weenie to notice a difference ^_^
 
Wafer

Wafer

Veteran
Location
Somerset/Devon border
slowmotion said:
I'm not sure why disks are a desirable feature. Conventional brakes are pretty good these days. Disks just add a lot of stuff to faff about with and go wrong. OK, they do save your rims, but I don't use particularly expensive wheels. I've never felt I had a lack of braking power when riding in heavy traffic.
Click to expand...

It amuses me when people try and make out theres no point to something then give an example of it's point. What's better than not using cheap wheels? not having to worry about rim wear and not having to even buy cheap wheels because of it!
On top of better in the wet, easier to brake (an older colleague is saying his disc brake bike is a lot kinder on his wrists than the rim braked bike) and better modulation is another common comment.

So, for commuting all year round in all weather, I'm not sure why they wouldn't be a desirable feature....

But then this arguments been had thousands of times already and will be had a thousand times more I'm sure.
 
T.M.H.N.E.T

T.M.H.N.E.T

Rainbows aren't just for world champions
Location
Northern Ireland
slowmotion said:
I'm not sure why disks are a desirable feature.
Click to expand...
Disc £9 Pair of pads £9 - Average run of the mill wheelset(Shimano R501 or similar) + pads (I'd go through 2 sets of wheels in a winter training period) £90per set

Conventional brakes are pretty good these days. Disks just add a lot of stuff to faff about with and go wrong.
Click to expand...
No more faff than caliper brakes which can and do go wrong.

OK, they do save your rims, but I don't use particularly expensive wheels. I've never felt I had a lack of braking power when riding in heavy traffic.
Click to expand...
They do save my expensive wheels :smile:
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Emanresu
Most common gearing on a road bike
Replies
59
A
New to road biking (USA). Trek 1200 for commuting + riding?
Replies
0
H
Which bike for commuting?
Replies
35
B
Endurance Road Bike and Other Questions
Replies
14
Top Bottom