Decision time

[Slicker]

Hi there

I've researched some road bikes and visited many bike shops around Brighton as I am looking for a fast commuter road bike. I've had mixed (possibly biased) views about brands, models and sizes, so I need some impartial advice.

Here’s my details;

• 5”11 male – 13 stone
• Journey to work = 20 miles round trip – 4 days a week. Route is a fairly straight and flat journey.

I love the look of the paint jobs and prices on Claud Butler bikes especially the San Remo 2011 for £399 and Milano 2010 for £409, but I appreciate the look is not what it is all about. Several shops were negative about the overall products from Claud Butler. I had a quick test of the San Remo 2011 53cm model, it felt quite nice and handled well, the brakes were mediocre, but the handle tape felt and looked cheap. Is this a quality sign for the rest of the bike?

One shop was adamant that Giant is the best overall brand for my needs and had other more expensive brands\models on sale, but recommended the Giant Defy 1 - 2011 for £900. I had a quick test ride of 56cm model. It was very quick, brakes were good, but it didn’t feel extremely light and the steering didn’t feel very planted around fast corners?! There was a nice Giant carbon model for £1100 (I love carbon coming from a motorcycle background). However, the guy recommended the Giant Defy 1 - 2011 model over it.

I will be getting the bike under the cycle to work scheme to save some cash. You can get any bike up to £1K.

For the long term durability of a bike, is it worth spending more for the Giant or will the Claud Butler meet my needs?

Also, what size do you people think, 53 or 56? The 53cm Claud felt okay?
Cheers

Slicker.

 

[seadragonpisces]

Its a tough choice like you said but if you want to look good as well and you arent too fussed about those brands that are classified as sturdy/functional etc

Personally I dont need to have a bike that is recognised as right for the job, I like something that looks good too, is more unusual, not something you will see on the daily ride. I guess since you might not be doing many hills then you could always get a single-speed bike, they can be cheaper than the geared versions of the same bike. Personally I like the bikes to look good and I really like the look of the Viva bikes (sold on Evans Cycles website only). There are loads of others, depends what you like, the choice is endless. I have owned a Specliazed Sirrus and that was a nice hybrid. Some of the Cooper bikes are nice too, but more for show than outright quality. Most of the bikes I like others dont as they like to be more practical and functional and for me its mostly about the looks, fun, etc. I guess the best thing you could do is go to some more bike shops, maybe in London and see what grabs your fancy. Good luck.

 

[chugsy]

I test rode a 53cm Kona Honky Tonk at Evans recently - it felt good to me for my first time on a road bike but all sizing charts pointed to me needing a 56cm so I ordered it in - test rode today and it felt much better. At 5'11" with an inside leg of 32" I'd say we were of similar builds (although I'm much heavier ).

Decathlon's Triban 3 is only £280 and a bargain but at £500 for the Triban 5 I'd look for a brand name - it is impressively light though!

 

[gb155]

[QUOTE 1366352"]<br />There are cheaper bikes in the Defy range. I'd choose Giant over Claud Butler.<br />
<br />
With the big brands -Giant, Specialized, Trek etc they're all much of a muchness and for each price point all will have something similar. So for me it comes down to 2 things-<br />
<br />
1) How you find the bike. They all ride a little differently, so you really should test a few and see which you like best.<br />
2) The quality of the loca bike shop (LBS) that sells that particular brand. A relationship with a good LBS is important, so if you're torn between two bikes it's worth considering which shop is better.<br />
<br />
Personally, now that Decathlon appear to be doing Cycle to Work, I'd try one of their road bikes.<br />[/quote]<br /><br /><br />

Cycle scheme ???