first road bike choice

[weebeansysbro]

One of the guys in my LBS rides the Domane ALR2 as his daily commuter, he says it's a great bike, and having the Domane ALR I'd agree. The rim brake version is limited in terms of tyre size and mudguards compared to the disc brakes but that will be the case across all rim braked bikes.

Mudgards are very very good in UK/Irish/Northern European climates though so worth keeping in mind. The CAAD optimo will allow you to fit them, the Orbea won't. The Domane is the only one which would allow you to fit a rear rack.

I can't comment on the Orbea or the Cannondale as I'm not particularly familiar with either, but a few points about the trek - the wheels are the stock wheels for their alloy bikes, and they're decent, not particularly heavy and are quite durable - they definitely wouldn't need upgrading, the tyres are "OK" for the price, but nothing spectacular but they roll well even if they do lack decent puncture protection and are a little heavy. For your first road bike you won't notice them, and that's probably the best thing to say about them. If you put mudguards on then you'll probably need to downsize the tyres anyway. A point to note is that my criticisms of the Bontrager tyre are exactly the same as those I would have about the Vittoria Zaffiro tyres on the Cannondale or Orbea - the difference is the 28mm on the Trek will be slightly more comfortable than the 28mm, and their grip is better in my experience - the basic Zaffiro is a bit underwhelming.

Overall I think the Trek is the better bike for a number of reasons, firstly to me, the blue with the silver logo looks spectacular - definitely looks like a much more expensive bike. Secondly the lower price means you have a bit of money left over to upgrade the things you'll actually notice such as the tyres, get lights if you want them or mudguards or other accessories, you could even, and this is contraversial, do something non-bike related with the money. Lastly I think the Trek will take upgrades a little better in the long term - I upgraded my Domane to full Shimano 105 11 speed - which is their best value/performance groupset and the frames are very good and take an upgrade really well, so worth keeping in mind for the future.

To be honest - whilst I've written a fair amount so far - all three of those bikes are good, and I doubt you will regret buying any of them, go for the one which you think looks best, in terms of performance, they are all good.

Firstly thanks for the very detailed reply! I'm in Ireland so having the option of mudguards would be important and to a lesser extent the rear rack. How can you tell the Orbea doesn't allow for either of those? this is the particualar one i'm looking at.

 

[Kingfisher101]

For a first bike I would be looking on the used market and spending no more than £400 and probably getting 105 with a carbon fork. A few years ago I picked up a near immaculate 'lesser' brand road bike with a mix of ultegra and 105 for £330. Though prices have gone up since then. The only real downside is you might need to wait for something to appear on the market in your area.

They will be waiting forever then. £400 wont get you that nowadays.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

I'm not a fan of the used bike route for a first bike unless it comes from a trusted source.

I recently bought a used bike of ebay and I am very happy with it, but and its a big but, it came without a bolt on the non chainring side crank.

For me and many others here that simply means go to the spares box and get a bolt and then the tool box to get the crank extractor and put the bolt in.

For someone new to cycling this is a big problem, they won't have the bolt or an extractor and a normal socket often doesn't fit, this could easily be a £20-£40 bill and a wait of a couple of weeks.

A few years back I bought a used bike from a shop and it came with a 3 month warranty, which was fine for me as I all wanted was a "it won't fall apart on the first ride guarantee"

Don't forget that the OP's prices were in Euros

Yes, Halfords/Carrera, Decathlon/Triban and Evans/Pinnacle can all beat the major brands on certain aspects of spec, certainly say fitting 105 where the brands have Sora/Claris. But are we comparing like for like in other areas, frame, saddle, wheels, all areas where it is harder to see where savings have been made?

Also hopefully the major brand has come from a retailer with the time and spares to help with any small problems.

I wouldn't choose any one of the three offered to the OP over the other two on the basis that one is "racier", at non elite levels they would all be close to the same speed for a given rider in a triathlon, with the only possible difference being the extra sprocket just happens to fill a hole based on current fitness levels.

If you are serious about commuting then a rack may be essential, especially if it is over any distance and there is no where to clean up after a sweaty back from a rucksack. Also, this gives a bit of extra satisfaction in the triathlon of beating others with the rack still on the bike, they only weigh a few hundred grams. :-)

Bye

Ian

 

[RoadRider400]

They will be waiting forever then. £400 wont get you that nowadays.

Of course it will if you are willing to look for it. Ebays recently completed.

Bianchi Road Bike Deda finishing kit, Shimano 105 Groupset and Ultegra Wheels £435
Cannondale synapse aluminium disc 105 £415
BTwin Triban 540 several of these sold and unsold between £347 and £399
Cannondale Synapse 105 £420
Pinnacle 58cm 105 Road Bike unsold at £400
Cannondale CAAD 3 Saeco Ultegra £400
Cannondale CAAD 12 Shimano Ultegra £400
Trek Madone 2.1 £400
Giant Defy 3 Road Bike Large priced at £399 best offer taken
Specialized Allez Elite Ultegra £406
Specialized Allez Elite £390
B'Twin Triban 540 road bike w Michelin Pro4 Endurance tyres unsold at £370

 

[weebeansysbro]

One of the guys in my LBS rides the Domane ALR2 as his daily commuter, he says it's a great bike, and having the Domane ALR I'd agree. The rim brake version is limited in terms of tyre size and mudguards compared to the disc brakes but that will be the case across all rim braked bikes.

Mudgards are very very good in UK/Irish/Northern European climates though so worth keeping in mind. The CAAD optimo will allow you to fit them, the Orbea won't. The Domane is the only one which would allow you to fit a rear rack.

I can't comment on the Orbea or the Cannondale as I'm not particularly familiar with either, but a few points about the trek - the wheels are the stock wheels for their alloy bikes, and they're decent, not particularly heavy and are quite durable - they definitely wouldn't need upgrading, the tyres are "OK" for the price, but nothing spectacular but they roll well even if they do lack decent puncture protection and are a little heavy. For your first road bike you won't notice them, and that's probably the best thing to say about them. If you put mudguards on then you'll probably need to downsize the tyres anyway. A point to note is that my criticisms of the Bontrager tyre are exactly the same as those I would have about the Vittoria Zaffiro tyres on the Cannondale or Orbea - the difference is the 28mm on the Trek will be slightly more comfortable than the 28mm, and their grip is better in my experience - the basic Zaffiro is a bit underwhelming.

Overall I think the Trek is the better bike for a number of reasons, firstly to me, the blue with the silver logo looks spectacular - definitely looks like a much more expensive bike. Secondly the lower price means you have a bit of money left over to upgrade the things you'll actually notice such as the tyres, get lights if you want them or mudguards or other accessories, you could even, and this is contraversial, do something non-bike related with the money. Lastly I think the Trek will take upgrades a little better in the long term - I upgraded my Domane to full Shimano 105 11 speed - which is their best value/performance groupset and the frames are very good and take an upgrade really well, so worth keeping in mind for the future.

To be honest - whilst I've written a fair amount so far - all three of those bikes are good, and I doubt you will regret buying any of them, go for the one which you think looks best, in terms of performance, they are all good.

Do you know if the domane Al 2 rim brake will take full mudguards at all?

 

[vickster]

Do you know if the domane Al 2 rim brake will take full mudguards at all?

Yes according to Trek but only 25mm tyres, not 28s
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/...d-bikes/domane/domane-al/domane-al-2/p/33037/

Max tyre size	28c without fenders, 25c with fenders

My LBS had one outside this morning, good looking bike in the blue

 

[biggs682]

Getting it through the bike 2 work scheme so cost to me is about half thankfully

Still a lot of money

 

[si_c]

Firstly thanks for the very detailed reply! I'm in Ireland so having the option of mudguards would be important and to a lesser extent the rear rack. How can you tell the Orbea doesn't allow for either of those? this is the particualar one i'm looking at.

I had a look at the product specification - the link you added above doesn't work, but this bike is the one I was looking at, and it doesn't specify fender/mudguard mounts or rack mounts in the product description and they nearly always do include this. Both the Cannondale and Trek have hidden mudguard mounts which are not visible if you haven't got them fitted and on the Trek these double up as rack supports as well.

 

[si_c]

Do you know if the domane Al 2 rim brake will take full mudguards at all?

As @vickster notes above, 25mm tyres maximum with full mudguards, give me an hour and I'll get a photo of mine and how the mudguards fit.

 

[vickster]

Still a lot of money

Not really if it's used for commuting and money is saved on transport
(and many people like new shiny things )

 

[biggs682]

Not really if it's used for commuting and money is saved on transport
(and many people like new shiny things )

A grand is still a lot of money north of London

 

[vickster]

A grand is still a lot of money north of London

He's talking Euros (presumably in Ireland)
...and there are plenty of people north of London with lots of money (they're just not skinflints )

 

[weebeansysbro]

Yes according to Trek but only 25mm tyres, not 28s
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/...d-bikes/domane/domane-al/domane-al-2/p/33037/

Max tyre size	28c without fenders, 25c with fenders

My LBS had one outside this morning, good looking bike in the blue

It is, the other black and gold colour looks pretty nice too !

 

[vickster]

It is, the other black and gold colour looks pretty nice too !

Nahhh, not black

 

[Kingfisher101]

Getting it through the bike 2 work scheme so cost to me is about half thankfully

If its only half, then any of them as long as it fits and you like it.