I'll try and keep this short, but I'm not known for being concise so please humour me..
I'm 95% of the way towards buying a 2020 CdF 30; my LBS have a 20 in stock I can try for size and feel (same geometry, different components) and are prepared to price match the best price I've found online (£1600 v. the somewaht silly RRP of £2k). I'm just waiting for the weather to sort itself out so I can physically get to the shop and get in a decent test ride without being literally blown away.
This will be a very significant, long-term purchase for me so I want to be as sure as I can it's worth it and am fishing for a bit of a reality check please.
I've been an uncompetitive fair-weather road cyclist for most of my life but find myself less concerned with speed and drawn increasingly to the solitude and safety of lightish off-road routes - bridleways, tow paths, single-tracks etc. I also like the idea of some light touring at some point.
Added to this a lot of stuff associated with modern road cycling and the products themselves leaves me cold; the aesthetic-driven culture, constantly changing and often (IMO) highly dubious mechanical standards (press-fit bottom brackets
), built-in-obsolescene, finite lifespans of large and expensive components (composite frames)..
I'm tight, environmentally-conscious and hate the anxiety attached to making new purchases so try to buy products that will last me well for as long as possible while giving the minimum of hassle.
So in general the CdF appeals to me for the following reasons:
- Road-like (if somewhat relaxed) geometry, so it should still be capable on the tarmac (if not as good as a modern composite bike) as well as off it.
- Steel frame and forks, so should last forever if looked after and won't make me paranaoid about unannounced catastrophic failure as has been known with CFRP
- Proper threaded bottom bracket, so cheap and easy to change; a proven, common, known quanitity with no potential for fit issues / squeaking / mis-alignment
- Understated, timeless and somewhat retro aesthetic
- British "made" (well, at least the company's British - not that this is a reason to buy an inferior product bit it's nice to buy from a UK company if the goods are sound)
My plan was initially to keep an eye on ebay and pick up a used example, however there don't seem to be that many on there and those that are seem to be up for pretty silly asking prices that aren't too far off what you can buy new / last year's models for.
I.ve found examples of last year's CdF 20 new for £1k (current model's RRP is around £1350 and they don't seem to be selling for a lot less) but I'm put off by the semi-mechanical TRP disk brakes and outdated / outgoing post-mount disk brake format. By contrast the CdF 30 uses Shimano 105 (pretty much throughout) so fully-hydraulic, flat-mount calipers (which appear to be firmly cemented as the new standard), along with 12mm thru-axles in place of quick-release wheels (again these appear to be the new standard on higher-end road bikes being stronger and better suited to running disks).
To be honest, even with 20% off RRP I'm not convinced that the CdF 30 represents great value compared to the CdF 20 (the RRP cost of the groupsets and brakes on both models is actually pretty similar, differences in the frame notwithstanding) however the 30 is the better bike and in the name of future-proofing I'd far rather have the current/new-spec parts and mounting systems in place.
Anyway, congratulations if you made it this far! I'm after any feedback / thoughts experiences that anyone has on the CdF in general (or specifically the CdF 30), as well as any suggestions of any other similar steel-framed bikes I might have overlooked while chasing the CdF.
Ultimately I think the purchase will be won or lost on the outcome of the test ride, however other than the price, slightly portly weight and somewhat untidy cable routing I'm pretty much sold - on paper at least. That said it's always good to get as much info as possible (and a bit of validation!) about one's choices before taking the plunge.
Cheers all - thanks for reading
I'm 95% of the way towards buying a 2020 CdF 30; my LBS have a 20 in stock I can try for size and feel (same geometry, different components) and are prepared to price match the best price I've found online (£1600 v. the somewaht silly RRP of £2k). I'm just waiting for the weather to sort itself out so I can physically get to the shop and get in a decent test ride without being literally blown away.
This will be a very significant, long-term purchase for me so I want to be as sure as I can it's worth it and am fishing for a bit of a reality check please.
I've been an uncompetitive fair-weather road cyclist for most of my life but find myself less concerned with speed and drawn increasingly to the solitude and safety of lightish off-road routes - bridleways, tow paths, single-tracks etc. I also like the idea of some light touring at some point.
Added to this a lot of stuff associated with modern road cycling and the products themselves leaves me cold; the aesthetic-driven culture, constantly changing and often (IMO) highly dubious mechanical standards (press-fit bottom brackets
), built-in-obsolescene, finite lifespans of large and expensive components (composite frames)..I'm tight, environmentally-conscious and hate the anxiety attached to making new purchases so try to buy products that will last me well for as long as possible while giving the minimum of hassle.
So in general the CdF appeals to me for the following reasons:
- Road-like (if somewhat relaxed) geometry, so it should still be capable on the tarmac (if not as good as a modern composite bike) as well as off it.
- Steel frame and forks, so should last forever if looked after and won't make me paranaoid about unannounced catastrophic failure as has been known with CFRP
- Proper threaded bottom bracket, so cheap and easy to change; a proven, common, known quanitity with no potential for fit issues / squeaking / mis-alignment
- Understated, timeless and somewhat retro aesthetic
- British "made" (well, at least the company's British - not that this is a reason to buy an inferior product bit it's nice to buy from a UK company if the goods are sound)
My plan was initially to keep an eye on ebay and pick up a used example, however there don't seem to be that many on there and those that are seem to be up for pretty silly asking prices that aren't too far off what you can buy new / last year's models for.
I.ve found examples of last year's CdF 20 new for £1k (current model's RRP is around £1350 and they don't seem to be selling for a lot less) but I'm put off by the semi-mechanical TRP disk brakes and outdated / outgoing post-mount disk brake format. By contrast the CdF 30 uses Shimano 105 (pretty much throughout) so fully-hydraulic, flat-mount calipers (which appear to be firmly cemented as the new standard), along with 12mm thru-axles in place of quick-release wheels (again these appear to be the new standard on higher-end road bikes being stronger and better suited to running disks).
To be honest, even with 20% off RRP I'm not convinced that the CdF 30 represents great value compared to the CdF 20 (the RRP cost of the groupsets and brakes on both models is actually pretty similar, differences in the frame notwithstanding) however the 30 is the better bike and in the name of future-proofing I'd far rather have the current/new-spec parts and mounting systems in place.
Anyway, congratulations if you made it this far! I'm after any feedback / thoughts experiences that anyone has on the CdF in general (or specifically the CdF 30), as well as any suggestions of any other similar steel-framed bikes I might have overlooked while chasing the CdF.
Ultimately I think the purchase will be won or lost on the outcome of the test ride, however other than the price, slightly portly weight and somewhat untidy cable routing I'm pretty much sold - on paper at least. That said it's always good to get as much info as possible (and a bit of validation!) about one's choices before taking the plunge.
Cheers all - thanks for reading
)
) The fact that the Sutra uses unbranded cromoly steel, rather than Reynolds could be off putting to some folk. Personally I find it much stiffer off-road than my Reynolds tubed bikes though.
