I need a serious road bike

[grafter]

Hello to all from West Yorkshire from me 6'3. I done cycling in past for several years on and off with mountain bikes, dabbled in road bikes, in around my 20's. My family used to do time trials in days of old. Now had a long break from cycling put on a load of weight and am now nearly 40 . I am now getting the bug again after some neglect and one thing or another. I have been training indoors 3 hours a day for the last 3 weeks and am itching to get biking again properly and to keep healthy long term, it is a long term commitment. i will probably join a club in time.

What i want is a bike to do serious proper fast road biking to train every night 15-20 miles and 30+ at the weekend. What i like is a decent fast road bike from the off, not one that i have to upgrade such as the wheels etc. The emphasis is on performance! not comfort. I have noticed frames and components getting lighter over the years. I don't know now what constitutes a good frame, stiffness etc. or even what size i need these days. I welcome some help on that or point me to a website. I know i would love a super light bike. I actually hate fixing bike and like a quality gear set and one that take some punishment over time. My budget for the bike without accessories would be about 1200. My thinking is not to spend much more as i have to spend alot more to get more technological advances, and in a few years you get more for a similar price, plus i don't want the fear of it getting nicked!

scouting on web i seen some praise for the bikes below around the 1000 mark, and advice that 'specialized' will get you more bike for your money,and not worth to buy carbon unless you pay serious money than my budget. i know i don't want a bianchi going on looks or a trek or cannondale as they too associative with mountain bikes. what bike could you recommend me? and would any of these bikes be upto my needs as they seem to be highly praised over the web.

Thanks, and any help be much appreciated.

Ribble
Boardman
Cube Peloton
Kiron Scandium
Specialized Allez
Focus Cayo 105

 

[Dayvo]

This looks quite tasty!

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/felt/z65-2008-road-bike-ec000581

As does this

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/six-105-compact-2009-road-bike-ec016600

and this

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/speedster-s20-cd-2008-road-bike-ec001338

Depends if you want a double or triple chain ring and maybe possibly a compact! And also the kind of terrain you normally ride in.

There is a HUGE choice, as you will soon find out from others who will soon be posting here.

Good luck, have fun, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Dayvo]

And Boardman bikes are, seemingly, all the rage, too!

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=35335&highlight=boardman+bikes

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/road/index.html

 

[Ant]

At your price point the good news is that you've got a very large choice.

The bad news is that you've got a very large choice.

I'm not going to recommend a specific bike, because you'll get loads of recommendations here anyway, but I will let you know my line of thinking when I was looking to spend that amount of money on a road bike:

to me £1200 is a fair amount to spend on a bike, so I wanted to make sure I got the right one for me. Although you'll get dozens of different bikes recommended to you, one thing everyone will agree on is that you need to get the correct size. This is why I decided to spend my £1200 on a custom built bike.

I was measured up, asked what my riding preferences and goals were, as well as what specifications I wanted...and got a bike built to suit me exactly. The difference in comfort and performance compared to the 'off the peg' bikes I'd been riding was remarkable.

Unfortunately, the company I used are probably based too far away for you, and I'm not familiar with your part of the country, but a bit of searching and asking about should lead you to a company that will do this for you.

 

[grafter]

not keen on cannondales. too plain jane for me. heard the felt is another worthy bike. if boardmans are decent bikes why are they being sold at halfords yes they look the business but too noob to make a proper decision on them yet.

respect but my feeling is i get more for my money on a factory bike than a custom made one and i lack the patience to wait for it built. even if i got measured up it seems it still not a exact science and can still be wrong as everyone torso length is different and theres a number of different formulas. i did the book under the crotch and my inseam is 84cm and according to 1 formula result in 58cm but i know i would want a bigger frame as i lanky tall. maybe 61cm-63cm perhaps. i best go visit a bike shop for that.

 

[grafter]

i be cycling the yorkshire dales so they be plenty of hills. according to the below article a compact sounds appealing for me, but i now reading cyclists prefer triples for uphill and create more duplicates but the gear changes aren't as smooth. i am guess the chain get less wear and tear on compact. had a triple on my mountain bike but got so fit i only used the front big ring all time. this high cadence pedalling sounds interesting.

can i buy a bike with a compact off the shelf? i think i need a compact 50/34 but unsure what cassette i should use. like more optimised gears together and i have the advantage on the hills.

edit: i see you recommended me bikes with compacts

CTS: Compact Cranks: The Real Story Thursday, October 05, 2006

- by: Adam Mills, M.S.Ed., Carmichael Training Systems: Senior Coach
Years ago, as mountain bikes gained popularity, some road riders began envying the three-chainring cranks on the offroad bikes. “Triples” were soon available for road bikes, but they came at a price: they were heavy and required different front and rear derailleurs, a different bottom bracket, and a new shifter. Now there’s a new option for road riders, the compact crank. Is it just another way to get you to spend more cash at the bike shop, or are these cranks worth their weight in gold? Well, let’s go through the “W’s” and find out.
What are they?

At first glance, compact cranks look just like a normal crank set. They come in normal crank arm lengths (170, 172.5, 175 mm) and they are mounted on standard bottom brackets. However, upon closer examination you’ll see some slight, but crucial, differences. Most important, compacts have smaller chainrings. A traditional crank set will typically sports a 53x39 tooth setup. Your standard compacts run a 50x34, rings that are too small to fit on a traditional crank. Beyond providing you with a different range of gearing options, the smaller rings and bolt pattern make the compact cranks lighter than traditional cranks.

The wonder of the compact crank is that they can be installed on your normal bottom bracket, and you don’t have to change your shifter or rear derailleur. Depending on the gearing you use, you may need to replace your front derailleur, but of all the parts on a bicycle, it’s fortunately one of the less expensive ones. If you decide to make the switch, visit your local shop so you get the right equipment and professional installation.
Why use them?

The next question is, “Why on earth would I ever need these things?” That’s an excellent question and I’ll discuss the practical applications for the compact cranks later in this article. For now, let us focus on why compact cranks make a difference. In an era of science and biomechanics, we understand a lot more about the advantages of conserving energy so you have something in the tank for race-deciding efforts, sprinting for “city limits” signs, or just riding up that next hill hard. Pedaling economy would be an obvious place to make gains.

Studies have shown that while optimal cadence is highly individual, staying in your optimal cadence range (say, 90-95 rpm) as much as possible saves energy. The compact crank helps a rider stay within this range easier by decreasing the difference in gear size between each cog on the cassette. The end result is that you can spend more time within your optimal cadence range and stay fresher longer.
When to use them?

This is a cause of concern to many riders, and rightly so. Some people inaccurately view compact cranks as an inconspicuous way for weaker riders to use smaller gears. Of course, the growing use of compact cranks in the professional peloton should dispel that notion. Compacts do not have a “bail out” gear (a super-easy gear for spinning up hills), but simply provide a way to get the gear you want, more often. Climbing is probably the best application for compact cranks. Here, being able to keep your cadence in your optimal range will have a magnified effect on your fatigue level and should help you stay fresh and strong.
It’s important to realize that although compact cranks have smaller chainrings, they don’t put you at a disadvantage when it comes to going fast downhill or on flat ground. Some riders have the idea that you’re more likely to spin out a compact crank and that you won’t be able to make the high speed efforts needed in many group ride and race situations. However, being that most of us are mere mortals and unable to ride along at a 30+ mph pace on flat roads, even with a tailwind, I present this chart…
700c wheel
at 90 rpm 53-39 Rings
12-25 Cogs 50-34 Rings
11-23 Cogs
Highest Gear 31.3 MPH 32.3 MPH
Lowest Gear 11.1 MPH 10.5 MPH

I’ve picked the 12-25 for the “traditional” crank set from what racers and my local bike shop have been buying the most of recently. It seems that riders have been using the extra gear afforded from riding a 10-speed drivetrain to simply add a 25 to a 12-23 cassette. The reason for this is simple. If you rarely spin out a 53x12, why would you need an 11 cog for everyday riding. However, when training, that 23 can sometimes get awfully big, in which case a 25 looks very tempting. Many “traditionalists” will tell you’ll constantly be spun out with a 50 in the front because, “it just ain’t enough gear.”

However, if you look at the chart, you’ll notice that at 90 rpm, the compact crank complemented by an 11-23 cassette has a higher top speed, and a lower low speed and still has all the gears in between. This brings me to my next point.
Where to use them?

This is where I am going to go out on a limb. Many people say that the compact cranks are good for elder riders, or tourists/ rally riders. I am going to say that the compacts are good for nearly any rider who is not a sprint specialist. Short, tall, fast, slow, old, or young, the biomechanical advantage of being in your optimal cadence range more often is a benefit to cyclists of all levels. Compacts are good for climbing, that is undisputed, but few people realize that the top speed is there as well. Particularly when looking at the chart, traditional cranks have no clear cut advantage of when compared to compacts.

Just how much of an advantage do these cranks give you and are they worth spending the extra cash? That answer is a bit more difficult. I spent some time looking for some scientific papers that dealt with the biomechanics of compact vs. traditional cranks and came up empty. However, if the gear sizes are similar, then it seems as though the compact cranks would be at least equal in performance to traditional cranks. But when going uphill, the compact crank surpasses the performance of the traditional in weight savings and economical gear ratios. In my opinion, I would like to see more bicycles with compact cranks coming from the factories. Until then, they’re a good purchase to make if you have extra cash burning a hole in your pocket, but they’re not absolutely necessary.

 

[grafter]

i settle on a one 12-27 cassette as opposed to the 11-23 and that give me a wider choice while i starting off unless someone got a better idea. will it cost me substantially more for that cassette rnage? i go with shimano gears.

i getting the hang of it now. something like the Specialized Allez Elite Compact Double would probably suit me and adequate.

 

[Wigsie]

The Cannondale Dayvo linked to is pretty darn good, I test rode one when looking for myself, alongside the Trek, Felt, Bianchi, and Scott offerings for 1k. A Friend of mine has the Focus Cayo and its also very nice. I am a gnats d*ck shy of 6ft 4 and when I rode the 61cm Spesh Allez Elite it was head and shoulders above the rest.

But that was my decision based on my prefernces and geometry I would visit as many LBS as you can and try as many bikes as possible. The good news is that you will be getting a great bike for that price bracket, its just about what you like and what feels right.

One will stand out from the pack and thats when you hand over the cash.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

 

[grafter]

i not bothered about a carbon bike as i see the speed difference is not much anyway. i don't think the gears are as good standard on those boardman bikes and anyways they don't do a big enough frame for me. i would rather stick to a more established brand. i now see all the choices on evans in that price range... the Felt 2008 that Dayvo linked seems a good buy as it has the better Ultegra SL gearset. i'm sure Cannondale are very fine bikes, it was a knee jerk reaction from my past. there is quite alot choice of cannondales in that price range. i'm sure for that price they all fine bikes and the 105 gear will do me fine. it all comes down to how it rides for me. i best find some local decent bike shops to test out.

i was thinking i stick with a steel bike but these bikes are aluminium. i had a aluminium bike for 12 years. no complaints.

 

[peanut]

have a look in the may 09 issue of Cycling plus they did a comprehensive review of 36 bikes in the 1k-2k range

 

[grafter]

thanks will do and here is The Best Road bikes of 2009 by Outside

well 37 bikes tested here

from the bikes on Evans i narrow it down between the cannondale six which has the better parts such as brakes over the specialized allez elite which wins on looks. i think Fuji Roubaix RC is good value. yes the Focus Cayo is a beauty.

 

[grafter]

i think i go for one of these 2 now. they abit different and seem to be alot more bike than others at that price.

Focus_Cayo_105
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/cayo-09-33483
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Focus_Cayo_105_2009/5360037591/

Kiron Scandium - scrap that don't make big frames. not a good review on the forks.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/scandium-09-32740
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/:p/5360037396/
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/tech/Kiron_Scandium_Bike_Test_article_275724.html

 

[grafter]

or i embrace this http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/team-carbon-09-33934

 

[grafter]

this bike here won the 37 bike test but still Shimano 105 and max frame 58cm

Giant TCR Advanced 3 - £1600
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/road/2421/32350/

 

[garrilla]

If you're going up to £1600 you could get Ribble Build (Scuro HCR Carbon Road Frame + Deda forks + Ultegra everything + Mavic Aksium wheels + Easton Bars) - 59cm should be OK for you