New bike soon...

[fossyant]

Racelight TK is a very good frame and 'mainly Ultegra' - get it.....

We say get it.... because it is a good choice..... life long roadie here and I have heard nothing but praise for their frames, and it has your LBS back up....come on...he who isn't a grease monkey (sorry Mrs Mags..... I'm a desk Jockey, but proper pedal bike grease monkey).... you may need it.....

What feel's right..... might not be right.... but with good LBS backing, they will help you.....

Have you had a fitting... ? Your position is mighty high at the moment - you'll suffer like hell for a while riding a road bike..... I did on my own bikes when I got back into it - my back would last about 15 miles at first....(on my own bloody bikes)...... that was 2 years ago....

Road Bike / hybrid fit is a massive difference....

I'm a roadie..have been since 16. My MTB is as close to a road bike position as I could make it, even for XC (as it's called now)..... I have a BIG drop from saddle to bars - just not stretched out enough...that's where the bar ends help....and I lopped 3 inches of each end of the bars......

TBH...I'd get a Racelight TK..Ultegra mix ..one very nice machine..... if Ultegra shifters and rear mech - sorted....

What's the SPEC...............

 

[Crackle]

Fossy is the Devil





.....but he speaks sense

 

[fossyant]

Fossy is the Devil


.....but he speaks sense

Ah......after a bike myself...first one in...oh.... 16 years..... yup had 3 for at least that long.....

Sense..oh yes.....GET THE RACELIGHT !!!! YOU WILL BE HAPPY ! AND SUPPORT !!!!!!

 

[Bollo]

Getthebikegetthebikegetthebikegetthebike.

My position is clear. Vote fossyant.

 

[Landslide]

In accordance with the rule of n+1, whichever one you don't get now, you can get later...

 

[Bollo]

I'm a roadie..have been since 16. My MTB is as close to a road bike position as I could make it

Despite my support for your views on Mag's initiation into the righteous fellowship of true brethren (roadies), you have confessed to owning an MTB!

An MTB FFS! One word - Rasmussen! I cast thee out!

 

[HLaB]

Just think if you wait too long all the pleasure you'll have missed; its not as if Bilslands will sell you a Lemon. When I bought my first road bike a few years back I hummed and hahhed but in the end I decided life was too short and I wanted something before the summer (when I'd use it most). I'm glad I made the decision if I left it till I was certain I'd probably still been waiting now
Go on you know you want to

 

[Bollo]

Just think if you wait too long all the pleasure you'll have missed; its not as if Bilslands will sell you a Lemon. When I bought my first road bike a few years back I hummed and hahhed but in the end I decided life was too short and I wanted something before the summer (when I'd use it most). I'm glad I made the decision if I left it till I was certain I'd probably still been waiting now
Go on you know you want to

+opinion. The great thing about bikes, and particularly road bikes is that your budget is :

• big enough to filter out the sh1te,
• modest enough that most suppliers won't take the p1ss.

it will be hard for you to buy a bad bike. If your money is also buying you the help, advice, goodwill and expertise of someone who knows their stuff then that's money well spent. It's only when you use your new bike over a period of months that you'll really know what's working and what's not. It would be luck rather than judgement if you picked the perfect bike first time around. That's when the support of a good bike shop kicks in.

 

[QuickDraw]

Juat a thought... since you're planning to use this bike for commuting how long is it going to last?

Any road bike on commuting duties will either require much more time spent on daily, or at least weekly, maintenance or else chains, cassettes, rims will all wear out very quickly and require to be replaced. What's everyone else's experience of winter road bike commuting? How long do these things generally last? I've got a hybrid towards the road end of the spectrum and 2 chains and cassettes a year and 2 new wheels is fairly standard. Admittedly I don't tend to look after it as well as I should.

Anyway the point I'm trying to make is maybe you shouldn't stress too much about getting the right bike this time because you'll be replacing it in 2 years and you'll know a lot more about road bikes and what suits you and what doesn't.

You obviously like the Kinesis so go for it. If you love it you won't want to commute on it and it'll last you years. If, after a while, you regret it, ride it to work through the winter and tell the boss (that's the real boss not the one in work) it'd be cheaper to buy a new bike than replace all the parts you've worn out.

 

[Origamist]

Despite my support for your views on Mag's initiation into the righteous fellowship of true brethren (roadies), you have confessed to owning an MTB!

An MTB FFS! One word - Rasmussen! I cast thee out!

Magnatom is a dead ringer for Rasmussen - look at the similar physique, aquiline nose, Glagow tan, trackie bottoms, poxy tattoo..

 

[BentMikey]

Juat a thought... since you're planning to use this bike for commuting how long is it going to last?

Any road bike on commuting duties will either require much more time spent on daily, or at least weekly, maintenance or else chains, cassettes, rims will all wear out very quickly and require to be replaced. What's everyone else's experience of winter road bike commuting? How long do these things generally last? I've got a hybrid towards the road end of the spectrum and 2 chains and cassettes a year and 2 new wheels is fairly standard. Admittedly I don't tend to look after it as well as I should.

Why would a road bike require more maintenance than a hybrid, assuming that's what you meant?

 

[fossyant]

Despite my support for your views on Mag's initiation into the righteous fellowship of true brethren (roadies), you have confessed to owning an MTB!

An MTB FFS! One word - Rasmussen! I cast thee out!

And I commute on it...... I have seen the light, and most importantly, have permission, to get me a fixed road bike for commuting.

The MTB will go back to taking the lad on off road trips !!!

 

[HLaB]

Why would a road bike require more maintenance than a hybrid, assuming that's what you meant?

I don't think my road bikes require more cleaning than my hybrid but there is a desire too

 

[magnatom]

OK. So it would seem that the consensus is, if it was an ideal world and I could ride a few bikes then that would be great. However, this is an opportunity to get an excellent bike at an excellent price where I will get great support from the bike shop to make sure it will fit. If it doesn't work out, one of you will probably want to buy it off me anyway!

For most of my commutes I still plan on using my hybrid. It does the job and I really don't care too much about it getting mucky etc. For nicer days (especially when I am working on Sundays when I can take a slightly longer route to work, then the Racelight could come out. It would also be used for the longer rides when the weather suits and I get a spare few hours.

Magnatom thinks......... £££. At the moment I'm but I could beMmmm. Oh bu&&er it. I'm going to go for it!

 

[magnatom]

Just been off the phone. So now I am in the process of purchasing.

Just for the record the Ultegra components will be the front, and rear mechs, the shifters, and the cassette. I won't have the chainset bb and brakes. I'm quite happy with that. I'll have some options on handlebars, seattube (he said carbon I think) etc, to get the fit right, but he reckons that £870 is about right. All on a silver grey Racelight TK frame.

To me it seems like a good deal. What do you reckon?!


P.S. I think I might just start recommending Bilslands!

P.P.S. Crackle, I did see the race shirt of some Millar bloke on the wall...