Road Bike with Shimano 105 for £800 and under?

[Cyclist33]

Be very carefull to get correct size dan. A lot of cycle shop staff havent a clue how to size a bike for you. Do your own research .

As a rough guide At 6 ft 3 you probably want a 60cm or 62 cm road bike but take care some makes are measured differently.It also depends on arm and leg measurements and your own personal preference.

Dont get hung up on groupset components.The frame is the heart of the bike .Wheels are next most important bit and are often really crap on new bikes.

actually the frame is the skeleton. the crankset is the heart.

 

[GentlyBenevolent]

Road bike with 105 for under £800? Felt Z85. I have the 2012 model, but the 2013 looks pretty similar in spec. 105, Mavic cxp22 wheels, carbon fork and seat post, 9.4kg. I love the way mine rides and have been impressed with some of the little touches (matching rim tape, jagwire cables, little pot of touch up paint included - it's a matt finish, which I expect is hard to match). Have done 1200 miles on it over the past year and been really happy with it.

Wiggle have a good price of £740 - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-z85-105-2013/ It might be worth using that as a bargaining chip if you need to get it from somewhere else. Got mine from Winstanley Bikes, who were excellent at fitting and had a great price too.

 

[Welshdan]

Ok. Been out and about today and visited a few LBS's and tried a few bikes. Didn't road test due to the rubbish weather but had a sit down on some bikes. The FeltZ85 as quoted by others is a cracker, really liked it and my local Tredz have offered to price match the Wiggle price which is a bonus. The Cube Peloton is another good bike that I liked but didn't like the Giant or Specialized Allez. Another one I liked was this one but have never heard of this make. Any thoughts?

http://www.thebicycledoctor.com/products/lapierre-audacio-400-triple

Again your feedback has been a great help

 

[fossala]

I don't think 105 offers triple now, I could be wrong though!

They do, every groupset up to dura-ace does.
Sora - http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/gsd/r...?part=GSSHIMSORA35009T&sub=conf_GS_SHR&bike=1
Tiagra - http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/gsd/r...t?part=GSSHIMTIAGRA10T&sub=conf_GS_SHR&bike=1
105 - http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/gsd/r...part=GSSHIM105S570010T&sub=conf_GS_SHR&bike=1
Ultegra - http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/gsd/r...?part=GSSHIMULT670010T&sub=conf_GS_SHR&bike=1

 

[vickster]

Interesting. Don't often see if off the peg on sub 1k bikes though

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Ok. Been out and about today and visited a few LBS's and tried a few bikes. Didn't road test due to the rubbish weather but had a sit down on some bikes. The FeltZ85 as quoted by others is a cracker, really liked it and my local Tredz have offered to price match the Wiggle price which is a bonus. The Cube Peloton is another good bike that I liked but didn't like the Giant or Specialized Allez. Another one I liked was this one but have never heard of this make. Any thoughts?

http://www.thebicycledoctor.com/products/lapierre-audacio-400-triple

Again your feedback has been a great help

But what are you basing your like/dislike on? Looks? If you haven't ridden a bike the only thing you can like is the looks (or price?).

Ride them a bit and then make up your mind.

 

[Tanis8472]

Agree with Spokey, but you have to also like the look or you wont be happy.

 

[Welshdan]

As of yesterday I hadn't ridden any of the bikes due to the weather, but been back today for some test rides. I had initially ruled out the Giant as I hated the look of it. Now I can rule it out as I just don't like riding it either. The specialised allez was a nice ride, although I don't really like the look of it. Cube Peloton was very nice and comfortable as was the Felt Z85. Most surprisingly I liked the lapierre audacio 400 best. I've never heard of these so not sure on their reputation.

 

[Tanis8472]

Well seeing as TDF FDJ use them, they might be quite good
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapierre_Bikes
http://www.lapierre-bikes.co.uk/

 

[vickster]

There are a bunch of reviews on the lapierre which come up on the web http://www.bing.com/search?q=lapierre audacio 400 review&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IE8SRC

I think the French chappie who won the Surrey Classic yesterday was on one

I think at any given price point bikes are probably much of a muchness for the amateur. I buy on groupset, weight and colour myself, as well as who is selling

 

[Stephen brown]

They are very well thought of in mountain biking circles, I would say they a premium MTB bike brand, so would assume their road bikes are pretty good too