to spend or not?

[poynedexter]

i'm getting into my cycling and intend to ride afew sportives this year. the guys i'm riding with are either riding or intending to buy new bikes for the spring. we go out on sunday morns and do 50 ish miles. they are all on modern lightweight bikes with compact gears. i'm on a 13 yr old sunn with a taller 52/39 racing setup. it feels a little heavy compared to theirs and i'm often in 1st gear on climbs even though i'm a fair bit fitter than them.

i guess i need to know am i missing out by sticking with my sunn, or if i spend a grand on a new cad 8 or defy1, will i notice any difference. i dont want to ride off thinking what have i done. i ride for fun and although i would like a shiny bike i would need to feel a fair improvement to justify the money.

how much would i have to spend to get a much better bike than my sunn ashphalt???

 

[brokenflipflop]

Get a new bike, it's only money

 

[Broadside]

13 yr old (all alloy?) bike versus a modern bike with carbon forks? No contest, get out there and spend the money. If you want to do some decent miles this year it will be money well spent. The reduction in road buzz alone will be worth it.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Don't forget that right now you're training harder than your mates. But if you must (you must! you must!) upgrade, do it quietly and, if you're competitive (you are! you are!) you can then surprise them on the sportive.

 

[poynedexter]

yep, she's all alloy. it is kinda fun sticking pedal for pedal with my 25yr old chum, i'm 40 and hes on his full carbonated lapierre.

the budget is tight and because of pedal or size difference i cant try their scooters. another aquaintance of 65 yrs young reckons any bike is good enough and its all about my legs. is there a price range i should aim for as a minimum given that i want to be doin 100 mile runs by about easter and i dont want bling or foof, just a quality product?

 

[NormanD]

I look at a bike as an investment, the more you spend the better the investment. Say you were to get fit using a gym, factor in the cost of membership per year, then the transport costs (if you live some distance)..take the bike, you get fit getting about without transport costs or membership costs ...then when it comes to upgrading, you'll still get a good percentage of the original cost back selling your bike on ... good investment or what

 

[MattHB]

Get a new bike, it's only money

+1! I can't believe how much like cheating it feels to have am amazing road bike!

 

[Hip Priest]

To spend or not?

From what I've learned so far as a cyclist, there is only one answer to this question.

 

[cyberknight]

To spend or not?

From what I've learned so far as a cyclist, there is only one answer to this question.

N=N+1

Do not discount alloy frames at the 1k price point you can get some really good bikes with very good kit rather than get a "budget " full carbon with lower spec wheels, gears etc .
e.g. if you shop around a caad 10 can be had for 1k

I ride a boardman road comp which i love to ride and the next model up the comp comes with 105 and mavic askium wheels for 1k
When i switch from my commuter bike it feels so much lighter and easier to ride it takes me by suprise every time.This all said i have done 76 miler on my commuter as a winter club run bike which weighs in at about 11 kg unladen and managed to keep up with the rest of the group.

 

[YahudaMoon]

I disagree. It could be you buy a new carbon bike and see or feel no benefit. Its a myth that carbon frames are better than any other material to build a frame. I purchased a A6N aluminum frame becouse it's fantastic, though it should be for £500 just for the frame n fork. Plenty of poor carbon bikes out there even with big names. The market is flooded with carbon bikes at the moment

Im not saying there rubbish though Id choose wisely. Also new bikes always go a bit faster :-D

 

[poynedexter]

how would this do. its a 2012 for £1265?

 

[poynedexter]

i can buy a cad 8 for £950 but has lesser wheels apparently? is that bs really bearing in mind i'm just a plodder like 99% of us.

 

[brokenflipflop]

About 4 months ago I got the 2011 model CAAD 10 with Shimano 105 for £995. A couple of months later it was being sold at Wheelbase for £945. The 2011 model is black so I don't know if you can still get them but you may be able to save about £300 if you can. By the way, I love it and like others have said, after riding my winter bike, going back on the CAAD feels great. By the way again, those RS10 wheels on that CAAD 10 can be bought new for about £100 (for the pair) so If the CAAD 8 has a 105 groupset like the CAAD 10, I'd get the CAAD 8 and upgrade the wheels.

 

[PoweredByVeg]

Hi poynedexter
If you're keeping up with the young 'uns what's the prob?

If you've got the spare cash then spend away, but eventually in 13 years time whatever you buy will be like the Sunn now, it's a never ending circle

If you're going to be doing a lot of sportives, then the reliability of a new steed may sway you, nowt worse than a mechanical halfway round a 200k!!

And then when you realise that some old pensioner finished before you on his faithful old Dawes Galaxy

 

[daSmirnov]

Pffffttttt... Steal for the win.