Too Much Choice!

[ShinSplint]

ok guys, i've decided to sell off a few things in order to blow around £700 - £1k tops on a decent road bike (new, probably).

So many options

Will be used for commuting and long evening/weekend rides (up to say 5 hours). Plenty of hill work too, so im thinking i'll probably go with a double compact chainset.

Need something relatively comfortable, but also fast for short distance speed work.


Contenders... READY !! ....

* Bianchi C2C Nirone 7 Mirage (£850) - Seems a safe bet, with Campag components, nice looks.

* BeOne Storm (£900) - bit different from the usual. Had a great review in Cycling + this month.

* Trek 1.7 (£800) - Seen this in my lbs. Again, safe bet. Nice componentry.

* Orbea Onix Vuelta (1k) - Nicest looking, full carbon frame etc.

and finally Ribble! Full carbon, seems a lot for the money. Been on the Ribble site, and as a newbie, completely lost with all the options available.

I'm open to other options, feel free to recommend!

 

[jayce]

Have a look at the dolan mythos

 

[softpeadals]

Ribble Road Carbon Sportive Racing Centaur 10 Double

Lot of bike for the money, as you noted, and just within budget

 

[ShinSplint]

Cheers,

Having spent a while browsing the Ribble site, and calling them up, I tihnk im decided on the Carbon Sportive Centaur 10 Double... Some time over the next fortnight i'll be visitng Ribble, and hopefully decide on the option below, but in the meantime I would appreciate a bit of guidance here.

Bike comes with Campag Chainset, cassette etc, but there are a few options I can't decide on... I think i've decided against the compact, so thats narrowed the chainset options down to 3:-

170 39/53 ;
172.5 39/53 ;
175 39/53.

Can anyone please tell me the differences between the 3, and the pros/cons of each.

Another option to think about is the cassette:-

11-25 ; 12-23 ; 12-25 ; 13-26 ; 13-29 ; 14-23.

Again, any thoughts on this would be much appreciated. I know its down to personal preference, but I just need a general idea of the differences between them.

Rear Gear:- do I go for short or medium??


I'm gonna be doing a lot of miles, a combination of flat work, plenty of climbs etc, so just need a good all-rounder.

Thanks for any help

 

[mearle]

Personally, I'd go for a compact 34/48 with a 11-25.
This gives a good range of gears for racing at the top end and for climbing at the bottom end, without too much of a jump between the front rings.
Also it's a tad lighter than a normal chainset due to smaller rings and sprockets.
It's roughly equivalent to running a 39/53 with 12-29.

But if you insist on using 39/53 then...
11-25 - you'd never use the 11
12-23 - good for racing, but the 23 may not be enough for climbing.
12-25 - If you're a strong rider, this is good all round choice.
13-26 - you might miss the 12 if you race, unless you like a high cadence.
13-29 - a bit better for climbing, but the 29 is a dinner plate.
14-23 - close ratio's but not a lot else going for it.

Crank length - depends on your leg length, or more approximately your height.
I'm 5'10'', and having started out on 170 for years, I found spinning a 172.5 just that bit nicer. I've never tried a 175.
I guess 170, 172.5, 175 are supposed to match roughly with below average, average and above average height, with average being maybe 5'9 to 5'10''.
Smaller lengths are supposed to be a bit easier on the knees though.

A short rear gear should cope with everything.

 

[ShinSplint]

Hi mearle,

thanks a lot for that, its a bit clearer now. Hoping to make an order next week !

 

[Randochap]

Unless you don't plan on carrying anything and your local hills are modest, I'd recommend the compact. Unless you want to add knee problems to the shinsplints.

Speaking of carrying things, have you considered how you'll do that if need be on your commutes? How about mudguards?