Which would you buy?

[vickster]

My LBS, a Trek dealer did say some models may not be available until the New Year! So it depends if you want to miss out on any good weather still to come in later summer/autumn

 

[BigMeatball]

Gawd knows they look identical other than you can order one but not the other

Specs are identical, apart from the wheels. BUT, my guess is it's just a typo in the specs. It's the same bike.

OP, the merlin tiagra looks like the best of the lot so I'd go with it.

 

[DRM]

Specs are identical, apart from the wheels. BUT, my guess is it's just a typo in the specs. It's the same bike.

OP, the merlin tiagra looks like the best of the lot so I'd go with it.

most likely the case, perhaps the unavailable one was specced with wheels that can't be provided by the manufacturer, but for the money you can't go wrong.

 

[kennycl]

Thanks so much everyone.

So in the interests of trying to avoid budget creep (loving the Triban, but a great example of overkill!), I think I've decided on drop bars and the Merlins look the best bet. So a couple of quick questions, between the Claris and Tiagra. From what I can tell the extra £150 buys you the tiagra groupset and internal cable routing. Am I missing anything? And is the claris that bad given I'll be coming from a 2008 Sora triple which I had no issues with?

 

[tom73]

Mrs 73 has a FX and loves it more than able to do what you want one for.
If you do go hybrid route ribble do a nice one just under your top spend limit.
You may like to consider https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-hybrid-al-commuter/

 

[RoadRider400]

Get something with drops. You know you will miss them if you dont. No need to curtail your recreational rides owing to children. Get out at 6am, or earlier in mid summer. Something special about having the roads to yourself as the sun is just showing.

 

[kennycl]

Just to put this one to bed.

I've ordered the Merlin Claris, the reasoning being:

As someone said, for what I want there is a risk of overkill, both technically and budgetary! The Merlin had the drops, a carbon fork and generally decent spec. Wasn't bothered about the internal cabling, the tiagra would have been nice, but probably not worth the extra. The Boardman was a close runner, but at an extra £100 probably wasn't quite worth the upgrade. It felt generally that the Triban was the next significant step up but was out of budget. I'll let you all know how I get on with it in a few weeks!

 

[cyberknight]

I have new claris and 4700 tiagra , neither miss a beat

 

[Paul_Smith SRCC]

..A bit of background, I used to be a regular on my road bike (which I'm going to sell, Schwinn Fastback, so happy with drops), however it's not had much use for the last 6 years due to children coming along. Both girls (6 and 4) are now riding independently and I have had to go from walking to keep up, to jogging and I now fear a flat out sprint so need a bike!

We're mostly on tracks around reservoirs and the like (imagine centre parcs if you've been) and limited distance (5-10K) at the moment, although that will likely start to increase. I'd also like to be able to pop into town which is a couple of miles away, and probably do some slightly longer rides (30K ish) when we go on holiday to France on the flats.

Personally for that role I'd stick with straight bars, when riding with 6 and 4 year old children and for the foreseeable future you'll understandably be distracted by them on route. Potentially you'll be paying attention to what they are doing and less to what you are doing, that can lead to a wobble or two from and hopefully a heroic recovery which keeps your 'best dad in the world' title as your daughters' marvel at dad's bike handling skills . A straight bar bike may help you pull off these 'tales of derring-do' manoeuvres at bit more successfully than a drop bar gravel bike.

Looking ahead bikes like the Trek FX range are quicker than they look, 'a wolf in sheep's' clothing is an expression that springs to mind; so it will still be a viable consideration as your riding style evolves. Sadly it's this kind of bike that became as popular and scarce as toilet rolls during the initial stages of the Covid pandemic; you'll be lucky to find one this side of Christmas

My LBS, a Trek dealer did say some models may not be available until the New Year! So it depends if you want to miss out on any good weather still to come in later summer/autumn

The 2020 Trek FX range pretty much sold out as soon as the Pandemic started to have an impact in March, most of the 2021 FX 2 and 3 are not yet available, ETA March 2021 for new orders. Most dealers will have forward ordered these bikes which should arrive a bit earlier, although most of these are still showing early 2021 with very few due before year end.

 

[pawl]

Thanks so much everyone.

So in the interests of trying to avoid budget creep (loving the Triban, but a great example of overkill!), I think I've decided on drop bars and the Merlins look the best bet. So a couple of quick questions, between the Claris and Tiagra. From what I can tell the extra £150 buys you the tiagra groupset and internal cable routing. Am I missing anything? And is the claris that bad given I'll be coming from a 2008 Sora triple which I had no issues with?

Like tubeless tyres I think internal cables are a pain in the nether regions Just a personal opinion.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Just to put this one to bed.

I've ordered the Merlin Claris, the reasoning being:

As someone said, for what I want there is a risk of overkill, both technically and budgetary! The Merlin had the drops, a carbon fork and generally decent spec. Wasn't bothered about the internal cabling, the tiagra would have been nice, but probably not worth the extra. The Boardman was a close runner, but at an extra £100 probably wasn't quite worth the upgrade. It felt generally that the Triban was the next significant step up but was out of budget. I'll let you all know how I get on with it in a few weeks!

Claris is good. Why anyone ever wants internal cabling is a mystery to me, I'd have gone for the Claris just to avoid it!

 

[simongt]

Must be getting older than I thought; on the various 'which bike shall I buy - ?' threads, I'm clueless as to which means what beyond the maker's name - ! But it's ther same with cars as well, when it gets to the 'tara / gxt2 / hybrid / di4' etc., etc., I'm lost - it's a flippin' car - !

 

[Cycleops]

Must be getting older than I thought; on the various 'which bike shall I buy - ?' threads, I'm clueless as to which means what beyond the maker's name - ! But it's ther same with cars as well, when it gets to the 'tara / gxt2 / hybrid / di4' etc., etc., I'm lost - it's a flippin' car - !

It’s true, all of them are made in a handful of factories and differences are minimal between brands.

 

[kennycl]

Personally for that role I'd stick with straight bars, when riding with 6 and 4 year old children and for the foreseeable future you'll understandably be distracted by them on route. Potentially you'll be paying attention to what they are doing and less to what you are doing, that can lead to a wobble or two from and hopefully a heroic recovery which keeps your 'best dad in the world' title as your daughters' marvel at dad's bike handling skills . A straight bar bike may help you pull off these 'tales of derring-do' manoeuvres at bit more successfully than a drop bar gravel bike.

Looking ahead bikes like the Trek FX range are quicker than they look, 'a wolf in sheep's' clothing is an expression that springs to mind; so it will still be a viable consideration as your riding style evolves. Sadly it's this kind of bike that became as popular and scarce as toilet rolls during the initial stages of the Covid pandemic; you'll be lucky to find one this side of Christmas

The 2020 Trek FX range pretty much sold out as soon as the Pandemic started to have an impact in March, most of the 2021 FX 2 and 3 are not yet available, ETA March 2021 for new orders. Most dealers will have forward ordered these bikes which should arrive a bit earlier, although most of these are still showing early 2021 with very few due before year end.

I'll look forward to being the hero 😜

 

[DRM]

I'll look forward to being the hero 😜

You won't wobble on a drop bar gravel bike, the geometry makes them very stable