I have a £1k voucher heading my way, but now having doubts as to what to spend it on -I was going to go for a Kenesis Gran Fondo frame and use my existing Speccy Allez (Tiagra/105/Fulcrum R5 components)as a donor bike to build it up, but I don't know if I can be bothered with the faff now.

So now looking at the T2 or TK2 complete bikes. Does anyone own one of these bikes? Any criticisms or wildly over the top praise?

Are there other bikes I should look at? (TBH the Speccy and Trek offerings have left me a bit 'mleh')

Muchly ta,

Ben

I had the racelight T, fantastic bike for commuting, winter training and light touring, even managed a few green roads on it. TK looks even better, I would go for the carbon forked option every time though. Eventually I sold it as it was my fourth bike. What exactly are you planning to use it for that isn't covered by your Allez and I presume at least 1 mtb?

I have a Tk – love it. Se here:My Tk[img]http://kinesisbikes.co.uk/rb/large/GlenPadghamTK.jpg[/img]

Tk2 probably the best off the shelf audax/training frame you can buy ( reasonabe weight, rides well and lovely quality finish), ordinary T is good too.

I've got a Racelight Tk. I was looking for a bike that had fittings and space for mudguards but weighed, handled and responded like a proper road bike. There's precious little choice if that's what you're looking for and the Kinesis is the best of the bunch IMHO. Mine has Shimano 105 groupset and and Fulcrum racing 7 wheels. I'm very happy with it. Its light enough not to hold me back on hills, nice and stable on descents and the combination of compliant seat stays, carbon fork and 25mm tyres make it nice and comfy. I use it year round for recreation and commuting and will probably be doing a couple of sportives on it this year. If you can afford it go for the Tk rather than the T version as its a bit lighter and more comfortable.

I got mine from Epic Cycles and can't reccommend them highly enough for good service and proper bike fitting. Worth travelling 3-4 hours if necessary to buy from them.

You cant buy just a frame with your C2W voucher anyway.

Great feedback then – thanks everyone!

El Vino: You're right about the choice of bikes (1 road and 2 mountain). It'll be used for weekend rides, commuting occasionally, audax and sportives – something I've been doing on the Speccy for 6 years and it shows. The paint is flaking off in huge chunks where road salt has got under the paint and the alloy underneath is turning to powder. I'll be getting the frame powder coated and making it into a 'riding to the station and round town' singlespeed.

Uponthedowns and Ed2001: that's why I thought I'd go for a Kenesis – the ability to put proper full-length mudguards on it is the biggest attraction (I think the lack of mudguards is one of the reasons why the paint has suffered on my existing bike)

barrykellett: 😉

Glenp: nice looking bike!

Ben