My wife has said she would buy my ‘dream bike’ for my 50th birthday!

Budget £2,000 to £3,000…

Problem is I am not sure what my dream bike is. I started on MTBs but recently have wondered on to the dark side and these days most of my miles are road miles.

My current road bike is a 4 year old boardman team carbon and also a single speed genesis flyer.

My current MTB is a Klien Attitude V.

It is real heart vs head thing as my head says carbon or titanium road bike but my heart says steel 26 inch MTB like a Coctic soul or even a Rocket.

I am confused over single speed too…I love the freedom of single speed but lack fitness for the hills and miss the performance of gears…help?

If my wife made such an offer I’d be pre-ordering my Rocket as fast as I possibly could.

I would tell her she’s going to need a bigger budget for my dream bike!

Colnago Master for me. Going to have to wait a few years though!

Cotic Solaris with Chris King stuff would be my dream bike.

I would tell her she’s going to need a bigger budget for my dream bike!

+1, it’s a decent budget, but it won’t get you anything into ‘dream bike’ territory these days!

Are you looking to supplement the Attitude or replace it? I’d think about something like a Trek Superfly 9.8 if the latter, just got one and it looks a great bike, £2.5k, leaves you a bit to upgrade. Not really in the Rocket/Soul vain though.

For a 50th birthday present I’d go for a custom built steel frame. I know there no logical reason for owning one but I reckon it’ll then be a bike you’ll always want to keep and ride even if other bikes come and go.

For a 50th birthday present I’d go for a custom built steel frame. I know there no logical reason for owning one but I reckon it’ll then be a bike you’ll always want to keep and ride even if other bikes come and go.

this

Look at it like this i’m 50 now and the bike should do for at least 10 years so at the age of 60 will i be more supple or less , fitter or less ,able to cope with the demands of off road or not so much ,i think the Rocket is calling.

Edit, at 60 will i use all of my gears or will one be enough.

I’m 48 this week and did similar last spring. Already had good road and cx bikes so sold my 5 and rock lobster 853 and got LBS to build a nice Soul. XT group set (2×10), Reba, reverb, mavic/hope wheels, Thomson and easton bits. Lovely bike and wouldn’t change anything on it

Given that your mtb is of 2004 (vintage), you’ve seen no reason to upgrade but have bought 2 road bikes in the time then I’d suggest road is the way for you to go. Also, dream bike so it has to be what you see yourself doing most in the next 10 – 20 years. Someone on here recently had a nice Ti road bike custom made in the uk which wasn’t silly money. Or go steel, plenty of nice custom builders around. Could maybe get swinger drop outs so you could switch between singlespeed and geared.

but it won’t get you anything into ‘dream bike’ territory these days

Nah, it’d get you something like a rigid 29er Shand, or a Fat Stoater ) Timeless and always useful, could take you on some great journeys. A susser / average MTB may age fast compared to a bike like that.

Steel road would also be my choice. If you can wait for the rest of the components, you might pay Dario Pegoretti a call via Mosquito Bikes. You can always hang it on the wall while you save for the rest.

My dream bike turned out to be a Defy Advanced SL, as the budget would only buy the Responsorium frame (and it is too nice to race).

field cycles or Independent Fabrications super fast tourer, all Chris Blinged up with a custom paint job. Super nom!

Some idea’s.

Enigma Elite (steel)

Pace RC104 (26″ sliding drop-outs for gears or singlespeed, steel – very comfy) or RC127 (27.5″)

A dream bike cannot have a set budget! That doesn’t mean that it has to be outrageously expensive.

But you need to be able to get whatever would be best for your type of riding.

What about a do-it-all bike like the Shand Stoater – fat knobbly tyres for off road, road slicks for tarmac, CX tyres for either. Suitable for light touring and long rides plus made in Britain. At least, that’s what I went with…

£3k should be ample for a dream bike if you shop around and do your homework. You could even source something from the likes of YT or Canyon and leave enough in the kitty for shiny bits.

As much as I love the idea of a boutique brand, I’m not sold on the stingy warranties or the badge snobbery that can go with it.

That said, for £3k, you’re in Ti hardtail with XT territory which is plenty special enough.

If you want a quality steel frame you’re unlikely to see another of, try Amaro in Bilbao. Very much of the Pegoretti school but does MTB as well (and cruisers, small wheel urban bikes etc). I’ve trusted him to replace a rusted through stay on my Pegoretti anyway.

http://amarobikes.com/gallery.html

genesis flyer and a boardman team carbon is a great set of road bikes, a set of nice summer wheels for the boardman would be enough to spend not a lot to get the same kind of performance that a 5k bike would give

how about singlespeeding the klein ? you could do this for not a lot and would give you an idea of whether you want a specific SS bike – or would give you a mountain bike for pants weather and have your posh bike for the better days

I’d go for the mtb. The Klein will probably feel a bit old skool compared to a newer mtb and you may find that you want to get off road more as a result, especially on full sus. Make it as adaptable as you can, so it’ll cover your riding for the next 10-15 years.

A beautifully crafted frame made just for you.
Components can be upgraded any time, but the frame will just be for you.

I wouldnt go for a stock carbon, its out of date in a few months.

Your dream bike is your next bike……

as for this one does it have to be the bike to keep till the end or just a nice bike for the present?

If it’s mountain consider what you are going to do, are you sure you want to be pinging round on a HT for the next few years?

and really WTF does this mean?

I wouldnt go for a stock carbon, its out of date in a few months.

It’s doesn’t go off, it doesn’t get worse over time, if it rides will today it will ride well in a few months.

I quite fancy ordering a Pegoretti road frame for my 40th in a couple of years. A decent groupset and I guess it’ll be one bike I keep forever.

I wouldnt go for a stock carbon, its out of date in a few months.

What mikewsmith said, if the bike is good it’s good. If you buy a turkey, it’s still a turkey months later.

I agree w/Marmoset about the mtb. Your Klein was made at a time when XC racing dominated the bike market. Manufacturers made bikes for consumers that were modeled after the bikes that the pros raced. The bikes of the time had a long, low riding position, steep head and seat tubes (typically 71 and 73 degrees, respectively), long stems, narrow handlebars, and were built for rigid or short travel suspension forks.

A lot has changed since then; full suspension bikes have improved dramatically. Geometry is a lot different now.

Your Klein is still highly desirable to the Retrobike crowd, though. (of which I am a card carrying member!)

What I meant was that, as technology changes, the bike will too.
What was top of the range carbon 2 years, is not today.
With the UCI forming a (new) technical committee to look at innovation, a carbon frame today, might well be something quite old and boring sooner rather than later.
I also said stock frame, there are plenty of manufacturers, that could build something special for you, from carbon.

Everything you just said applies to any material or any frame, custom or off the peg.

Thanks guys…..lots of ideas I think!

I am going to the bike show in a couple of weeks so may pick up some ideas then.

I do like the idea of custom steel or Ti.

I also agree on the MTB arguments; even though most of my miles are road it’s off road that really excites me. The Klien although good has never been the real deal on single track that I desire. I never have had a full Sussex and before the Klein never had even FS only having fully rigid bikes like the Kona cinder cone with P2 forks.

I am fascinated with the idea of single speeding the Klein!

Cannondale make the best bikes so I would suggest this
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s1p5185/CANNONDALE-TRIGGER-CARBON-2-2013

There’s a lot to be said for custom or classic.

An off the shelf or mass produced bike will have no individuality and will date.

The new Stanton Sherpa looks lovely if you’re after a 29er but I would have ti slackline if I had 3k to spend…really versatile.

Titanium HT, def a Ti hard tail.

New Cove Hummer?
HUMMER 29 (FRAME) $3100.00

How do I go about getting a custom build?

Really fancy a steel or Ti bike

How do I go about getting a custom build?

Where are you – I’m sure someone will be able to recommend somewhere local to you.

For steel, you could do a lot worse than Curtis.

At risk of repeating myself, just thought I’d waft a couple of Amaros past the thread again 😈

Until then ^ I don’t think I’ve ever seen a marketing picture spoiled by a tyres tread pattern

Anyway, talking of Enigma:

How do I go about getting a custom build?

Really fancy a steel or Ti bike

Look up a few until you find one that makes the kind of bike you’re into, or find a builder that understands what you’re after or you just like chatting bikes with. From experience, Ti is either really expensive and/or harder to get right. Steel gives you more options and a frame that may weigh a bit more but can ride just as nicely.

The Bespoked show website is a good place to find a few builders.

If I was to get a special keeper at that price (rather than something that will date and be sold on after a couple of years) then a custom built Shand would be the business.

British made custom and production steel road bikes & touring bikes – Shand Cycles

Stoater FT would be my choice – made just right for you. Should be in budget or very close to.