For various reasons, primarily the lack of decent door-to-door mtb riding where I am living now, I’m looking to buy my first proper road bike in the new year.

I used to commute by bike when I lived in central Leeds, and owned a Specialized Tricross (great bike but heavy), so I’m no stranger to riding on the road with drop bars. I haven’t got a clue when it comes to “proper” road bikes though.

I’m in two minds really, either get some sort of cross / gravel bike for multi-use (I will still be keeping my full sus though), or look at more traditional road frames.

Where would be the best place to start? Total budget is £1,500. Should I be looking at lower end carbon or higher end alu frames at that price? Is 105 still the workhorse groupset?

In the interests of maintaining the STW way and recommending the latest version of what you’ve got…

Arkose.

I put road tyres on mine for the winter commute (all road) and big cross tyres for the summer when I have the odd cheeky trail on the way home.

Gravel bike and a spare set of wheels?

there will be deals to be done at this time of year too…

the ridley X Trail is nice, may be able to get a C40 for close to budget

Genesis Datum is also nice

First thing is to decide whether you’re going full roadie or gravel grindr.

Personally I like to keep church and state separate, I tried a CX bike and it was worst of both worlds for me.

Do you have plenty of easy off-roading in your area that you can imagine yourself riding on your new bike?

@chapaking

I live right next to the Yorkshire Dales, so in all honesty a “proper” road bike would make more sense.

For various reasons, primarily the lack of decent door-to-door mtb riding where I am living now, I’m looking to buy my first proper road bike in the new year.

I live right next to the Yorkshire Dales, so in all honesty a “proper” road bike would make more sense.

confused.com

But yes 105 is still the workhorse, but Ultegra is sooo much nicer and not much more expensive.

Road bikes differ from MTB`s in that £1500 will get you a decent carbon road bike, or a top endish alloy bike.

Giant Defy, or whatever is in the sales that appeals to you and fits you.

If you really want a pure road bike and don’t care about brand snobbery then the btwin ones at decathlon are cracking value and get great reviews. You don’t need to spend anywhere near your budget.

That said, unless I am doing a group road ride or chasing strava then the CX is my go to bike for commuting.

Alu frame, carbon fork, 11sp 105, TRP spyre and 800 notes.

https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s194p7331/MERIDA-CYCLO-CROSS-500-2016

But yes 105 is still the workhorse, but Ultegra is sooo much nicer and not much more expensive.

That used to be the case, but there’s precious little difference between the current 105/ Ultegra groups, apart from some weight.

Defy, the tiaga 10sp is the old 105 10sp I was told in a thread in here which is cheaper and very serviceable. Ended up with a 2015 Defy advanced 3 in September with cable discs love it. Perfect roadie for a mountain biker 🙂

Personally at £1.5k I’d look for nice carbon with Ultegra in the sales.

Racy bargain: https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p6621/CANNONDALE-SUPERSIX-EVO-ULTEGRA-2016

Disc-braked sportivey bargain: https://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/78701/Giant_Defy_Advanced_Pro_2_2016_Bike

The Canyon Ultimate CF SL looks like a cracker too…
https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/ultimate/2016/ultimate-cf-sl-7-0.html

+1 for 105 being very nearly as good as Ultegra now

I saw an Ultegra Synapse Disc in the sales the other day for £1600, looked lovely, I was ogling the 105 version in Evans the other day, I can’t remember who was selling it, maybe Sigma, but it was a veritable bargain.

http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/road-bikes-c5/road-c37/kona-roadhouse-road-bike-2016-p17219/s51068?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=kona-roadhouse-road-bike-2016-size-54cm-colour-red-size-54cm-colour-red-b16roh54&utm_campaign=product%2Blisting%2Bads&gclid=CNfwg7rp4dACFQ4R0wodecUONw

Wish I’d bought one of these instead of the charge plug 2 (which was admittedly one third of the price)

That used to be the case, but there’s precious little difference between the current 105/ Ultegra groups, apart from some weight.

+1 potato

You’ll notice more difference between 10 v 11spd 105 than you will 105 v ultegra.

I picked up a 2016 defy 1 disc, 400 miles second hand for £450. Spotless!
It’s an awesome bike, not head down racing geometry. It’s a very nice get the miles in road bike.
It’s 105. Smooth as silk.

I know two people who ride 2016 Cannondale 105 carbon synapses and both love them. The sizing can be on the short side so worth sitting on one first to be sure.

For that money I got a Cotic Escapade with 105 hydro discs, I’ve not touched* my carbon road bike since. I’ve also started commuting down by the river and canal, it’s a much nicer ride :p

*mainly cos the brakes are bloody terrifying compared to the ability to stop on 40c tyres with aforementioned hydros.

Some great ideas so far. Thanks.

That Cannondale on Paul’s looks great value. I’d probably want to purchase from a bricks and mortar store so I can try a few out for size.

Defy is a very good choice for disc braked road bike. Sporty geometry, slightly higher front end (but not as high as most “sportive” bikes). Classics winner. I’d choose 11-speed because the cable routing is smoother, and Ultegra is very nice and a little lighter than 105. But I’d go for better wheels and 105 over a bike that has cheap wheels.

Want a race bike, then a TCR is a good choice. The supersix is another, biut I’m not a fan of BB30. If you had even an inkling that you might want to race, I’d stay away from discs. Personally I’d stay away from them anyway as top end dual pivots are excellent.

I rode to work along the canals on my proper CX bike. It is not suitable for proper road rides, but will cruise at 22 mph in 38×12. It’s undergeared for a lot faster than that.

recommending what I ride and saving you lots of money. Carbon Synapse, it’s a cracking bike.

as mentioned above. Surely decathlon is where to look. This is what I’ve been looking at as a second winter bike.

Oh, and assuming you have average fitness, you’ll probably appreciate a compact (50/34t) chainset and 11-28 cassette for the Dales.

Forgive me if I’m teaching you to suck eggs – but this is probably the most common set-up on new bikes, although race models sometimes have bigger chainrings (52/36) or a compromise “mid-compact” set-up is also popping up on some bikes.

How flexible are you? Do you have any feelings on speed vs. comfort? The two are not mutually exclusive of course, but I’ve found I prefer a sharper handling bike with a comfy wheelset to a “comfort” bike with a super-stiff wheelset (as an example of the variables to contend with).

I went for a Boardman when I bought mine. It seemed that most just above entry level bikes had a £1K pricepoint.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-road-team-carbon-bike (normally £1K) are in their sale £799, flash your BC membership card (doesnt cost much) p/a and gets you another 10% off £720 happy days

Starting point for test rides of proper road bikes… Cannondale CAAD12 and a Defy.

Another vote for the Giant Defy here – I love mine.
I’ve also got an Arkose 3 – great bike but for pure road riding the Defy is miles better.

Specialized Allez gets universally well reviewed, i started off on one a few years ago and never should have sold it….now have a Ribble Ultralite built using their bike builder page but if you’re a newbie and dont know what you’re doing then its probably best to stay away (to many options and you can come away with a bit of a franken-bike)…however if you’re confident then you can spec a road bike exactly as you want it and for not much money, certainly less than the LBS stocked brands.