Hi, I currently have a Giant Defy 3 and think I want/need an upgrade. I have a local Specialised/Giant dealer so I am torn between:

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=52828&categoryID=47

Or

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=51989&categoryID=42

Should I be looking at others? What are your thoughts/experience of either the above?

Thanks

105 and tiagra being mentioned on a bike that costs £2.5k? The spec on that specialized is a joke. Giant is better but wheels are kinda poor.

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2515

Ultegra di2 and cosmics.. or for a little bit more..

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2517

Or you can have DA..

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2510

I love my Defy Advanced.My choice would be the TCR. Giants own wheels are actually meant to be pretty good. Canyon/Rose/German direct sale bike would be better value and get you a higher spec but Giants framesets are great.

One of these and save £900?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_777807_langId_-1_categoryId_165710#tab1

I would anyway.

Mmmmm.

Call me an old cynical bastard, but should you really be spending £2.5k on a bike if you don’t know what you want?

If you’ve got that amount of cash to spend, you should be walking into shops and knowing exactly what you want right down to the colour of the tyres.

Why Crikey?

Trek Domane

Front end might be a bit high, but certainly looked quite nice when i looked this morning. Maybe a better set of wheels but that is about it.

Crikey, you old cynical bastard.

(If I was spending 2.5k on a road bike, I’d know what I wanted it to smell like)

Because it’s a lot of money.

Because to commit that much money on a piece of sports equipment, I would have thought that you would know exactly what you want in terms of frame, groupset, wheels, tyres, and saddle.

To come and ask ‘Which of these should I get, or should I buy something else?’ suggests that you’ve not thought about exactly what you want, only about how much to spend on it.

Because it’s a lot of money.

To some people. Depends what state your bank account is in.

I know not a thing about which groupset is best or which wheels are the most highly rated and I intend to keep it that way, hence I asked for othe people’s opinions , you cynical old bastard 😀

The principle still stands.

In order to spend that much, in my opinion, you should have a very specific idea of what you want.

Haven’t got a clue about road bikes but I was looking at the merlin website and stumbled across the sensa range of bikes that merlin are importing from Holland ( I think) Full carbon frame with Di2 shifting for just over 2k. Don’t think the wheel set is anything to shout about but with £500 left over from your 2.5k budget you should get some nice wheels for it.
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/bikes/road-bikes/sensa-bikes/sensa-giulia-di2-special.html

I understand where you’re coming from, but you’re still basically suggesting people should have to pass some sort of test before being allowed to spend a certain amount of money.

My dad just spent a fair chunk on a titanium road bike. He still calls a seatpost a “saddle stem” and is useless mechanically and probably doesn’t even know how many gears he has. He loves riding bikes though, and so he asked me to help him pick something out… Is that wrong?

I know not a thing about which groupset is best or which wheels are the most highly rated and I intend to keep it that way, hence I asked for othe people’s opinions , you cynical old bastard

See? I knew it… wanders off grumbling about the youth of today….

You want my cheaters way of choosing a good road bike?

Look at the bikes that were in the Tour or being ridden professionally last year, then choose the one you like the look of, then go and price it up.

Or do it systematically;
Choose a frame material.
Choose a frame style, either compact or sportive or whatever,
Choose a groupset manufacturer; Campag, Shimano or SRAM,
Choose a groupset,

Look for a frame with said groupset on.

Look for the wheels you want.

Compare your final choice with the others of the same spec.

For that much cash you can have pretty much the exact bike you want.

Or do it systematically;
Choose a frame material.
Choose a frame style, either compact or sportive or whatever,
Choose a groupset manufacturer; Campag, Shimano or SRAM,
Choose a groupset,

Look for a frame with said groupset on.

Look for the wheels you want.

How do you do all that without knowing a lot of info? How do you choose between red and da when you don’t know what red and da are?

crikey – Member
The principle still stands.

In order to spend that much, in my opinion, you should have a very specific idea of what you want.

he does have a very specific idea of what he wants … the best £2.5k bike on offer.

bloody hell so you have 2.5k to spend on a bike but know nothing about cycling ? Strange

ITT: people get their jelly on cause others have more disposable income then they do.

OP: You’re probably not going to find better value then the Canyons at the moment, and they’ve got 3 that are around your price point, all of them nice. Just really a decision if you want to go over or under, and if you want electronic or mechanical gears.

How do you do all that without knowing a lot of info? How do you choose between red and da when you don’t know what red and da are?

Exactly.

So one would think that doing a bit of research before buying something for two thousand and five hundred pounds would be a good idea, yes?

Spending that much is not a problem, I’m not jealous or scornful of such a purchase, but again, it’s a lot of money to spend on something without doing the basic research into what you can get and what you might want.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/btwin-facet-7-id_8203213.html

Heres one for comparison

ITT: people get their jelly on cause others have more disposable income then they do.

Mmmm, because you know how much disposable income I have and how much I would commit to a bike?

Tell me how old you are again?

So one would think that doing a bit of research before buying something for two thousand and five hundred pounds would be a good idea, yes?

Some people like riding bikes, some of those people don’t like spending hours trawling through internet reviews and forums trying to decide if they should get a 52 or a 53 big ring. Some of those people may not even have the time to do so.

You seem to be very good at attributing opinions and attitudes to others.

[/quote] bloody hell so you have 2.5k to spend on a bike but know nothing about cycling ? Strange

Who says I don’t know anything about cycling? I just don’t know anything about bikes!

Thanks for all the sensible replies so far, I will take a look at the Canyons!

I agree with Crikey most people spending that sort of money on a hobby usually have a good knowledge of it ,or read up on it in the first place .Im not jealous of this sort of spending power either but just find it strange that with that sort of money someone is not well into their hobby and know lots about it

De Rosa R838 athena would be my choice

Buy this, then you can upgrade it with Dura-Ace or Di2, or Di2 Ultegra.

…but make them put white bar tape on, for the love of God.

If it were for racing then I’d buy a Canyon Aeroad CF 8.0, here

However I’d also like an Enigma elite with Campag and handbuilt wheels, which could also be had for around 2.5K here

Two completely different bikes, horses for courses.

I’d go and see Brian Rourke

I just don’t know anything about bikes!

If you really know nothing about bikes, i would strongly suggest going with something you can get through a bricks and mortar shop. When things go wrong, don’t feel quite right having someone to talk to is invaluable. However good Canyon and the other internet retailers are, they can’t make sure you get the right size bike, they can’t change the stem, the handlebars etc.

What ever you want make sure to take it for a good test ride. I wanted a Trek but when I had a ride on one I just didn’t like it but the Cannondale super six felt just right from the off.

I considered a Foil but the few reviews I read said it was very harsh on anything other than smooth tarmac and considering most of my road rides are on mainly beaten up back roads I thought i’d give it a miss. Looks a loverly bike though.

I think it’s worth identifying why you want to upgrade, then choose a replacement that offers the answer. Chucking almost £2k more is going to be quite a jump in technology, which you may not be able to appreciate if you don’t understand the reasons for certain differences.

Maybe you just need to be fitter? No knobbiness intended; I’m aching from not being fast enough in my velodrome training sesisons, but I am not a slow rider. Spending money on my track bike will make it lighter, stiffer, more pro etc but won’t help me be better at propelling it!

If I was really into road and was in your position I’d get a ti frame (from Enigma up the road in Brighton), an Ultegra groupset and some clicky/carbon bits to finish the build.

Enigma have a 57cm Eclipse full build for £1899 HERE

Planet X do a number of good value, decent carbon framed road bikes starting from £999 up to blingy race weapons.

Although it’s impressive (kinda) to roll around on a fancy bike. It has the opposite effect if you aren’t matched in ability! Don’t be that guy 😉

I’d go and see Brian Rourke

BenHouldsworth is a wise man.

I, on the other hand, am a sucker for a big discount 🙂
This sure is purdy: http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m7b0s6p3602

Maybe have a look at Rose Bikes too? Some great bargains coming Von Deutschland at the moment.

If you’ve got that much to spend and want to spend it then it doesn’t matter whether you know what you want, but, if you don’t know what you want then how can you say what’s ‘best’? If you don’t know what geometry and spec you like then in all honesty I wouldn’t bother and buy the one you like best because that’s the one that’ll make you happy, and that’s what bikes are for.

Well if I was spending that much money, personally I’d custom spec. it with the bits I want. That and get something with Campag – which pretty much mandates the custom speccing route (a quick check with Ribble’s bikebuilder suggests you should be able to get something kitted out with Chorus for that much – though with careful shopping around you should be able to get mostly Record bits, as I have on my £2k bike).

I think custom would be the way I would go to get exactly what I wanted

For £2.5k, that last place I would be looking is ribble.