They do lighter and stiffer T60 frames, but as everyone seems so secretive about the origins of their frames we’ll never really know.

A lot has been said about VFM but have a look at Giants Advance frames, you’ll see they’re T800 about as good as you can get, but stick a Parlee badge on it and the price triples.
Giant are pretty cheap really, look at their wheels. £700 for tubeless sub 1400 DT Swiss made jobs.
As much as I wanted something like Colnago, Basso, Pinarello on the downtube of my race bike Giant just came out on top on value.

Are those Giant frames cheap for a reason? I presume you’re not putting DA or Red on it?

I think, not 100% sure that Giant buy the raw material? and I assume they buy a fair bit. So you get a T800 frame for 2.5k whilst a Parlee will cost double that.
Just using Force. I had Red on my trainer and couldn’t tell the difference from Force, so I sold it and bought a new Force groupset for the race bike and a second hand Ultegra groupset for the trainer.

Get to a good LBS would be my advice. Sit on loads, ride a few, talk a lot and learn what you want/need.
I got a ti Lynskey Cooper built up with an unused (taken off another bike) carbon chorus 11 groupset and decent kit for £2k. Another £500 on posher wheels would have made it even better.
No better or worse than a factory carbon bike probably, but proves you can get something you want on a budget if you look about.

Thanks again for all the sensible replies! I will look into the Canyons in more detail and start doing a bit of research. I have a Giant/Specialised dealer and a Specialised concept store local to me so Ian going to arrange a few test rides, outbid interest how long do these usually last? 1 hour? Half a day? I have never ridden any other road bike other than my current Giant Defy so I am interested in if I can feel the difference in the frame material and components!

Can I ask a rather stupid question, a lot has been mentioned about wheels, apart from being lighter and stronger what else is to be gained from more expensive/better wheels?

Thanks

Lighter, stronger, more aero. The wheels will make the biggest single difference to how the bike rides though.

I have to broadly agree with Crikey’s approach here. That said I’m not adverse to spunking cash on toys or indeed spending other people’s money.

However unless I’ve missed it, I can’t see what the OP wants to do with the bike; – race, multi hour cruises, or have a bit of bling.

Setting a budget is eminently sensible but there’s point us speccing up race bling if the bike is never going to race.

Regardless of use, what will remain constant is the wisdom of upgrading wheels, saddle and possibly stem / handle bars from the outset.

My last two complete bike purchases;

Felt road bike in 2010.
Ran the saddle for 6 weeks before confirming it was poo and swapped it out. Immediately upgraded the wheels from Ultegra level ones to DA C24s. Also replaced the stem, brakes and chainset.

Kona Kula Watt HT last month.

Immediately replaced the (white!)saddle. Brakes and shifters also replaced as I don’t like Avids. Easton EA 70 wheels have been OK so far but haven’t ridden the bike much.

This thread has made me want to buy a replacement for my 1.5 again. :-/

Just got this on Friday past. Was originally £2680 but Canyon knocked off £240 as part of a TDF promotion.
Full Ultegra with electronic shifting gubbins.

Interesting reading. I’m still pottering about on my 12 year old “steel-is-real” Trek that cost me £250. I’d love a new road bike in the vain hope I will (finally) get up the hills with a bit more ease, and hoped I’d pick up some purchasing tips here. I’m still of the opinion that I need to get to a shop and actually get some demo rides organised, so maybe that’s the answer for the OP. Tempting as a mail-order-money-saver is, I’d love to find a good shop that can help me spend my money with some good honest advice and bike fitting.

Re the OP’s question about wheels, upgrading your wheels is the single most effective thing that you can do with your bike in terms of improving performance. In terms of your questions “What’s the difference”, again you have to think “What do you want?” For instance if you’re going to be doing some touring you want strong wheels with a high spoke count and weight is less of an issue. If you’re going to be racing, stiffness and weight are your key criteria. If you’re going to be time-trialling then aerodynamicness (is that a word??) becomes key. But without overcomplicating things, more expensive wheels tend to be lighter, stronger (less likely to buckle etc) and stiffer (less flex so more power translated into moving you forwards). You’re also looking at better axles with more longevity, less resistance, easier maintenance etc. As alluded to before, at £2.5k lots of manufacturers spec fairly entry-level wheels. Just remember though, no point in expensive wheels if you have sh*t tyres. So your two first upgrades are wheels and tyres (and maybe saddle)

I’m still pottering about on my 12 year old “steel-is-real” Trek that cost me £250

Unless it’s one of the ‘T-series’ touring bikes it’s a lot older than that!

That Canyon looks great!

stevenieve,

Did we have an email conversation about that Canyon? how are you finding it? you got an incredible price!

Unless it’s one of the ‘T-series’ touring bikes it’s a lot older than that

Whilst it could have been sat in the shop for sometime before I bought it, I only bought it in 2000. I do have form in buying the old junk that shops are trying desperately to shift 😆

We did!
Only had the one test run out so far for an hour and a half.
Have sod all experience on a road bike so will take a bit of getting used to, even sorting out where the gears are.
First impressions are it’s fast and bumpy at 110psi! not long in covering a few miles.

That Canyon looks great!

Apart from the saddle angle and the mini-pump messing with that carefully designed aero. At least the stem is almost slammed 😉

What size Canyon did you go for/how tall are you? I have been on their website and sit between the L and XL sizing, so not sure which to choose.

I’m currently riding an XL Giant Defy, which seems a little long, so the L might be spot on…

What size Canyon did you go for/how tall are you? I have been on their website and sit between the L and XL sizing, so not sure which to choose.

Pointless question

I’m currently riding an XL Giant Defy, which seems a little long, so the L might be spot on…

Just compare the geometry to this and work it out for yourself.

davidtaylforth – Member

What size Canyon did you go for/how tall are you? I have been on their website and sit between the L and XL sizing, so not sure which to choose.

Pointless question

I’m currently riding an XL Giant Defy, which seems a little long, so the L might be spot on…

Just compare the geometry to this and work it out for yourself.

Super helpful thanks.

Comparing XL to XL they are almost identical apart from in wheelbase where the Canyon is 18mm shorter.

The L is about an inch smaller all round and I suspect this would be suitable.

Super helpful thanks.

No problem.

Comparing XL to XL they are almost identical apart from in wheelbase where the Canyon is 18mm shorter.

The L is about an inch smaller all round and I suspect this would be suitable.

It looks like you’ve worked it out yourself. Well done.