[Closed] Merlin/Sensa road bikes

Anyone ??

They seem to be pretty well reviewed. Sensa are actually a Dutch brand, I understand they are pretty big on the continent but not really known over here. They also make finishing kit and wheels. Don't think you can really go wrong with them in that they won't be noticeably better/worse than other carbon bikes at a similar price point. I looked at all of the ones you mentioned but I have to admit that I'm pretty suspicious of incredibly well specced, yet cheap, carbon bikes. A saving is being made somewhere and the chance is that whatever the decals on the frame say, you're dealing with an off the shelf carbon frame from a Far Eastern factory somewhere. I decided I'd rather get a really good aluminium frame. I know a few roadies who rate the Ribble alu bike (the basic, very cheap, blue one) as a winter hack. Also Dolan's alu bikes get good comments, but I ended up buying a Kinesis Racelight, partially on reviews but mainly on the recommendation of two guys I know who are very serious roadies and have them as their training bikes. They're beautifully made frames, comparitively light but flexible in that you can run mudguards and bigger tyres as well as a rack, if you so choose. Depends what you are after really, but if you want a light, fast and flexible bike (in terms of what it'll do, not the frame 😉 ) then you could do worse than look at the Kinesis. Hope that helps..

Thanks

I've got a 2012 Sensa Romagna with 105, really happy with it. Possibly not the lightest bike out there and there's room for upgrades such as wheels etc. It's my first road bike, so I can't give a comparison but I've been racking up the miles for the last year and not had any problems. For the price, it's excellent.

Cameron - thanks, that's the sort of feedback I was looking for
how tall are you and what size did you get? I hear they have short top tubes

@funkrodent do you know what weight your racelight comes in at i am debatin gthe same wether to go for a decent alu of budget carbon

Evening bump

Got a Romagna special (105) myself last August and really enjoying it. With regards to what it's like to other round bikes I can not say, my other road bike is a 26" wheeled Scott hybrid but compared to this it's night and day. The standard wheels aren't the best (strong but quite heavy ) but these can be upgraded at the point of sale. As for sizing I thought a 56" would fit me ( I'm 5 10 ) but after swinging a leg over one in the shop they recommend a 58". Having no experience with road bikes it took me a month to get used to the position when sat on it (moving stem spacers around ect) but it's fine now and have done several 100milers with no achs or pains. Saving up for a new wheel set for it which should knock off over a pound in weight. Should help when the road points up, of which there's a lot of in the first supportive I'm doing, the Fred Whitton 😯

Bejasus! Good luck with the Fred Whitton

Sensa Trentino SL here.
I'm 6' and bought 58cm, which has the same horizontal top tube length as my 56cm Spesh
The bike came full Ultegra despite being advertised as part-Ultegra, I guess this was to do with the imminent (then) 6800 coming out.
Great bike and excellent service from Merlin (I've no connection to them)
My mods:
Helicopter tape on RH chainstay
25mm tyres this year (OEM 23mm)
HTH

Hi ElShalimo - I'm 6'0 and got the 58cm frame. I had a bike fit recently and following this, extended the stem from 110 to 120 Merlin were very helpful with the sizing

Thanks Guys

I think this thread needs some photos of your Sensas

Here's a couple just after I got it last summer

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And a couple taken the other week on a 100 miler round the Trough of Bowland, Lancashire

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On the ride I popped into the hub, Gisburn for a bite to eat. Thought it'd be rude not to do a bit of off roading so I did a couple of laps of the blue skills course 😀

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