I made the mistake of watching Paton's video. It seems the best value bike I can own id the 7.3kg carbon rim braked 105 equipped bike that I've already got, well that'll save me £5000 anyway....
I'd be looking at either the Trek or Orbea custom paint jobs. Either that or one of the smaller more boutique brands, Pinarello or Willier or whatever.
What I wouldn't get would be a Canyon, despite being the very happy owner of an Endurace, it's not got a lot of wow-factor to it 🙂
Yeah, I was looking at an Orca:
That's a lovely looking bike!
Clean isn't it. £4300 for all that, Di2 and Vison CF SL 40's. And you don't see too many on the road, so a little different.
Looks nice, and the cable-hiding stem is better than the Defy's one.
Is it a decent spec carbon?
If I had the cash I'd be looking at a custom carbon Epoca. Boutique, made in Italy, lovely-looking.
https://www.epocabikes.com/48/en/about-epoca
Is it a decent spec carbon?
I've no idea, its Orbea's OMX - https://www.orbea.com/gb-en/bicycles/road/orca/cat/orca-m20iltd
As much as I think he’s a bit of a nob hambini has put me off certain brands. It’s a fair point, all you have to do is make a round hole within tolerance and if you can’t do that……
Also when he scans these carbon bikes there are voids everywhere. So probably something not on the C ish scale so probably a look bike.
If I was buying carbon I'd watch a few Hambini videos first. He's a bit of a child though.
Laverack look lush, and from memory £5k would get you Ultegra/ maybe Di2??
I thought your new mindfulness and focus had made you realise that you don't need to spend all your disposable income and had put an end to these what new car/bike threads.
:-S
What about a Parlee Altum Disc? You should be able to custom spec one for your budget. Give the guys at Push in Ambleside a call and i am sure they'll be able to help.
In a similar situation.
Will hopefully be going for the Boardman gravel bike.
That Orbea is a good looking bike.
If I had £5k to spend on road bike, I'd spend £1k on the bike and £4k to take it to some nice places*.
*maybe not this year...
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Krypton be wary of those wheels on the Orbea. I don’t know the correct terminology, but just make sure they’re not just made for full built bikes. I have a set that came with my Trek and they’re not the same as shop bought wheels. Same stickers and name but mine are about 300 grams heavier than listed and the hub needs servicing at least once a year (3000 miles).
Hope that makes sense.
Yes woodster you mean OEM vs aftermarket. A good point thanks.
Orbea, custom paint, jobs a goodun 👌
I made a cross between the Orbea and the Willier during my Tea break...
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Liking the Parlee a lot, but jumped onto the push website to see a set of wheels on the front page for £7,700. I think I'm shopping above my budget there 😀
I've had a good think about this for a while. I don't want Ti as I feel it looks a little bland, and I'm not actually fussed about electronic gears either, as I can maintain a mechanical system whilst still remaining a DIY luddite.
But I do want something with a bit of cycling heritage and went back to Bianchi but not to the Sprint - behold:
Something like that - an Infinito CV Ultegra - would be very lovely. Maybe if the saving plan goes well upgrading to Campag might be a treat.
For something special it'd be in Ti from Enigma, however I bet the Roubaix is better in practice.
upgrading to Campag
LOL!
If you like the infito, you should try to test that alongside the Oltre xr3. I have the rim version and it really is very comfortable probably due to the countervail carbon mix but also running fairly wide rims with 25 tyres.
It feels very stiff and comparing to my TCR (also known for their weight to stiffness) climbs punchy short hills and moderate gradients, probably anything upto 8/10% a little easier, just feels like you can ride faster in a harder gear.
On my standard 45/50mile 2300/2800ft climbing loop, I would say it’s 1.5 to 2mph faster on average and the only bike I’ve achieved a 19mph over this loop. A loop with a lot more climbing and the balance starts to swing back towards the tcr faster. Comfort wise though if both bikes were set up the same, I have the oltre slammed and giant a little higher, then there wouldn’t be much in it at all. not bad for a pretty aero bike.
If you want to ring out a bit more free speed from the bike and ride something with a bit of wow factor, heritage and pedigree I would give the Oltre a look. Xr4 obviously is the bees knees but the Xr3 probably as 95% of the performance for 50% of the price. (Roughly speaking).
My own "attainable fantasy bike" these days is a rourke 853 disc with ultegra Di2.
https://www.rourke.biz/custom_framesets.html
Not that I have the spare cash right now. But in a few years and having done plastic bikes already a bit of semi-custom steel bling is appealing...
My prettiest bike is a Genesis CDF in 'copper'. Thin steel tubes and nice paint look so much more classy than carbon in my opinion. Rides beautify too.
I have a 2019 Cervelo R3 disc and I absolutely love it. It's plenty fast enough and good for long rides too. However, they have recently launched this and I have a bad case of N+1
Nobody has mentioned Look or Time yet? They seem to be very well-made bikes (see Hambini) with plenty of heritage that are just a bit different. I've got an Enigma Evoke and it's a lovely bike to ride but perhaps somewhat staid (or classic might be a nicer way of putting it). I rode a Roubaix a couple of years ago with the old FutureShock and hated it so much. But the new shock is excellent.
Do what I did, custom carbon?
One point of note on all the people suggesting Rourke etc is that steel frame + discs = >8kg weight unless you throw a lot of money at it.
Tbf I quite like the Bianchi but I fear they are neither artisan nor developed with a sizeable r&d budget (eg specialized/ trek) So kind of have the worst of both worlds
True but they don't appear to hold Jumbo Visma back.
An ex team bike can feel kinda wow! I've got a Ridley cx frame from the Telenet team 2013-14 season. It's even got a half worn off Tom M sticker on it. It came with a fair few scratches and gouges but I raced it for two seasons and put a load more onto it. It's fun to watch races from that year and see identical bikes under the the likes of Pauwels and Meuseen. Only cost £600!
I'd love a Liquigas Cannondale Supersix.
I had Supersix, though not the Liquigas colours. It was a lovely bike even over long distances and rough roads, though the max tyre I could fit was 25mm especially in the fork.
True but they don’t appear to hold Jumbo Visma back.
That’s not really true tbh, jumbo are forced to pick rim brakes to make their bianchi’s competitive with other teams disc bikes, see link
I’ve not long bought an Addict RC frameset to build up, still buying bits to decorate it with so can’t comment on how it rides but I wouldn’t classify it as endurance geometry...low stack and long reach.
Also worth noting the frameset prices have rocketed for 2021 although off the peg builds are relatively stable.
Foil has seen a few tweaks this year too, now shares the integrated cabling designed for the Addict...believe the geometry is very similar, some nice paint jobs on them too...
3.5k on a sworks roubaix frame in one of the amazing looking metallic finishes. Then If I alrrady had a set of wheels going spare spend the rest on a duraace group set.
Going custom may get you something unique but it may also be a bit rubbish. And id be pretty confident it wouldn't end up being as good a bike as the roubaix.
Somebody else said it earlier but a super bike today is just normal bike in a year or so.
What makes a bike wow is kind of personal too. For me it is more about look. Not necessarily having the latest frame design but little touches. Paint job, component choice and how it all fits aesthetically. I'd get a nice bike but look at option for custom paint and getting the finishing touches right to the right look.
So I'd look at bikes with custom paint options or look to see if you can get it done after purchase.
Trek Projectone is an option for custom paint. Ribble too but the frames might not have the wow factor you want. Not sure who else.
Speedvagen Ti disc Road.
I’m pretty much with Tpbiker on this one. I want a known quantity, a bike I could sell, and something that looks good. I’ve gone away from the “special” or “unique” desire and am quite happy to get a bike/frame that upgrades me to disks.
I had a look at the Scott Addicts RC and whilst I’m sure they are amazing bikes - and at least from a web perspective - they look a little drab. I also can’t get over the fact that Adam Yates looks awkward on his, maybe that’s just him. Maybe I need to see one in the flesh.
Factor and Ribble have an outlet near me so I may pop in there, but Factor are quite expensive.
ive got plenty of time. Some freestyle riding time in October which will be spent the road will likely take me back to what I have, as I keep admiring that in the mancave. At the moment the Bianchi Infinito and Orbea Orca in personalised colours are in the lead, both Ultegra builds.
No experience of them (out my league) but 3T Exploro or Strada float your boat? Seem like they’d be pretty versatile.
I really like my Exploro, it’s ‘awfully versatile’ and they’ve got the race max out if your after something more.
I’m a bit sceptical on the benefits of the ti custom route as a year down the line you’ll be wanting a change, bikes aren’t for life.
I’d get a nice set of wheels and group set and shuffle it over a few frames as you want a change as opposed to buying ‘the one’ make every few years the opportunity to have a change. 🙂
I agree with jonba its often the paint job and finishing kit that stands out to me rather than the name of the manufacture. If my Supersix could have had larger tyres fitted I probably would have kept it and just had it re-sprayed.
