Joe, you've piqued my interest there. In the list of bikes builds "Jane" I know quite well, she used to ride for our club. I've seen that bike, its very very nice.
Hmmm....
Have we done a Cervelo Caledonia?
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/cervelo-caledonia-460297
I looked at that, and an R3. Looks a bit bland I thought.
Just feel a mass produced plastic bike is great...but its gonna date and Matthew really makes an effort to make the bike individual. Mine really does ride in a very special way and i've owned lots of high end road bikes. I think its a worthwhile investment.
I has a lovely albeit short ride yesterday on my existing bike, have a slight scare approaching a bend on a 12% decline with gravel on it and an HGV coming in the other direction.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49934489651_c28dfe00ff_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49934489651_c28dfe00ff_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2j5xj5K ]20200525_122231[/url]
Aero - check
Light/Carbon - check
50 Carbons - check
Slightly unique enough to strike up a conversation - check
Fast - check
Comfy - check
£5000 cheaper - check
I think I've got to the "can't be arsed" point of this now. I might upgrade to Ultegra mechanical on that as a minor treat.
Ultegra wouldn't feature on a wow factor bike for me I don't think. Its a work horse groupset, I'd want Dura Ace, Red or Campag Chorus or above. Frame wise, if you want something bespoke feeling and really great to ride then I would have to recommend a Bowman, its my go to road bike now and I am considering a build with Palace 3 disc next. I prefer it over the 2 giants I owned (TCR and Propel) and the Cervelo R3 and even Mason definition, which is the only bike that fits the endurance category, but the Bowman is the better feeling bike. If the Palace is to racy you have the Weald.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49878472723_951c1b4ad7_4k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49878472723_951c1b4ad7_4k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2iZAdcD ]Untitled[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/60401414@N00/ ]danjwilkinson[/url], on Flickr
I want a bike# that's won Paris Roubaix. Mine has. Same frame in the same size - OK Deg's had a longer stem. And he rode tubs. But that does it for me on the wow factor.
It's a bike. It may have slightly relaxed geometry compared to other race bikes. What more wow do you want?
#Defy Advanced SL if you are interested, in Medium. Now with Dura Ace, but none of those disc things. Handmade by the same small group in Taiwan that made Degenkolb's frame.
but the Bowman
.. only Aluminium? I know theoretically that shouldnt matter and it makes for a cheaper build...
Another vote for Filament here. I already have a 953 Rourke, which is superb and dare I say it rides nicer than the Storck Scenario CD0.9 it replaced. The Storck was from an era where it was special yet before it was smashed in two by a car driver not looking i overhead some juniors t talking about it at a cafe; one remarked it was lovely, the other moaned it was too old and had round frame tubes 😄 Both framesets were/are used for racing and long rides. I was very impressed by the work that Filament do, and the chap has been good on email discussions.
Oh and @TiRed Defy looks 👍
And a Rourke pic for @TiRed
https://flic.kr/p/2jEA9XM
If you want something special, order a nice steel Rourke. I was considering a TCR-geometry fixed wheel road bike, but am now thinking to go Lizzie's Flying Gate instead (she makes them for TJ cycles), also with fixed wheel. Bikes are bikes, get something that's a bit different. You are chasing the central (and over-priced) tendency - think orthogonal if you don't want to get tired of it.
.. only Aluminium? I know theoretically that shouldnt matter and it makes for a cheaper build…
I guess it depends on what you view as adding to the performance and feeling of a bike
for be Bowman with dura ace, deep carbon bling wheels > Cervelo with ultegra and alloy wheels
That Rourke looks lush!
Come to this thread after the OP has decided against the idea, but Fairlight Strael would be on my shortlist if I was a moneybags. But would probably get a Rourke if possible.
And a Rourke pic for @TiRed
Thanks 🙂 They are happy to build me a 953 compact frame TCR geometry fixed wheel road bike. As I said, something that's a bit different from the norm. The Defy has been raced on road and circuit before I bought an alloy TCR and then a Propel. It replaced a (stolen) Merlin Cyrene in etched titanium. That bike was a work of art.
only Aluminium
BTW, I have the cheapest of the cheap alloy Defy as well. It's about 85% of the performance for 15% of the price. But, but... Paris-Roubaix!
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.
The Only trouble looking at Filament is that you're looking at ~3x the price for custom carbon Vs a Rourke frameset and the OP's budget is £5k. By the time He's fitted Tiagra and Aksiums to his Filament frame to keep the cost down, the weight is probably going to be about on par... How much lighter is a Filament going to be Vs a Rourke 853? 750g maybe?
We're all different of course, for some minimal weight is a big factor on a "Dream Bike" for others the fit and having nice parts, but the thread title says "wow-factor Endurance road bike" to me that puts durability/reliability, fit and comfort ahead of weight saving...
Somebody else said it earlier but a super bike today is just normal bike in a year or so.
I dunno, road bikes have got to a pretty good place now - discs, wider tyres, aeros, comforts.
I reckon a super bike now will still be pretty awesome in 2030.
Not that I believe in "dream bikes" myself, as I know dreams are subject to change.
See I'm with chakaping a little here. Sadly or not - and I'm struggling to put this into words - I'm not as attracted to a bespoke bike as am I am to the shiny shiny Bianchi. Maybe I'm just shallow in that regard, but also I can't see why a disk shod Di2 Bianchi wouldn't be relevant in 5 years time.
FWIW, I didn't chose/like my current bike which I posted up there. It was an off the shelf free Warranty replacement from Wiggle in 2016, after the chain stay on my then Bianchi Sempre snapped. As I started to realise its capabilities - particularly when I changed wheel set - I really started to appreciate its virtues. Even if I could sell it, I'd be reluctant.
I've read the glowing reviews of the Bowman now and I like the colour scheme of DJGlovers bike but not the off the shelf colours, so the cost would allow shinier kit to add to it. At the same time, I like the Defy Advanced Pro 1, the Cervelo Caledonia 5 Di2 which is over budget, the Orbea Orca, TarmacRoubaix. I think I just like modern "pro peloton" bikes, I'm not really attracted to skinny steel, or randomly obscure bikes.
You had a Defy. An Advanced Pro will be like that with added niceness (you really need the SL though). My Alloy one really shines when the posh wheels go on. And for special I wanted something "pro peleton". A frame genuinely ridden by a pro. Bikes are bikes, but they have to make you smile.
Geometry is a bigger factor than material.
Thats now my Turbo bike 🙂
Anyway this is nice:
Or the mechanical dura-ace version which comes with a PM
