im looking at replacing my ageing specialized allez with something newer .preferably carbon and at least shimano 105 gearing.i usually buy used but theres a real lack of used bikes around especially in size small/52 so i thought id see what new is around,i was wandering if anyone had seen any decent deals around.dont want too racy but not to sportive eirher.any ideas budgets around £1200.

dont want too racy but not to sportive eirher

It’s just about making sure you get the right size and setting it up so it’s comfortable for you , not really sure you’re making sense there. You can set a pro tour bike up to be comfortable for sportives for a not very fit inflexible rider if you wanted to.
Saying that, Merlin always seem to have good deals, and Tredz.

I wouldn’t be too focused on carbon, broaden your search and there should be more choice, perhaps at a lower price.

Paul’s bikes sometimes has good deals in carbon framed Cube bikes. That said I nearly bought a Caad12 105 disc from them but found a similar offer in my lbs so bought from them instead.

Carbon isn’t the be all to be honest – my Caad12 replaced a carbon fibre bike and I don’t feel I’ve downgraded. Frame weight is similar – I’d say I’ve lost a tiny bit of stiffness in forward drive – but gained a more fun bike handling wise. It’s still pretty razor sharp – helped by upgraded wheels and tyres (nothing too fancy)and now Ultegra Di2.

Bike cost me £1200 in the sale down from £1700. You might want to look at Boardman too if you particularly want carbon – sometimes they have good deals.

Some people will claim rim brakes are as good as hydraulic disc brakes but in my experience they just aren’t (4 different sets of rim brakes vs Shimano hydraulic discs) – I’d prefer to have an alloy disc braked bike than a carbon rim braked bike.

Planet X sometimes have good deals on carbon framed road bikes too thinking about it.

thanks for the replies.i did look at the canyon al 7.0 road bikes but the lead times are long atm.i did look on pauls cycles but didnt see much of interest.mountain biking is my main riding i just road bike to get the miles in with an occassional comute.strangely i can spend 2k plus on my mtb but a grand seems alot to me for a road bike.i had hoped for a £600 used bike but been a small not many around at the minute.appreciate the help.

I’d have a look to see what Decathlon has at that price point.
But the Caad 12 on offer at £1200 would be very tempting.

In true recommend what you ride style….

Bit over budget, but available in small, with a good upgradable frame.

It does look like most of the lower end good deal stuff is all gone at the moment – blame Covid I think. Even Planet X and Boardman seem to be thin on the ground for around £1k.

I only had a quick look about but I think Ribble is probably worth a look. Loads of variants on there – if you don’t mind mechanical discs and tiagra you get get their entry level carbon disc bike for £1099.

If you go rim brake the r872 has tiagra for £999 and is still a carbon frame.

the bike tart link was great thanks.some good options on there but i do need a compact chainset,just makes it easier on the dodgy knee.

@pip001 I’m running a semi-compact 52/36 chainset and it is an easier push than the huge 53/39 I had previously. (I did Fred Whitton 4 seasons on 53/39 there was walking in places). You could always replace the 52 with a 50 tooth chain ring after purchase.

Ribble Cycles would be my choice. They have some nice Steel (Endurance725) in your budget (Reynolds tubing) or Carbon R872.

but i do need a compact chainset,just makes it easier on the dodgy knee.

Immediate swap out / ebay of the chainset?  TBH I’ve been meaning to swap out for either a larger real cassette / mech or compact but the reality is I made it up Ditchling Beacon fine with what I had, and it’s not likely I’ll need more than that where I live.  Will probably tweak for the sake of it when I need a new drivechain.

Stocks across the whole price range seem really low at the moment, cycling has had a huge boom in lockdown and everywhere is selling out….

Just looking at replacing my road bike for something more modern and there’s bugger all in stock…

NB I used to have a 2005ish Spesh Allez Comp, great bikes did 1000s of miles on it.