Been hankering after a roadie for a while and some extra funds have been found down the back of the sofa, so I can hopefully stretch the budget to £1900-ish.

At this point I haven’t seen much to tempt me away from ordering this: https://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3241

What am I missing? Should I be looking for a deal from JE James/Wiggle/Winstanleys instead?

Could take an age to get to you
You dont know what size/setup you need
No aftersales support
£1900 is a lot of money to spend on any bike, never mind your first road bike.

Only 1 reason, the Alu road bikes are cheaper and just as good imho, i have a roadlite Alu and its an amazing bike for the money and still fairly unique on the roads.

I got stopped by the police yesterday and had a chat the officer hadn’t seen a canyon before just wanted a chat, he seemed impressed with the spec, guessing he might be a biker.

Yeah, I am worried about how it could take to arrive, but that’s okay – it’ll teach me patience. Not my first roadie, just my first roadie in about 15 + years – which is why i’m hesitating to commit to buying it.

LMT – good point about the alu frames – they do seem lovely too. It’s not too harsh/unforgiving is it?

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/103262/products/giant-tcr-advanced-2-2013-compact-road-bike.aspx

id go with no, stop being spoil sports! looks fantastic, good value and just make sure you use their size guide thing correctly

The Giant looks good….but 105 instead of Ultegra and a bunch of own brand bits. Still, I do have and love an XTC.

I stumbled across that bike a week or so ago when they put the new bikes up,

I really like the look of it, If there’s still some left in my size next spring I think there is a good chance I’ll get one, The felt F4 2014 is a close 2nd. Very similar spec and only a couple of hundred more.

Link to Felt F4

I did the route of the Fred Whitton Challenge (112 miles, 13,000ft ascent)in the Lakes on Saturday on board by 2013 version (Shimano 105, £1400) and it was brilliant throughout. Extremely responsive and comfy, just can’t fault it for the money. I had to wait about 3-4 weeks for mine back in June, and it ended up coming a few days early. Admittedly a pal has just bought a more expensive model and ended up waiting an extra 2-3 weeks over the suggested timeframe.

I bought one of these a year and a half ago.
Very happy customer. Already done 3000km’s on it this year. The fit is spot on.
Follow their instructions for getting your size. They will tell you on the site what the lead time for the bike is but you have to spec the size first.

I would buy another for sure. You will be pushed to find a better deal.

If you dont go for it the Giant Defy will do you nicely.

Good to hear good reports. Time to chat with the Missus and bite the bullet I think.

Bollocks. Might need to go back to the drawing board – unlikely to be available until Feb next year according to the website. That’s a proper shame.

For £1900 why not go custom?

By the time you’ve possibly added in your choice of bars, tape, saddle, changed the stem length, added pedals, upgraded the wheels*, you might be better off buying everything seperately.

*seeing as most complete bikes down-spec the wheels assuming anyone who;s bothered will have some nice ones already.

Just picking components that I’d like off the top of my head:

Kinesis Aithein – £650
Ultegra 6800 groupset – £650
Shimano WS-6800 – £280
Ritchey WCS alloy finishing kit – £160
Tyres – £50
Headset – £20
seatclamp – £10
spacers – £10
Lizard Skins DSP Tape – £25
Selle Italia saddle – £100

Total = £1955

OK, it’s not carbon, but you could shop arround for a carbon frame for even less if that matters to you, it’d probably weigh more though, are there any 1050g carbon frames under £650 without buying from hong-fu or the compatriots?

Have you checked their outlet store? All the stuff on there is reduced and in stock.

Canyon Outlet

I bought an Ultimate CF SLX frame off there a couple of years ago for a very good price. Awesome bike, very happy with it.

How about this or this one.

davidtaylforth – Member

Could take an age to get to you
You dont know what size/setup you need
No aftersales support
£1900 is a lot of money to spend on any bike, never mind your first road bike.

They do have some bikes that can be viewed at Canyon UK in London.
I was there the other day looking at mountain bikes.

looks good and is probably good..

but is a £1000 planet x bike really 900 quid worse?… and how do you quantify

this is heavily reduced on CRC

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-bikes-vitesse-ultegra-road-bike-2013/rp-prod81023

Canyon aren’t quite the bargains they used to be. That’s a good bike for the money, don’t get me wrong, but factor in a delivery cost, boxing it up (yes they charge for this) and you’re almost at £2k.

Can say for sure (I’ve seen enough 2014 bikes already) that a sub 1kg Carbon Frame, 11spd Ultegra and Ksyrium wheels will be available in your LBS for £2k very soon, on something you can at least sit on first to gauge for size if not even test ride one!

Your choice and all, but it’s a substantial amount of money to order the wrong size accidentally for instance. When Canyon were 30-40% cheaper like for like than anyone else, it could be argued a risk worth taking, but they’re no longer that cheap any more!

The reason not to is as thisisnotaspoon suggests, £1900 is a heck of a lot of money to be spending and you can build up a better specced and more personal bike by shopping around for bargaintastic parts 😀 A light no-name carbon frame and fork is a great base and there are plenty of examples of budget builds on sites like Weightweenies for inspiration. Of course that means you end up with a bike that isn’t flashy colours and is not ready out of the box which is what you get (eventually after the longish delivery time) of the Canyon. Can’t go too far wrong either way, it is just what appeals most to you 😀

Cervelo R3 Dark, new release but in stock in UK dealers. A 1600 quid rrp frame built with 105 and reasonable kit into a 2 grand bike. Except all the rumours are its actually an R5 frame with a different paint job. They retailed for 3k+ frame only 😯

That Canyon does look like a very smartly specced bike, almost exactly what I’d put on a custom build anyway.

http://www.thetristore.com/product/cervelo-r3-dark-edition-105-2014.aspx

and if we’re allowed to link to a rival site

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/cervlo-r3-dark-2014-sneak-peek-38126/

I’m all for advocating spending money where it matters, but a £1600 frame and £300 to finish it won’t even match the spec of an 8speed halfords special regardless of how nice/niche thr frame is.

I’d be more tempted by the outlet option, at least you know it’s in stock. A mate ordered a Canyon road bike and it took months for it to be delivered. If it’s your first road bike though I’d be a little reluctant to spend that much if I hadn’t ridden one.

Well worth checking out a TCR, really enjoying mine, and there’s loads of places you can go test ride one.

TINAS’s option is a good one too. At least you get exactly what you want and won’t feel the need to change bars, stem and saddle if they are not right, or upgrade the wheels, etc. Does need you to know what you want though.

That cervelo would make most sense if you already had a nicely specced bike which you could swap the parts from.

The Alu isn’t harsh on the roads i ride, town roads and then country lanes, carbon forks up front are relaxed and do a great job.

I really can’t fault it, i brought the bike then spent the rest of my budget on some biking kit, lights, clothing etc… when i need to change the bike, i will be going canyon again.

One thing i will say is trust the size calculator and fill it in exactly, the calculator stated i needed an xs which surprised me, but i thought i could always send it back. Bike arrived, i flipped the stem and its a perfect fit, i mean spot on. My OH has a canyon MTB and thats the same spot on fit.

I’m all for advocating spending money where it matters, but a £1600 frame and £300 to finish it…

except they have put reasonable (not brilliant) spec on it for the difference in price, hence it being good value (105 kit etc). Especially if you consider its actually a £3K frame (whether it’s a 1600 or 3000 quid frame theyve torpedoed re-sale values and probably upset a few current owners!).

Just throwing it out there as a left-field option, depends what the OP wants for his money and what he values. If you want ultimate VFM then a Ribble/Planet X/Hongfu is the way to go. If you place any value on brand image or credibility, heritage, pride of ownership etc which are more intangible, then other brands might make more sense. Canyon covers both bases, having the direct-seller discount price but the ridden-by-Gilbert credibility*. The only reason my carbon dandy horse isnt a Canyon is at the point I was buying, CRC had a private sale on and I got an old model Lapierre Xelius with full Ultegra for 45% off, and it was seeing an FDJ rep in the “flesh” that first captured my imagination for road bikes so I have a soft spot for the brand. I’d had my mouse poised over a CF Canyon in their outlet section prior to seeing the CRC email.

*

Only 1 reason, the Alu road bikes are cheaper and just as good imho, i have a roadlite Alu and its an amazing bike for the money and still fairly unique on the roads.

For a while (2010?) Gilbert rode an ally Canyon frame badged up as their top carbon model.

What do the pros ride?

Canyon aren’t quite the bargains they used to be. That’s a good bike for the money, don’t get me wrong, but factor in a delivery cost, boxing it up (yes they charge for this) and you’re almost at £2k.

Can say for sure (I’ve seen enough 2014 bikes already) that a sub 1kg Carbon Frame, 11spd Ultegra and Ksyrium wheels will be available in your LBS for £2k very soon, on something you can at least sit on first to gauge for size if not even test ride one!

Your choice and all, but it’s a substantial amount of money to order the wrong size accidentally for instance. When Canyon were 30-40% cheaper like for like than anyone else, it could be argued a risk worth taking, but they’re no longer that cheap any more!

It’s free to return an unused Canyon.

There is a test of the 2013 SLX 9.0 (very similar to the 2014 SL frame) in the French magazine Le Cycle. It scores exceptionally highly. This idea that a Canyon should be massively cheaper to sell is outdated, they are often better than the opposition.
You can download it here: select FREE slow download at the bottom of the page.
(I’ve chosen a French rather than German magazine test to avoid claims of national bias!)

http://novafile.com/6i9yegw2pdm9

If you can push the budget upwards slightly and know your size, this Giant TCR Advanced with 10 speed Di2 Ultegra would be my choice. A clubmate has raced on his this year and it is a fantastic bike. Nothing wrong with the Canyon, but that Cervelo Dark is also good value as they are off-loading frames.

But the Giant TCR Advanced would be my choice, I just don’t have the funds for the upgrade from my alloy at the moment. (I’m rather partial to high-end Giant road bikes though).

I doubt you will get much better, only consideration would be something more classic and titanium for a few quid more.

For nearly 2k I’d be tracking down a Cannondale Supersix Evo 105 or Ultegra Look at the reviews.

Canyon’s font alone really puts me off.

LMT – Member
Only 1 reason, the Alu road bikes are cheaper and just as good imho, i have a roadlite Alu and its an amazing bike for the money and still fairly unique on the roads.

This. Very much this. I love my Roadlite Alu.

Wheelbase were recently selling off Cervelo R3’s in Ultegra spec with Rotor cranks for £2k – I’d rather have one of those!!

So the update is I’ve picked up a bike with 105 off fleabay to get me through the winter and give me time to make sure that a) I’m going to ride road enough and b) that I am happy to spend that kind of money and c) that I can get myself fit enough to justify such a nice bike.

Having looked at the bikes suggested here I still think the Canyon will be the way to go…it’s lovely.

hora – Member

For nearly 2k I’d be tracking down a Cannondale Supersix Evo 105 or Ultegra Look at the reviews.

Canyon’s font alone really puts me off.

I’ve got a 2012 Supersix.The use of the Cannondale font is almost op art.
Clever but a bit to much.
Stealth seems to be the current trend, for example

http://ancillary.edinburghbicycle.com/image-cache/00016759/00018830/extra-large/cannondale-synapse-hi-mod-black-14.jpg

http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3183

hora – Member

For nearly 2k I’d be tracking down a Cannondale Supersix Evo 105 or Ultegra Look at the reviews. they’ve dropped the caad10 in all but 105 trim though 🙁 I’ve not ridden either but the weight implies the new ‘evo.’ shares its layup with the old supersix, which was apparently a good bike, but its almost 1lb heavier than the exotic version that donated the name.

The new Supersix Evo is quite a bit different to the old Supersix. The RRP is a tad lower too making it a bit of a bargain.
I paid £1350 for my 2012 Supersix 105 last x-mas so the new Evo should be around the same price once discounting starts.

Cannondale SuperSix Evo and CAAD10 model year 2014 road bikes – first look

thisisnotaspoon – Member

they’ve dropped the caad10 in all but 105 trim though I’ve not ridden either but the weight implies the new ‘evo.’ shares its layup with the old supersix, which was apparently a good bike, but its almost 1lb heavier than the exotic version that donated the name.

It seems you can get a 2014 Caad10 Ultegra and SRAM Red 22 if you go to Germany ?

http://www.cannondale.com/deu/catalog/category/view/s/road/id/916/

Planet x Rx57 and carbon wheels and some change