Saddle is a Prologo Evo Nack with carbon rails… Hoover is a Hoover, I’ve no idea whether it’s posh or not, it’s used exclusively by the staff. 😉

I’ve always liked the Carbone Cosmics, my mate uses them around the Pennines, but they are a bit of a handful in the wind..

And heavy.

Blazin-saddles +1 on Mavic wheels being a no! Enve all the way, rude to go with anything else.

Are all carbon rims a viable everyday option? How long do they last if you ride on gritty wet roads?

I’ve a pair of the 3T Ergonova bars and they are superb. They do do them in a limited edition black.
Wheels – either mavic cosmic carbone slr or ultimates (depending on whether you want tubs or clinchers)
Maybe Zipp, but depends on your weight.
I’ve got the “Ford Mondeo” you mentioned 🙂

I had considered 303s but they’re silly money… And I wouldn’t really want to use something that deep every weekend round the Pennines!

I have 303 FC’s that i use weekly in the peaks. Appreciate its counter-intuitive but they are more stable in the wind than my Ksyrium SLs (on the same bike) which i use when its crappy.

Dang that is nice! And 700g!

303, 404 Firecrests, C35s, Enve (on CK hubs from wheelsmith) would be my choice.

Sorry guys fulcrum3/rs80 are budget wheels really. Cosmic carbone SL are a bit heavy at 1700g SLR are ok.

Speak to derek at Wheelsmith.co.uk he would sort you out something lovely and handbuilt for it. Gigantex 50mm clincher on a variety of hubs. I run some as last seasons race wheels and this coming seasons training wheels they are fine for everything, stiff and light. Moving to some FFWD F6R tubs for next season.

Edit Ive also got some Ksyrium Elites as a spare set of wheels that I hardly use as they make irritating squeaking when climbing and im only 70kg. Apparently quite a few get squeaking problems at the nipple joints. Might sell them actually come to think of it.

I’ve got the “Ford Mondeo” you mentioned

Oops! I absolutely love the Spesh – to my mind there are 4 or 5 “top” frames available, the SL4, C59, R5, Dogma and possibly the BMC if you’re not in the slightest bit concerned with aesthetics. 😉

Most of those are around the £3.5k mark, but the Spesh looked better value which was why I was planning on buying one. But then this half price deal came along and meant I could get the dream bike for less than the Spesh.

It’s that classic silhouette that does it for me, skinny seat stays and straight tubes.

However, I don’t anticipate it being as comfortable as the SL4…

Edit Ive also got some Ksyrium Elites as a spare set of wheels that I hardly use as they make irritating squeaking when climbing and im only 70kg. Apparently quite a few get squeaking problems at the nipple joints. Might sell them actually come to think of it.

Drop of oil at both ends of each spoke, sit by radiator for a day, should be sorted.

New Madone 7-series missing from your list, closest to a ‘superbike’ from a mainstream manufacturer I’d say! Similar weight to yours.

Are all carbon rims a viable everyday option? How long do they last if you ride on gritty wet roads?

One of our guys used to put in thousands of winter miles on Corima Winium carbon wheels, he found they lasted better than alu ones in winter. The quality of braking the wet would be my concern.

Then again if I had an R5 I’d have something else to use for wet weather!

Scott Foil?

New Madone 7-series missing from your list, closest to a ‘superbike’ from a mainstream manufacturer I’d say! Similar weight to yours.

You could add the Evo to the list as well njee, but I don’t seem to get excited by bikes from Trek or Cannondale (edit: or Scott). The decision to go for the SL4 was a head-over-heart decision and I suspect I would probably have regretted it.

This won’t be getting any winter miles in, I have a Dolan with full muddies for that! 🙂

dont they have dodgy seat clamps or did they fix that?

There were a few cracking around the BB (might have been R3s) but they have a very good lifetime warranty and all cracked frames were replaced, even though Cervelo found them to be cosmetic rather than structural.

sorry I meant the foil.

I wasn’t aware of it, but it appears that there have been some issues. I’m on my second Ritchey Stubby post on my Addict too, but it’s been fine otherwise.

You could add the Evo to the list as well njee, but I don’t seem to get excited by bikes from Trek or Cannondale (edit: or Scott)

Completely agree with you on Scott, and I’d add Spesh to ‘my’ list. It’s odd, I just can’t get excited about the Venge/Tarmac/Roubaix, but really like the Madone! I really wanted to like the Addict, but it just didn’t ‘do it’ for me, it’s weird isn’t it!?

Without wishing to offend owners of those bikes, it’s a bit like the Honda NSX – you *know* it’s an awesome machine… But I think it’s the fact that Cervélo, Pinarello, Colnago etc *only* make special bikes.

I tend to look at Treks and there’s a little part of me thinks “Lance Wannabe”. And look what that stands for now!

All amazing bikes though, and far more capable than I’ll ever be!

My old Addict SL still ranks as the best bike I’ve ever ridden, blew my old team Madone 6.9 out of the water and better than my current Giant Advanced SL too.

I’d not touch a Zipp wheel with yours seeing how many wheels the Halfords/Endura teams got through in 2 years, very poor.

I’m a brand snob when it comes to roadbikes!!

really? then why go for some run of the mill taiwanese off the shelf non-custom number?

I’d not touch a Zipp wheel with yours seeing how many wheels the Halfords/Endura teams got through in 2 years, very poor.

Funnily enough, I tend to look at what the teams that buy their own kit use as a good indicator of reliability. And Shimano C24/C35 seems to be one of the most popular choices.

I was looking at Kristian House’s Tour of Britain Condor at the NEC last month and the C35s on it were so battered, they looked like they’d been used for years. But they were obviously confident enough in them to put their KOM rider out in a premier race.

really? then why go for some run of the mill taiwanese off the shelf non-custom number?

How ignorant! I think you’ll find they’re made in China. 😉

Wow – that looks just brill.
Having checked out a picture of the 2013 Mavic R-Sys SLR wheels, I’d say it has to be them on this bike – but I’m ace at spending other peoples cash! 🙂
Looking forwards to seeing it completed.

RM.

Without wishing to offend owners of those bikes, it’s a bit like the Honda NSX – you *know* it’s an awesome machine… But I think it’s the fact that Cervélo, Pinarello, Colnago etc *only* make special bikes.

Odly I really want an Evo, despite getting into road bikes during the Lance era I’ve never warmed to Trek.

I think it’s down to my first (and only ‘summer’ roadie to date) being a Cannondale which was a decision I agonised over, at the time the other option was a Trek 1000 (or 1200 IIRC) which was reviewed as being better VFM but a harsher ride and worse frame. and there didn’t seem to be as much going on arround £1000 in the early 2000’s (pre bike to work era).

I have to admit i’m quite excited by the newer generation of semi-aero bikes like the foil and madone etc. Best of the old round tubes (pretty, stiff), almost as aero as a propper TT tubeset. On the other hand Cannondale pointed out that the Evo is still within a few watts of the best so it’s very marginal.

I know, the R-Sys would look FIT on this, but can I justify an extra 800 quid over the price of DA C24s? That would be better spent on a new bike box and a week at a training camp!

My Ksyrium Elites squeaked too. This is why

Cracked like that at about 5 spokes.

I would go Cosmic Carbone SLR. Here they are on my Honda

MM

can I justify an extra 800 quid over the price of DA C24s?

Probably not, but you know you want to! 😈

In a previous year’s model, didn’t the R-Sys (or possible another name then) have one red spoke? Couple that with the 3T finishing kit and you’ll have a bike that instead of riding, you’ll want to chase round the garage blowing kisses at… 😳

RM.

That’s stunning MM! Is it the 7900 groupset? Love the stealth-look SLRs…

It’s 6700 Ultegra!

The wheels are bullet proof though. Left them on to commute through London this year and are still perfectly true after several thousand miles.

make a great noise sprinting out the saddle and braking. 😀

They’re lovely, but I think a deep section would be hard work on the Pennine fells where I ride. Probably a bit harsh over my local roads too – you don’t get many roads with grass growing down the middle in London do you! 😀

If you’ve got the choice then go for the Enve wheels – they’re mint

Or Reynolds of course….

I’ve got the “Ford Mondeo” you mentioned
Oops! I absolutely love the Spesh – to my mind there are 4 or 5 “top” frames available, the SL4, C59, R5, Dogma and possibly the BMC if you’re not in the slightest bit concerned with aesthetics.

Most of those are around the £3.5k mark, but the Spesh looked better value which was why I was planning on buying one. But then this half price deal came along and meant I could get the dream bike for less than the Spesh.

It’s that classic silhouette that does it for me, skinny seat stays and straight tubes.

However, I don’t anticipate it being as comfortable as the SL4…

It’s ok Shibb, if I had the money I would go for a Colnago, probably a C59. As it was I went for a Specialized on a great deal which then became an even better deal resulting in an SL4 (won’t go into detail here).
I don’t like the corporate look of the SL4 but am planning to do something about that with a custom spray over the winter.
However, the ride of the SL4 is superb, surprisingly the most noticeable difference over my old (10years) Specialized Allez, is the stability of the bike at high speeds – simply amazing!

“Did you buy it from Wiggle”

Hope not because you won’t have any warranty from the uk importer.

I would go Cosmic Carbone SLR. Here they are on my Honda

You owe me a new keyboard, and it’s not coffee

Those Reynolds wheels need more logos!!! 😀

Hitman, I’ve got one of the original S-Works Tarmacs from 2005, balls to them being Mondeos, top end Specialized frames are the business.
I still don’t see the need to upgrade it after all these years.

Ben
I’m really happy with mine although having some medical issues which means I can’t ride it at the moment:( It’s such a great bike though, particularly descending but climbing as well.
Still thinking seriously of a new paint job from Carlos at SkunkworX – the guy who did this:

Shibb, sorry for thread hijack!
On the subject of wheels for winter riding I would be tempted to go for a pair of these and get a pair of carbon deep section rims as your other set:
http://www.justridingalong.com/custom-hand-built-wheel-sets/in-stock-handbuilt-wheels/chris-king-r45-hubs-laced-to-notubes-ztr-alpha-340-rims.html

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It’s very nice, but not as nice as this. 🙂

I’ve got FFWDs F4Rs with their ceramic hubs. I’ve used Zipps and Lightweights and both needed almost constant retunes after 400 or so miles. So far FFWDs have been true and strong.

South Downs and Dolomites user..