Afternoon all,

Looking at getting a road bike on the C2W scheme. I’ve not really used them in the past so an a tad ignorant on what is good, bad or indifferent.

I do like the look of the Boardman’s but the scheme we use isn’t accepted by Halford so that is out. Next option was the £999 Planet-X which looks good for the money.

So anything else I should look at? £1k maximum although I could add a touch to that as my LBS has said they may be open to persuasion (but not much, I am skint!).

Anyone?

You may struggle to get a plastic bike from your LBS under the £1k mark.

Anything by any of the big players – Giant / Spesh / Trek, is likely to be decent.

You should be looking at Tiagara / 105 quality group set for that kind of money.

Specialized Secteur Elite – http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/secteur-elite-2010-road-bike-ec019549

Giant are good value..

but not much, I am skint!

Skint?

why not get a cheaper one (say £600 mark) and get some new kit for commuting as well?

why the heeeeeeeeeeelllll would you get a 1k road bike if your skint? surely a £500 one would be better. for that cash giant or spech, you might not even like it!

I think he was referring to topping up the 1K

Have a look at cannondale CAAD framed bikes, they arent carbon or even that light for aluminium, but are very stiff arround the BB due to the cone shaped down tube. And very comfortable as a result of the hourglass chainstays. The groupsets are more likely 105 than ultegra as well though, so you are really taking a hit on all things bling for the sake of a well developed frame.

I've a 2003/04 CAAD 4 and can't find anything I like as much to replace it with.

OK, Skint is the wrong word. I'm not skint (i'm looking at buying a new bike, i can't be), but I would rather not have to find £200 or £300 upfront for a bike at the moment as I have other things to spend that money on. I can however afford the amount required on a monthly basis for a bike on C2W without endangering me, my house or my present lifestyle.

Thanks!

Lunge – I recently(ish) bought a 2010 Spesh Allez Elite – it's fairly hardcore (based on the carbon Tarmac but made of alu), pretty light, has a full Tiagra (think Deore-ish) groupset and in my extremely limited experience, goes very well. It's quite compact so if you're gangly, it might not suit. Scotts are good too and have a longer wheelbase for the long of arm.

My Allez was £800 – spend the rest of the grand on bits you need – saddle bag, proper road pump, SPDs and possibly a bit of roadie clothing.

The Allez is a sound choice, and probably one of the easiest to get a sit and fitting on regardless of where you are in the country. Whatever the current Giant at around £800 is is likewise a sound start.

If you'd owned one before I'd go with the Planet X as it's stonking value bit I think you need a better idea of how it's going to fit you.

Do consider the gear – proper road shoes + pedals are nice, peakless helmet (again Speccy – £40 model is great). I bought a £500 Giant a few years back and to be honest it's unlikely I'll challenge it's ability with my fitness… and if you get the bug you'll be selling a kidney for a De Rosa or something anyway!

the Planet X as it's stonking value

But has been beaten, repeatedly and brutaly with the ugly stick untill the stick broke, it was then put on trial for breaking the ugly stick, sent to jail where it shared a cell with 'big bubba' who beat it with his big ugly stick.

And no, its not any better in the flesh than in the photographs!

planet – x plus there is a c2w surcharge for on-one / planet-x bikes

If you get a Spesh 2d lid you can "do" roadie peakless or MTB peaky in one simple move – that's what I did. It means I can pretend it actually halved what I paid for it… 😉

Most XC lids look fine with the peak off for that matter, I ride in a E2 (stickered up with DIRT stickers to avoid any roadie hangers on :p)

And no, its not any better in the flesh than in the photographs!

Oh dear, I quite like the look of the photos! 😳

I tried the 2d and really really liked it, then saw the price tag and put it down! I can't remember what it's called, but the one I bought in the end had the same retention mechanism but was a fair bit heavier and not so well vented – I could live with it. I bought another one, the peaked version when I totalled my E2 on a tree – they seem to have my head shape spot on at all price points.

In all truthfulness, the main reason was to try and spread the head sweat smell around a bit as I never get around to washing the pads…

Genesis Equilibrium

I second the CAAD. I got the CAAD 9 on C to W scheme for £999 from Evans. Came with 9 speed Tiagra groupset that works fine. I am impressed with the bike

Oh dear, I quite like the look of the photos!

each to their own I suppose

If you're actually wanting to cycle to work on it, a full on racing bike might not be the best – something with rack / pannier mounts will be a lot more practical, and something that can fit proper full length mudguards will make it a lot more likely that you actually want to ride it to work.

Similarly, road shoes/pedals are okay for pure road riding, but a right old pain at junctions or in heavy traffic.

I've got a trek 1200, which is roughly similar spec to the current Trek 1.5. It is nice enough, and has mudguard mounts, and is not an all out racing bike, although in some ways, with Trek, Specialized etc. you don't get as good value for money as non big name brands (the halfords / planet x ones etc.).

Joe

My brother's looking at one of these …
Bianchi Via Nirone 7 105

Apparently it rides very well …

Trek's are solid though, no concession to comfort (or they didn't when I was looking to buy).

If your planning on going in every day then a tourer might suit you. But if like 99% of the population have no desire to get soaking wet and will be driving in at least a few days a week with clothes etc then a race bike (IME) is more comfortable (if the TDF can do 100-150miles a day I'm sure a commuter can manage 10-15miles.

I've a tourer and a race bike, given a free choice the race bike comes out, its just better in every way ppart from load carrying.

Planet x – no.
Boardman – no.

Purely cos in my opinion neither of them ride that well as they're basic carbon frames, and that's coming from me who's owned a px. Admittedly I have a BMC pro machine, and even my Cube Agree feels pants in comparison to that.

To my mind, and it's a total winner compared to anything in the price range, the Cannondale CAAD is head and shoulders above the competition for ride quality.