Thinking of a road bike. Maybe, just mayne.

There are to closely matchd Canyons – an AL frame with Campag Athena, or a CF equivalent with 105 – same price for both.

http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3077

http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3083

Comparing them, the only differences are the wheels (Ksyrium Elite on the AL versus Ksyrium Equipe on the CF one), the groupset as mentioned, and tyres (GP4000s ont he AL versus Mavics on the CF)

What’s the better option here?

I’m a shimano fan, so when you chuck in a carbon frame as well I’d lean towards that, but the wheels make a difference too.

Depends what your preferences are, and what you’re after. You’d probably be very happy with both.

If its your first road bike I’d seriously consider buying one from a shop after a fitting.

+1 for househusband. Fit is crucial for a road bike and different brands have different geometries, and same sized bikes can vary considerably.

Fitting on a road bike is no more important than on a mountain bike and the fit you get when you first start is likely to be even less useful.
Buy a bike and learn how to fit it to you.

Cf 105

research the fit carefully but it doesn’t have to be shop fitted, your position will take a good 1000 miles to settle anyway

ie use canyons web site properly, they have a great calculator

I went for an Ultegra Ultimate AL from the outlet. The Ultimate AL has the same geometry as the top end SLX frames and gets flawless reviews everywhere. The frames are more in line with CAAD10, top end alloy frames, than bog standard ones.

July Cycling Plus had a group test of £2100-2800 Di2 bikes for example, despite being the cheapest bike on test by over £500, it was the lightest on test and the only aluminium. The competitors all being value brands too, Haibike, Boardman SLR, Focus Cayo, Vitus + Cube Agree.

The frame weights are in the ~1200g area. I just couldn’t see any solid reason to take their bottom end carbon frames over the top end alloy frames.

All the canyons look great value, I especially like the CF with chorus @1700 but it looks like everyone else does too.

Comparing Campag to Shimano, I would say the campag looks nicer made at any given price point.

Fit just isnt the dark art made out by some(LBS) people, theres only a few different frame sizes, the rest is stem and seat position, just not that hard top get right. Your likely to fit two or three of them exact choice is down to your preference for set up style.

Although I would say if you have to have a gate or a kids bike get a different hobby cos they hurt my eyes.

I prefer Campag myself, and the AL bike you linked is Campag 11 speed whereas the CF is (Shimano) 10 speed. AL bike is also marginally lighter than the CF.

As for which to go for, depends really. As a first bike I’d probably go for the AL as it’s (arguably) better equipped, lighter etc, but primarily because I’d probably upgrade the whole thing at some point.

My first road bike was a decent Aluminium jobby, 105, etc. Lovely bike. I spent a couple of years riding it and deciding what I did/didn’t like, then custom built my next one from scratch and sold the old one whole. As above it’ll take a good while to work out your ideal position and from there what geometry is right for you, so for a first bike I wouldn’t bother with fittings etc.

Toasty – Member
I went for an Ultegra Ultimate AL from the outlet. The Ultimate AL has the same geometry as the top end SLX frames and gets flawless reviews everywhere. The frames are more in line with CAAD10, top end alloy frames, than bog standard ones.

July Cycling Plus had a group test of £2100-2800 Di2 bikes for example, despite being the cheapest bike on test by over £500, it was the lightest on test and the only aluminium. The competitors all being value brands too, Haibike, Boardman SLR, Focus Cayo, Vitus + Cube Agree.

The frame weights are in the ~1200g area. I just couldn’t see any solid reason to take their bottom end carbon frames over the top end alloy frames.

When I get a new road bike this is what I will be doing.

Toasty +1, theres little in it between good CF and good Al, so theres very good reasons to get good Al over cheep CF.