What £4k road bike?

I have to stress this is NOT for me, but a work colleague who’s a roadie after a new bike!

He has a nice Ultegra equipped Madone that’s a few years old but wants something a bit special.
Been looking at Canyon but finding it a bit frustrating so looking at options.
Racey but comfy, something along the likes of De Rosa/Colnago/Cervelo as opposed to Specialized/Giant.
Carbon wheels – would look at Campag Record/Dura Ace/Ultegra Di2 – you get the idea.
Canyon equals biggest bang for buck but is there anything pimpy out there that’s been reduced to fit the top end £4k budget? Not averse to self build if all parts/frame got within budget.

Go mad with your dream builds 😉

Something he can test ride

Something custom built? Rourke? Off the peg frame and a custom spec from Condor?

Canyon ain’t special 😆

for 4 k you could build something a little special based around that super 6 evo hi mod frame on sale at Pauls for 750 quid.

Frame – Cannondale super six hi mod – 750
Group – Dura Ace Mechanical – 950
Set of firecrests for around £1700

Leaving you about 600 quid to spend on bling finishing kit…

Speak to Ricky Feather?

Definitely something custom, for that amount of cash.

Talbot Frameworks[/url]

First question – what sort of riding does he do now, and what riding would he like to do?

Only after he’s answered this honestly, is it really worth thinking about models.

In the same position, first time aroud I decided that for this budget I would want a professional spec frame – one actually ridden by the pros, not something made with lower carbon to look the same. I found that with this requirement, Dura Ace was not an option. So I plumped for a Giant Defy Advanced SL with Ultegra 6700, now upgraded to Dura ace 9000. And what a bike it is!

Second time around was for a race bike that I would be racing. So Giant Propel Advanced SL, again with Ultegra 6800.

So neither bike fulfils the super bling “pride of ownership”, both bikes are classics (Defy) and stage (Propel) winners. Love them both.

For the “pride” bit. I’ll be having a custom steel fixed wheel frame to replace my Paddy Wagon. For proper road bling, his budget will stretch to a Pegoretti, and Dura Ace if he has some wheels already!

None of those bikes are ‘a bit special’
Me I would get a custom tube to tube Italian carbon frame built to my weight and intend use plus a ‘reasonable’ group set/build kit (no room for super record at that budget)

Something from Storck. Such nice looking bikes.

New Madone looks like a very nice bike.

Been lucky enough to have this on loan recently (perk of my job)…

Apologies for all the add ons and the photo after a mucky ride (it was in December and I only had it for 3 weeks so had to get the miles in), but you get the gist…

It’s a Wilier Cento 1 SR Ultegra. Normally comes fitted with Mavic Ksyrium Elite’s for £3199 (fitted my Reynolds to give it a fair test against my old bike), but a decent wheel and/or groupset upgrade would see it up around the £4k mark.

I’ve ridden a number of very high end road bikes, and I’ve got to say, this is right up there with the best of them. The fact it’s “relatively” affordable with it’s Ultegra/Ksyrium build is a bit misleading, as with Dura-Ace/Red/Record and some top quality wheels, this thing is easily the equal of any other superbike IMO. Very very impressed I was, and to be fair, I think I shall be getting one of my own sometime in the near future…

I built my Rourke up for £3k but specified relatively modest groupset and wheels, £4k would get him a top notch build if he sourced the bits and built himself. IMO if he wants special but doesn’t race then custom steel is the way to go.
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-sunday-best-953

New Madone looks like a very nice bike

Agreed, but £4K won’t even get you a frame! You can get the entry level bike for £4500 admittedly, with Ultegra and some heavy wheels.

In a similar position (slightly higher budget), I bought a Chinese carbon frame. I can actually hear the snorts of derision from here! I was really uninspired by all the big brand options, didn’t want to pay a premium for something niche with backward bottom bracket threads, and had zero interest in custom, particularly given the compromises I’d have made elsewhere.

Dura Ace 9070 group set, some carbon wheels (Chinese obvs) and a smattering of decent finishing kit would come in about on budget. Get it custom painted and you’ll never see another one. More special than a Giant or a Cannondale IMO!

I have the same budget options last year.

I opted to take advantage of the good pound / Euro rate and order a Cervelo s3 from Spain.
I paid just over £1800 for the full ultegra bike (that’s pretty much half price) – I added Reynolds assault wheels, new for £750 from Germany.
Zipp carbon bars for 80 and a zipp Stem for £60.

Ok, not uber flash, but a solid bike that’s flash enough and isn’t a garage queen.
It’s a bike to ride an enjoy – not race bike

He could get two Ultegra equipped bikes for that, and give you one as a thank you?

Left field, but a Douhan DS1.

Something Titanium from Enigma! Clubmate has one and it looks amazing!

@rascal

Racey but comfy, something along the likes of De Rosa/Colnago/Cervelo as opposed to Specialized/Giant.

Specialized and Giant are well known for offering comfortable, quick road bikes like the Roubaix and Defy.

It’s worth your colleague working out what he/she wants the bike for, rather than looking at different brands?

GC Race bike (i.e. Tarmac, Super Six Evo, TCR)

Aero Race bike (i.e. Venge, Propel, Aeroad)

Endurance bike (i.e. Roubaix, Defy, Endurace)

I’ve given examples of popular models for reference.

Narrowing this down will really help with choosing a suitable bike.

If not racing (holding a race license, sportives are not licensed) then a well fitted endurance bike is often the best choice.

Unless there is a specific need to ride very fast on the flat (aero bike) or a love of climbing and short duration fast riding on mixed terrain (GC race bike)

That Willier is lovely. As I said, sadly £4K will get you bike with a pro-spec frame, but it won’t get you a pro-spec bike. Fortunately Ultegra and wheels are so good, you won’t feel the difference beyond the weight of a large water bottle.

Top end frames are a bit special, regardless of brand.

I’d be getting this – special enough for me

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/tcr.advanced.pro.0/24956/90500/#specifications

http://road.cc/content/review/174726-giant-tcr-advanced-pro-0

Look
or
Time

Specialized Tarmac Pro Disc…RRP is over budget, but I’m sure you could negotiate a discount…OK I know you said no Specialized, but I absolutely love this bike despite being anti Specialized previously. Very stiff, but also very comfortable.

Sorry for the crap pictures, but they’re the only ones I’ve got.

£4k not actually that big a budget for a dream bike. If he wants the best bike possible for the cash then, as has been said, get the highest spec Propel, Madonne, Foil, etc. that’s in budget. Won’t be anywhere near the top spec versions for that sort of cash though. And not really a dream bike either.

For that cash I’d be tempted to get an Allez Sportsweld and use the rest of the budget on an Ultegra Di2 group, some decent wheels (404’s or similar) and nice finishing kit. But I doubt your mate would consider that a dream bike 🙂

I guess it would have to be something a bit custom and not off the peg for it to be a bit special. Maybe a nice Ti frame?

If it were my money, it’d be Colnago

De-Rosa, cheapened by stickering up imported frames
Cervelo, never liked the brand
Willier/Pinarello – too wierd looking
Trek, Spesh, Giant – a bit like buying a Mondeo ST when you could have bought a Ferrari. It’s good, and just as fast in the real world, but it just doesn’t feel special.
Cannondale – a halfway house, they’ve built enough mental/experimental bikes and gone bankrupt often enough to be considered a leftfield choice, but still comparable value to the other mainstream brands.

Colnago’s always look timeless. You can turn up on the same bike for 10+ years and no one will notice, and that to me is good design.

Basically it’s an admission that with £4k to spend you really are buying with your heart not your head. The mainstream brands will likely be making bikes just as good <£2k.

This is sort of a question only he can answer. What is ‘special’ has so much to do with his association with the brand. For example, Giant and Specialized make very nice bikes which have won a lot of races, but they’re said to be not special.

I have just got myself a Scott addict, full durace and carbon wheels for a lot less than 4k and the Cannondale which was in the sales was mentioned and that will be what I’ll be going for. Spend the rest on a power meter.

If he’s considering Colnago and DeRosa I’d have a look at Scapin too. And another shout for Storck.

Carbon hand built in Italy

http://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/700/deanima-factory-visit

Some USE 4.5 carbon wheels from Rutland in sale for £650, then maybe Ultegra or Force would leave budget for finishing kit.

Or the Paul’s Supersix Hi Mod frame which would leave cash for top end group set.

i’ve just paid £338 for a brand new road bike, i’m sure i’ll be as fast’comfy on it as a £4k one*

i.e. very slow and ponderous

Basically it’s an admission that with £4k to spend you really are buying with your heart not your head. The mainstream brands will likely be making bikes just as good <£2k.

But as said elsewhere, like it or not this is firmly “mid range” these days, which is a bit shit. That was the issue I had. I quite liked the Emonda SLR, but I only quite liked it, and it was £3000 for a frame, so you’re into £7k+ territory being fairly sensible with build (eg Chinese wheels not Enves). The C60 is even more – £3300 for a frame. The V1-R is £2200. So your aspirational ‘special dream bike’ or whatever is actually a 2nd tier frame with a pretty nice groupset and some components bought to satisfy a price point.

The end product is wholly functional of course, but for me personally I actually found the whole thing a bit depressing, which is not how it should be when you’re buying an expensive bike!

Cannondale – a halfway house, they’ve built enough mental/experimental bikes and gone bankrupt often enough to be considered a leftfield choice, but still comparable value to the other mainstream brands.

Ha, that’s nicely put, I’ve always considered Cannondale to be, if not niche, then sort of quirky and interesting, despite the fact they’re a huge mainstream brand. I also have some confused residual affection from the Pantani/Bianchi days due to the Liquigas sponsorship.

If he’s not specifically after a ‘race’ bike then for £4,000 he could do interesting things with a Genesis Datum, obviously it’s not a ‘race’ bike but after finally accepting that even a Cannondale Synpase might be a bit racey for me I’m considering a £3,000, 8.4kg Datum build. Up the budget to £4,000 and you’ll get a sub-8kg carbon framed, carbon wheeled, disc braked super versatile ‘road’ bike

I’d be tempted to visit Racescene in Barnsley and have a chat with the guys there. top bikes and something different/out of the ordinary. http://www.racescene.co.uk

Most carbon bikes, especially Trek/Specialized/Giant/Canyon are really bland, and they’ll be out of date come next year.

Look/Time/Colnago always appeal though. But they’d be well out of budget I’d have thought.

I’d get one of these since the exchange rate is pretty good at the moment: http://www.marinoni.qc.ca/html/PiumaSupremeFr.html

Or one of these: http://www.condorcycles.com/collections/road-bikes/products/condor-super-acciaio-frameset

Some Campag Chorus/Record bits and some of those Bora wheels. Perfect.

If they’re after a proper fast bike, hard to look past one of these though.

Nothing especially ‘fast’ about that apart from the wheels Shirley?

What Njee said, fast is 99.5% about the rider (unless your Greg Lemond, in which case TT bars help), hence my comment that in reality a £2k bike form Trek will easily be as good as a £4k bike from Cervelo, and in real life no better than a £400 bike from Decathlon. Ok that’s stretching it, but I bet that a faster rider would still be faster on the B’twin carbon-tubs or no carbon-tubs.

njee20 – Member
Nothing especially ‘fast’ about that apart from the wheels Shirley?

Yes, ok, it’s missing a Trek logo and multiple grand tour wins

What Njee said, fast is 99.5% about the rider (unless your Greg Lemond, in which case TT bars help), hence my comment that in reality a £2k bike form Trek will easily be as good as a £4k bike from Cervelo, and in real life no better than a £400 bike from Decathlon. Ok that’s stretching it, but I bet that a faster rider would still be faster on the B’twin carbon-tubs or no carbon-tubs.

All well and good, but the OPs mate has £4000 to blow on a bike!

What’s being fast got to do with wanting a nice bike? 🙂

unless your Greg Lemond, in which case TT bars help

Oh and not having a giant great saddle sore on his arse probably helped him more!

an ex-dem bike like one of these in carbon or steel if he’s 55 top tube or thereabouts.
nobody is going to have one quite like it.

right on budget too.

As its been said £4000 can get you a very nice bike but it’s not really enough for a “dream bike”. You’ll get as many opinions as there are people asking on here, so your friend is going to have to make his own mind up bout what to buy. His original idea about a Canyon is worth sticking with, they will sort themselves out and they are great bikes and such good value. I’m a large and it’s in stock ( allegedly )
My £4000 would go on one of these.
https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/aeroad/2016/aeroad-cf-slx-9-0.html