Am after a second road bike as a winter ride/commuter. Like the look (and price) of Ribble Pro Carbon, maybe the R872. Anybody on here have either of them? See plenty of Ribble bikes around and I think the brand is pretty well regarded for bang for buck.

Anything else I should look at? Planet X similarly good value I think.

Carbon for the comfort, dont mind racey geometry, £1-1.5k as I’m getting on Bike to Work. Wheels can be cr4p as I’ve got some decent ones to stick on it. Cheers.

Can’t fault my Ribble – loads and loads for the money, look great, nice frames, properly built. The standard wheels are cheap & heavy so it’s probably good that you’ve got your own to bung on it.

Definitely worth checking their lead times though – the told a friend of mine that there would be a few weeks wait for a carbon Sportive frame (that was early May)

Yeh they never seem to have 58 or 60″ when I check the website……

Paul’s cycles have some decent deals, Giant TCR composite 1 for £1300. Its proper comfy, and awesome to ride.

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b4s6p4468/GIANT-TCR-COMPOSITE-1-2012

Have you thought about a Boardman? I’ve got a Boardman Team Carbon that I’m going to be selling in the next or two. As new really, SRAM Rival, Mavic Ayskiums. Size large.

paulevans – Member
Have you thought about a Boardman? I’ve got a Boardman Team Carbon that I’m going to be selling in the next or two. As new really, SRAM Rival, Mavic Ayskiums. Size large.

Do you take BTW certificates 😉

I’ll reiterate my point… That Giant TCR has a far superior frame to PX or Ribble, and comes with full Ultegra, decent wheels and a two year warranty.

Pretty much a steal at £1300.

You’ll need to add an extra £100 on top of the price if you got C2W, as the companies will need to recoup the money they lose.

Plus, you need to make sure your employer is ok for you to go over the top of the £1k limit, in case of any dispute, you could be left out of pocket, or without a bike that you paid an extra £500 for, and only get your tiny non-taxable payments back for.

I think it’s fair to say that Giant TCR is rather tasty…

Yes that Giant isnt a bad set up at all. Not sure I can face paying an extra £130 admin fee though….I’ve done Bike2work before and never had someone try and charge that.

For that budget look at Canyon. You’ll get a very nice bike for £1.5k.

For that budget look at Canyon. You’ll get a very nice bike for £1.5k.

I dont think they do bike2work though right?

Not for the brand snobs, but I love mine…Carrera
For a little more…

Here’s the thing….I used to have a Boardman Team Carbon, got one in 2009 as my first road bike. I really liked it, did the Marmotte on it….then sold it and for the life of me I cant remember why. I should probably just go and buy another one but I know I wont.

Lol, I did the same. I bought a Boardman Team Carbon secondhand, then sold it to a mate when I bought a Moda Stretto with full Sram Force, and America Classic wheels. Which turned out to be far too stiff, and not compliant at all.

I had a Trek 2.3 with 105, which was great, and only just got the Giant TCR – which is stonkingly good. Better frame than the Boardman, comfortable, and very confident on descending.

FWIW I reckon a Composite 2 is better value for money if you can find one going cheap.

How is that Giant a bargain? Its ‘ok’ IMO.

hora – Member
How is that Giant a bargain? Its ‘ok’ IMO.

Its got 500 quid off what is a decent bike?

I’ll reiterate my point… That Giant TCR has a far superior frame to PX or Ribble

In what way?

What makes you think the factory that Giant uses is better?
A RRP is good because?
Its good kit but the wheels?
Alot of the kit is Giant own-branded.

Its ok value but is the weave/frame better than any of Ribbles or PlanettX? Ribbles (bar wheels) come comparable IMO

“I’ll reiterate my point… That Giant TCR has a far superior frame to PX or Ribble”

Ok is it T700 or 800 or 1000 etc etc? Genuinely interested. How the forks compare?

nickc – Member
I’ll reiterate my point… That Giant TCR has a far superior frame to PX or Ribble

In what way?

Lighter
laterally stiffer
greater vertical compliance
Powercore bottom bracket area
Team Rabobank used to race on them
cyberdyne systems T1000
an online test with meaningful numbers proved Giants had the best stiffness/weight ratio.
Also, think about trust, reputation, brand etc.

Its all obvious stuff.

Another suggestion; you could get a Scott CR1 for that if you shopped around…