^ agree with ribble comment

2.5k I’d go:

Cube litening – oh I already did do that. 🙂 others though.

Canyon aeroad or ultimate cf x thingy
Giant tcr advanced 2 (mate has one it’s lovely)
Rose something or other

Are you after aggressive performance position or comfort. All above won’t be comfy but will be quick.

Defy advanced if your after a sportive comfy ride.

A simple whats the best for 2.5k I would say nothing would touch a canyon spec wise and it would take a lifetime to outgrow it.

would this be the best 2.5k bike for you – who knows?

all depend what you want from a bike and what your plan is.

Go and test some, internet opinion is great but nothing beats a few test rides to help clarify what you want.

I think custom would be the way I would go to get exactly what I wanted

Custom for 2.5?!

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2510

get this – take it to a lbs and buy a stem thats the correct length for you & some pedals (cheekily ask them to check your position)…job done

next!

If I were to spend £2.5k on a new road bike I would want the best build that budget could buy, I would be torn between DA or Ultegra Di2 groupset, I would also be researching the wheels and have a bike fit to make sure the setup is spot on.

So the lucky chap has some cash which he wants to spend on a decent bike….give him a break…..he’s looking for some advice.

I’d like to be in the same position but could not justify the outlay….If I could then I’d be looking at higher rip bike discounted down to that level…or buy a Canyon at that price.

Yes it would be cheaper to improve my fitness but that assumes I want to go faster for longer….I might simply want something that I feel good about.

spend 2,659 and buy this.
Canyon Aeroad

I’ve got one, and it makes me smile every time I ride it. It is a brilliant, brilliant bike. And it’s got race pedigree. Gilbert won everything on it last season.

….give him a break…..

You must be his mum.

No one has had a go at him, I was simply questioning the wisdom of spending so much without any kind of research into what might be the best for him.

I love my defy I have a the minute! I only ride with my brother and a few mates but want to join the local road club and begin riding a lot more, I was leaning towards the Giant TCR as I wouldn’t mind eventually doing some sportives and local races. is this the right choice of type of bike?

Would I notice much difference getting the Giant Defy Composite?

I do really like the look of the Canyons but don’t think I have the neck to take it to a bike shop to get it set up correctly!

What do you LIKE about the Defy? Handling? look for a bike with the same geometry (head and seat angle, effective top tube). Different brands have different geometry. This is probably the BIGGEST factor.

Stiffness? That’s material (fat aluminium alloy tubes give rigidity, small steel tubes tend to be more flexy, carbon can be anything between).

Weight? Money will always buy lighter. I have titanium, but carbon is nice too.

If it were me, I’d probably drop my money on a Giant Defy composite. Will save a lot of weight but retain the handling. That or buy a nice pair of very light wheels.

Oh and get campagnolo, centaur or above. Nice for a change 😉

EDIT: just looked on the Giant website at geometry. Assuming you are average height (5’10.5″) and ride a M/L the geometry is as follows:

DEFY: Head (72.5) Seat (73) TT 56cm HT 18.5
TCR: Head (73) Seat (72.5) TT 57cm HT 17cm

So looking at these, The TCR has a longer stretched position, lower bars and steeper head angle for twitchier handling. Sicne you say you want to ride with friends, i’ll wager that you are after a more sportive relaxed ride, so stick with the Defy, and bikes with similar geometry.

We have loads of people in our club using TCR advanced for sportives for racing they are great.

You will be lucky to get one though the advanced and SL have long waiting lists I believe.

You might find the defy advanced a bit relaxed for racing, ive never seen anyone racing one. Although most people ride Caad 10’s with carbon wheels for racing in these parts.

I do really like the look of the Canyons but don’t think I have the neck to take it to a bike shop to get it set up correctly!

Bike shops really don’t care. If you go in there and ask them to do something they will do it, because you pay them to.

Also set up is a piece of piss, you don’t need a bike shop, you just set it up roughly how you think will work, then play with it over time. You don’t need some guy who works in sales to tell you how long a stem you need (that comes from a bike fit, which is a completely different thing) or what angle your hoods should be at (that’s just down to personal preference).

I would want:
Ultegra Di2
Ti frame and carbon fork with fairly racey geometry
Probably Mavic Cosmic wheels
And for the posters above, Schwalbe Ultremo tyres and a Selle Italia Flite Gel Flow.

Willstaffs, if you are seriously thinking of racing, don’t spend 2.5k on a bike.

Racing will knacker your bike very quickly; think of budgeting for a cassette and chain and chainrings at least once a year if not twice. A crash, which is more common the newer you are, will make your 2.5k bike worth about 20p very quickly indeed. Not to mention it getting chucked into and out of cars and vans and ridden in the rain…

Buy an alu bike with 105, spend about £1000 and ride it like you stole it.

Given that budget I’d either:

a) Custom build, but that would mean a lot of research and a very good idea of exactly what it is you want, so probably not the best route for you. I custom built my current road bike and it took me an age to research and decide on what to go for, that’s after riding a bog standard road bike for a few years.

b) Go to your local dealers and have a natter. Take someone with you that knows a bit more about bikes and can advise, ideally knows the folks in the shop, and absolutely will not p!ss the shop folks off banging on about how much he knows. A friend of a friend was looking for some advice on his first road bike a year or two ago, with a similar budget to you. We had a chat and narrowed down some options then went to my local specialised dealer, who I know well. Turned out they had a demo bike in the warehouse, hardly ridden, that they were willing to sell him. Perfect fit, top end road bike, 30% or thereabouts off!

You can get some good deals on t’internet, but there’s nothing quite like what you can find in a decent, friendly shop with stock to shift!

For £2.5k, that last place I would be looking is ribble.

Just an easy place to check out the cost of a custom spec. But then again, what exactly is wrong with a Ribble compared to say the Cube or Canyon people are recommending?

damo – custom spec (not custom frame) easily doable on that budget – though if you wanted I’m sure you could get a custom frame (personally I don’t see the benefit for the vast majority of riders).

Realman – depends on the LBS you use. They can advise on fit and model etc, as can anyone, but if you’re dropping £2.5k on a bike I’d expect them to expect you back over the next few weeks/months. As you figure out what you want to change to get the fit right you might want a longer/shorter stem, wider/narrower bars for example. A decent LBS will swap these for you so you don’t have to buy another one. You won’t get that kind of service from the internet.

I think custom would be the way I would go to get exactly what I wanted

Custom for 2.5?!

Yes 725 steel from Mercian for example about £850 leaves £1600 for components .A nice frame for life then specced with the gearing crank length ,saddle you want.You may of course wish to spend more this is just an example of where you could start

I may have lied I think the £850 is off the peg with a bit of personal tinkering.

Yes 725 steel from Mercian for example about £850 leaves £1600 for components .A nice frame for life until you get bored with it and want something different

FTFY – I thought we’d previously established on here that the longevity of carbon frames is just as good as steel (or ti) – if not better. As I said above, I really don’t see the benefit of a custom geometry frame for most people – off the shelf ones work fine, and tweaking the geometry is more “repainting the walls” than anything else. Though you’ll have seen I agree with you on the benefits of custom spec (though I followed the link to the Canyon Aerorad above and admittedly there’s very little I’d choose to change with that spec.)

Willstaffs, if you are seriously thinking of racing, don’t spend 2.5k on a bike.

Bollocks, we’re still talking mid-range at best!

I’d get the Di2 equipped Cube, forget what it’s called. Agree SL or something.

I’m struggling a little looking beyond something like that for my next road bike. A new Madone 7-series with Ultegra and alu clincher wheels is… Wait for it… £6400.

Di2 in a 3rds and 4ths race?

Hmmm.
a) Don’t crash.
b) Hope no one else does.
c) You’d probably better win.
d) You will get judged just because of the price of your kit.
e) see a).

Did I mention not crashing?

Seriously, if you are starting out racing it’s like starting out gambling; don’t ride what you can’t see trashed.

Where did he say this is going to be his pride and joy and he’s verging on bankrupt just to cover it? Maybe he has a 5k budget, but doesnt want to go nuts. You seem to have quite a chip on your shoulder about this. Look at your average 3/4 race – average bike value is a fair bit higher than £2500. Don’t see much judging going on either, let your legs do the talking.

Di2 isn’t any more susceptible to crash damage, in fact the mechs can ‘detatch’ themselves from the servos to minimise damage in a crash.

I’ve no chip about it, despite folk like you insisting I must have. I’m trying to suggest that for someone who at present is only riding with his mates, who might ride with a club, who might go on to race, 2.5K is a lot of money to be spending. I’m also trying to point out that 4th cat racing is notorious for crashes, and that the suggestion of Di2 for such an event is not that sensible. I’ve read the promotional stuff about the servo detach things too, but I still wouldn’t slide one down the road just to check it out.

I think my advice is on the cautious side, but you all seem to be adept at spending someone elses money, so go right ahead.

Because You’re the one casting aspersions, he’s said what he wants to spend, to me it sounds fairly sensible – the bike I commute (and indeed race) on cost about double that – if he has the money to spend why wouldn’t you? You may derive as much pleasure out of a £1000 bike but I know I don’t! Again, for better or worse, £2500 is not a lot of money in road bike terms.

Knowledge and experience is irrelevant. My girlfriend can tell the difference in the ride quality of my road bikes, although she identifies them as the grey one and the white one!

Realman – depends on the LBS you use. They can advise on fit and model etc, as can anyone, but if you’re dropping £2.5k on a bike I’d expect them to expect you back over the next few weeks/months. As you figure out what you want to change to get the fit right you might want a longer/shorter stem, wider/narrower bars for example. A decent LBS will swap these for you so you don’t have to buy another one. You won’t get that kind of service from the internet.

I’d rather get something with dura ace and then have to pay for a new stem myself, then get something with tiagra and maybe get a stem for “free”.

I’m also trying to point out that 4th cat racing is notorious for crashes, and that the suggestion of Di2 for such an event is not that sensible.

I hear of more crashes from 3rds then 4ths tbh.

Where did he say this is going to be his pride and joy and he’s verging on bankrupt just to cover it? Maybe he has a 5k budget, but doesnt want to go nuts. You seem to have quite a chip on your shoulder about this. Look at your average 3/4 race – average bike value is a fair bit higher than £2500. Don’t see much judging going on either, let your legs do the talking.

All of this.

a) Don’t crash.
b) Hope no one else does.
c) You’d probably better win.
d) You will get judged just because of the price of your kit.

a) that goes with whatever your riding.
b) same again.
c) why?
d) for 5 minutes before the race starts, then you get judged the same way as everyone else, by how fast you’re going.

Also, with regards to judging people at races..

0:03 to 0:08

until you get bored with it and want something different

I cant see how you get bored with a frame .A custom steel frame has been on my wish list for a long time I just cant afford one yet .It will be mine for the next 20 or 30 years hopefully.The components will change as things evolve as will the colour but the frame will stay the same

Look at your average 3/4 race – average bike value is a fair bit higher than £2500. Don’t see much judging going on either, let your legs do the talking.

Indeed – when I did 3/4 road racing 10 or so years ago, my £1500 bike was pretty unremarkable compared to most of the bikes on show (apart from having a carbon frame which was then unusual) – throw in a bit of inflation… I understand what’s being said about crashes, but maybe it’s different in other areas – not only was I never involved in one, I can’t even remember seeing one happen (whereas I’ve twice had somebody ride into me and break bits on my bike in MTB leisure events). Even if they are commonplace, surely the average crash doesn’t result in writing off a whole bike.

Meanwhile my current £2k bike (mostly Record, so possibly over the budget of the OP given current prices) has never been raced, just used for fun miles and in sportives. Don’t tell me it’s not more enjoyable to ride that than my training hack. Oh, and plenty of more expensive bikes on sportive startlines being ridden by slower riders than me.

£2500 isn’t really all that much money in the grand scheme of things – suburban Mondeo man spunks that much on depreciation every year having a new car.

Ok guys, you win. You go spend someone elses money.

…and whatever you might think £2500 is a lot of money to spend on a bike.

I hope he enjoys what you persuaded him to buy.

£2500 is not a lot of money in road bike terms.

I think its a lot of money for any bike even after being a cyclist for many years

Never spent that on a car (as many non cyclists say )

I cant see how you get bored with a frame

See numerous threads on here where people are replacing their bikes rather than just the bits…

I agree with Crikey – you know you want to spend £2500 and those first two you linked two, quite frankly, if you knew a thing about them (which you should really given £2500!) then you’d know the spec sucked and they’re not worth buying.

It doesn’t take barely any knowledge to know that Tiagra is entry level and Ultegra is decent. You can spend £1500 and get 105 so for £2500 you should expect at least full Ultegra.

What I mean to say is, how did you arrive at £2500 being *the magic figure* which will solve all problems? It seems a bit random given you know nothing about road bikes.

Never spent that on a car (as many non cyclists say )

Yes, but perfectly normal people wouldn’t even blink at spending many multiples of that on a car – an object which most of them don’t get the same amount of pleasure out of using as a keen cyclist does with a bike. See also replacement kitchens, bathroom refits, entertainment systems, long haul holidays.

It doesn’t take barely any knowledge to know that Tiagra is entry level and Ultegra is decent. You can spend £1500 and get 105 so for £2500 you should expect at least full Ultegra.

You can get a full ultegra build for around £1100, so for £2500 I’d expect DA or ultegra di2. So seeing that you didn’t know that, should you not be allowed to spend £2.5k on a bike? Although you did know a little, perhaps more then the op, so maybe you should be allowed to spend £2.5k, but not £3k? I’m not entirely sure how this system works.

What I mean to say is, how did you arrive at £2500 being *the magic figure* which will solve all problems? It seems a bit random given you know nothing about road bikes.

Some people can budget..?

I’m just darting out so can’t read all this.

105 and tiagra being mentioned on a bike that costs £2.5k? The spec on that specialized is a joke. Giant is better but wheels are kinda poor

Some frames cost more than that and can be bought with token parts, so the package looks odd. Is that the case there?

Thing i think some people get hung up on is the components, it is playing to peoples stupidity in the same way shoving an XTR mech on an otherwise Deore equipped bike suddenly makes it XTR.

I would rather a Colnago Master X lite with 105 than some some no name chinese carbon frame with Super Record.

That’s a difficult one though isn’t it mrmo, I agree, but how far. Going back to the 2013 Madone you could get the top Cube thing with Dura Ace Di2, DT Swiss carbon deeps and top of the line finishing kit. Or the Trek with Ultegra Di2, Bonty alu clinchers etc. I’m not sure the Trek would be that much nicer to ride.

I’d pay a premium, but we’re now into 200% premiums for a branded frame.

Just pricing up a Brian Rourke for you

Made to measure Reynolds 853 Pro Team Oversize Race inc Carbon fork £825

Ultegra 6700 groupset (Ebay) £590

That leaves £1200 for wheels and finishing kit

I’d rather have a Cube! Not sold on made to measure, and definitely not fussed by steel!