Lots of bikes at that price point some others to consider
Ribble sportive/centaur( incredible value)
Kiron scandium ( bit different)
Dolan mythos ( dolan make v good frames)

Yes easy and straight forward . Take care with the weather seals, dont try and take them out, and use good quality grease.

Surosa or Ribble winter trainer/audax bike should be around the £500 mark, ideal all year round commuter.( For what its worth if it was my money I’d get the Surosa)

As many have already said very good frame, although I do think they are bit expensive now.

Lezyne make very good small pumps, not the cheapest but beautifully made and work well. I have a pressure drive for my road bike, small enough to hide in my back pocket.

Comfort wise I would recommend santini with the twist gel inset( Ive had a pair for about a year and I think they are the comfiest shorts I’ve ever had) assos are also very good and last too but are quite a bit more.

Boring, Boring, Boring. The guy has done f*** all since coming back but has had so much coverage, too much f****** twittering and playing the media not enough riding. I get the impression people are just interested in him rather than the cycling which is very very sad. Particularly since there has been some great races already this year, Paris Nice- great great racing, milan San Remo- win for Cav( FFS Lance got dropped on the cipressa) etc. But it seems nobody is interested in that, they are far more interested in s*** about Lance!
He is a one trick pony who will do f*** all in the Giro and get his ass whipped by Berty, Cadel, the Schlecks et al in the tour.Then hopefully he will go away .

As most have said get a wheel built 105/ultegra/hope hub on ambrosio rims something like evolution/excursion/excellence all very good, or go open pro, open sport. If it was me I’d go for hope/ambrosio combination.

Dont buy a new get one on here or e bay as many people buy use a couple of times and never use again( great time to buy too as most people buy one in winter months, so you should get a bargain). Personnally I think the key is to see it as a training tool rather than an alternative to riding outdoors ( they aren’t). However as a training tool in combination with a hrm they can be very very effective in improving performance.
Will they wreck your bike-No.
Look for manufacturers such as Elite, Cyclops,Taxc go for fluid or magnetic.

Sorry Racing Ralph I wasn’t accusing you of not eating well, it’s just increasing your miles can make you hungrier and if your not careful about your refuelling you can undo a lot of your hard work.

I would say your idea of 2hr 30 mile rides a far better idea to me , and also being careful what you eat. Don’t make the mistake in thinking that because you are riding more you can eat what you want.

Lezyne=excellent

I’ve never found my sid’s uncomfortable but find specialized bg insoles excellent and now use them in all my shoes including my sidi’s.

It was his twin that made him do it, honest! I’m amazed it’s taken this long for him to get caught again.

Sorry sadexpunk but this is a really silly thread, go to you GP! ,thats what they are there for!

If you want to train on it all year round I would suggest looking at a bike which will take mudguards. Lot of previous suggestions nice bikes ( particularly the allez) but not would I would think of as training bikes. Try surosa they do audax/training bikes in your price range.

kinesis do junior/women specific race frames which might be an idea.

My tub recommendations would be
cheap- conti sprinters
mid- vittoria evo cx ( very good)
expensive- veloflex crits ( very good and would prob look great on your old skool bike )
As has been said clinchers are so good now that the difference is marginal, it used to be massive, although I do think tubs tend to offer more comfort and perhaps roll better ( maybe). Us conti cement its the best and have a go, putting tubs on is not a pain its just something that needs to be tried, learnt and practised.

Mr Smith nothing wrong with Sram or Shimano road groupsets just campag is better, end of.

I’d agree about Brian rourke , well worth the money, Jason is a very nice guy to deal with, as for groupsets if your going to get a proper road bike get a proper road groupset – campagnolo, forget about anything else, really, they either don’t have the quality or the pedigree.

mussels
viognier
Bowie

There are plenty of other options such as the ribble sportive ( another well specced bike ) or a Dolan mythos or maybe a dale synapse 105 spec ( very comfortable frame). But if it was me I would try and find a bit more cash, few hundred and go for a Time speedster. I had an edge first and it was a great frame, superb ride and very well finnished coming from a high end manufacturer with a real racing pedigree. I know the speedster is sourced from Taiwan rather than france but by all accounts its still a great bike.

As already mentioned I would get in touch with BC and in particular your local GoRide club, as they are set up to encourage and coach youngsters in the sport.

Family holiday in August in Biarritz with a couple of days road riding some of the cols in the Pyrennes and watching the San Sebastian.

At Uni I once shared a house with a girl who regularly polished of a whole packet! with a cup of tea. As I recall she was also found of telling me how unfair it was that she was fat and seemingly didn’t know why.

FFS
Cav wins a major classic at the weekend, virtually nothing on the news.
Lance Hasbeen breaks his collar bone it makes the headlines!
What a sad indictment on cycling in this country.

F****** awesome talent. I really didnt think he had it in him to get over cipressa and the poggio and still be in contention. I can’t get over how much he has improved and how much he has achieved already. Great ride Cav.

aP is right, it doesn’t make sense,imo to part with over £1000 on anyones recomendation on here. By all means take advice but you can’t beat going to a good LBS, a poorly fitted inappropriate bike is not a good VFM.

Spud, if it helps Im shorter than you and the spesh ones fit great, they come in 3 sizes and are left right specific I promise you will not regret the purchase.

No Spud they aren’t. Assos stuff is usually very very good but I had a pair and they were poor. Specialized are by far the best I have used – warm , keep their shape and fit well.

Another impressed user of Finish Line Pro Road.

These threads are such sh** are all really so insecure that you are bothered wether someone says hello to you, YOUR RIDING YOUR BIKE NOT SPEED DATING. GET A F***** LIFE.

Ridley crossbow with 105 groupset, a proper cross bike.

£1300 for Dura Ace why? when you could get Record.I’ve always thought 105 is star in the shimano range being a great compromise between cost and quality.

Surosa and Ribble both make audax/training bikes which would fit the bill rack mounts, mudgaurds around £500. There are many others if you can stretch the budget a little.

I would seriously consider a Brian Rourke 953 £1500 handbuilt, Im sure they will build you a bike that would fit and you would be happy with.

As leggyblonde says I would have thought steel would be better option as comfort seems to be a higher priority than stiffness or weight also you have a larger range of UK bespoke steel builders who will be happy to build you whatever you want.

Why should the WI give us a chance, they wupped us in the first test and we’ve been unable to force a result in the other tests. You cant blame them they haven’t won a test series in god knows how long they aren’t going to risk anything just to make a game of it, they dont care they’re gonna win the series. Yep referral system is waste of time.

Dreary non result wickets and an English bowling attack which just lacks bite, oh yes I’ve been watching. I don’t think its total doom and gloom for the ashes as some are predicting but it could be better and this Hughes lad looks a bit special though.

I’ve bought and sold stuff on Britishcycling classifieds in the past, veloriders can be good too.