2 new bikes

[Raging Bull]

Right then, I'm in the market for 2 new bikes, 1 mountain and 1 road.

 

Pretty sure I'll end up going for another Giant for the mountain bike as I've had them before, all be it a while back and they've always been spot on, unless anyone else can recommend something else. Only want front suspension.

 

Not at all sure about the road bike though. I like the look of the Giants again but have zero experience of this style and am basing everything on aesthetics at the moment.

 

Would love to hear others views and opinions please.

 

Got ~£5k to spend on both.

[Bucks Saint]

Right then, I'm in the market for 2 new bikes, 1 mountain and 1 road.

 

Pretty sure I'll end up going for another Giant for the mountain bike as I've had them before, all be it a while back and they've always been spot on, unless anyone else can recommend something else. Only want front suspension.

 

Not at all sure about the road bike though. I like the look of the Giants again but have zero experience of this style and am basing everything on aesthetics at the moment.

 

Would love to hear others views and opinions please.

 

Got ~£5k to spend on both.

 

Do you mean £5k total for both, or £5k each? No idea on roadies, as I never ride roads, but MTB is very much my experience and happy to help based on budget. Assuming you want a trail bike, not XC or DH, then grab a total bargain of a British HT bike, called the Bird Zero.

 

http://www.birdmtb.com/zero-hardtail/

 

Top specification at excellent prices. Bird is run by three MTB enthusiasts, based south of Reading with a direct sales / low overhead approach, hence very good prices for their kit. Five different models ranging from £995 to £1,800 and then you have a raft of options to interchange, downgrade or upgrade the spec, or you can buy frame only if you wish. Even the base model has an excellent spec though. All the bike mag tests have been raving about this bike, here is one:

 

http://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/hardtail/bird-zero-1-review

 

I have an Aeris, their full suss bike, on order having taken one out for a day to thrash through Swinley forest. You can arrange the same demo with a Zero too.

[View From The Top]

What sort of road riding do you want to do? Short, flat and fast? Long & steady? Combination of both? Race?

[Raging Bull]

£5k for both.

 

Thanks for the info, they look great and exactly what I'm after. More than happy to try new products rather than the old established brands, like the demo day too, good idea that.

 

The zero.AM looks perfect!!

[Raging Bull]

What sort of road riding do you want to do? Short, flat and fast? Long & steady? Combination of both? Race?

 

Long and steady. Mainly something I can lose an afternoon on every couple of weeks to maintain fitness and endurance levels to break up the weights etc.

 

The MTB will (at the moment) be for me to go out with the lad in the forest as he gets more and more interested in bikes but the road bike is pure everyone else can f**k off. Helps forget the daily sh*t if you know what I mean.

 

What have you gone for?

[Goatboy]

Long and steady. Mainly something I can lose an afternoon on every couple of weeks to maintain fitness and endurance levels to break up the weights etc.

 

The MTB will (at the moment) be for me to go out with the lad in the forest as he gets more and more interested in bikes but the road bike is pure everyone else can f**k off. Helps forget the daily sh*t if you know what I mean.

 

What have you gone for?

 

£5K will buy a whole load of grow lights, carbon filter and seed stock;)

[Winnersaint]

Long and steady. Mainly something I can lose an afternoon on every couple of weeks to maintain fitness and endurance levels to break up the weights etc.

 

The MTB will (at the moment) be for me to go out with the lad in the forest as he gets more and more interested in bikes but the road bike is pure everyone else can f**k off. Helps forget the daily sh*t if you know what I mean.

 

What have you gone for?

 

I am an out and out roadie, but have heard excellent things about Bird in around the local bike shops I use. My advice would be to get to a LBS near you. If by 'the forest' you mean the New Forest then you won't be too far away from a branch of Hargroves. Looking at their website they have access to a large range of road bikes from a variety of respected manufacturers so it might be worth going in and having a chat. Alternatively if its bangs for bucks you want then look to either of the big German direct sellers Canyon or Rose. This is worth a look. http://www.canyon.com/en/roadbikes/series/endurace-cf.html. Rose only do aluminium frames where Canyon do both aluminium and carbon fibre. Regardless of material they both make some excellent bikes. Also get a copy of this month's Cycling Plus mag. It's the bike of the year edition. Hope this helps.

[Bucks Saint]

Canyon have some excellent bikes again at very good prices, but for me, Bird was the option because 1) they have some innovative features especially geometry and 2) they are 30 mins away, as opposed to Germany ,which was very helpful for a demo and a good chat with them, as well as reassuring if any issues.

 

What Mountain Bike have their annual trail bike of the year feature coming up in the next edition, out on 7 April, which all the manufacturers are waiting for!

[View From The Top]

£5k will buy you a very serious road bike.

 

If you're looking at endurance riding then you'll most likely want a slightly more relaxed geometry. The Bianchi Infinito CV was bike of the year last year and you'll get a top spec'd one for that amount.

 

 

Canyon sell direct and make great bikes so it will depend as to whether you want the advice of a LBS or buy direct.

[Andy_Porter]

You get so much bike for your money from Canyon. They look awesome too!

[Winnersaint]

Apologies for giving misleading info, but Rose do indeed do the Carbon X-Lite. The CRS3100 comes with Ultegra Di2 and weighs in at 6.9 kg all for £1990. Ridiculous.

[View From The Top]

Having thought about it, if I had £5k to spend I'd be going Bianchi Oltre XR2, Merckx 525 or Specialized S-Works Tarmac. They are speed geometry as opposed to distance but f**k me, they're great bikes.

[Bucks Saint]

Having thought about it, if I had £5k to spend I'd be going Bianchi Oltre XR2, Merckx 525 or Specialized S-Works Tarmac. They are speed geometry as opposed to distance but f**k me, they're great bikes.

 

The OP wants to buy a good MTB too for his £5k dont forget!

[Unbelievable Jeff]

Canyon for the hardtail, or maybe Cube (I love my Cube!).

 

Road bike I always like the 'Dales for the cheaper end of the market, but like the Bianchi's when you get above the £1500 level.

[View From The Top]

The OP wants to buy a good MTB too for his £5k dont forget!

 

Meh. Why waste money.

[the saint in winchester]

Flipping eck, you guys must be loaded. I spend 50 quid tops on a bike. But I'm not a serious biker, obviously.

[View From The Top]

Flipping eck, you guys must be loaded. I spend 50 quid tops on a bike. But I'm not a serious biker, obviously.

 

My summer bike cost more than my car. Worth every single penny.

 

My winter bike was half that.

 

My hard tail was half that.

[Bucks Saint]

Flipping eck, you guys must be loaded. I spend 50 quid tops on a bike. But I'm not a serious biker, obviously.

 

The kids bikes cost more than that, when they were 7

[Pancake]

Flipping eck, you guys must be loaded. I spend 50 quid tops on a bike. But I'm not a serious biker, obviously.

 

Makes you laugh doesn't it. I've got about 3000 miles out of my cheap Carrera roadie (£350) I've the last few years after stripping it down and rebuild it myself. Never let me down.

 

And about 1500 miles on my Decathlon RockRider hardtail MTB which was no more than £300. Performed valiantly. No complaints.

[Bucks Saint]

Flipping eck, you guys must be loaded. I spend 50 quid tops on a bike. But I'm not a serious biker, obviously.

 

But then do you live in Winchester, so I am not a serious householder, obviously

[the_emu]

As a roadie I could go on for hours talking about bikes and gear - but I'll spare the essay and try and keep things short.

 

Firstly be aware once you have a nice shiny new bike you will most likely need to invest in pedals 150, bike shoes, cleats, bike computer, helmet, lycra, rain jacket, gloves, saddle bag, bottle cages, mini pump, multi tool which is going to cost you the best part of about £750, so if you haven't factored that into your budget when buying the bike, do it now.

 

If you already have done that, and let's say still have £2,500 to spend on a road bike, save yourself a grand and aim to pick something south of £1,500, otherwise you will just be wasting money.

 

Ride the bike in, ride it out.

 

One of two things will happen, a - it will sit in your shed gathering dust and you have saved yourself a grand OR more likely b - you are bitten by the bug and you will want to upgrade to something better than one 2,500 will get you up front once you learn a bit more about what you like/don't like.

 

You could arguably drop the budget even further and pick something up for 1K, but you aren't going to get choice of carbon at that price and so you might be left a bit disappointed with the riding experience of an aluminum or steel frame (in saying that, I actually love grinding out the miles in my steel Acciao winter bike).

 

More here - http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/142512-11-best-%C2%A31200-%C2%A31500-road-bikes

 

Things you must absolutely do:

- get fitted for the right size.

- take it for a test ride and be comfortable with it's handling.

 

Things you must absolutely not do:

- unless you feel you have had exceptional customer service and the bike shop is a local independent, get caught up buying all the extra gear from the shop you buy your bike from. Wiggle is your friend. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/

- get intimidated with clip in pedals and shoes. Jump straight in and you won't look back.

- thinking the level of bike you have reflects the level of rider you are, or will become. It doesn't, it won't, and it never will. I get great pleasure in overtaking right pill@cks riding their top of the range carbon jobbies with deep dish rims on my Steely Dan winter bike.

 

Well that's it - hope there's some useful things in there for you to ponder.

 

Good luck and update us with what you ultimately go with.

[Winnersaint]

If you already have done that, and let's say still have £2,500 to spend on a road bike, save yourself a grand and aim to pick something south of £1,500, otherwise you will just be wasting money.

Sound advice, as is that about making sure the bike is fitted properly. I started five years ago on a Cyclescheme Cube Peloton, still got it though it is resigned to commuting and the turbo these days, I have to be honest I am really hard pushed to notice any real difference in speed between that and my carbon bike which is 1.5 kg lighter. The ride quality is definitely not as good and it doesn't climb as well, but for £850 it was a great re-introduction to road cycling and it is certainly enough bike for my modest standard of riding.

[Saint137]

Frame less important than components for a road bike IMO. You can get all the carbon road bike you'll ever need for way under £2k these days.

 

Decisions to make: do you want disc brakes? do you want to fit tyres >28mm? do you want hilly or flat gearing? Out and out roadies can be a bit inflexible on these things - if you're happy only running 25mm tyres on an 11-25 cassette then go ahead, but I like the versatility my carbon cyclocross frame gives me.

 

In terms of bang for buck go for Shimano 105 11-speed or SRAM Rival 22 groupset. You'll get all the tech and performance from their more expensive groupsets without paying for ultra-lightweight shiny carbon bits. Unless you want the label don't bother with Ultegra, Dura-Ace, Force, or Red

 

If brand isn't important get yourself up to Sheffield and take a look at Planet X/On One - they can sort you out an MTB (their speciality) & a carbon road bike, top level components, will work out your ideal fit and you'll still have change from your budget. Worth the trip as you'll get a bike for online prices but with the personal service you'd get from your LBS.

 

If brand really isn't important the upcoming BTwin Alur 700 will come with 22-speed Shimano 105 for around £800.

[Raging Bull]

Thanks for all the advice and links etc, much appreciated!

 

Gonna go for a Bird for the MTB and quite clearly need to spend more time looking into the roadies as there's a fair bit to get right and I've never really spent any time on 1.

 

With regards the prices, especially the roadie, I'm not really that fussed if it costs a bit as at the end of the day they'll be kept for years so the cost over X amount of years is relatively small.

 

Cheers

[View From The Top]

Makes you laugh doesn't it. I've got about 3000 miles out of my cheap Carrera roadie (£350) I've the last few years after stripping it down and rebuild it myself. Never let me down.

 

And about 1500 miles on my Decathlon RockRider hardtail MTB which was no more than £300. Performed valiantly. No complaints.

 

I guess it depends on what sort of riding you do. I ride long, hard & often and have invested in a very good bike to achieve the goals I set myself. I'm not sure I'd like to do the ride I did yesterday, 100miles and 8000ft of climbing including 22% ramps and climbs of 3km at 8% average on a Carrera, which, incidentally, my wife rides.

[View From The Top]

Thanks for all the advice and links etc, much appreciated!

 

Gonna go for a Bird for the MTB and quite clearly need to spend more time looking into the roadies as there's a fair bit to get right and I've never really spent any time on 1.

 

With regards the prices, especially the roadie, I'm not really that fussed if it costs a bit as at the end of the day they'll be kept for years so the cost over X amount of years is relatively small.

 

Cheers

 

Go to your LBS and ask as many questions as you can.

[View From The Top]

Frame less important than components for a road bike IMO.

 

No chance. No point on putting top end components on a sh it frame.

[CB Saint]

Thanks for all the advice and links etc, much appreciated!

 

Gonna go for a Bird for the MTB and quite clearly need to spend more time looking into the roadies as there's a fair bit to get right and I've never really spent any time on 1.

 

With regards the prices, especially the roadie, I'm not really that fussed if it costs a bit as at the end of the day they'll be kept for years so the cost over X amount of years is relatively small.

 

Cheers

 

 

Hmmm- if you get bitten by the bug, then within 6 months you will be plotting how to tell the missus that your new bike isn't up to the job, and that the only way to unlock your true potential is to spend out on a better bike. Either that or you will upgrade everything several times to the extent that your bike will be like Trigger's broom.

[Raging Bull]

Off to http://www.cycleworld.co.uk/ before the match tomorrow with the lad as he needs a new helmet. They've got some great looking roadies there http://www.cycleworld.co.uk/category/578/Mens_Road_Bikes.

 

I can see this taking over my life soon!

[View From The Top]

Off to http://www.cycleworld.co.uk/ before the match tomorrow with the lad as he needs a new helmet. They've got some great looking roadies there http://www.cycleworld.co.uk/category/578/Mens_Road_Bikes.

 

I can see this taking over my life soon!

 

Take your time before jumping in and if the bug bites wave goodbye to your life as you know it now.

 

And the 1st thing you'll upgrade will be the wheels. Fact.

[Bucks Saint]

Thanks for all the advice and links etc, much appreciated!

 

Gonna go for a Bird for the MTB and quite clearly need to spend more time looking into the roadies as there's a fair bit to get right and I've never really spent any time on 1.

 

With regards the prices, especially the roadie, I'm not really that fussed if it costs a bit as at the end of the day they'll be kept for years so the cost over X amount of years is relatively small.

 

Cheers

 

Great choice on the Bird. They are assembling and shipping out both HT and FS models by the truck load right now. Good luck with the tougher roadie decision!