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pazza98 · Joined: 01 Feb 2010 Posts: 259 Location: Hornsey

Hi Guys, I've got a few questions. Obviously following the theft of my bike, I'm looking to replace it. I'm looking at Specialized Allez or Trek 1 series. I'm a bit of a brand snob, is there any other make I should be looking at?

I understand the frame is most important, if going for allez or 1 series, is there anything I should be aware of for either frame? Pros or cons or whatever. Next important is the groupset (I think), it seems that the cheaper Trek's have mixed groupsets, does this matter? If it's the same frame throughout the Trek 1 series or Specialized Allez series, how much would it cost to upgrade the groupset? Is it worth getting a cheaper bike and buying an upgrade?

I think that's about it, I've heard cheap bikes can be improved easily by changing the wheels and tyres, as manufacturers often choose a cheap one to save money or cut costs? Any opinions?

Thanks in advance, that's all for now Smile

ed! · Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:08 pm Subject: Re: No - help me to choose a bike ;)

Again, sorry to hear about the bike theft Sad

In terms of replacement bike, what will you be looking to use it for? Perhaps use this as an opportunity to rethink about what you'll be using it for.

In terms of brands: I think that most of the bikes that Evans stock are pretty well known. Other lesser known, but equally good ones that I've come across are Condor, Surly, Verenti and Focus (www.wiggle.co.uk), Planet X, Ribble.

Frame: Probably the most noticable part of the bike, and perhaps one that will be most influential factor of your choice, which is why it might be deemed important.
Unless you're building the bike yourself (more expensive), then you will be at the mercy of whatever the stock components are (Condor is the only place I know that lets you customise the bike components, but they're not cheap), so bear that in mind.
Sizes and geometry will be different between brands, so a 56cm Trek frame may not be the same as a 56cm Specialized frame.

Groupset: For me, the second most important part of the bike. If buying stock, then Shimano is the brand that nearly all bikes will come with. The main other groupset manufacturers are SRAM and Campagnolo - you also get other brands that make specific groupset components (e.g. FSA). The differences between the brands are the ways that you shift up and down your gears. There are more intricate details, but at the end of the day, it's very much a personal choice, and all are easy to get to grips with.
Chainsets (the front rings) come in twos (double and compact) and threes (triple). I can't remember what you have...what is more common now are compact chainsets as they come in two inbetween double (strong cyclists who can push hard gears) and triple (if you're tackling all sorts of elevation profiles) in terms of gear range.
Most mid-range to top-end bikes are 10 speed (i.e. 10 sprocket/cogs) at the back, although some (predominantly entry-level ones) are 8-9 speed. All parts are still relatively easy to get hold of, it's just technology progressing.
As you mentioned, in order to make bikes more affordable, companies might mix different levels and brands of components, and in some cases, mix . There is no issue with this - obviously the more you spend, the higher spec you will get. All parts are upgradeable, but you will need to ensure that they're compatible with your setup.

For my Condor bikes, I put the best that I could afford, knowing that I'm less likely to upgrade it...there is an optimum (e.g 105/Ultegra for Shimano, Centaur for Campagnolo) that you can reach whereby surpassing that gets little in performance, and weight saving that we should care about.

Wheels and tyres will often be an area where companies will save money to make the overall bike affordable. I think you'd be likely to change tyres before you change wheels, especially if you're using them for commuting (something puncture proof).

See if you can hone in on a few bikes that you like the look and sound of and then go try them out to see what works best for you.

Good luck!!!

BigSteev · Joined: 04 Jul 2006 Posts: 282 Location: London

dan_b · Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 2428

Manufacturers can usually buy components for far less than they would cost you to buy retail, so I would probably not buy a bike with a groupset I was not initially happy with. Changing them after the fact will cost a lot more.

Sparky · Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Posts: 450

Groupset wise it has to be 105 or better, I would definitely consider a deal from a lesser know frame manufacturer that came complete with a higher end group set the an Allez etc that came with Tiagra.

pazza98 · Joined: 01 Feb 2010 Posts: 259 Location: Hornsey

pazza98 · Joined: 01 Feb 2010 Posts: 259 Location: Hornsey

Barrie · Joined: 21 May 2006 Posts: 1380 Location: Putney

At the £800 ish ranges almost every review/forum thread, etc. that I could find suggested either Specialised Allez and/or whatever the Trek equivalent was.

( see my old thread here :- http://www.londonspeedskaters.com/forums/It-s-cycle-to-work-scheme-time-again--t4201.php )

I looked at the 2010 ranges quite a lot, and would've gone Specialised, but neither they, not anyone else, quite did what I wanted at the price I wanted ( basically I'd have been spending twice the price of my current bike, just to match the spec ).

2011 ranges look a lot better... with Tiagra pushing down lower in the price ranges ( where before it was all Sora ). So there is a Specialised that now fit's the bill for me, but I've not looked around the others yet.

I did see some really good prices on the GT range somewhere too, might've been 2010 stock though... I dunno...

Steev or someone might correct me, but I think triples tend to have a bigger top gear than a compact, and I use the top gear on my triple quite a lot.

So, while I fancy a ( cheap ) compact next, I'll probably change the cassette to the bigger geared version, which I think has a similar top gear, but presumably also a bigger bottom gear ( which I never use anyway, apart from on Colombian mountains... ).

Howard · Joined: 24 Jan 2010 Posts: 336 Location: W2 now init.

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4108

dan_b · Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 2428

My commute bike is a 30-yo £40 touring bike from Ebay (though admittedly I spent more than £100 on a new crankset, bb and wheels to turn it fixed-gear). Gruppo snobbery is exclusively for when spending other people's money :-)

Howard · Joined: 24 Jan 2010 Posts: 336 Location: W2 now init.

ed! · Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 1:26 pm Subject: Re: No - help me to choose a bike ;)

Howard · Joined: 24 Jan 2010 Posts: 336 Location: W2 now init.

Yes hmmm maybe... but I'd stick my neck out and say the slightly better than average road cyclist would be better off riding 9 speed Sora (with Tiagra shifters if they need to shift on the drops), tekro calipers and a decent wheelset (mavic) than riding full ultegra/105 and basic wheels.

Other than an additional gear I don't see what ultegra or 105 gives you - 'bottom end' groupsets are now so good that I reckon cyclists like us get almost zero practical benefit with pricey but accessible groups like ultegra/105. Nice if you can afford them, yes, but not at the expense of areas that can measurably improve reliability and performance.

So we agree then but I reckon the 'good enough' point is much lower down the rungs Smile

ed! · Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:31 pm Subject: