Here comes the what bike thread! 'Dale vs Giant vs Sensa vs ?

@pjay

Not sure if you've changed any finishing kit? There are surprising weight savings to be had, the stock saddle, seatpost and bars were somewhat substantial to say the least!

@poptart

Sorry for the cropped picture. Very quick stop off a gravel road this afternoon, thoroughly enjoying the supersixevo during an Indian summer

I bought a 2015 SuperSixEvo on sale from Evans at just £1080, I really wanted the frame set as it was a very affordable route to get a sub 1kg carbon frame and full carbon fork, compared to lots of aftermarket frame sets I looked at. I'd also heard many friends raving about the SuperSixEvo and really wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

I stripped the bike down before riding, and weighed the 54cm frame at 930 gm which was very impressive. My Tarmac SL4 Elite was over 1200 gm in comparison.

I then upgraded the groupset to full Ultregra 6800 using a Wheels Manufacturing conversion BB, some spare DT Swiss 1500gm wheels and Zipp Service Course SL finishing kit along with Toupe Pro saddle and Vittoria Open Corsa tires.

Bike is 7kg with pedals, and is easily the best road bike I've yet owned in terms of response under power, beautifully balanced handling and a degree of comfort which my Tarmac SL4 was somewhat lacking.

I to have a 2015 super six 105 bought in the sale for a measly £1125.
It's an absolute stunning bike. I was deciding whether to get a dale or a giant defy advanced. But after rising both round the car park I decided on the dale. It felt much more comfortable(imo)

I wouldn't worry too much about getting an aero bike, it's just a fad and they are mostly very ugly IMHO. I have a 2015 Supersix Evo bought in the sale. It's a great bike for the money and it doesn't seem to be holding the Cannondale Garmin riders back a whole lot.

Boardman air or sls model range

At the start of my search I had 10 or 12 on a shortlist and if you're strict with your budget you can get loads of very similarly specced bikes within 50 or 100 quid. I even put pics of them all on my screensaver at work, and couldn't see a lot of difference. Most of them were black for a start. So once I spied the Propel it just seemed right - great colour scheme and it looked different.

Have a look at the Aero Giant v Propel thread, I've just posted about my Propel. One of the things I liked about it was I hadn't seen many, I understand how if you are surrounded by them you may want something different.

I tried a Supersix which was a great bike, but not better in any important way than the Propel that I could tell, so I let the unimportant ways dictate my choice - looks and colour!

Sensa got a great review for one of their bikes a few years ago (Romagna I think?) but all the reviews I have seen lately are less complimentary. If you can get to the shop and have a look at one, maybe a demo ride, give it a try. They were just too far away for me.

I got mine on CTW, with the savings it was as good a deal as Canyon/Rose etc.

I'm the same weight as you, but double your age. If I knew then what I know now...!

If you want something more racey and lighter than the Defy have you considered the 2016 Giant TCR advanced ? It is lighter and slimmer than the current model but retains the stiffness. I have the TCR advanced 1 on order with full Ultegra and have obtained a discount bringing it down from £1499.00 - £1268.00. Should be available in the next two weeks . Worth a thought ?