50th Birthday (Summer bike) - :-)

Canyon for a 50th? What are you on! canyons are the kind of junk you buy yourself!

I would be looking at either the Colnago, Specialisima or my own personal choice would be something from Wilier like the Zero 7.

And I wouldn't dream of putting anything from a Fishing Manufacturer on a road bike, remember how the ranges compare Dura-Ace is roughly equivalent to Veloce.

However, all that said, if I was getting a 50th birthday present I would straight of down the road to Mercian Cycles and be talking about top end steel.

You get a lot of Giant Propel for that kind of money...

I'm 52 and was in your position about 2 years ago!  I went for a Propel, I only had around £1600 to spend, and I couldn't find a better kitted bike that looked as good to my eyes.  The fact that it rides well is a bonus; it may not be the comfiest but I did a 27 hour Everesting on it, and otherwise use it for similar rides to those you list.

If I had your budget I would be looking at a titanium bike for sure.

Id go Colnago but then i am a little biased as im on my 10th one (could be more)

The V1-R is a lovely bike, bit more racey than the C60 but handles just the same and at that price its a steal

The only thing i dont like is the rear brake position as it tends to get covered in crap being down there but after each ride just give it a wipe over and a little bit of GT85 now and again

I went down this route last year for my 50th, never looked back.............

skmark wrote:

Well after a very long and mostly patient wait the day has eventually arrived and ......... it's here;

I must say I'm very pleased with the final result. The build took a little longer than originally planned but Jason Rourke got involved in some more Guy Martin build stuff across the summer which you can't really blame him for.

The bike rides like a dream, the weather has tried it's best to stop me getting out during the last 2 weeks but I did manage a good 55km yesterday morning and love it. Ride is superb, so comfortable despite the new saddle (Brooks C13....I wasn't too sure about that). Dura-Ace Di2 is unquestionably better than me, so slick and quick. Speedplay pedals are quite stiff and will likely take a little getting used to but I'm certain that I'm going to enjoy riding this lovely machine very much.......bring on the spring.

Out of that list, I'd go Colnago every time and twice for your 50th