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Yet another Which bike thread

by EK Spinner
Tue, Oct 30, 2012 13:06
4

I have just received my £1k Cyclescheme voucher and have 2 months to spend it.

My commute is 7 miles of open road each way and I already have a choice of a couple of bikes (Alumin Schwinn and Old Steel Giant with Downtube shifters) for much of this. My new bike will be used for doing the commute in the summer along with regular club runs and a few sportives each year.

I am not a big "badge snob" and have been looking at a few options on-line but I am having difficulty finding many reviews on some so if anyone has experience of these please help.

What I have looked at so far are

Whistle Crow 105 (Hargreaves advertise this at £999
B'Twin Facet 5 from Decathlon
Planet X Pro Carbon Rival
Sensa Tuscona (imported by Merlin Cycles)

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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4 comments

Avatar
Raleigh | 12 years ago
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BS that doubletap takes so long to get used to.

Literally 5 mins.

It is SO much more intuitive, you can properly 'throw' your bike into gear.

You can get the Ribble Pro Evo with SRAM Rival for £980, Simano 105 for £999 and Campag Centaur for the same.

Also this:

Avatar
Simon E | 12 years ago
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http://road.cc/content/news/63270-best-%C2%A3900-%C2%A31000-road-bikes

CW has a recent sub-£1000 bikes test at http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/tech/bikes/129311/1/1000-bike-test-2012.html

Browse this site's road bike reviews at http://road.cc/review-archive?tid=35

If it's an allrounder for commuting etc then a compact or triple chainset and mudguard capability should be on the checklist. Along with the usual names, don't forget the Genesis Equilibrium. Classy, vaguely retro steel.

There is no definitive 'best'. I'd visit some shops to get a feel for what's out there and pick one that fits you and you like the best.

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EK Spinner | 12 years ago
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Thanks for responding Ploughclose, you may have registered that they are all "proper" road bikes, they are all Carbon and 3 are 105 equipped as well, while the Planet X os SRam Riaval.

My best bike at the moment is 8 speed Tiagra, I would like to 105 so that I get all the cables hidden under the bar tape, I'm not sure about the double Tap thing of Sram stuff, is that easy to get used to.

I know very little about the Whistle bike, other than other retailers seem to want more money for it.

The decathlon bike is an aquired taste in looks and I have used thier own brand kit for years without coplaint.

The Sensa is another unkown but they seem to have a huge range available and have only recently exported to the UK, the bikes either side of this in thier range have both had good write ups in Cycling Plus.

Arrrgggghhh I hate making decisions - especially 4 figure ones that I will be living woth for 4 years

Avatar
ploughclose | 12 years ago
0 likes

Assuming you want a "proper" road bike (if you see what I mean - I'm not a badge snob either) the Planet X bike is fantastic value. Carbon frame and Sram Rival kit for under a grand - absolutely amazing. It's a British firm, too, so less hassle with problems (if you have any).

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