[Closed] Darkside: Best road bike for sub £1000

Giant Defy

Probably anything in your price range will be excelent. I assume youre not trying to get a bike to race on if youre going for C2W, accept that you want it for 'riding' then you'll be happy.
Defys and Alez are both good, as are Focus, Felt, Boardman, Cube etc etc.

The boardman carbon is £1k and brilliant for the money

cool, ill look into those recommendations then go out and try a few.

clubber been looking at the Boardman carbon roadie myself as we are about to do C2W but are being limited to Halfords, and i found whilst talking to a really helpful mechanic at Halfords (cheers Ben) that the £750 Team has the same running gear and finishing kit as the £1K Team Carbon, and is only 0.5lb heavier, which for me as i enjoy the odd pasty is actually the one to go for, (leaving me £250 for new shoes and the like) that said the Team Carbon is a lovely bit of kit,

Interesting. Is it definitely exactly the same spec other than the frame?

cube MAYBE?

OH!!! THE STEEL KONA Honkey Tonk!!

having had a look at the suggestions it seems like there isn't much variation in the spec of the drivetrain of these things i.e. you get what you pays for. around the 800 mark you seem to get tiagra running gear. if you spend 1000 you get 105 etc etc etc.

the only problem is i have no idea which wheels are good/shit....

clubber yep it is, [url= http://www.boardmanbikes.com/pdf/Boardman2010_Road.pdf ]pdf of specs here[/url] have been in store and checked it out myself, as i said i found a really helpful and knowledgeable member of Halfords staff, and will be dealing with him again for sure, even if by his own admission he was a bit more of a freeride person

Have a look at this months Cycle Active magazine - 'bout half a dozen road bikes tested at that price.

Loads of reviews on the Bikeradar website (taken from Cycling Plus, which tests loads of road bikes) as well.

Sooo many really nice bikes around at that price, they all look spot on.
Boardman seems best for VFM though, and they do a lovely cyclocross bike for about a grand.

Trek and Specialized do comfier (longer head tube) versions of the race - styled road bikes - love the look of the Trek Pilot myself......

Can I just throw the Cannondale CAAD9 into the mix here?

You definitely don't get the same bang for your buck on the drivetrain, but the frame is a thing of beauty, and one I can't see myself replacing for years.

For £1000 it comes with some very nice looking tiagra 9 speed gear, some basic wheels (although I've been using similarly basic wheels for a year and a half now with no complaints) and decent in-house finishing kit.

Have a look at the team issue paint jobs as well 😉

[url= http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/SL_Pro_Carbon_Ultegra_SL____SPECIAL_OFFER_-_From__999.html ]ultegra sl carbon[/url]

Throw this in as well. Full ultegra for under a grand. I have the full durace version and its light ( circa 15 pounds) and very fast

prob will not get that price on cycle scheme.

A fixie off Brick Lane for 100 quid?

I went for the boardman team carbon through C2W, it's a great bike. Light, stiff, as comfortable as any road bike can be. The groupset's an absolute steal.

The downsides? Unless you get a decent mechanic to set up the gears when you get it SRAM can be a nightmare. The saddle is atrocious and the bar tape ludicrously thin.

All of these are simple to fix though so overall it's a great bike

My wife got an Ultegra mix Planet X pro carbon with the lightweight wheels for £964 before Christmas. Similar to my 105 version - ie rides well and is comfortable. Plus you can spec the crank length, stem length and bar width. And I think you can have something similar now on the C2W.

Cannondale CAAD9 wins the current issue of Cycling Plus test for £1k bikes.

Also look out for Orbea, Trek and Bianchi - all have excellent products in this price range.

And don't forget try before you buy as road bike fit is more important than with a mountain bike - this might exclude Planet X unless you have a mate with one.

i can see why the caad9 wins ....

would much rather have a nice alloy frame than either the PX or the boardman as although its "carbon" its not "carbon" as i know it - based on working with orbea orca , giant tcr advanced, scott addicts , project 1 madones then working with the planet x , boardman , merida 904 and 905 vs the scultura

The px and boardmans look the part but are heavy compared to there more expensive counterparts and even alloy counter parts

case in point the boardmans and px are made in the same way that the merida cheap carbon road bike and the alloy road bike with the same spec is 500 quid cheaper and lighter same with taiwan madones and usa madones - i know which id take. it might not look as pimp but a well made alloy frame will be as comfy as a cheap carbon frame.

And the nice carbon frames are a law unto them selves TCR advance is ****ing awesome - won the local hill climb on one last year but the orbea orca is as stiff and rough to ride as ****.

after doing the same myself i got the caad9. The way I thought about it was, I didn't want a cheap carbon frame and other manufacturers alloy frames are the same from their £400 bikes, whereas this is the lowest spec you can get the caad9 in. The frame really is a thing of beauty, and they're the last ones to be made in the usa (not that i think the quality will go down when made in taiwan).

Look at the aluminium frame from Planet X or some of the custom builds from ribble.

If you are going to be using it to cycle to work check to see if you can get full mud guards on. In winter they protect you and the bike.

Personally I'd use mtb spds and shoes to commute. Shimano road cleats are fragile and slipy so you wear them down quickly if you walk in them. Mtb pedal I find much easier to clip in and out of which is good if your route has lots of traffic, lights and junctions.

all road bikes are the same.

buy one you like the look of.

I got a Ribble Ribelle with 105 Black for a penny under £1k back in august. I've since change the saddle and the wheels are the are still true even with my shade under 14st on them

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The boardman carbon is good value for money.

regards the weight thing with a carbon frame v alloy frame, unless you are racing then i wouldnt worry about saving a little weight going for carbon. Carbon does however have some advantages with ride comfort and dampening road buzz. Although to put this in persepective fit, wheels/tyres, saddle and even the type of bar tape will likely have a bigger impact on this!

omar little - not every carbon frame offers comfort and not every alloy frame is harsh - its all about design !

Don't know much about the C2W scheme as I couldn't get it, but is it better than buying a better bike cheaper secondhand?
Because I look at what I built for £810 (look away now trail_rat)
Planet X Carbon Pro SL
FSA Team Carbon Chainset
FSA Carbon post, carbon stem and carbon wing bars.
Ultegra 10 STIs and mechs
Ultegra wheelset with Ultegra cassette & Fortezza TriComps
LOOKs
Carbon clamp, bung, spacers etc
A mixture of new frame and wheels and used once parts. Makes a great race day bike.

The px and boardmans look the part but are heavy compared to there more expensive counterparts and even alloy counter parts

Strongly disagree, Boardmans are very light for the money. You have to pay a lot more money to get even the same weight, as far as I can see. Willing to be proven wrong though.

£800 alloy frame model: 18.1lbs
£1000 carbon frame model: 17.6lbs
(same spec, just different frames)

As far as I can remember, anything from Spesh, Trek et al. was noticeably heavier. In any event, it probably doesn't make much difference to the average rider though!

i'd take a long hard look at the BMC Streetfire, £999 at Evans down from £1599! full 105 inc the wheels! very light and two colours to choose from if your quick. really, take a look! 😉

ultegra sl carbon

Throw this in as well. Full ultegra for under a grand. I have the full durace version and its light ( circa 15 pounds) and very fast

Arse! Its now the 105 version of Sram 🙁

Why would a mountain biker buy a road bike for commuting when he could have a cross bike? 🙂

Then a whole variety of sneaky trails become [s]accessible[/s] irresistable and you can fit tyres that are more puncture resistant.

If you want to go fast, then listen to trail_rat, he's fast.

Cross bike?

If you want to go fast, then listen to trail_rat, he's fast.

He also now owns a planet x, lol

Funny thing, down mymates house who has a kyota full carbon, everything carbon, durace etc.

Weighed my planetx ( now spec'd with mainly 105 components) and found mine was only 0.6 lbs heavier, and i run 540 spd's on mine not proper road pedals