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Some help from the more knowledgeable than me appreciated.
It's not going to be used for cummuting, it is going to be for hooning about the local woods and the fairly uninspiring claggy hills of oxfordshire and Northamptonshire and some racing thrown in -
My choices are
Giant TCX SLR 1
Giant TCX SLR 2 ( if the 1 isn't worth the extra)
Cube Cross race disc pro
Cannondale CAADX 105
Planet X XLS
Anyone of those leap out as being the best of the bunch or is there (dare I ask) anything else that I have obviously overlooked that would blow all these out the water.... Within a similar budget up to 1500.
This isn't on your list??? (I'm offended!) 🙂
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Had a go on the giants today as in the same boat. Lovely looking bike but the ultegra spec (was £1200) was noticibly lighter that the 105 spec (£1000). Pretty tpted but would like to try the planet x offering
The new Merida look good as well , I have a 2014 one and it's great.
I'd probably rule out anything without full hydros. When I saw that cube I half started working out how much I'd get for my kinesis. There's a canyon in that price range with full ultegra, rs685s and DT wheels if I remember right.
I have the tcx slr 2 and can say I'm delighted with the build quality. Yet to ride it due to injury mind but it looks ace and is good value for money.. Especially from pedal on with the podium points for free stuff they do!
The problem with the Cannondale is that I don't think there's enough on there to tell me it's a Cannondale Cannondale Cannondale Cannondale Cannondale...
The Cube is edging it but it's mainly for the hydro brakes and the vibrant red paintjob (vanity). There are so many CX bikes in that 1000-1500 bracket it's a flipping nightmare to choose.
No Ridley???
Ridley X-Ride 20 Disc - 2015 - £1,299.99
http://www.unitycycleworks.co.uk/collections/ridley/products/ridley-x-ride-20-disc-2015
Had a go on the giants today as in the same boat. Lovely looking bike but the ultegra spec (was £1200) was noticibly lighter that the 105 spec (£1000). Pretty tpted but would like to try the planet x offering
TBF, they are both 105-ish spec really. The SLR 1 just has the Ultegra rear mech.
The full differences, for the OP, are:
£1299 SLR 1 - Full carbon fork (OD2), 15mm thru axle, Shimano RS500 (105) chainset, Contact stem, Ultegra rear mech
£1049 SLR 2 - Alloy steerer (OD1), QR front, FSA Gossamer Pro Cross chainset, Connect stem, 105 rear mech
Everything else is the same. It's probably worth the extra £250 for sensible front brake routing on the SLR 1 8)
I did some investigatifying for jamie of these here parts for the difference between the tcx1 and 2
Slr2 is 320g heavier overall compared to the 1
160g is in the wheels alone.
I assume the extra weight on the 2 is the nasty fsa chainset and aly steerer (vs full carbon on the 1-even tho its bolt thru).
The wheels on the 1 appear to be tubeless ready (I'm not saying you could'nt convert the wheels on the 2) as they come with tubeless valves in the box (although both bikes come with Performance not Evo tyres).
The 1 gets an OD2 steerer....which means finding stems other than Giant ones is a PITA.
Consensus seemed to be buy the 2 and some nicer wheels.
160g is in the wheels alone.
Going off [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/lightweight-cross-disk-wheels-for-tcx ]this thread[/url], both models have wheels you could anchor a tanker with.
I've a caad x 105 - for commuting, winter riding and local woods.
First CX bike so nothing to compare against but I love it.
Brakes could be better - when funds allow I have a set of TRP's on the to buy list but no complaints otherwise.
If you remove the stickers from the wheels its a little less 'slogany' 🙂
Trek crocket or crossrip.
Focus Mares
[url= http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-pro-dx-cross-3000-hydraulic/aid:770985 ]Rose Pro DX Cross 3000?[/url]