Yet Another Road Bike Query ...

ilovelamp2000

Hi all,

I've been commuting to work for the past year on a hybrid and I've recently decided I wanna go faster !

I'm looking at buying a road bike and was hoping I could get a bit of advice from those that know more than I do. I've read the wiki and searched the forum for other similar posts but haven't found exactly what I'm looking for.

I was looking at the Giant SCR 1.5 in a shop today and I've pretty much convinced myself that I'm willing to spend the €999 that it will cost. It comes with the Shimano Tiagra groupset.

What I'm wondering is what other bikes are there in a similar price range that are worth considering ? Are there bikes with better groupsets for similar prices ?

I read up a bit about the Tiagra groupset and it seems that they are compatible with the 105 groupset. So presumably if I get upgradeitis or decide to take cycling a bit more seriously I could upgrade piece by piece ?

And one last thing, I'm a bit of a fatty (tipping the scales at a bit more than 16 stone). Is that sort of weight too much for a bike like the Giant SCR 1.5 to be carrying ?

Thanks in advance.

at1withmyself

Check out online shops like www.wiggle.co.uk or www.chainreactioncyles.com and you'll find better value bikes then the Giant.

As for the weight I'm not sure but a friend in work is about 16 stone and has no problem cycling on his road bike

blorg

Other bikes to consider might include the Trek 1 Series, Specialized Allez, if you are buying from Cyclesuperstore the Lapierre S-Tech 400. You will probably be looking at next bike up from the entry-level with Trek and Specialized (e.g. Trek 1.5, Specialized Allez Sport.)

Try out a few and see what fits best.

16 stone won't be a problem on any entry-level road bike but consider gearing- if you want to do hills at minimum you will need a compact chainset, but a triple might be a very good idea. This may affect your choice of bike.

Tiagra isn't really compatible with 105 in the sense of an upgrade path, as it's 9 speed while 105 and up are 10sp- so if moving up you would be looking at replacing a fair few things at once to go to 10sp system. 105, Ultegra and Dura-Ace are compatible (until next year; new Dura-Ace is incompatible, but the old one will still be around.) To be honest, if you get really into it you might be better off starting from scratch and selling the Giant (or keeping it as a winter bike!)

I would be tempted to up your budget by 150 and get a Trek 1400 from Wheelworx - this gets you 105.

An alternative worth considering though if it is your first road bike is to halve your budget and look for something second-hand. Maybe a better way to get into it.

ilovelamp2000

blorg wrote: »

Other bikes to consider might include the Trek 1 Series, Specialized Allez, if you are buying from Cyclesuperstore the Lapierre S-Tech 400. You will probably be looking at next bike up from the entry-level with Trek and Specialized (e.g. Trek 1.5, Specialized Allez Sport.)

Try out a few and see what fits best.

16 stone won't be a problem on any entry-level road bike but consider gearing- if you want to do hills at minimum you will need a compact chainset, but a triple might be a very good idea. This may affect your choice of bike.

Tiagra isn't really compatible with 105 in the sense of an upgrade path, as it's 9 speed while 105 and up are 10sp- so if moving up you would be looking at replacing a fair few things at once to go to 10sp system. 105, Ultegra and Dura-Ace are compatible (until next year; new Dura-Ace is incompatible, but the old one will still be around.) To be honest, if you get really into it you might be better off starting from scratch and selling the Giant (or keeping it as a winter bike!)

I would be tempted to up your budget by 150 and get a Trek 1400 from Wheelworx - this gets you 105.

An alternative worth considering though if it is your first road bike is to halve your budget and look for something second-hand. Maybe a better way to get into it.

Thanks Blorg,

Funnily enough I was chatting to a mate last night who knows his stuff and he told me not to buy a thing. He has a spare Trek 1400 frame in his garage and has offered to build me a bike, I buy the parts and he'll put it together.

I'm looking forward to seeing it take shape !

TinyExplosions

Rosco1982 wrote: »

Thanks Blorg,

Funnily enough I was chatting to a mate last night who knows his stuff and he told me not to buy a thing. He has a spare Trek 1400 frame in his garage and has offered to build me a bike, I buy the parts and he'll put it together.

I'm looking forward to seeing it take shape !

That sounds pretty good... you only need the following:

Ultegra Groupset -510 euro
Ultegra Wheelset -255 euro
Pair o Schwalbe Ultremo Tyres -60 euro
Maybe a nice Fizik Pave saddle - 50 euro
Add 25 quid for sundries and you're looking at a very nice bike for 900 quid

blorg

You are a lucky man indeed. If you want to stick to your €999 budget you could kit that out with a full Ultegra groupset (around €500) and have plenty left over for the rest. I'm guessing your friend has the frame+fork+headset at least already?

Consider parts off eBay as well, you can get some good stuff that way at good prices.

I have a pair of Bontrager Select wheels that I might be looking to sell if you are interested (these are entry level Trek wheels, the same wheels as would have come stock on the 1400- Tiny's Ultegras linked above would be much nicer.)

cantalach

TinyExplosions wrote: »

That sounds pretty good... you only need the following:

Ultegra Groupset -510 euro
Ultegra Wheelset -255 euro
Pair o Schwalbe Ultremo Tyres -60 euro
Maybe a nice Fizik Pave saddle - 50 euro
Add 25 quid for sundries and you're looking at a very nice bike for 900 quid

Nice to get a bike with that spec for that kind of money. Only thing missing from that list of what you'll need is a seat post, stem and bars. Also possibly a fork, depending on whether the frame has one.

Regarding the weight part of your question, the only part of the bike that may give you problems there is the wheel set. Many of the low spoke-count fancy wheels are a bit dodgy under heavier riders. The manual that comes with Campagnolo wheels pretty much says "if you weigh more than 82 kg you're on your own - but good luck!" This isn't even 13 st! Zipp actually produce two versions of many of their wheels - the regular and the 'clydesdale' which are beefed up to suit heavier riders. One of the guys I train with is 17+ st and he rides a high spoke-count wheel set with a very traditional design. Something like that might be worth looking at if you start to have problems.

TinyExplosions

cantalach wrote: »

Nice to get a bike with that spec for that kind of money. Only thing missing from that list of what you'll need is a seat post, stem and bars. Also possibly a fork, depending on whether the frame has one.

Regarding the weight part of your question, the only part of the bike that may give you problems there is the wheel set.

True, I was assuming there'd be a seatpost, stem and bars, but I probably shouldn't have!

The Ultegra wheels should be pretty bomb proof afaik with regard to riders weight (I'm a big boy myself). Zipps are mighty expensive!

cantalach

TinyExplosions wrote: »

The Ultegra wheels should be pretty bomb proof afaik with regard to riders weight (I'm a big boy myself). Zipps are mighty expensive!

The only Shimano wheels I've ever had were the Tiagra level WH-R500 that came on my bike. They weren't up to much so I soon upgraded. Ultegra wheels were certainly on my list but I was put off during the "what does everyone else ride?" phase of my research by the simple fact that I never saw anyone else on them. That was 2+ years ago however.

Btw, my mentioning of Zipp wheels was only to illustrate the point that some speccy wheels aren't suitable for heavier riders - I certainly wasn't suggesting that the OP go and buy a set!

TinyExplosions

cantalach wrote: »

The only Shimano wheels I've ever had were the Tiagra level WH-R500 that came on my bike. They weren't up to much so I soon upgraded. Ultegra wheels were certainly on my list but I was put off during the "what does everyone else ride?" phase of my research by the simple fact that I never saw anyone else on them. That was 2+ years ago however.

Btw, my mentioning of Zipp wheels was only to illustrate the point that some speccy wheels aren't suitable for heavier riders - I certainly wasn't suggesting that the OP go and buy a set!

Fairy nuff mate... zipps are but a distant longing for me you see

I ride on the Shimano RS-20 wheelset, which is roughly the 105 spec, and I'm over 100kgs, which makes me think the Ultegra's should be fine

blorg

Meant to add- if buying from Cyclesuperstore be sure to sign up for their loyalty programme which gives you a discount on anything that isn't already discounted. This is free and works from the first purchase.

ilovelamp2000

blorg wrote: »

You are a lucky man indeed. If you want to stick to your €999 budget you could kit that out with a full Ultegra groupset (around €500) and have plenty left over for the rest. I'm guessing your friend has the frame+fork+headset at least already?

Consider parts off eBay as well, you can get some good stuff that way at good prices.

I have a pair of Bontrager Select wheels that I might be looking to sell if you are interested (these are entry level Trek wheels, the same wheels as would have come stock on the 1400- Tiny's Ultegras linked above would be much nicer.)

I made a slight mistake, the frame is actually the Trek 1500 from 2005 :



If those wheels are compatible with that frame then I think I would be interested.

I think my budget is going to have be scaled back a bit since I'm pretty certain my job will cease to exist in three months time. The friend that offered to build the bike has plenty of spare parts lying about as well so if worst comes to worst I'll still have a half decent bike that will be upgradeable in time.



And thanks to everyone else for the replies I'm getting a much better idea of what I need / should be looking at. Tiny Explosions being in the same weight category as me is a particular help !

blorg

Basically all wheels are compatible with any frame, the only thing you need to consider is whether you need a Shimano or Campagnolo-compatible hub on the rear. There used to be a speed issue but that is largely redundant with modern groupsets. The wheels are the ones that come as stock on the 1500, like in the photo you linked (they came off a Trek 5000.)

ilovelamp2000

Blorg, how much are you selling the wheels for ?

As an aside, my friend picked up a (barely) used Ultegra groupset today for €400, so things are looking good

blorg

They are available new here for €200 (discounted from €230) so I was thinking €100. This is taking into account the 16 months age and condition- generally excellent and I have had very few problems with them, but there is a bit of wear to the front braking surface (I don't _think_ it is excessive, had the brakes changed only a few days ago and no comment was passed.)

I also have Bontrager Race Lite tyres, tubes, and a 105 12-25 cassette. I suspect you will have the cassette in the Ultegra group already but if you want the tyres and tubes you can have them for €20 and €10 respectively. This is a major discount on the tyres; I'd basically be giving you the back free as there is a small hole where I got a puncture cycling to Cork. Patched it up and have done several hundred km since without incident.

Took some pics today (it was wet today so they are not pristine!)



EDIT: As you can see the wheels are on a touring bike, reason I'm selling is that I'm replacing them with traditional 32-spoke Open Pro rims which I reckon will be better for touring (this bike was built up with components from a Trek 5000, as you can see- lots on Bontrager stuff on it.)