Stiff Race Bike for about €1800

jimmyjacob

Looking for a bit of helpful advice if posssible. I’ll be buying a road bike through the bike to work scheme that I'll use for both training and racing. Primarily for triathlons with a set of aero bars, but the odd road race too. I’m hoping to be pretty competitive in triathlon, so before I fork out for a TT bike down the road, I want a bike that’s aggressive, racy, responsive and stiff. Not too worried about wheels at the moment as I’ll later invest in a pair of race wheels.

Would really appreciate some comparative feedback on these bikes or any suggestions of bikes in this price range that I’ve missed out on.

Here’s the short list:

Scott Addict R4 2009 Sram Rival - €1760
Heard this is very aggressive and racy which is what I’m looking for, but also heard it may be too stiff and sensitive for Irish roads. Also, may not be able to get it on the bike to work scheme, so may work out more expensive and might have to rule it out. €1900 from Slane Cycles, which I could get through the scheme, but this is a stretch for me.

Cannondale CAAD9 2010 Ultegra 6700 - 1800
Recently been told by helpful memebrs of this forum that it’s a good option for racing. But seems a bit dear for an alu frame? Could I get better at this price?

Cannondale Six13 2008 Ultegra 6700 - €1750
Very comfy but feels a bit removed from feel of the road.

Focus Cayo Expert 2010 Ultegra - €1700
Stiff enough?

Kuota Kharma 2010 Sram Rival - €1699 / Ultegra 6600 - €1850
No idea about the stiffness or ride qualities of this one. But slightly aero qualities make it attractive for triathlon.


Felt F4 SL 2009 Ultegra - €1800
As with the the Kharma, I haven’t ridden it so not sure of the ride qualities/stiffness.

Again, any advice would be much appreciated.

mloc123

maybe a planet x?



/troll

mloc123

On a serious note, you'll never get a great tt fit on a road bike. Have you a road bike now?

tunney

jimmyjacob wrote: »

Looking for a bit of helpful advice if posssible. I’ll be buying a road bike through the bike to work scheme that I'll use for both training and racing. Primarily for triathlons with a set of aero bars, but the odd road race too. I’m hoping to be pretty competitive in triathlon, so before I fork out for a TT bike down the road, I want a bike that’s aggressive, racy, responsive and stiff. Not too worried about wheels at the moment as I’ll later invest in a pair of race wheels.

Would really appreciate some comparative feedback on these bikes or any suggestions of bikes in this price range that I’ve missed out on.

Here’s the short list:

Scott Addict R4 2009 Sram Rival - €1760
Heard this is very aggressive and racy which is what I’m looking for, but also heard it may be too stiff and sensitive for Irish roads. Also, may not be able to get it on the bike to work scheme, so may work out more expensive and might have to rule it out. €1900 from Slane Cycles, which I could get through the scheme, but this is a stretch for me.

Cannondale CAAD9 2010 Ultegra 6700 - 1800
Recently been told by helpful memebrs of this forum that it’s a good option for racing. But seems a bit dear for an alu frame? Could I get better at this price?

Cannondale Six13 2008 Ultegra 6700 - €1750
Very comfy but feels a bit removed from feel of the road.

Focus Cayo Expert 2010 Ultegra - €1700
Stiff enough?

Kuota Kharma 2010 Sram Rival - €1699 / Ultegra 6600 - €1850
No idea about the stiffness or ride qualities of this one. But slightly aero qualities make it attractive for triathlon.


Felt F4 SL 2009 Ultegra - €1800
As with the the Kharma, I haven’t ridden it so not sure of the ride qualities/stiffness.

Again, any advice would be much appreciated.

I have a CAAD9 Alu - fantastic bike imho. Had it a few years and love it.

However woefully inappropriate for triathlons bar maybe draft legal ones.

Aiming to be competitive in triathlons is fantastic however what makes you think "aggressive, racy, responsive and stiff" are properties you want in a time trial bike? Stiff yes. But the rest? Triathlons are generally who can go in a straight line as fast as possible. Position and aerodynamics rather than handling are important. A good TT bike will handle like a pig compared to a good road bike.

ROK ON

I have a Kuota Kebel which is one model up from the Kharma. I find it stiff and very responsive relative to my other bikes. It flies away one you put the pedals down and seems great cornering at speed.
If it is the same basic technology as the Karma maybe that would be helpful to you.
Many of the Kuota brands seem to have more aero forks, seat posts etc than other road bikes I have seen.

jimmyjacob

Thanks for the replies guys. Should have clarified: the road bike I have is a piece of junk, so I'll need to replace that with something worthy before I get a TT bike. I'd buy a TT now but I don't fancy doing 100k plus training runs over the Sally Gap on a TT every week (especially if it handles like a pig!).

I hear what you're saying about TT qualities, but I don't expect to get a great TT fit on a road bike. Just need something suitable to use for training/duathlons/triathlons/ and the odd road race, then work up the funds again for a TT.

Lumen

I have an Addict (2008 SL frameset). It is stiff, light, strong and good value relative to other superbikes. Crashed into a ditch at 40kph and it wasn't even scratched. It's not a sofa but if I wanted that I'd just stick 25mm tyres on it.

I rode a Cayo last year for a few months. I think it was more comfortable than the Addict, but I only miss that when I'm going slowly and the internal cabling was a bit rattly. I'd take SRAM over Shimano any day.

Haven't ridden the others.

doozerie

Not an answer to your question, but I was looking at this page on tri-bike fit recently. It is one person's opinion but assuming you accept what he says then it may be of use to you in deciding what kind of geometry would suit your purposes, which might help you narrow down your choices.

Traumadoc

Wilier mortirolo ( I saw an offer for about 1600 euro) may not be stiff enough though

furiousox

The Cannondale 6 was voted bike of the year by Cycling Plus recently.

Plenty of food for thought (and lots of bike porn!:)) here...


http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/cannondale-six-carbon-named-2010-bike-of-the-year-25639

Lumen

FWIW, I'm not sure that stiffness matters as much in triathlon as it does in road racing, since you're putting out as steady state an effort as possible with nowhere near the same peak wattages as in road racing.

I'm not saying that stiffness isn't generally a good quality to have, but since a road bike is not going to be an ideal fit for "serious" tri, you might be better off just buying a nice road racing bike which will be fine for tri until you decide to buy a proper tri bike.

It's worth also considering that your speed in competition comes from training, so you're better off buying a bike that is a pleasure to ride lots rather than one that is 10 seconds an hour faster.

Billy Whizz

I agree with tunney and Lumen, a tri bike does not need to be either aggressive, racy, responsive or stiff. It just needs to be fast, and of course it's only as fast as your position.

Kuota's frames are semi-aero and are worth considering. Pretty stiff too. Just don't crash as they break easily...

I'd recommend factoring a bike fit into your budget though as it'll be the best money you'll spend.

tunney

Billy Whizz wrote: »

I agree with tunney and Lumen, a tri bike does not need to be either aggressive, racy, responsive or stiff. It just needs to be fast, and of course it's only as fast as your position.

Kuota's frames are semi-aero and are worth considering. Pretty stiff too. Just don't crash as they break easily...

I'd recommend factoring a bike fit into your budget though as it'll be the best money you'll spend.

And for a bike fit, research who you are going to and what their methodology is about.

jimmyjacob

Thanks again guys. Seems like all my preconceptions of what I need out of this bike need to be revaluated.

Was looking at the fit service in Irishfit but they need you to bring you’re bike with you. That’s obviously no good to me! Is the appointment only fit service in CycleSuperstore worthwhile? Any other recommendations? As Tunney points out, I should probably do some research on various methodologies, but the more research I do, the less riding I’m getting done!

Lumen: I think I you’re right about just buying a nice road racing bike which will be fine for tri until I decide to buy a proper tri bike. I’m quite attracted to the Addict R4 at the moment, though I think your SL is a lighter, higher grade carbon frame. Nevertheless, the R4 frame weighs in at just under a kilo for the 56cm I’m looking at, with a total build weight of 7.8kg which seems pretty good. The Sram Rival components are also swinging it for me.

It’s between that and the CAAD9 Ultegra I think. The reliability and durability of the frame seem to be big pluses. If I could get the CAAD9 with SRAM I’d be pretty happy, but I don’t think my LBS will do that swap. Need to follow that up.

Does anyone know of any bike stores in southside Dublin that stock Scott bikes by the way?

jimmyjacob

Also, what's best for Irish race/road conditions; a compact or a double? Do you trade off speed with a compact? Might be an issue in a reasonably flat triathlon. Normally don't have any issues climbing in Wicklow on my current 14speed double so maybe I shouldn't be worrying about this too much.

ednwireland

20% off this on wiggle at the moment
they were complaining it was too stif on the cycling+ bike of the year test

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Focus_Cayo_105_Compact_2010/5360045299/

blorg

jimmyjacob wrote: »

Also, what's best for Irish race/road conditions; a compact or a double? Do you trade off speed with a compact? Might be an issue in a reasonably flat triathlon. Normally don't have any issues climbing in Wicklow on my current 14speed double so maybe I shouldn't be worrying about this too much.

Racing a standard double is better; for general riding I'd say a compact is better. I have the former on my race bike, the latter on my winter/training bike. You don't lose much top-end speed with a compact, particularly not if you use a cassette starting at 11T. The issue is that the front shift is quite jarring.

jimmyjacob

Ah... makes sense. Thanks Blorg. Haven't ridden a compact.