Looking for a new road bike.?

Question

I am going to use the Cycle 2 Work scheme to finance a new bike.  This means that I am looking in the sub £1000 category.  Comfortably I am looking around the £800 mark.  Ideally I would like Tiagra, or even better a 105 group set.  Carbon fork and probably a carbon seat post as well. May have to chop and change at the shop.

Anyway, am looking at a couple of models:

Marida Ridelite 93
Marida Race 903
Giant Defy
Cube Peloton

and am also interested in Focus machines

Am interested in Pros and cons of the machines and am looking for a comforatable, but fast machine that has a great deal of versatiltiy to allow me to do long charity rides, but blast the hell out of traffic on the commute.

Hippies vies on the Defy especially sourght.

Luck

? · Accepted Answer

Yes...I do like the Giant Defy series of bikes - a lot!  Why?  The main reason, they don't outsource their rim & wheel supply.  They make their own.  I'm not exactly "thin" by any stretch of the imagination.  If their wheels will withstand my chunky body & not get out-of-true - you should be fine.

Another reason is they stand behind what they sell.  Last spring I was getting a creaking or popping noise from the headtube area.  The bike shop replaced the bearing cones first, then the entire headset.  The noise was still there.  After consulting with Giant, they finally admitted a few Defy 5 bikes were developing a hairline fracture where the steer tube met the fork.  Not being able to come up with an exact match, Giant sent a CARBON FIBER fork with carbon fiber steer tube - NO charge.

I'm not a big fan of a carbon fiber seatpost on a bike with an aluminum frame.  There's a special type of lube that must be used to keep it from seizing up - the name of which escapes me now.

But...my opinion is only one of thousands (or millions) of cyclists.  The final decision has to be yours after a few test rides.  Find one you like better than the rest.  Buy it.

Mtrlpqbiker · Answer

It's all very well to look at components, but fit and the way a bike handles is much more important. Properly set up, you probably wouldn't see much difference between a bike with 105 and a bike with Tiagra, at least until the next generation 11 speed 105 becomes available later this year. So just get out and test ride the bikes you are interested in to see which one suits you best. Don't rely on the impressions of others, because what works best for one person may not be as good for someone else

hummerhead2002 · Answer

Would trade the Meridas for WILIER Montegrappa Elite Racing and La Pierre Audacio 400 Compact ---both specified w/ features on leisurelakesbike.com----

? · Answer

defy

Looking for a new road bike.?

4 Answers