New bike suggestions :)

[Defblade]

I'm sure you'll all enjoy this 

I think this forum is where my natural riding style home is ... quick, but not fast; head up admiring views rather than head down chasing splits; happy to sit and spin a granny when the slope's too steep/long ... and I'm hoping to avoid all the boy racers sticking their 2p in

I'm looking to buy a nice bike for my 50th birthday in May. Lead times, however, mean I've really got to start looking now if I want to be riding it then.

I have a 20+ year old Thorn Brevet. It's done a bit of everything and still could/can, but I'd like a treat, basically!
Having the Brevet means that if I ever want to go lightweight touring again, lug stuff around, or go out knowing it's going to be soaking wet, I've already got those bases covered. For the winter, it's also doing  fine job on Zwift.



The bike I want probably won't get mudguards or racks, even if it has the mounts. It's going out on fun, mainly (hopefully!) dry, one hour long up to all-day rides.

It'll cope well with broken up Welsh back roads covered in gravel and general mess. Occasional short bits of actual gravel, but nothing the Brevet hasn't been perfectly happy with on 28mm tyres.

It'll have discs as (a) I fancy them (I had a 2nd hand mtb for a while, and the hydraulic discs were superb), (b) those Welsh back roads tend to be be steep, narrow, potholed, still gravelly, twisty and unsighted, may contain tractors etc, and (c) I'm a heavy old lump and take a fair bit of stopping. The posh SwissStop pads I've got on the Brevet's rims are ok, but not great - I ride them a lot on descents as I don't trust them to stop me in a hurry much beyond about 20mph.

It'll probably be 105 or equivalent. Law of diminishing returns and all that. Also relatively cheap to swap parts around on. 2x or 1x considered - I spend a lot of time going uphill or downhill here at one end of the range or the other, not so much worrying about tiny gaps in between.

It won't be steel - I've already got a half decent one of those - I would like to have some added lightness about the whole thing.

It will make me proud to look at it, to get on it, and to ride it. It'll therefore perhaps be a little bit special (sadly my budget is realistically some way off custom), from a small volume manufacturer, even if I could get "more" for my money from a big producer. But I'm open to suggestion!

It will be likely to actually be available in the next few months... in approx 60cm/XL as I'm 6' 4" (and very flexible, so exact geometry isn't massively important).

 

If there's a triangle of road bikes, with race, touring and gravel at the corners, it'll be near the middle, with a nod to touring and a strong tug towards gravel, both for the relaxation and comfort they bring.




Budget is up to £3k.

Current #1 on my list is the Mason Definition in 105 flavour https://masoncycles.cc/shop/categories/definition-bikes

Sone way behind, #2 is the Lauf Anywhere in bottom-of-the-range weekend warrior spec https://www.laufcycling.com/product/lauf-anywhere?currency=gbp although I could be tempted to sneak a couple of hundred over for the nicer groupset one model up


Otherwise... hit me with your best shot!

[sojournermike]

I would look at Fairlight Strael or Genesis Volare 853 (frameset 995 from Spa). However, they’re both steel.

You could probably buy/build a nice Ti bike for that budget too - you’d need to think about whether it was racy enough but either the Spa Elan Ti or Sabbath AR1 are disc braked Audax bikes (Spa own Sabbath brand) that fall well within your budget at 105 level and probably ultegra level.

There are other suppliers than Spa of course! Ribble Endurance range and more.

An interesting carbon choice might be Pearson’s Minegoestoeleven, but it’s quite pricey from them. You can get the frame direct from China as it’s open mould, but then you’d have to build it. It’s firm and efficient and a bit brutal tbh, but feels fast. Clearance for up to 32mm tyres on mine so you could take it anywhere...

[Brucey]

I too would suggest Ti and the Spa Elan springs to mind. 

The other thing I would say is that with almost any bike, thinking early on of the exact tyres you are intending to use is very much worthwhile. "32mm is the new 28mm" in that you can buy fast and light tyres in 32mm now that were not available a few years ago, so maybe that is in your mind.

cheers

[Duckfoot1606]

For that kind of budget I’d factor in a professional bike fit first and then decide what groupset to use, frame choice last of all.

You have many options, have fun making your choices

A

[DuncanM]

If you aren't going for a custom bike then I'd definitely go to a bike fitter first so you can make sure the geo suits. This might be especially important as XL bikes seem to vary wildly in how they scale the original bike. You want it to be a joy to ride, if it is uncomfortable then you'll just use your current bike.

[chrisbainbridge]

I would not rule out carbon from a big manufacturer until you have tried them.  I have just bought a trek emonda and it is absolutely lovely.  It is incredibly light and climbs hills beautifully.


Also if you want to do hills and enjoy them consider at this stage what gearing you want.  I have gone for ultracompact gearing using absolute black oval chain rings and a rear long cage derailleur.  This should allow me to keep climbing hills even at an incredibly slow speed for many years. 

Also tyres size is important as you know.  the change in the last couple of years has been incredible.  My Domane will take upto 32mm  whereas the racier new emonda will go a size or two bigger!

Also factor in the cost of lightweight wheels.  A good wheelset will make an enormous difference to how the bike rides.

I had great fun looking for my new bike. I hope you will too and from riding it.

[citoyen]

My immediate thought was the Domane, though availability will be an issue.

But £2.5k would get you the SL5, which I think looks great in the 'Rage Red' colourway.
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/bikes/road-bikes/performance-road-bikes/domane/domane-sl/domane-sl-5/p/28311/?colorCode=reddark_black

For a bit over £3k you can get the SL6 in 'Purple Abyss' (who comes up with these names?)
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/bikes/road-bikes/performance-road-bikes/domane/domane-sl/domane-sl-6/p/28313/?colorCode=purpledark_black

And the current model Domane takes tyres up to a massive 38c.

That Mason does look very nice though.

[sojournermike]

I find following the trajectory of geometry and fit fascinating. Appreciating the benefits of bigger tyres, but the Domane sizing suggestion puts me on a 58 or 60 (I’d likely go smaller), but both are taller and shorter fit than I’m used to and have more trail. The Mason is similar. It really is a bit of a revolution compared to a world where ‘everything’ was 73 parallel and long and low.

These threads are always a great chance for us to show our individual preferences!

[Defblade]

I had a bike fit recently. My Brevet turns out to be just about right (we dropped the saddle about 2 or 3 mm and moved one cleat forward slightly, both to take a little strain off my shorter leg), but the advice I got was I'm flexible enough to ride pretty much anything. Which is nice to know, but doesn't help with narrowing down my choices


Spa have just gone on the list, too... I've always had a soft spot for Ti

[sojournermike]

I had a bike fit recently. My Brevet turns out to be just about right (we dropped the saddle about 2 or 3 mm and moved one cleat forward slightly, both to take a little strain off my shorter leg), but the advice I got was I'm flexible enough to ride pretty much anything. Which is nice to know, but doesn't help with narrowing down my choices


Spa have just gone on the list, too... I've always had a soft spot for Ti

If you can ride anything and could live without disc brakes and no mudguards you should grab a test ride on Spa’s Sabbath Mondays Child if you’re in the area. I think they have a 58 class built up. A complete hoot, but very focused. For wheels, I’d avoid Kinlin 22T in a 20:24 spoke build though and go for 31T - they’re more aero and will cope with that lacing.

Whatever you go for, if you are interested Spa are great for test rides and will encourage you to have a proper ride before settling.

[Karla]

Something like a Domane sounds good.  Carbon, lightweight, discs, 105, 28mm tyres; surely there must be lots of bikes fitting that spec these days?

Avoid the temptation to go too kitchen sink-y or you'll end up duplicating the Thorn's functionality.  You want a fast summer bike, remember 

[Defblade]

 you should grab a test ride on Spa’s Sabbath Mondays Child if you’re in the area.

Whatever you go for, if you are interested Spa are great for test rides and will encourage you to have a proper ride before settling.

I'm in south/west Wales, so N Yorks is a bit of a stretch; not to mention lockdown coming back for us shortly

[Defblade]

Avoid the temptation to go too kitchen sink-y   

It's surprisingly difficult. A big chunk of my life is always trying to find the one thing that will do a range of jobs well, to avoid clutter and duplication, and to let me afford something of good quality. Buying something focused really does need a good excuse!

[morbihan]

Avoid the temptation to go too kitchen sink-y   

It's surprisingly difficult. A big chunk of my life is always trying to find the one thing that will do a range of jobs well, to avoid clutter and duplication, and to let me afford something of good quality. Buying something focused really does need a good excuse!

A utilitarian disc frame with a couple of sets of wheels. 650b and 700cc could widen the range of uses.

[sojournermike]

Avoid the temptation to go too kitchen sink-y   

It's surprisingly difficult. A big chunk of my life is always trying to find the one thing that will do a range of jobs well, to avoid clutter and duplication, and to let me afford something of good quality. Buying something focused really does need a good excuse!

A utilitarian disc frame with a couple of sets of wheels. 650b and 700cc could widen the range of uses.

Something like an Open Cycles Unbeaten Path or 3T Exploro? Probably budget constrained, but there is this frameset that shares the Open Up Geo - http://www.velobuildmall.com/products/2019-velobuild-carbon-fiber-gravel-bike-frame-new-version-12x100-fork-available-1 I think the frame used to be built by Workswell Bikes and it’s a bargain at the current price. Again would need building up.

Disclosure - I have the yellow frame shown in the paint examples and elsewhere on here. It’s in bits at the moment due to me stealing things off it, but may get reassembled at some point.

[Defblade]

Avoid the temptation to go too kitchen sink-y   

It's surprisingly difficult. A big chunk of my life is always trying to find the one thing that will do a range of jobs well, to avoid clutter and duplication, and to let me afford something of good quality. Buying something focused really does need a good excuse!

A utilitarian disc frame with a couple of sets of wheels. 650b and 700cc could widen the range of uses.

Stop it! This is to be a one-job machine!

[sojournermike]

You could just buy a frame and hang it on the wall - keeping the Thorn for actual riding

https://stelbel.it/en/model/stelbel-sb03-disc/

http://www.g2cycling.club/stelbel-sb03/





As I said earlier - we all get to show our preferences and prejudices!! I like mechanical gear change and rim brakes, but accept that the utility bike has discs and mudguards:)

One of my senior colleagues has his broken Colnago frame on the wall in his office