Alternatives to BTwin Triban 500 upto £670ish?

[MrSingh]

I'm getting my first road bike although have ridden a hybrid for many, many years and a decent folding bike for a few months. My budget is £500ish.

I am 5ft 11'ish, very healthy and weigh 10ish stone. I want something half decent quality, not too heavy but I'm not about to try and break any records. I want an enjoyable ride and want the bike capable of doing the job should I start getting more serious e.g. Joining a local cycling club and going on sportives. A carbon front fork looks to be something I would benefit from having read a little.

With this in mind Decathalon have the recently released BTwin Triban 500 at £450 which I am considering (57cm frame felt nice when I visited the store earlier): http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-r ... 06944.html

Has received very good reviews:

http://road.cc/content/review/116333-bt ... -road-bike
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/ ... iban-500se

Pls note that although those reviews deal with the 500SE the 500 is the same but with Shimano Sora kit for gears, brakes etc. So basically for only £70 more than the 500SE the 500 looks like a very good deal.

Here's the thing. I have a friend who can get me a 25% staff discount from Halfords. They also happen to offer a very good pricematch policy: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... oryId_null

So basically my question is:

- Does any UK store/online seller offer a bike that's better than the Triban 500, and is priced up to £670ish, that Halfords also happen to offer on their website (don't worry about how much Halfords sell it for)?

In other words if there is a better option that will be price-matched to £670 then with my friends's additional 25% discount I can get it from Halfords for £500ish. They will do this - saved a massive chunk off my folder (Dahon Mu Uno) this way. Local Halfords manager is an absolute gem and very accommodating.

Here are their road bikes - not a massive choice at my price-range:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... Max%3D2050

Ps Here's a bike that might be the most appropriate Halfords alternative to the Triban - the Boardman Road Comp:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710

I would get that £700 bike for £525 with my friends's discount. Question is: is it worth the extra £75 over the Triban? (seems very much so with slightly lighter weight, better crankset, internal cable routing, much better rims etc.). Or perhaps even though the Triban is outspecced is it actually generally more fun to ride than the Boardman?

Any advice much appreciated.

[Brian73]

The Planet-X RT58 Aluminium is a good buy

Tiagra 10 speed kit (a step up from Sora), decent wheels

Sub 9kg bike

Good deal at £599

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXRT58AL ... -road-bike

Ribble do full carbon + Tiagra for £699 http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road- ... =conf_SERW

[MrSingh]

Thanks for that.

Ok budget has changed. I'm willing to spend more. Here's what I'm currently looking at, from priciest to cheapest:

Ribble 4600 EVO Pro Carbon (20sp)
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road- ... =conf_SERW
£720
Weight: ? (Variable but prob comparable to Mekk or little lighter given better component set)
Frame: Carbon
Fork: Carbon
Front Mech: Tiagra
Rear Mech: Tiagra
Brakes: Tiagra
Shifters/Levers: Tiagra
Wheels: Fulcrum Racing Sports
Tyres: Vittoria Rubino 3 Rigid
Pedals: No

Mekk 2G Poggio 1.5 Sora (18sp)
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mekk-2g-poggio-p15-sora/
£650
Weight: 8.68kg w/o pedals
Frame: Carbon w/ internal cabling (Di2 compatible)
Fork: Carbon
Front Mech: Mekk
Rear Mech: Sora
Brakes: Mekk
Shifters/Levers: Sora
Wheels: Shimano 500 clinchers
Tyres: Vittoria Zaffiro 700/23
Pedals: No


Planet X RT-58 Alloy Shimano Tiagra (20sp)
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXRT58AL ... #customise
£600
Weight: 8.84kg w/o peds
Frame: Alloy
Fork: Carbon
Front Mech: FSA Gossamer Compact BB3836 EVO Chainset
Rear Mech: Tiagra 10sp
Brakes: Tiagra
Shifters/Levers: Tiagra
Wheels: Shimano R501 C24 Clinchers
Tyres: Continental Ultrasport Wire Bead Tyre / 700c / Black / 23 mm
Pedals: No


Boardman Road Comp 2014 (18sp)
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65710#tab3
Price: £472.50 (normally £700)
Weight: 9.98kg w/o peds
Frame: Triple Butted Alloy w/ smooth welding, internal cabling
Fork: Carbon
Front Mech: FSA Tempo Compact 50/34t
Rear Mech: Sora 9sp
Brakes: Tektro R315
Shifters/Levers: Sora
Wheels: Mavic CXP22 on QR hubs
Tyres: Vitorria Zafirro 700x25
Pedals: No


BTwin Triban 500 (27sp)
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-r ... 06944.html
Price: £450
Weight: 10.4kg with stick toeclip peds - size 57
Frame: Aluminium
Fork: Carbon
Front Mech: Sora
Rear Mech: Sora
Brakes: Sora
Shifters/Levers: Sora
Wheels: BTwin
Tyres: Hutchison Equinox
Pedals: Yes (Flat, Toe clip)

Some thoughs:

Boardman - the best value of the lot given the price I can get it for?

Mekk - Just £200 more than the cheapest (Triban) & I get a 2kg lighter highly-respected full carbon internally routed frame ripe for upgrades (I would prob do full Tiagra once cheap Sora/Mekk setup gets worn out)...which will make it even lighter...Surely it is worth that £200 more than Triban but then does the Boardman pip it for value or maybe the Planet X represents better value.

Please share your thoughts. Ps looks wise it's between the Mekk & Boardman

[student]

I'd carefully study the geometry tables. For instance, I know that I need a 57cm effective top tube, and a 17cm headtube.

http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140621/wsg_www.k ... es.hu_.jpg
http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140606/szag_www. ... es.hu_.jpg

my two bikes. So, I'd choose that one which has the frame with the closest possible values. The frame geometry is quintessential. And for the components, I'd get some PX with tiagra. Why? Because Tiagra is 10 spd, later, if you'd want to upgrade, then you can get 6700 or 5700 gruppos (as they are being discounted ... and discontinued as well ) for upgrading.

The planet-x model looks very decent. Only I'd change the tyres for some folding ones (Vittoria Diamante Pro on PX is cheap as hell.. will get a pair of those soon..)

We hungarians tend to buy wiliers with campag, because for 700 bucks you'll get a nice wilier montegrappa with Veloce gruppo and Khamsin wheelz. But it's just because here the distributor always gets those bikes veeery cheap from the italians..

I'd go for the PX.

also, keep in mind: tektro calipers come with very poor quality pads. They tend to creak and wear ot the rim rapidly, and their bolts are prone to rust.. And FSA tempo means SQUARE TAPER.. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against decent square tapered cranks, and their bottom brackets laast much longer, but nowadays only the cheapest cranks come with square tapered BB, so it usually means that they're heavy, flexy and has very abysmal surface finish..

[MrSingh]

Many thanks. I just pulled the trigger on the Mekk 1.5 Poggio. Full well-respected carbon frame for that price with so much upgrade potential was just too irresistible

[student]

The Mekk frame has pretty good geometry IMHO. With the 565mm TT and 160mm HT, with 408mm wheelbase.. sounds like a charm for me. Can't go wrong with these values, so let's just hope the frame rides well.

ps: I know some people are after taller head tubes, but I'd say, it's easier to adjust the height with a shorter HT, as you can go either high or low, depending on stem angle and spacers. With a tall head tube you're limited to a certain value..

[MrSingh]

The Mekk frame has pretty good geometry IMHO. With the 565mm TT and 160mm HT, with 408mm wheelbase.. sounds like a charm for me. Can't go wrong with these values, so let's just hope the frame rides well.

ps: I know some people are after taller head tubes, but I'd say, it's easier to adjust the height with a shorter HT, as you can go either high or low, depending on stem angle and spacers. With a tall head tube you're limited to a certain value..

Many thanks. Will keep this in mind.

[Brian73]

Talking of tall head tubes, here's mine

Works pretty well, allows good use of the drops without being cramped

[student]

I like riding in the drops with the steelie. I like the hoods on the other bike (comfy to grip onto).

But I had been weightlifting a lot before started cycling, so I have very good flexibility and mobility.