I’m looking at purchasing a Roadie for training and competing on. As you may know I’m aiming to take part in my first Sprint Tri early next year / season.
SO I’m after a Road Bike to train on and use in comps. I’m not looking for full aero as it will be used for general endurance riding around the countryside. But I want something that is light enough to be ok on a Sprint Tri.
The budget is 2K.
i like the look of either the Ribble Aero Disc SL or the Endurance Disc SL Both £1699 and £1799 respectively. (Full carbon, 105 groupsets, Mavic Aksyium Wheels)
however I popped into my LBS and he has a 2019 Giant Propel Advanced 2 reduced from £2799 to £2239 and he says he has some wiggle room in it. Its full carbon, 105 groupset but non-disc. But it has the deeper dish carbon tubeless rims.
So I have a few questions:
Do I really need Discs?
Will I benefit from the Better carbon rims in day to day use? I guess i will on races.
Is the Giant Carbon superior to the Ribble Carbon?
I’d love to support my LBS if possible rather than in an internet company, but I also want VFM.
I would be tempted to go for the cheaper bike and upgrade the wheels later. You don’t want to be using your best carbon wheels all the time, and you can then chose the wheels you want that suit you best.
Discs brakes are personal choice. Rim brakes are still disk brakes, there is nothing revolutionary about discs. Converts say you get better modulation and better wet braking. Dissidents say they are heavy, wear out pads quicker and they are more expensive and fiddlier to change.
The other two bikes have the same groupset. I can’t see there is much difference between frames. ITs the drivetrain that does the hard work on a bike. Any significant difference in weight between the two?
Ultimately I would buy the bike you prefer as I doubt you could get a cigarette paper between the two in terms of difference.
I would go for the cheaper bike too, then get a set of shiny race wheels later on.
Worth checking out Planet X for their disc options (Pro Carbon Evo Disc / EC-130E Disc) you can get Ultegra equipped bikes for the same money as the 105 on the Ribble
Unless you live in the mountains, 99.99% of the time rim brakes are absolutely fine, however 0.01% of the time, having a disc brake may save you from a crash. For me that 0.01% gives me extra confidence to push harder (probably take more risks), but it is worth it. I also find disc brakes nicer to ride, as they are more predictable and brake more consistently, however, there is one time when you will be thankful to have discs… the wet race, carbon rims, water and pushing as hard as you can are not a good combination, I’ve not crashed in a wet race, but had too many hair raising experiences.
If you want to ride mountains, Disc brake every day, quite a few people in my local club have blown their carbon rims on big descents, due to overheating. when I lived in the UK I thought that this was just a myth, however, on mountains it does happen. (when we talk about a big descent, could be 20km long with 1500m+ vertical)
If you want to support a LBS, then have a look at Stonehenge cycles in Salisbury, they have a nice looking 2016 Cervelo R3 Disc close to your price (with 40% discount)
I would also concur with the view to buy a cheaper bike with basic wheels and upgrade wheels
Are you buying obsolete tech if you buy rim brakes on a new bike? Yes, probably
The big manufacturers have stopped selling bikes with rim brakes, so over time replacements and spares will become harder to come by. Not an issue right now, but maybe in the future.
I bought a car with 900 miles on it…
it was mint but it wasn’t brand new…
All 5 bikes off e bay, last one was £500, I sold the wheels off it for £320…
Covered it in bling and it’s a flyer.
Mi spend a fortune in my LBS but I’ll probably never buy a bike off them.
For the OP a young local guy has just gone from a propel, highest spec and aero wheels with clips to a tt bike, and he Says he is no faster for the same power
Having purchased a Ribble TT bike at the end of last year, I would NOT recommend the brand. Sure, you get a lot for you money but as the bike assembly is so poor I ended up spending some money to rectify their mistakes (my query was swallowed up in their system, the best they could offer me was a £50 voucher for a scratched top tube). Furthermore, they did not fasten the cassette properly, nearly did myself a mischief taking it around the block for its first spin.
For that money look at Decathlon. You’ll pick up a great bargain, especially in autumn / winter.