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Porta105
Joined: 07 Nov 2009
Posts: 14
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 Posted Sat Nov 7, 2009 8:50 pm |
Hi there,
I know this has been done umpteen times before by many people like me but having had a trawl through the forum nobody has mentioned the bikes that I'm looking at.
I'm going through the C2W scheme but I'm still on a budget so I'm looking at £600-700 on the bike plus 100-150 on top of that for helmet, clothing etc. Also being on the C2W scheme means that buying 2nd hand is out of the question as I don't have the pennies to pay up front and without the discount the scheme brings me.
Having searched the net and popping into a couple of LBS I've come up with:
Trek 1.2 £625
Bianchi C2C Nirone Sora £675 (current favourite)
Orbea Aqua TSR 2010 £650
Specialized Allez Sport Triple 2010 £625
I was quite interested in the Allez as it's highly favoured by people but my LBS said that Specialized aren't shipping till Feb even though Evans have it in stock on their website.
Anyways, sorry for the essay, any thoughts?
Also posted in the beginners forum http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12661155
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Escargot
Joined: 04 May 2009
Posts: 294
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Posted Sat Nov 7, 2009 9:33 pm |
Is there any chance of you paying an extra £25 for the C2C Mirage ?
I had a bike with Sora and have ridden a 2009 C2C with the Mirage group and my opinion was that the Mirage was smoother in operation.
I can't really comment on the other's but the Bianchi is a great bike
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Slow Downcp
Joined: 12 Jul 2004
Posts: 2468
Location: Walsall
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Posted Sat Nov 7, 2009 9:59 pm |
Of the ones on your list - the Bianchi, but with mirage if it's only £25 more.
Carlsberg don't make cycle clothing, but if they did it would probably still not be as good as Assos |
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pickled
Joined: 01 Jul 2009
Posts: 153
Location: South Manchester
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Porta105
Joined: 07 Nov 2009
Posts: 14
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 12:47 pm |
Escargot; Could you let me know where you've seen the Mirage for the extra £25?
I've realised a lot of people are fans of the Campy-Bianchi relationship but as a novice is it a noticeable difference between that and the Sora gruppo?
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Buckled_Rims
Joined: 04 Apr 2009
Posts: 107
Location: Geordieland
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 1:08 pm |
| pickled wrote: | +1
I'm not a fan of Sora levers. Try both if you can |
Does anyone actually like them? I've never meet a Sora fan.
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GemmaAtkinson1
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
Posts: 142
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 3:48 pm |
i had sora on my my first entry level bianchi c2c. its perfectly fine if you are starting out and its set up well.
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Porta105
Joined: 07 Nov 2009
Posts: 14
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 4:49 pm |
Gemma, which year did you have the c2c sora and any problems with it I should know about?
Buckled; I've discovered the Sora levers are a little marmite-esqe, I've read that some people prefer them to having a wobbly brake lever so I'm going to have a test ride next week I think and see how it goes.
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GemmaAtkinson1
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
Posts: 142
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 6:40 pm |
well i had the entry level black via nirone alu with sora. i had never had a race bike before. I bloody loved it, was comfortable enough, and i upgraded to lioghter wheels.
I had my sora tuned up well when i purchased the bike and had a further 2 services on the bike in the 18 months i had it. I always found a little tweak of the barrel adjuster to add in more tension was all it needed.
I now ride a full carbon B4P, and i love it, but i never had any problems with the alu via nirone. I was also knocked off twice on this bike and it survived both accidents with minor scuffs only.
id say if its your first bike, its a lovely bike, ride it into the ground, and when or if you take your cycling more serious in the future you can upgrade to something better with a superior groupset . But beware of people crowing to get ultegra or things like that on your first bike, i think its better to start off on the cheaper scale of things then progress when your ready and sure about the sport.
wish you many happy rides on it if you go for it!
(ps - i sold mine which i bought for £500 for £350 on gumtree so they hold their value relatively well)
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Buckled_Rims
Joined: 04 Apr 2009
Posts: 107
Location: Geordieland
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 6:54 pm |
| Porta105 wrote: |
Buckled; I've discovered the Sora levers are a little marmite-esqe, I've read that some people prefer them to having a wobbly brake lever so I'm going to have a test ride next week I think and see how it goes. |
I should really have said "Does anyone like Sora after using 105, etc..."
Anyhow, I'd rather stump up the slight extra and buy the compag mix.
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/bianchi-via-nirone-item129108.html
Nice bike - yum yum.
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andyxm
Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 25
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 11:01 pm |
I had a Via Nirone alu carbon model for around a year, and to be honest was very dissapointed with the bike, lovely looking but a real let down on the performance side-my average speeds over the same rides were no better than when riding my Roberts tourer, which is getting on for 30 pounds and has 26" wheels and touring tyres. My impression is that Bianchi are living off past glories a little, I'd seriously recommend at least trying out a few other bikes
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dmclite
Joined: 14 Dec 2008
Posts: 1436
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:51 am |
I have Sora triple on my winter/commuter/training bike and Ultegra 10 sp on my race bike. The sora needs a bit of tlc and fettling now and again but I still quite like it, just look after it and its fine.
FCN 1
I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast but I'm intercontinental when I eat french toast. |
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GemmaAtkinson1
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
Posts: 142
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 11:29 am |
| Buckled_Rims wrote: | | Porta105 wrote: |
Buckled; I've discovered the Sora levers are a little marmite-esqe, I've read that some people prefer them to having a wobbly brake lever so I'm going to have a test ride next week I think and see how it goes. |
I should really have said "Does anyone like Sora after using 105, etc..."
Anyhow, I'd rather stump up the slight extra and buy the compag mix.
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/bianchi-via-nirone-item129108.html
Nice bike - yum yum. |
would have to second this, bianchi with campag is nice 
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Porta105
Joined: 07 Nov 2009
Posts: 14
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 1:17 pm |
| GemmaAtkinson1 wrote: | | Buckled_Rims wrote: | | Porta105 wrote: |
Buckled; I've discovered the Sora levers are a little marmite-esqe, I've read that some people prefer them to having a wobbly brake lever so I'm going to have a test ride next week I think and see how it goes. |
I should really have said "Does anyone like Sora after using 105, etc..."
Anyhow, I'd rather stump up the slight extra and buy the compag mix.
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/bianchi-via-nirone-item129108.html
Nice bike - yum yum. |
would have to second this, bianchi with campag is nice |
That bike does look incredibly tasty, the only problem is that with this being my first I'd prefer to stick to the LBS (M.Steel in Gosforth Buckled) to help me weed out any teething problems etc that there are bound to be, plus they offer your first 3 services for free.
Andyxm; What should I be looking at when taking for a test then? I thought a test would involve riding round the local streets for a bit, not really time to find out average speeds etc,
Dmclite; What bike do you have the sora set up on?
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Escargot
Joined: 04 May 2009
Posts: 294
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 1:25 pm |
| Porta105 wrote: | Escargot; Could you let me know where you've seen the Mirage for the extra £25?
I've realised a lot of people are fans of the Campy-Bianchi relationship but as a novice is it a noticeable difference between that and the Sora gruppo? |
In short no 
I'm sorry for being a total plank but I meant the Xenon (yeah, I know they sound alike  ) which is £25 over you max budget. Unfortunately I got all mixed up as I tried the C2C with Xenon, Mirage and the 1885 with Veloce.
Anyways the Xenon is still better IMHO than the Sora due to the smoother gear change.
I'm not biased either way when it comes to Italian bikes and group sets but I would say the thumb shifter on Campag seems to work better than the old Sora I had, which was quite clunky. In terms of shifting I found even the lower Campag stuff changes more smoothly than Ultegra SL but I found the hoods very uncomfortable relative to the Ultegra ones.
Soz again for the mixup.
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phearnde
Joined: 05 Sep 2008
Posts: 38
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 3:46 pm |
My entry level bike (Orbea Fleche) has Sora, which I find just fine, I particularly like the little indicators on the hoods that show me roughly which gear I'm in. Something which strangely is missing on the more expensive (upmarket?) Ultegra!
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Porta105
Joined: 07 Nov 2009
Posts: 14
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 8:44 pm |
Hmmm the 2010 Xenon is £50 more than the Sora, but it is in Celeste too!
I'm off for a test ride of the Sora on Saturday, not sure if they had the Xenon in stock but I'll definitely contemplate it. My original budget was about £600, this biking malarkey is getting expensive.
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GemmaAtkinson1
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
Posts: 142
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 8:49 pm |
let us know how you get on and enjoy the test ride. if its your first racer consider asking them to adjust seat height and maybe flip the stem to afford a more forgiving position.
ps - the more you get into biking the more it seems to creep into an 'essential' expense
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Porta105
Joined: 07 Nov 2009
Posts: 14
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 9:04 pm |
Thanks Gemma, I've ridden an old racer of my dads years ago so I may as well be brand new to the concept.
Anything I should look for or concentrate on while going for a little spin, they seem a pretty good shop so should be able to get them to help set it up etc, only problem is now I'm going to have to sit patiently for a few weeks till my C2W voucher comes back to me, hopefully it won't be too long.
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Philby
Joined: 01 Jun 2009
Posts: 28
Location: Bristol
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Posted Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:04 am |
Don't forget to budget for pedals and shoes - these will make a huge difference to your performance on the bike, but could easily add £100+ to your budget.
I have a Bianchi C2C - really enjoyed it and was by far the most comfortable bike when I was looking round. Try and get the best groupset you can afford. Also wheels, tyres etc can be upgraded to lighter models when they wear out, or you come into some spare cash.
Don't worry too much about the average speed of the bike (see AndyXM post above) - most of that is down to the rider. I have overtaken people on bikes 5 or 6 times as expensive as mine and have been overtaken by people on much cheaper bikes.
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