Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

forum
road.cc bike forum

Endurance Road Bike for around the £1000 Mark.

by mikefearn83
Sat, Aug 15, 2020 10:05
9

Hello there.

As the title suggests, I am looking for my first road bike around the £1000 price mark. I have previously ridden MTB and Hybrid, but would like to get into road cycling. I am around 6ft tall and 15.5 stone currently, a little overweight if I have to be honest. Road cycling has interested for me sometime now and I really want to get out there and sort myself out a little.

I am looking at something with a relaxed approach, as comfortable as possible, and a decent spec if the budget allows. I have been pointed towards the endurance category which do seem to tick the boxes for me. I like the idea of a more upright position and I know for sure that racing is not what I am after.

I appreciate there are lots of choices out there and to be honest I'm getting lost. I would really a 105 setup, and am tempted towards discs if possible. I have been trying to find something with hydraulic discs, but I know this will push things up on the price point.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me, to something which would suit the kind of thing I am after.

Thank you very much and I appreciate the help in advance.

Mike.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

Add new comment

9 comments

Avatar
mikefearn83 | 4 years ago
0 likes

This is all great advice and much appreciated indeed. Thank you very much

 

Avatar
Cargobike | 4 years ago
0 likes

My tuppence worth.

Any bike can be an endurance bike, regardless of the marketing schmooze attached to it.

Ultimately, buy a bike that is the correct size for you with enough clearance for wider, comfier tyres and you're almost there. We all change the contact points to reach our desired needs after purchase, so pedals, stems, saddles, tyres etc can be tried and tested ad finitum once you have made your purchase, it's all part of the fun of bike ownership.

As an example, I bought a Focus Mares cyclocross bike just as the pandemic started, a very focused race machine, but by fitting Continental GP5000 tyres and a longer, flipped Easton stem and a saddle that suited my sit bones I now have a comfortable, fast, mile muncher. I regularly ride 100km+, does that make it an endurance bike?

Your biggest problem will be that there is little stock in the £1000 price category, it's the sweet spot for a lot of new riders this summer, so trying to find the perfect bike will be far harder.

Tl;dr don't get caught up too much on the research process, buying a bike and getting out riding should be the priority, as summer is almost over!

Btw I'm 6'4" and a hell of a lot heavier than you and absolutely love my purchase even though it wasn't exactly what I was looking for initially.

Avatar
alan sherman | 4 years ago
0 likes

At 15.5 stone I'd look at a gravel bike rather than a road bike.  reasoning is that the frame and wheels should be stonger (so resist twisting etc with your mass working on them), also comfort is a priority for you and gravel bikes some with wider tyres which are more comfortable and again protect the wheels from potholes with the large weight on them.  Also they have lower gears which is damn handy if you live in an area with steep hills.  OK it'll be a kilo or more than a road bike.  But I'd rather carry an extra kilo of weight on the than have a mechanical due to pushing the limits fo components.

Avatar
Speedy Gonzalez | 4 years ago
0 likes

I picked up a 2017 (little used ) cannondale synapse full carbon ultegra with discs for £1k on Gumtree. I have continued to look on gtree and ebay, if u r not in a rush u can pick up a very decent bike for that sort of money. I think it was tredz that did a write up on the various endurance bikes out there, they are all pretty good, the conclusion being that personal choice would prevail. Try some out whilst saving searches on ebay and gtree.

Avatar
ChrisB200SX | 4 years ago
0 likes

You could try perusing the buyer's guides, from the menu bar at the top of the page?

Avatar
RafatheRed | 4 years ago
0 likes

Make sure you do a ride test,you said you were looking for comfort and every bike is different. I really wanted an endurance bike . I tested the Giant Defy, Contend and Cannondale synapse. All felt very different. Tried a Trek Domane which I liked, but are expensive for what you get on the cheaper models. Stumbled on the Divege in a sale and took it for a ride.i was not looking for a gravel bike however it was comfy and great spech like the Allez, both are Specialized.

Avatar
mikefearn83 | 4 years ago
0 likes

Thank you all for the information. I'm slowly breaking the list down to a dozen or so.

Been looking at both the Contend and Allez together with ribble also. All are great looking options and seem to offer what I need. I know the Allez gets fantastic reviews.

Thank you.

Avatar
IanEdward | 4 years ago
0 likes

A Specialized Allez would be an excellent choice. 105 groupset, nice Praxis cranks, good wheels (I broke 1 spoke from new, fixed by shop under warranty, all good since).

The stock brakes are fine, but if you want to use it confidently in all conditions you could upgrade to Swissstop BXP pads. I've ridden through some atrocious conditions on my Allez and the braking is consistently good.

Just be wary if you want to fit full length mudguards, I had to do a bit of dremelling as clearance was a bit tight.

Avatar
RafatheRed | 4 years ago
0 likes

i looked for a very long time for an endurance bike for comfort and end up with a comfortable gravel bike with endurance geometry (Diverage E5 Comp 2019)  which was in a sell at £1300.There may be some Diverges still about . Love mine so much.Done Sportives and taken it on fire roads.An do it all bike if you 

The other bike i considered wasthe Giant Contend which is around the £1000 mark. 

 

Latest Comments