Q. for roadie types

illybait: Better to be sure and swap the whole lot for Shimano.

there is also a 'Belgian' deep drop version

i have the Belgians.

i notice a huge number of pro-riders seem to favour non-anatomics as well.

Even if that was true, pro riders are never a good basis for sorting out your own setup (unless perhaps you are a pro and can spend hours a day riding, stretching, sitting in wind tunnels, etc).

I prefer to be holding ana. Ana FTW :)

i didn't say they were - i just said i have noticed a surprising number using non-ana drops.

Knob-jockey.

the non-anatomical classic bend bars are coming back. i suspect the major brands will come with more of them. at the moment they only have the classic bend in expensive models.

Hey, fbr - you can get the Deda 215 for standard clamps for less than £30, and the same goes for the Pro PLT for OS clamps.

that looks alright. herniated disc friendly drop (not too deep). not bad at £22.60.

I've got it on my Condor - the transition from tops to curves is a tiny bit more square than the Deda shape, and the drops might be a few mm shorter. Good option if you can't afford the Newtons.

PS. Pro PLT also do a 'compact' bar, which is uber-shallow (and non-anatomic).

In case you haven't found out already, the one downside to using Criterium bars as opposed to more modern bars is that you don't get a flat transition from the tops to STIs or Ergo levers. You can sort of fiddle it a bit, but the bars and levers end up looking a bit wonky.

I find I can't ride on the hoods of my aero brake levers on my Criterium bars for as long as I can on the ergos on my more modern ITM bars. I guess it may be just a case of what you're used to though

Thought I'd revive this old thread for a roadie question. I'm ordering a road bike on Cyclescheme at the moment, and I've priced up Ribble's cheapest aluminum frame with Campag Centaur groupset and Vento wheels for £990. Thing is, they also charge a £65 fee for ordering with Cyclescheme.

Before I hit the button, does anyone know of a similarly good deal around at the moment? Perhaps with someone who doesn't charge that fee?

i just wanted to put this up again. it is brilliant. and true.

Want! Where can I buy that print?

Thought I'd revive this old thread for a roadie question. I'm ordering a road bike on Cyclescheme at the moment, and I've priced up Ribble's cheapest aluminum frame with Campag Centaur groupset and Vento wheels for £990. Thing is, they also charge a £65 fee for ordering with Cyclescheme.

Before I hit the button, does anyone know of a similarly good deal around at the moment? Perhaps with someone who doesn't charge that fee?

Personal choice, but assuming its not a workhorse for commuting I'd rather have a blinger frame and slightly lower groupset, the Ribble Dedacciai Nero Corsa with veloce for £1003 for example, and upgrade bits as necessary.

or there's the Planet X SL Pro Carbon Ultegra for £999

Thought I'd revive this old thread for a roadie question. I'm ordering a road bike on Cyclescheme at the moment, and I've priced up Ribble's cheapest aluminum frame with Campag Centaur groupset and Vento wheels for £990. Thing is, they also charge a £65 fee for ordering with Cyclescheme.

Before I hit the button, does anyone know of a similarly good deal around at the moment? Perhaps with someone who doesn't charge that fee?

Utter piss-take. They obviously don't want your business too badly. Why not just go to your nearest decent quality bike shop?
Last time I used my annual £1,000 voucher they threw in £30's worth of inner tubes...

going back to the OP. I have a cinelli crit bar on my fixie..

but i have an oversized FSA K-wing handlebar on my road bike which anatomically works better for me with campag ergopower shifters for +100mile week-end rides .

But it has to be personal preference surely.. as for new purchases, I wouldn't bother ordering a cheap aluminium frame and putting centaur groupset / vento wheels on it.. go local and try before you buy like Platini suggests, assuming you are investing in a road bike and not commuter / hack bike..

it simply is not worth spending circa £1,000 on a bike and not know what it feels like to ride, i agree with Konijn choices though, and there are plenty of top quality 2009 frames about so shop around..

Thought I'd revive this old thread for a roadie question. I'm ordering a road bike on Cyclescheme at the moment, and I've priced up Ribble's cheapest aluminum frame with Campag Centaur groupset and Vento wheels for £990. Thing is, they also charge a £65 fee for ordering with Cyclescheme.

Before I hit the button, does anyone know of a similarly good deal around at the moment? Perhaps with someone who doesn't charge that fee?

For £100ish more you can keep the Centaur and get a nice carbon frame. The wheels will be slightly lower spec but overall I reckon you'd get a much nicer bike - I really like my Sportive.

PX is arguably a better deal but IMO their frames aren't as nice looking as the carbon Ribbles. Also, they don't do Campag.

Matthew

Planet X charge 10% of the value of the Cyclescheme voucher as an admin fee. The head tubes on the Planet Xs are also short, so most people have to use a stack of spacers or flip the stem to get the handlebars to the right hight which ruins the look of the frame.

Thought I'd revive this old thread for a roadie question. I'm ordering a road bike on Cyclescheme at the moment, and I've priced up Ribble's cheapest aluminum frame with Campag Centaur groupset and Vento wheels for £990. Thing is, they also charge a £65 fee for ordering with Cyclescheme.

Before I hit the button, does anyone know of a similarly good deal around at the moment? Perhaps with someone who doesn't charge that fee?

I don't know how/if its relevant but Decathlon do some well priced, very decent looking bikes in Carbon and Titanium as well as a mix of both built by Dedacciai. Maybe worth a look?

I think that in the back of my mind the idea of ordering a high-spec group and wheels was that in a year or so I could buy a new frame and have a spanking road bike.

Parts wear out faster than frames. Get a decent frame now and some parts to make it run then upgrade as and when you can afford.

What about the Boardman road bikes? They were cheap and well-reviewed for a while. Have prices gone up now? I always suspected it was a marketing thing as the brand was new.

You get SRAM on the Boardman team carbon bike (£999), depends if you get on with the shifting or not, reviews are good though. The Boardman Comp is cheaper ([/URL][URL="http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&partNumber=934406&langId=-1&cmmmc=Googlebase--Performance+Bikes%2FPerformance+Road+Bikes--Na--Boardman+Road+Bike+Comp+Large+2010&source=shopping&%24%24tid=M5WpQP0Qvd_DcdkuQi8Og8m93f7xngKftbZcDOEDKj1IbyrdyRgu6O8k0rkOJDr0"]£650), but has a wierd groupset mix.

If I was doing ribble for about that money, I'd get the Sportive Carbon with Veloce and Vento Wheels. £1096. A bit more cash, but totally worth the extra IMHO.

Limited to £1,000, unfortnately, for admin reasons.