How Good Is An "Entry Level" Road Bike In 2024? - Trek Domane AL 2 Rim Brake
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- Опубликовано: 21 сен 2024
- What are the big brands offering as their "entry level" bikes in 2024?
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apparently it's domanEEEEE my bad
also is £750 entry level? let us know your thoughts.
To me the best entry level bike is the Triban road bike edr af 105. Shimano 105, R6 fulcrum wheels, 8.8 kg frame UCI approved, carbon fork. 999£
Entry level for a normal person? No. Entry level for a cyclist? Yes but pushing it on the top end of entry level.
That’s not important though. If how to pronounce the name is one of your main concerns, your priorities would be wrong.
Can you test Merida Scultura 400.
They're £849 with 105
Was it a replaceable derailleur hanger? Literally Francis's favourite thing and I don't think he mentioned it?
Think I'd probably have the Triban though. In the end the ability to have decent discs would slightly edge the looks, which are admittedly good.
Absolutely with you on the “attractiveness while stationary” factor: the more you find your bike appealing, the more you’ll want to hop back on it to log them miles.
Finally! A RUclips review of a bike most people could easily afford, ride, service, and park at the shops without fear of losing their life savings.
Bikes like this are the backbones of cycling. And they’re generally getting better everyday by out punching models a few generations ago that cost considerably more when adjusted for inflation.
Any concern over future proofing needs to be balanced against time (a ~10 year life span) and a realistic understanding of servicing.
Cup and cone bearings can easily last 10 years with occasional servicing. Rims for rim brake bikes will be around for a long time to come because they’re easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
One big issue with Treks, however… they come from the factory with very light oil or grease. Job #1 is regreasing everything before daily use,
[Bikes like this are the backbones of cycling. ] That's an excellent phrase! And this machine (and competitors) are good enough that it's the rider, not the machine, that allows them (or not) to 'do the distance'. You don't need a Lamborghini to go touring.
@@stephensaines7100 That’s right. I know a few people whose only bikes are very expensive Italian racing models. They go for 1-2 long rides a year, plus a few rides around the neighbourhood. And they suffer afterwards because it’s not enough to stay “bike fit”.
Meanwhile, some bloke is commuting or riding several times a week on a fitness bike. Zero complaints. Minimal DOMS because they’ve built up good bike fitness from thousands and thousands of kilometres of annual riding.
The former people own nice bikes. The latter people are real cyclists.
You say cup and cone bearing can last 10 years, but the reality is you are going to have worn down the rim surface on rim brake bikes buy then and they are in the bin. My Shimano R501 wheels were really good for £100, never serviced the bearings eventually after 7-8 years and tens of thousands of KM, several spokes broke, then the rim surface cracked. But I never serviced the bearings and they worked fine, reality is no one is rebuilding a wheel with these reletively cheap components you just buy a new one for £50-60.
@@Alex-to8es why have someone rebuild a rim when you can do it yourself. A few hours and lots of cursing gets the job done.
I’m a disc guy now anyway..l
I have this exact bike as my second bike. The geometry is really good done rides of 50 plus miles in the Peak District including big climbs. Changed the standard one piece brake blocks to cartridge ones, put some new Mavic Aksiums on and some Michelin Pro 4 Endurance. I got in for well under 750 in a sale at a LBS. I sometimes choose it over my racier bike for longer rides as the geometry for me is spot on.
Excellent choice of new tyre's and wheels you made,you can't beat cartridge brake shoes.
Blendr is Trek’s proprietary mounting system for accessories. I have a Blendr mount for my Garmin on my FX3.
Blendr is genuinely great. I have a bontrager stem on my Cervelo, I've learned to love Blendr, despite not knowing what it was originally.
I bought this exact build back in 2021 as a winter training bike. I've travelled with it, ridden relentlessly on Surrey and Hampshire roads on it through winter. It's awesome. I got some alloy Fulcrum Quattro wheels and 28mm tyres on it (Gators in winter) to make it invincible when you don't want to puncture.
The gears are brilliant but the breaks are getting stiff. Make sure you replace cables and clean those tubes after a year of use to optimal performance. The Claris system is a great mechanical chain set but the cable routing on the hood it a bit trickier then an older 105, Ultegra or Dira Ace when it comes to threading in a new cable. You have to remove the bar tape and the cable housing for a clean route. It's agile, comfortable and an ideal training bike or commuter bike. 7/10 long term review.
I picked up a 2022 Domane AL2 Disc on FB marketplace for £300 in excellent condition. Added Hunt carbon wheels, electronic Wheeltop EDS carbon groupset, and GP5000s with TPU tubes. Carbon Seatpost/handlebar & JuinTech hydraulic calipers. It's a fantastic bike, all said and done for under £1300, and it looks amazing! Weighs 9kg for size 58. Great deals to be had secondhand vs paying retail if you're already planning on upgrading it 👍
Absolutely agreed.
100percent. Entry level bikes should be..... second hand! Also, Jimmy, my aluminium framed, carbon fork, 25mm tire road bike- according to everyone who's ridden it -is absolutely comfortable ( and inspires confidence when cornering, Francis). OK the most recently available version would have set you back £2500 - for the frameset only- so perhaps sometimes you get what you pay for. Or rather what someone paid for, coz I got it..... second hand!😊
Is Cube selling in the UK? I think the new Cube Attain 2025 range is the best value for money you can have at the moment.
I think rim brake is fine for most bikes. Lighter, cheaper, easier to maintain, and perfectly good enough brake performance unless you're racing, doing alpine descents or don't know how to brake properly in wet conditions.
I do alpine descents in the wet on rim brakes.... No problem
@@hcw199 In that case even less need for discs than I thought! I'm still on rim anyway and don't feel any desire or need to change tbh.
@@theoceansswitch Same... I'm gonna stick with rim brakes. Easier life, no chink, chink, chink... Also save money
I use that exact bike as my commuter every week. It’s done about 9k miles over the last 3 years and still going strong. It is like triggers broom and I have replaced multiple parts myself and it’s so easy to work on and does the job perfectly. It got me hooked on the sport and I have upgraded from that now but more than happy using it to get too and from work
Exactly. This type of bike is meant to be ridden.
I like bicycles that have the seat stays meet at the top tube...
Got this bike second hand on FB marketplace for £200 recently and very happy to see you make a video on it. Can't wait to really take it out on long rides and get some miles in. Currently hooked up to my other recently second hand purchase, zwift hub one.
my first road bike was trek 1. in 2017, i got i cheap from the shop because the RD hanger is bent, prolly it was a test bike and fell.
i was a bike mechanic at that time so it's a good deal and an easy fix,
i use it mainly for commuting to work, it's a good ride, i have no uncommon issues and i enjoy riding it, i named it candy because its red color, until somebody went to the shop and asking for it, i said it's not for sale, and it's not even his size, but he insisted because he likes the looks of it, but at the end the bike is sold, higher price than when i bought it.
Sometimes i miss it, i was looking for the old pic, but it's all gone. I want to ride it again, a true breed road bike so efficient it sets my PRs on many local segments.
it's fun.
That fidlock bidon was holding on for dear life
I think the best budget bike is the van rysel edr 105. 999 for 105, 8.8 kg uci approved frame, fulcrum wheels and a carbon fork
That's the bike I've got. I bought it just after it was released over four years ago. The wheels aren't even the most basic - 18 spokes in the front, 20 in the back and they're bombproof. The frame is excellent - comfortable and great to sprint on. And you can fit 30 mm tires!
That blue is beautiful
Love these entry level bike videos. Do you have them as a playlist?
Im old enough to remember when £750-800 meant that you got a half decent bike equipped with a mish mash of an Tiagra or off-brand and 105 groupset or almost a full if not a full tiagra groupset depending on the bike. Bikes like the older Tribans were very good value for money in those regards. Off-brand cranks/chainrings and brakes but everything else on was quality shimano. You dont even get a 105 or Tiagra with the £1000+ Domane AL 2 Gen 4
The branding of the group set isn’t a big deal. Claris will deliver everything that’s required by most people. Is 105 better? Sure. But sometimes “better” is the enemy of “good enough”.
Want 105? Shop the sales, find a group set or components, and upgrade yourself at a cost less than the set of good tires at MSRP. Or better yet, get a good set of tires and stay on Claris… or be fastidious about chain cleanliness and lubrication. Those are where the real wins are.
Modern low end Shimano groupsets may be much better than you expect them to be
@@paulgrimshaw8334 8sp Claris vs 10sp of the Tiagra though. less big jumps in gearing and more versatility.
Maybe because this is their entry level bike I can let Trek just about get away with it.
But like i said. They dont even give you Tiagra on the £1000+ less _entry level_ AL2 bike. You get mechanical disc brakes though. I dont understand the value prospect behind it. is a mechanical disc brake worth an extra £250-300?? I personally dont think so. I would rather the money be spent on upgrading the groupset or offer the spec on a different model so people can have a choice where they want the bike budget to be spent i.e rim brakes but upgraded 10sp groupset.
With that said. Id probably be looking at the second hand market for better value if not sourcing my own bits to build a bike to my own spec.
@@Rose.Of.Hizaki All,great points. I think a rim brake “premium” is marketing and profit seeking. As for a mech disc for $200-300 more.,, silliness. But the same premium for hydraulic disk is a no brainer.
There are no good reasons for thru axles costing more… but they are a better solution for a number of reasons.
As for gearing, I’m a big believer of having a few different wheel sets with different cassettes… or swap cassettes for hill climb days or racing days. It’s not just the gear spacing. It’s also the range of gears. Those can be dialled in p tightly to favourite routes (including commuter routes) better than what the manufacturer of the bike has in mind.
@@Rose.Of.Hizaki You're very right.10 speed Tiagra ins't that new right? Pretty much 10 years old today. Assuming some kiddo don't want to become a bike mechanic, just wants to ride a bike - this 750 (or that Giant from the end of video) are pretty good offers. Not to mention that pushing into 10 speed Tiagra is yet another pitfall. Can't upgrade into 105 (or higher) without throwing everything again, back to the bare frame.
I bought the version AL 2 Disc version in 2021 for 1290USD. Has served me well for almost 7k km. Went from 94kg to 81kg in 6 months. The first upgrades were carbon handlebars, stem and seatpost (from aliexpress). I jumped into the gravel madness with panaracers SK 38mm. Recently upgraded to hunt gravel race wheelset with schwalbe pro one 32mm road tires and shimano 105 12speed. Can't be happier. It would have been cheaper to buy a nicer version or different bike for the same amount of money spent, but I wouldn't have learned everything I know about mechanics, geometry and bike fitting
I have this bike but with Shimano 105 disc and it is brilliant. Launched me into the world of cycling and I’ve since changed the bars to be shorter reach like Francis mentioned. I have a set of carbon Elite Wheels on order at the moment which I think will really lighten it up. 105 is an absolute dream and the semi external cable routing makes it super easy to swap bits out. £900 essentially brand new on FB marketplace think it was a steal!
I know you are not fans of Halfords but the Boardman slr 8.6 has the same specs ( component wise ) shorter reach handlebars for £520 ( on offer now ) lack of smaller sizes but the paint job on the women s one is pretty good
Well done Francis for a common sense presentation of this bike. Lots of people haven't the experience to buy 2nd hand and sort out the bike, they need bikes like these to get started and feel they have a safe ride.
Just purchased my Al2 lithium grey off Team cycles 2 weeks ago. Quality company and I'm pleased with the bike.
For reference, Trek's US site is showing it on sale for $999.99 (down from $1,129.99), only currently available in blue/black in 56 and 58.
Trek is knocking them out the door at reduced prices these days. In fact, its prices have softened over the last 12-14 months with zero reduction in content. This is due to softening of sales post COVID and high inventory.
Interesting! $1K is the magic figure.
I started back into cycling on this bike. I since upgraded to the carbon Domane. Love this bike.
As a beginner myself, i have what i belive to be the 2019 version, black with red Trek logo, looks gorgeous with matching red BBB flexribbon handlebar tape. Let's put it that way, i'm not slow because of the bike :). What i didn't like about it though were the brakes, they have a certain wooden feel to them, and if you are afraid of descents and are constantly on the brakes you can really quickly wear out your rims (which happened to me). I'd say either switch the break pads out or change to 105 brakes like i did. 8 speed is plenty enough for any beginner, shifting is great, the 25mm Bontrager R1 tires are puncture resistant, but very heavy and they can be slippy in the wet - if you can swap them out to a 28mm mid-tier tire like a Bontrager R3 it will slightly increase comfort and there will be a marked difference in speed.
If my local bike shop had a bike like that. I wouldn't have fixed my old one.
I am the target market this bike would be aimed at as the cost of new bikes with Di2 are far more expensive than I can afford, maybe Francis could do a video looking at what improvements could be made to this or a similar bike in that price range. Team cycles is a great shop with very helpful staff, and I do enjoy the videos from Francis and Cade.
Worth noting would also be the life long warranty on the frame and 2 years on everything else, plus a rock solid dealer network.
I have one of these in black/gold that I bought ligthly used for the equivalent of £300, my first road bike, and I feel that I don't need anything more.
I only upgraded the tires to 28mm continental ultrasport III and have put 6000+ km on it since october last year. Have done several 200k rides and one 300k audax on it.
Very comfortable if you get the right size for you.
YAY! ENTRY LEVEL ROAD BIKE SERIES IS BACK.
Age 69, I do agree with current trend for wider tyres and rims... copes with SE London and Kent ruts, potholes, and very knobbly (even main) roads. Old 23C tyre narrow rim bike at risk of getting stuck in ruts they are so wide. Some knobbly roads make for dropping 3 gears compared with flat section before the knobbly area.
I agree, looks great! imo looks are really important too.
I had a to make a difficuld decision a month ago between this bike and Giant Contend 1(699 eur in Germanny), and bought Giant in resoult, because of Sora groupset, but one tricky moment, Giant has 135 mm rear hub, that makes this bike a bit difficult for upgrading wheelset, for me it's complitely fine and I really enjoy riding this one, it works for me purfectly, but it the future i'm planing to swap tires for something more interesting.
For those who might be thinking about this Giant, i'm 185cm and took L size, it a bit long for me and I swaped stem for shorter (90mm, insted 110) and handlebar, it's too wide in L size (440mm) and I highly reccomend to try this bike in the shop, because size M/L can be better for you and maybe for me too, but I had a few free stems and dropbars.
I bought the Domane AL 2 gen 3 last month for £800 from my local Trek Shop on clearance. It’s a gorgeous Hex Blue colour which is what drew me to it. For another £50 I have a slightly better looking frame imo and disc brakes. It’s pretty comfortable to ride, due in part to the 32c tyres. Trek seems to have weird sizing, their tool puts me on a 58 or even a 60 for 181cm height an 89cm inseam. I bought a 56 and it fits okay. Very happy with it. Thinking of putting a carbon wheelset on it that I can carry over to my next bike.
I thought the bike industry stop selling things like this with externally rooted cables and rim brakes so it’s great to see. I’m very tempted to pick one up.
I bought an Domane AL2 last year on ebay for £250 as my first road bike. Stonking value! A few years old but pretty much the same spec as this
Keep in mind a frame with a shorter head tube with all else being equal will have a longer reach of approximately 7mm per 10mm reduction in head tube length.
Super sleek classic look from Trek. Obvious limitations but excellent value! You could also go biketouring with this bike. Looks like a fun ride. You guys have any tours planned for the fall season?
Funnily enough, I collected my AL2 as my first road bike just yesterday. 2022 rim brake version for £750, happy with the purchase so far
Cannondale synapse Al was my choice and I don't regret it. A couple of hundred extra but you get a lot more.
I know we go on about Decathlon, but back in 2019 and early 2020 you could get an Ultra AF Btwin or later branded Van Rysel near the end of its production, for £850. That came with R7000 105, direct mount brakes, Mavic Aksum’s and continental tyres. I still have mine and use it as a Crit bike and it’s pretty light for alloy.
How on earth did we go from that to this trek. Like an entry level Btwin in 2019 was £350 with the same spec as the trek. You could get a Sora one for £499.
90’s Cannondales are my fav intro bikes. I’ve built 2 in the last 3 months with modern group-sets for under 800 canadian dollars (~£440) total. I think Facebook marketplace may eliminate the need for brands to produce new “introductory” bike models
Bought my first road bike 6 months ago. This was on my list but for 200$ more I got 105 group set with polygon. Color is horrible but 105 and actual 28 tyers
In 1996 i paid £750 for a steel framed Paul Donohue 531 frame and fork roadbike kitted out with Shimano 16 speed RX 100. It weighed 22 lb / 9.8 kg. This trek is easily as good a bike. I think its remarkably good value. What people really need is to drop a few kg of bodyfat and train 5 days a week. They would easily keep up with people on £3000 bikes.
The number of my customers that come in calling it a DOMAIN is hilarious. It's at the point where we just gloss over it at this point
I started with a trek domane al2 disk break did me well and did what it needed it to do..since upgraded and I do miss the saddle 😂
Apparently it is. All I can add to that is that thank God I still have my Eighties Argos Racing Renovated Reynolds 531 that I continue to ride, both locally and distance, and replace parts (upgrade in most cases) and sometimes replace with found rare (nowadays) parts like Stronglight 99 cranks (I'm running an SKF BB with drive side roller bearings that's as good as new ten years after installing). SPA Cycles still sell replacement chainwheels for a very reasonable price.
So I view what's on the market now with abandon, save to witness that the trend *for the great majority* back towards max value for minimal price is an encouraging trend. Frankly I feel embarrassed for the trend crowd. They've taken the fun out of cycling, and they're on a different page than many of us.
Btw: Just out of interest, I note the crankset with this Domane is five point ring mounting. There's a story there, and credit to them. They look vastly more 'right' than the awkward four point ones.
I bought one of these in January - my first 'serious' bike - and did the Dunwich Dynamo on it in July. The tyres are *not* good, and need replacing immediately. But other than that I've been pretty happy with it. The more I use it, the more I think the reach is too extreme, but other than that it's a brilliant 'entry level' (not getting into that argument) road bike.
“When you look at the bike in your kitchen” I know that non garage feeling…
3:38 the water bottle clinging for dear life
I bought a Giant Contend SL1 with 105 alloy frame, carbon fork and seat post, rim brakes ebay £385. (Practically new!)
You could check the Specialized Sirrus X 2.0 flat bar- good call for commuters at £600!! 🤘🏼
As an entry level bike, it would be pretty good for someone who's a casual rider. I'd bump the tire size up, but that's just me.
That Giant at the end also has a nice color. Must add that $100 extra though.
I’ll actually pay the extra 250 quid for an Allez. It’s got room for a lot larger tyres, it’s got disc brakes and fender mounts. The newest frame set also isn’t that heavy 😊
You guys should review the Pinnacle Laterite range from Evans Cycles (similar style entry-level road bike with rim brakes). The Pinnacle Laterite 3 with Sora groupset was on sale recently for 300 pounds (if you paid with fraser plus). It's currently 500 pounds atm
You should re-test the Triban ("Van Rysel"?) 520 Road bike. If it now comes w/ Microshift Sword, the shifter ergonomics should be a significantly better than their old Advent.
Test the new entry level Cube Attain. Only 800€ in Portugal thanks to our VAT, and you know you can get a deal on them if you try.
Great vid!! Do you guys not think that the boardman 8.6 SLR is a direct competitor to this bike?
My son has broadman £600 though I did rip it apart have upgraded it frame was very good for upgraded
I have this bike but with disc brakes. In my opinion, it's worth the extra money to buy the disc brake version instead of the rim brake. I'm now riding riding it for 2 years and I have done some upgrades ( the tires cause they were horseshit, I have gone from 8 speed to 11speed cause 8 was just not enough). but this bike is really great for that price I would reccomend it!
Canyon Endurace 7 RB is around 1200 GBP- over the budget, but I'd consider to save cash a bit longer and buy it.
I wouldn't be worried for rim brake parts and wheels availability for DECADES. There are millions of rim brake bikes in use all over the world and more are still being bought new.
Bought a rc520 with 105 at the beginning of the year ,one of the last in stock for 620€.
Not a bad deal may I say 😊
You should deffo try the giant contend, I know it's more but basically the same bike
I get the idea for these videos, but..... what do you get USED for the same quid?
Technically a lot more...
Can you get Kellys ARC 10/30 in UK? Similar money and spec, better looking, always on hollowtech 2..
I just bought the Triban GRVL 520 for £999, came with the Shimano 105's. Good value? I was waiting for months to get a Triban gravel after your Malaysia trip!
Boardman currently has a very similar spec bike for £520 at halfords.
So how and where would you place the Trek Domane al2 disk?
I paid £1050.00 for mine a year ago absolutely brilliant bike to start out on.
Since then however I've upgraded it to full 105 12speed mechanical groupset. Scribe carbon wheels 50d and redshift stem and seat post.
Continental gp5000 28mm tyres.
Sele Italia boost saddle
New handlebars.... (Can't remember which lol)
It's now a hell of a bike........ Rides as smooth as carbon. But a tad bit heavier.
So is this the old Emonda , and what grade aluminum is it?
My wife has a lapierre sensium also entry level with rim brakes
I hesitated between this one and the triban rc 500. Then I chose the rc 500 at 700€ in sale in France over the trek priced 800€.
I thought it better value because of bigger tire clearance and disc brakes,
Thanks Francis and Jimmi , Polaroids ?
If Lael jumped on, wonder how far round the 🌍 it would last before sending up a flare ! 😂
This was my first entry level bike I bought back in 2018. I paid $800 for it for the same specs. $200 increase since then not so justified imo but the colors are nice.
Can someone explain to me why smaller bikes have steeper seat tubes? The body proportions are the same on small people, so why is so? I saw some companies maintaing same seat tube angle throughout all their sizes. I can't imagine anything steeper than 74 being comfortable, and many find anything steeper than 73 uncomfortable, especially for endurance geometry.
what about the Boardman slr 8.6. Id also include the triban 500
Rim brakes for the win
Life time warranty on trek frames and forks which is a plus point
i use triban 100 with mods 7x2 and now i buy triban 500 , I hope it's not a waste of money
Do you guys know the brand Radon from germany? They sell their Radon R1 with full tiagra groupset with hydraulic breaks for 999€. Thats a pretty good deal in my opinion.
Would it last longer and require less maintenance than the top model? That might be an interesting, if long-term, test.
Well it ain't got discs - so it'll cheaper for a starter and simpler to maintain!
Rim brakes are just easier overall to maintain. However, rims' braking surfaces do wear out over time. So I don't know about 'lasting longer'.
Discs aren’t expensive to maintain. More an issue of taking care doing an initial adjustment because anything coming off a sales floor is poorly sorted these days (including very expensive bikes).
Would it last longer? Maybe.. probably if the cup and cone and sealed bearings are serviced. A cotton swab and good qualify grease annually will keep cup and cone bearings going for a decade or more. Same with popping the dust cap off a sealed bearing, washing it in solvent, and regreasing (which people can do, but don’t).
@@nickbu A rim will last many times longer than a disc. We're talking alloy rims, not carbon.
have you guys already done the Giant Contend?
Is the 520 prowheel also out of stock in the UK?
what about gravel? State or Poseidon- poseidon has a new road bike coming out at this price point
Can you take a look at Polygon bikes, as I think they are good value and have some UK support for spares. Keen to know your opinion of them. Thanks.
It's not 100% clear if Go Outdoors will keep representing them in the UK, but for sure £650 for the Polygon Strattos S5 with Shimano 105 could be better than this one and the Decathlon. Let's see what Halfords has next...
The 62cm size makes it a hit for me.
I’ve got the domane al3 and it’s such a better looking bike and 32mm tyres, i will never go back to thinner tyres 😂
I have rim breaks on my giant contend 1 and i just bought a TCR advanced 2 with rim brakes for £1500. Much better value and much nicer bikes. I have hydraulic disc brakes on my MTB and cant imagine any reason at all why i would need them on a road bike
The diamondback hook is entry mountain bike I bought for 615 usd but went up to 815 usd that would be a good bike some one can buy to get into MTB
Maybe compare what you can get second hand for the same price??
Hey, guys, last year bought a giant Defy composite for 800€ I do not know which version it is however delighted with it and it was brand new as the owner had only ridden it around 400 km in around 8/9 years. Do you think it was a good entry-level as I'm a noob in bike tech I just watch some vids doe. Ps: bought it on the store
The Poseidon Triton is releasing at the same price. It's spec'd a bit better but technically not available until October.
Triton is out now. It’s their X Ambition (cheaper bike) coming out in Oct.
I ordered one of these myself! Looks like the earliest I'll possibly be getting it is October 7th, but the specs on it look great. 10 speed microshift sword. 32mm tires come with, up to 37 i think. Bike itself is hot in a matte black finish. Seemed to be decently sized, IE their Medium is a 52cm frame. Very medium-esque. And there is a 100 coupon code seemingly always available when you sign up for promo texts (which I then cancelled) so at $899 it seemed really nice.
Downside is they are direct to consumer, so unless you live in their part of California, test riding one is out of the question. But the components all seem a little better as a result since there's less middlemanning.
@@cneubert28 the Triton and x ambition v2 both release first week of October. At least last i looked 😁.
@@tzlrc0 literally have a Redwood on the way, and the Triton went on sale on Sept 19th. 🤙🏻
@@crasyrob i agree it's allot of bike for the money. I got the Ambition X delivered for $700. That coupon code is awesome!
domaaaaaaneh 🚴🚴♂🚴♀
Iam really interested in how cheap a entry level bike with the new shimano cues sti with hydraulic discs will be.
I would like to see some bikes with tiagra. Rose Blend(1200€), Radon R1 Disc(999€), ...
One of my rides is a Trek Dual Sport 3. The one with the HLO fork that adds 2.5 kilos to weight. Same Alpha Gold frame as the Domane AL. Shimano hydraulic discs and 1-by with a clutch derailleur. Deore group set.
Purchased for £600 last year. I’ve ridden it 2200 km. Keep it clean and service it myself. Zero problems.
My point isn’t to “sell” this bike… Dual Sports are no longer configured the same. My point is that any group set from Shimano generally works really well. Any AL frame from any mainstream manufacturer generally works well as long as care is taken in sizing. Weight is actually a bonus for a fitness bike… a few extra kilos makes one stronger and is only noticeable when switching to a performance configuration. But such bikes are expensive to maintain and a worry to park, so not a great everyday bike.
@@paulgrimshaw8334 But price wise, you cannot compare a road bike to a fitness bike. At least not yet.
Everyone has a different taste and a different set of minimal specs.
For me its 30-32mm TL ready tires, hydraulic disc brakes, dropbar and thru axle.
@@hkp9257 Agree. Absurdities occur mostly at the extreme ends of the sport…
A 25mm tired, latex tubed ultra light bike with a crushing drop isn’t going to be a go to ride on normal roads for long kilometres, day in day out.
A 30 kg e-bike has noting to do with fitness… especially when some models can’t be driven when the charge is depleted (the wheel locks or the extreme resistance of a cheap planetary gear set/motor makes the unrideable).
Certainly, racers drive the former. And people who aren’t well informed on what fitness actually entails ride the latter. Everyone else trying to justify riding those things under false pretences isn’t being realistic.
It's sad you cannot get good bikes with rim brakes anymore. I rather have quick release, the breaking of rim brakes is more than enough (it was even for professionals, so there's no need for disc brakes on road), but the more important thing is: maintenence... It's so much simpler, no oil, no rubing noises. F**k bike companies for overcomplicating things for costumers.
Rubbing noise was a big issue with disc brakes and QR, now with thru-axles rubbing only happens when one of the pistons got stuck and won't move back. With a properly maintained and cleaned bike this won't happen. So no, modern specced bike with disc brakes is pretty much flawless no noise performance, and rim brakes CAN squeal and whine too.
seems like "entry level" means differently around regions, in Chinese market entry level is under 3000rmb thats just over 300 pounds, and you get aluminium alloy frame + fork + wheels, with L-twoo R2 or similar 7 or 8 speed group sets, a lot of them are thru axel and hydraulic brakes. if you have budget for about 4000rmb, thats 400+ pounds you will get L-twoo or sensah 10 or 11 speed hydraulic group set and start getting carbon fork. Bikes like trek al2 and specialized allez e5 are about 5500rmb on the online retailer as i remember, thats about 600 pounds? with shimano claris, i assume the only advantage for these 2 bikes is having a lot of size options, just like decathlon, and decathlon now putting their rc520 with 105 derailleurs on sale for 4500 rmb.... i guess only thing Chinese brands should improve for entry level bikes is make more size options, there are too many entry level bikes have their largest size 54 or 56 with stack under 580, people who have over 180cm height will have to spend more money for trek or specialized "entry level" bikes or higher level bikes in Chinese brands
As a guy who works in a bikeshop I've told shit tons of this bike
Approx 60 bikes in 23-24😂😂