Looking to upgrade to a road bike

[Rollin' River]

Hi there, I'm a noob to this forum, but have lurked here for a while.
I have been riding for almost 1 year. My current ride is a GT Avalanche 2.0 MTB. I ride for fitness, doing around 30km several times a week.
I am wanting to buy my first road bike in January. My budget is up to $1600. I have read some good reviews on the Cannondale CAAD 8 5 105 but there isn't a Cannondale dealer close to where I live so I would like some other options to consider.
What are some other good alloy models from other brands around this price range from Trek, Avanti, Giant or any others?
My preference would be to have all or at least mostly 105 running gear. Any input is welcome.

[bigfriendlyvegan]

Cell Akuna http://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/06/cell ... ke-review/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Absolutely love it. Will be publishing 6 month ride review shortly. Love it even more now than I did earlier.

Cell ship free. It's in your budget. It works. Tell them I sent you.

[TonyMax]

http://www.trekbikes.com/au/en/bikes/ro ... 2_compact/#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Slightly over your budget but you might be able to jag a sale somewhere.

[2wheels_mond]

Cell Akuna http://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/06/cell ... ke-review/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Absolutely love it. Will be publishing 6 month ride review shortly. Love it even more now than I did earlier.

Cell ship free. It's in your budget. It works. Tell them I sent you.

While it seems a great bike, I'd probably avoid it for now - they're still shipping with the 10 speed Shimano 105 group while the major manufacturers have moved to 11 speed 105, and there's some design changes which make the group nicer overall. When Cell are changing over the groupsets I'm not sure.

[ecg]

http://www.trekbikes.com/au/en/bikes/ro ... 2_compact/#

Slightly over your budget but you might be able to jag a sale somewhere.

I agree. Looks to be great value. 105 11 speed is MY2015 though, so not sure if they will be on sale.

If you look around you might be able to find some closeout MY2014s with 11 speed ultegra.

http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/a/road-b ... /102557878" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/a/road-b ... /102296097" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/a/road-b ... /102557514" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These are not recommendations per se but just an example of what's out there. I would personally go for the addict if you can stretch that far. It's a great frame, weighing less than 1kg. I've seen heaps of those addict 30 tdf editions so shouldn't be hard to get a good dea.

Second hand is also an option and you will get a lot more bang for your buck.

[bigfriendlyvegan]

Cell Akuna http://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/06/cell ... ke-review/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Absolutely love it. Will be publishing 6 month ride review shortly. Love it even more now than I did earlier.

Cell ship free. It's in your budget. It works. Tell them I sent you.

While it seems a great bike, I'd probably avoid it for now - they're still shipping with the 10 speed Shimano 105 group while the major manufacturers have moved to 11 speed 105, and there's some design changes which make the group nicer overall. When Cell are changing over the groupsets I'm not sure.

You only ride one gear at a time.

[2wheels_mond]

Cell Akuna http://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/06/cell ... ke-review/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Absolutely love it. Will be publishing 6 month ride review shortly. Love it even more now than I did earlier.

Cell ship free. It's in your budget. It works. Tell them I sent you.

While it seems a great bike, I'd probably avoid it for now - they're still shipping with the 10 speed Shimano 105 group while the major manufacturers have moved to 11 speed 105, and there's some design changes which make the group nicer overall. When Cell are changing over the groupsets I'm not sure.

You only ride one gear at a time.

Sure, but what's the point of buying something that is (more than likely) quite close to receiving a major update?

[tcdev]

My current ride is a GT Avalanche 2.0 MTB. I ride for fitness, doing around 30km several times a week.
I am wanting to buy my first road bike in January.

Just to come at this from a completely different angle, why do you want a road bike? I ask because exactly like you, I ride my MTB 30-35km several times per week for fitness (been riding 4 months now). I've toyed with the idea of getting a road bike myself (n+1) but I always come back to the thought that, if I'm riding purely for fitness, what difference does it make? Sure, I could ride faster and longer on a road bike, it being more efficient, but I'd still have to put in the same number of hours to get the same workout - right? So for me, I can't see the point, except perhaps seeing more of the city at a faster pace.

[MattyK]

I'll take that one - because it's more fun, and that inspires you to get out and ride it more. Plus they're nicer to ride hard due to the body positioning.

Apollo Vispo is another contender, there are still some 10 speed 2013 and 2014 models around on special ($1200-1300). 2015 version has gone to 11 but is north of $2000.

The Flight bikes Podium 1 is also a bargain if you are close to an A-Mart Allsports (aka Goldcross)

[lobstermash]

faster... faster pace.

That's why I like riding a roadie...

The 105 5800 is a very nice groupset. I'm not a fan of 11-speed, but the shifting is a world apart from 5700. The hoods aren't as fat either, which I find much nicer on my hands. Check out Polygon bikes - they've started to get some 5800 equipped bikes in.

[rodneycc]

I've got a size 54 Flight Podium 1 going real cheap in the market place e-go.com.au works a treat for freighting

[Rollin' River]

Thanks for the replies so far. A lot to consider... Yes the main reason for getting a roadie is for a lighter bike, therefore a faster pace. I also want to do some longer distance charity rides in the near future.
Please keep the suggestions coming!

[macca33]

Try Ebay and / or the bike sales pages on Facebook - some real bargains to be had. I have no hesitation in buying secondhand - you just need to know what your looking at - and there are some real bargains about if you look hard enough and have the right luck.

cheers

[p75213]

Cell Akuna http://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/06/cell ... ke-review/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Absolutely love it. Will be publishing 6 month ride review shortly. Love it even more now than I did earlier.

Cell ship free. It's in your budget. It works. Tell them I sent you.

While it seems a great bike, I'd probably avoid it for now - they're still shipping with the 10 speed Shimano 105 group while the major manufacturers have moved to 11 speed 105, and there's some design changes which make the group nicer overall. When Cell are changing over the groupsets I'm not sure.

I've got a 9 speed Tiagra, however I only use 6 of them. In fact I could comfortably live with a 7 speed cassette and 1 chainring (50T) on the front.

[Rollin' River]

I've just discovered this bike: Cell Lapa 2.0. http://www.this link is broken/Cell-Lapa-2-0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Anyone know if this is half-decent? Has triple butted alloy frame with 105/Tiagra groupset.

[rodneycc]

Yep that's a good one for the price. I'd test ride this and the Akuna side by side, both very good value for money.

[tron07]

I've just discovered this bike: Cell Lapa 2.0. http://www.this link is broken/Cell-Lapa-2-0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Anyone know if this is half-decent? Has triple butted alloy frame with 105/Tiagra groupset.

Since you are looking at Cell bikes, have a look at Reid as well. With the VIP discount, its good value for money

http://www.reidcycles.com.au/reid-falco ... -bike.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[danse]

If you're looking for a decent bike (carbon fibre fork and frame, ultegra components), I'm selling my bike for 899, take a look and let me know if you're interested. Even though it's secondhand, you won't find better value brand new that's for sure. https://www.bikeexchange.com.au/a/road- ... /102610722" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I tried PMing but kept getting flagged for spam.

[Rollin' River]

Hi danse,
That's a sweet looking bike, but unfortunately the frame is too large for me. I am 5'10".

[Rollin' River]

I've had a good think about it and have decided to go with the CAAD8 5 105 after all. I may as well get what I really want to avoid any disappointment.

[Nobody]

I've got a 9 speed Tiagra, however I only use 6 of them. In fact I could comfortably live with a 7 speed cassette and 1 chainring (50T) on the front.

Similar here. 9 speed. Mainly use 3 of them as it's fairly flat where I ride. Lower speed chains are generally known to last longer. The wet bike is 7 speed with single chainring. I think my next road bike crank will be single chainring so I can get a lower q-factor/step. Probably better for my knees since I'm fairly short.

[Rollin' River]

I ended up buying a Scott Foil 20 from my LBS. Discounted down to $1999. They are going to swap out the crank to a 105 compact and swap the cassette to a 12- 27 for no extra. I pick up the bike next week.

[bigfriendlyvegan]

Excellent news! You'll enjoy it, I'm sure.