The Dream

I've been contemplating getting a new bike for a while. To be honest, I really could do with a winter/all round/Audax bike as at present, I only have my trusty Specialized Allez Elite and my mountain bike.
I love the Allez. It's turned out to be a brilliant first proper bike and to a degree, it's probably all I need in a bicycle. I dislike riding it in winter and bad weather where you can almost hear the components crying as they get smeared in grit and road muck.
A winter bike is a sensible choice then and if I get one that will have a bit of flexibility, it could become an all-round bike and perhaps a light tourer. I figure a second hand purchase will make financial sense and if I stick to Specialised, I know the sizing will be spot on. I've decided that I'll keep an eye out for a good second hand Allez sport (possibly a triple for added flexibility) or a Tricross for the option of some light off road action. Once the summer is out of the way, i'll get the wallet out.....

So why's there a picture of the Specialised Venge at the top of the page? Well, I can dream can't I? I saw the bike on several websites and i have to say, it's my favourite looking bike at the moment. It looks super fast, just standing still. I thought dreaming would be the end of it, but seeing this bike and stumbling across a thread on the BikeRadar website regarding the influx of Chinese carbon frames got me thinking......

For the past few years, we've spent a fortune on a nursery place for my son. Thankfully, he starts school later this year, which means a saving of £700 a month. This gives me the flexibility of a potential bike build over the winter months. Looking around, the Chinese carbon frames seem to be getting rave reviews and as we all know, the majority of bike manufacturers produce their frames in the far east, so it's only natural that these factories would start selling unbranded frames at discounted prices.

A bit of searching and I found that one such well reviewed importer, produces a version of the Venge frame and it comes in around the £300 mark. I could order one and then with a mid range groupset, a few extras and utilising my Fulcrum 3 wheels (putting the stock ones back on the Allez) could see a build come in at just over £1000 for a 7kg full carbon bike that shouldn't look too dissimilar to the Venge. Wheels could then be upgraded at a later date when funds allow. Empty pipe dream? Watch this space........