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forum
Audax Bike advice
Hello All
I am looking for new audax bike for my long days in saddle. I found on forum two(orro terra gravel 105 and ribble cgr) that were recommended, but which other bikes you would recommend to suit my needs. Thanks for any advice
- disc brakes with thru axles to make life easier in case of flat tyre
- frame as light as possible and can accept any colour. I am not that fussed about it if bike ticks all boxes
- mudguards and pannier rack mounts(max weight 10kgs)
- 9 out of 10 rides are on the road so no need for any fat tyres or heavy frames
- minimum Sora groupset
- budget no more than £1500, however cheaper the better
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.
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Sounds good! (I also have these kinds of cycles on my "to do" list)....
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23 comments
Planet X Tempest Rival 22 - £1400 so it's in budget, sub 10kg, hyd discs and it's Ti - what's not to like?
Agreed, cracking buy, BUT no mudguard bosses on fork
Classic PX gothca!
"With a slightly sloping top-tube, a relaxed riding position and mounts for mudguards and panniers the Tempest is perfect for epic adventures. " Am I missing something?
BTBS, I don't think Dave's suggesting he couldn't operate other brakes properly on an audax, just that the benefits of hydraulic discs (less effort at the lever, better modulation) are all the more apparent / appreciated when fatigued, and indeed may help in staving off some of that fatigue.
Yes, my experience of disc brakes and Audax is that they increase the margin of safety through better modulation and less lever effort. Audax, like racing, is a judgement game - the calculation of risk is ongoing and complex and safety is certainly not an absolute in any form of bike riding. There is mad, bonkers and insane but there is no ISO7000 when it comes to riding safely, it's all experience and judgement - part of the 'fun' of Audax is putting yourself in a position where you have to make those ongoing calculations. Also, that's life too right?
You should probably try one of the very long audax rides, BTBS. See how you get on with making the time checks after you've stopped because you're a bit sleepy.
Hydraulics if you go for discs, mechanical are OK but you don't get the real benefit for long rides - reduced hauling on brakes.
The tricky thing with riding very long distances is that you don't really know what's important for you until you start doing it. As above you *could* ride an alu bike like a Triban for 600km but it's not for me... I have a carbon bike I can ride to about 300km (discs, terrific) but then I have a steel bike for distances over that with rim brakes. Some people can ride carbon bikes with deep section wheels, some people would prefer to have their teeth pulled out with pliers!
If I was buying for Audax from scratch for your kind of money I would look at something from Spa cycles. Steel boardmans if you could find them, Kinesis RTD, Ribble Endurance 725 Disc looks pretty much on the money for you, Condor Fratello Disc, Genesis Equilibrium disc... If you can stretch then a Fairlight Strael or a Mason definition.
If you know what you are doing with tweaking bikes then Planet X do some cheap Ti bikes but there are gotchas - for example the current forks on most of their suitable bikes don't have mudguard bosses which, in the UK, is absurd.
Obvs trying before you buy is pretty important and really rather awkward!
I've ridden mechanical disc brake bikes; in the dry they're no better than good rim brake calipers and pads. In the wet, an undoubted improvement, plus you don't destroy your rims. But they need a lot of fettling and squeal like crazy if you don't use the right pads for the conditions. You'll eat pads quicker than you would rim blocks too. Just don't expect them to be night and day better than what you've got. If you can stretch the budget, go for hydro discs if at all possible.
I've nearly completed a self-build that owes me about £2K, but you could easily trim £500 off that. I used a Planet X Hurricane Ti frameset, Di2, hybrid disc calipers and custom built wheels with a dynamo hub. Get factory wheels and 105 there's an easy £500 saving.
I only used Di2 as I seem to have accumulated most of the necessary parts over the last year or so by picking up bargains when I spot them. They were intended to be spares for my other Di2 bikes, but (touch wood) it's that reliable I shouldn't need them. I can be fairly sure of that since the 6770 kit I have from 2012 is still going strong.
I may be in the minority here but for an audax bike where you're going to be clocking up long steady miles I would prefer to go for the simplicity of rim brakes. I wouldn't hesitate going for discs on an all weather commuting bike but on an audax bike you're not going to be on and off the brakes much. For me the priority for an audax bike would fit and comfort.
audaxes – especially longer ones – involve riding in whatever weather you get, and having to control the bike on roads you don't know when you're really tired. those are precisely the conditions, for me, when disc brakes make the most difference.
If you're that tired you can't operate your brakes properly on ANY road, known or unknown (in which case you'll be riding far more cautiously/slower right?) then you shouldn't be on the road full stop!
The fatigue factor in getting your brain to work/make decisions/react is multiple times over longer both in time and distance covered than the difference in any measureable braking distance difference between discs and rim brakes.
Sorry but I simply do not agree with your thinking, it's dangerous to ride fatigued to such a degree that you're relying on discs to get you out of trouble/make up for the fatigue and illogical with respect to safe cycling were you are again using discs to keep yourself under control on unfamiliar roads and/or when the weather becomes inclement.
Riding with that way of thinking will increase your chances of an incident no matter what the conditions, typical risk cmpensation that ignores the biggest factor by far in terms of braking, not to mention that once again you've ignored that the tyres are the limiting factor with regards to traction.
https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road-bikes/endurance-bikes/endurace/endurac...
This Canyon would do. Not sure on mudguard mounts but I have a club buddy who has done a 600km on one so it must do the job.
A friend of mine just did Windsor - Chester - Windsor on a Triban RC520 with no issues. She's now qualified for Paris - Brest - Paris and will be riding the Triban.
If we're talking about 200 or 300km audaxs then IMO most road bikes will do, I've done 200's before on my racing bike and seen plenty of aero frames with deep wheels on them.
Thank you for all your advice. Any ideas which bike I should buy? This would be my first disc bike and thought thru axles will make life easier to set myself. I do not want to buy a bike that will be a big dissapointment. I went in today to two different shops and they all tried to convince me that mechanical disc brakes are very good too and by a mile better than any rim brakes. From the other hand side I read on this forum to stay away from such brake system. I assume my budget is high enough, so the new bike will serve me for years and brakes will be a big step ahead to what I have now.
A cautionary tale from a club member who recently completed Windsor - Chester - Windsor (600km Audax), he ripped a spoke through his rim with 40km to go and his bike was unridable. Luckily for a him, a dog walker chanced upon him was a keen cyclist himself and leant him a wheel to make it to the finish. If he had thru-axles, he wouldn't hvae been so lucky.
Not quite sure what the moral of the story is here, im no audaxer either, but i would imagine easily replaceble parts are sometimes essential.
Hello I checked boardman asr 8.9 and it looks like it is out of stock. I can wait another 2 weeks or so, but will definitely go for hydraulic brakes. In my local halfords I was told today that thru axles are not easy to fit wheel too, because it is easy to damage thread on the axle. Not sure if it true or not, but I guess I should ignore their advice.
You do have to be careful. Just make sure you haven't picked up any grit and grime on the thread when you're changing the tube at the roadside. And as with any thread you have to be careful not to cross thread it. Thru-axles have pretty meaty threads so you'll probably be OK but personally I found Merida's approach almost as much of a faff as a standard QR. That was a screw-in axle with a QR lever to act as a handle primarily, but I found it tricky to get everything aligned - it wasn't just a question of doing the axle up until it was tight and then closing the lever. There are many solutions to the thru-axle requirement though and no doubt some will be easier to use than others.
Based on that use case definitely go for discs and make sure they're hydraulic. The investment now will be paid back in increased safety and less rim wear.
I had a disc brake bike a couple of years back with a thru-axle front and a QR rear and that was fine for wheel changes - mainly because there are no lawyer lips on the rear and the transmission and caliper tend to centre the rear hub automatically. Current disc bike has QRs front and rear and all I do when replacing the front is pop the wheel in, hold the brake on with one hand, and tighten the QR with the other. Agreed a bit of a faff but just bear in mind that there's a wide range of approaches to thru-axles at present, and some are better than others.
The Boardman ASR 8.9 is a R753 frameset with carbon fork and fits your requirements completely for £1299 https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/products/1573-asr-8.9.html
Hi I thought to get a good audax for years and my first thought was to get hydraulic brakes with thru axles at the same time if possible. I looked at RC520 this morning and they showed me how to take wheel off and back on with QR and you need to be very precise. I commute around 5.30 am in the morning and last thing I would need is to play with QR to stop disc touching the pads. I have now rim brakes fitted on my current bike and they are fine when it is dry,but rubbish when wet and read that hydraulic brakes could be an answer to it despite I use swissstop pads. I do sometimes 100-200 miles in one go so it cannot be a race bike. I want to feel more confident in rainy weather and colleague suggested disc brakes.
Nobody has ever accused me of being very precise and yet I've never had a moment's trouble removing or re-fitting disc wheels. It needs a little care but it soon becomes second nature.
Go for the better brakes sir, you won't regret it.
If you're up for self-building there's a ton of choice out there. If it's a true audaxer I'd consider something like the Kinesis RTD - https://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/Catalogue/Models/Racelight/RTD
Also consider Decathlon's bikes - e.g. https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-520-disc-road-bike-navy-105-id_855...
If you're going with disc brakes strongly recommend you get full hyrdaulic discs. You're eating a lot of budget though, and narrowing your choice a little. Are you absolutely certain you need discs on an audaxer?