haheap

I am about to buy my first road bike and need a bit of help.

I think I am down to three options, all fitted with Tiagra groupsets. I'll be riding on ordinary roads and mainly for pleasure/fitness rides in quite flat surroundings with a few hills.

The three bikes are
Bianchi Impulso Tiagra 2017
Cannondale Caad Optimo 2017 Tiagra
Spezialised E5 Allez 2017 Tiagra

As I mentioned, I am a complete beginner. My wife has a Bianchi bike built on the Intrepida carbon frame with a 105 groupset - but I am not looking to spend that much as a beginner.

Any suggestions or thoughts on the 3 options? I can't post links since I'm a new user in this forum. :-)

motosonic

If I had to pick one of those three options, it'd be the Bianchi. Just because I prefer the botique manufacturers over the big corporate powerhouses.

San Pedro

Pick your favorite color.

Or maybe lowest price.

jon c. 

They're all similar enough in quality. Buy the one that feels the best to you. And if your wife's bike came from a local shop and you like that shop, buy from them. There are advantages to building a relationship with one good bike shop.

Dirt Farmer

I came here to say this, too.

noodle soup

Bianchi is a boutique brand?

They’ve been around for over 130 years,

firebird854

I'd go with the Specialized, because I own a Specialized...

Dirt Farmer

You're confusing age with content.

noodle soup

Bianchi isn’t a boutique brand. They might not be the biggest company around, but they aren’t a little high end only company.

Dirt Farmer

Which begs the question: define "boutique brand".

Google is letting me down! Enquiring minds want to know (the exact definition).

noodle soup

is Campagnolo a boutique brand(in your opinion)?

Dirt Farmer

No

Stormsedge

+1

Maelochs

i will add my vote here.

Pretty much all bikes in a price range from any manufacturer are going to be very similar. In some cases, (particularly at entry-level) they might have the same frame (Giant-Merida for instance) and most of the same parts, with the biggest difference being the downtube decals.

if one suits you better ... color, name, whatever ... it is as good as the rest otherwise. But likely, all three could be set up exactly the same and feel exactly the same to someone who isn't pushing the engineering limits of the parts with a 1200-watt sprint or something.

Also ... what @jon c. says about the shop makes sense. Unless you plan to invest in tools and training and do all your own work, having a good relationship with a good shop is ... well, Good. And if your wife uses the same shop, you both become more valued customers, because each of you represents twice the business of a single customer.

I can only imagine having a significant other who liked to ride. yo are lucky.

kbarch

Get the Bianchi, because I don't like those other brands.
As for boutique, well, usage-wise, it means very little other than purposefully distinctive and not mass-market. Or at least that's the idea. Plenty of businesses promote themselves or develop reputations as 'boutique' while simultaneously jumping on some style bandwagon and trying to capture as much of the market as possible.
I think it's funny how it's essentially the same word as 'bodega,' only French instead of Spanish - a little shop. How smug would people be saying their bike is a 'bodega' label bike? How eager would they be to book a stay at a 'bodega' hotel? As a euphemism for something that doesn't need one, it's eye-roll-inducing, like 'faux' instead of 'imitation'

Joeyseven

Have you test ridden any of these bikes?
And do like the race geometry over endurance?
And what is your budget?

jfranci3

They're all great. Buy the one you like think looks cool.

bigsky109

All those seem to be good bikes. Have you looked at a Motobecane or a Kestrel Carbon Fiber.. You can find them both with the Shimano 105 set for about the same price I bet.

bigsky109

I kinda like the Bianchi or the Cannondale over the Specialized.

GrainBrain

Breadwinner, Waterford?

deapee

I’m a pretty big specialized fan. I love my allez sprint. But at that price point, I don’t think there’s many differences between the three you listed.

I’d pick the one I like the looks of best. All three are built with great components these days. Some minor upgrades could be in your future with all of them, like better cables, better wheels, etc. but most people will never reach the full potential of either of the bikes you listed.

Paul Barnard

Assuming you like all of them equally, I'd go with the shop that seems the happiest when I walk in the front door. None of the bikes is and better quality wise than the other.

1500SLR

Bianchi is a low volume manufacturer as compared to the other made in Taiwan bikes listed above. You also have the opportunity here to buy a bike in Celeste without anyone saying "but that's not a Bianchi." To be honest though its all really much of a muchness.

MRT2

That might be true, but I believe these days, most Bianchis are made in Taiwan just like the other big brands. And FWIW, as far as I can tell, Bianchi is owned by a Swedish conglomerate. I say this with sadness as I would prefer that Bianchis were all still hand made by Italian craftsmen, but sadly, they are not.

1500SLR

Bianchi is a lower volume brand. Less people buy Bianchi. Pretty much everything is made in Taiwan. Specialized comes out of the same factory as Giant. I am not sure where Cannondale manufactures these days. However since 2010 Cannondale no longer makes bikes in America.

I would like a bike that was made anywhere other than Taiwan. But due to the collapse of bicycle manufacturers in the 1990s its just the reality that bikes are now made in Taiwan or China unless you want to pay for a truly exotic brand.

At least if you bought a Biachi in Celeste you would automatically have a cool bike regardless of where it was made.