Ultimately what it comes down to when deciding whether to buy from the internet is: are you willing to forgo a “known brand” and the ability to pick up and drop off your bike with a local retailer in exchange for better spec? It’s a sliding scale that we’re all positioned on somewhere, the interesting thing is going to be whether brands like SpeedX manage to disrupt things as they hope.
If you’re looking to buy a fast road bike for less than £2,000 / US$2,500, you’ll definitely want to look at the Canyon Ultimate range. The CF SL 7.0 is almost exactly the same price as the SpeedX Leopard and comes with a slippery carbon frame, Shimano 105 components and some nice finishing kit.
There’s also the Scott Foil 30, the most affordable model in its aero road range. It costs £2,299 / US$TBC and is pitched as the little brother to its Grand Tour contender, the Scott Foil Premium, which has been ridden to victory at stages of the Tour de France, Milan-San Remo and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, among other races.
Finally, we’re also currently testing the new Arrox R-Series, which seems to be a similar offering to the SpeedX Leopard. This UK-based company is selling low-priced carbon framed aero road bikes with impressive spec on a direct-sales model via its website. We’ll be reporting back on how we think it rides soon.