Everyone is different but I am on a double it depends on your plans, Lewis rides on a double.

I gave the triple away.

I think if you time trialing and road racing a double is fine.

Triple are ok but a compact double chainset would suffice and gve you the same spread of gears and are lighter. I would recommend a compact for you Matt as you do not want to be pushing huge gears at the moment. 

If you are looking at double then it depends on the amount of teeth…standard used to be 53/39/ but compact are very popular now which have 50/34.

I agree with Mark. Pushing big gears isn't good for you when your bones are still growing. So:

compact double > triple > racing double

in that order.

The triple would give lower gears than the compact (the smallest chainring is smaller than a compact's by the same sort of margin that a compact is smaller than a racing double - e.g. 4-teeth smaller, versus 5-8T smaller). But with something like a 12-25, 12-26 or 12-27 cassette, the compact will still be okay for riding up big hills.

i think rex has one of them? nice bikes!

Hey Matt, this bike has much better spec +18 gears and has a compact chainset as well, the one you're highlighted has a full size road chainset and only 16 'cheap rubbish' gears that won't last a year.

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/mor…..amp;sale=0

Just past Whitby at Guisborough.

That bike that Tom found is the same as my Dad's (apart from his is a Triple) and i don't think we should have the same bike because my Mum says we'll look like geeks lol

so is that Specialized Allez in Richardsons not right for me then?

Bikescence is a live web-site so they 'will' have 2009's in all sizes, they are only just out of date thats why this is the case.

I just thought I'd try and help out with a different option that does have what the kid wants - Compact Cranks.

I not sniffy about 8-Speed at all or Triples, it's just better spec all round for a small amount extra.

I ran a Triple from 2004 to 2006, this was when I was just starting like the lad, and I would high recommend a triple to anyone starting out, until you stop using the granny ring then you can get rid. (mechs look crap though - too long)

Not sure about 2300 though, I've had cheap Shimano before in the past - waste of time, even when well oiled.

Yes but if your buying a brand new bike you dont want 8 speed as you wont be happy when most people have 9, 10, and even 11

mike scott said:

Yes but if your buying a brand new bike you dont want 8 speed as you wont be happy when most people have 9, 10, and even 11

Like I say, some people are sniffy about 8-speed.

I prefer it to 10- or 11-speed, personally. It's only a shame that you now have to put up with an entry-level groupset to get it. 

Well, kinda. If I were building up a road bike from parts, I'd use 10-speed Campag levers (probably Centaur), a short cage Shimano 9-speed rear derailleur (probably Tiagra), an 8-speed chain (e.g. Sram PC48), and an 8-speed Shimano cassette. That would give:

- 8 gears at the back end (with two redundant clicks at the lever). That's plenty.

- better cable routing than Shimano at the bars

- perfect shifts (you can't mix anything, but this works - and the Campag front shifter is better for trimming the front mech too)

- a chain and cassette that would last longer than your fancy shamncy 10 or 11-speed groupsets and be cheap to replace when they did die.

You can also mix 11-speed Campag levers with Shimano 9-speed cassettes and mechs. 

That doesn't help, Matt, though. So ultimately I'd agree with Tommo in this case and say that (if you want to stick with Specialized) the £599 to get the Allez Sport 18 is worth the bump.

On the other hand, if £500 is your absolute limit, you could also consider a Giant Defy 4 (8-speed rear end, triple chainset). At £475ish, you could put the spare £25 towards better tyres (e.g. Michelin Pro 3 Race). That will have a bigger effect on your speed than how long your rear mech is, or whether you've got 8 or 9 (or 10 or 11!) sprockets. As a bonus, it will take full length mudguards, so if you get a better bike in a few years' time, you could make that your training bike. 

He's getting 'top guidance'

Easy to say 'yeah buy that one it's OK' but that's the wrong answer.

Thanks for all the help every1!

I bought the 2010 Specialized Allez 24 2day from richardsons

http://www.evanscycles.com/pro…..e-ec019546