Comfort vs Speed: Finding the magic bike

In my opinion yes, this bike changed my mind quite a bit on what makes a good bike. Between a Canyon with better specs and unknown (to me) ride quality and a bike based on a great frame I know I like, I’d go for the latter now. My previous LBS was a BMC retailer and I have test ridden them quite a bit. That’s also why quite a few people I ride with own or used to own either Teammachine or a Roadmachine. Their integrated handlebars are quite nice, especially if you get the optional Garmin mount. Everything about these is premium — good and bad.

Hence my comparison to the Porsche 911: looking at its specs, you think this is an overpriced meh-machine. You can buy a sports car with more horse power for less money, yes. But people love it for a reason, it is balanced not just in the literal way, but its specs are balanced. It is comfortable enough to drive long distances, you have “rear seats” for storage so that you can travel with your significant other. And its owners brag about how much many kilometers they put on their Porsches rather than how little they drive it (Ferrari owners).

The only point of criticism for the previous version was that the disc version only supported up to 28 mm tires (officially). The latest model adds I think 2 mm to that, but is a tad behind the competition (I think the Venge supports up to 32 mm if memory serves). I’m saying that because if you want a fast mile muncher, I’d put “wide” 30-32 mm tires on your bike to increase comfort.