yeah, there’s still characteristics of frame material that adds to the feel of a ride (carbon might mute some road vibrations, steel might feel a bit ‘springy’, etc), but it’s really not adding too much to the suspension of the system.
in my n=1 experience, my too-large-for-me steel single speed frame is ungodly uncomfortable because my seat is damn near touching the top top, whereas my aluminum cross bike (even with road tires on) is like gliding on a cloud in comparison, since it’s sized correctly and has a decent amount of exposed, carbon seat post.
My only road bike is an “endurance” type Synapse. I’m planning to move to two bikes: a “fast” road bike and a gravel bike (which I’ll use for comfortable road rides as well on a second wheelset). I don’t race, just like pushing myself harder for fun. I’m 48, overweight (172cm, 102kg), and just trying to get in better shape.
Among the “built for speed” road bikes like the SuperSix, are there any makes/models that are generally considered to be more comfortable or less comfortable (given all the fit and other considerations already noted above)? Or is there really no such animal as a bike “generally considered” to be anything, and they’re all sort of the same and fit/comfort is subjective?
New orbea orca omr appears to be quite comfortable. There are only first snippets and no full review but lower carbon grade (hence more comfort), nice, race like geometry with two different bars if you want more relaxed position, tyre clearance up to 35 mm, aero touches and color customization in price - seems like a winning combo on paper.
Good point about independent testing, but Parlee used to make fiber fiberglass boats and wings and apparently is a aero whiz… so I trusted. I’ll say this, it’s comfortable and my buddies notice I fly by them going down hills when not peddling
If you are not racing, I don’t see the need for a dedicated “fast road bike”.
I was in a similar situation (one old endurance road bike with rim breaks and only 25mm tire clearance and the urge to upgrade). In my opinion, if you choose the right gravel bike frame, you can get away with one bike and two wheelsets. By right I mean something sportier like a Cervelo Aspero, 3T Exploro or well, I went for a Rose Backroad - partly because I like the integrated cables :).
I have two wheelsets (well, one is on it’s way to me):
With a few other little tweaks (aero bar, different saddle, power meter) the gravel setup is ca. 9kg (incl. pedals, bottle cages, and wahoo mount), in the road setup it should be just under 8kg.
As a comparison, other people might call the Trek Emonda SL 7 a “fast road bike”. You pay over 5,000$ for that (I paid less than 4k for my setup incl. the two wheelsets and power meter). This fast climbing bike weights with pedals over 8kg. And since I have hidden cables, an aero cockpit, 45mm deep rims I doubt the Emonda is significantly more aero than my setup (when riding in the same position/fit).
Something not mentioned above but which in my experience makes a huge, and I mean huge, difference is front fork. My CAAD12 was always firm and you could feel the road, but rarely buzzy. You could see the fork flex fore and aft over bumps, and the sting was taken out of rough road surfaces.
Same wheels, tyres. tubes and pressure on a CAAD8 with the ally steerer and bladed forks and there is no perceptible give whatsoever, totally rigid.
Why not go out and get a Domane SL…5 or 6 or 7. Or the Specialized Roubaix. I just moved from an older aluminum allez (06) and it had the thinner tires (23). I originally was going to get the Domane, but didn’t like the weight of the bike. Ride was excellent. I decided to give the Roubaix a shot. Liked that. I was going to get the base model (color) and strip it and upgrade parts to 105 or ultegra. I ended up seeing a tarmac that looked nice and took it for a ride. LOVED it. Soft tires and wider rims help a lot. I don’t feel the road as much and it is an improvement overall.
I get you won’t notice much of a change since you are already running wider tires/rims. But, if you like the smooth cush, then go for a Domane or Roubaix.
I should have been more clear, sorry. When mentioning stack and reach I meant compared to your normal bike fit. For example with short legs and a long upper body I have smaller frame and longer stem than other people with the same height.
Thanks for the feedback! My plan was to buy something similar as my first new bike (Specialized Diverge Pro Carbon with 700x32 and 650x48 wheelsets), and then later add in the road bike. Nice to know that I might not need that second bike after all.
Right now, I’m new to cycling and 50-55 pounds overweight, so I want something that helps me ride a lot (comfort helps!), helps me reach out to new places, and doesn’t cost me a lot of speed so I can keep up with friends. The 2021 Diverge seems to tick all the right boxes.
This is the thing of beauty and honestly - the price is steep but not outrageous. The frame is cheaper than most top-end carbon frames and you get fully integration, extreme cool look, uniqueness and titanium ride quality. Not sure if it saves 5W at 350W for an hour (they call it “incidentally aero”) but the “cool” factor s extreme
Oddly, I have found my Allez Sprint to be more comfortable than my Domane. Four years separate the model years, for reference.
I know a lot of riders have criticized the Sprint for a harsh ride, but in my experience, I’ve found it to be as comfortable or more comfortable than my old Domane. The fork absorbs a lot of the road, and the seatpost, despite being quite thick, really dampens any vibrations in the saddle. I’m also a lighter rider (65 kg) and I felt like the ISO Speed on my Domane was throwing me around on the saddle even on small bumps compared to the Sprint where I feel comfortably planted the whole time. This allows me to keep the power down more, and ultimately stay faster.
Eventually, I will get new wheels on the Sprint, and I plan on getting Enves so I can then run around 55 psi tubeless. So the comfort I’ve already found is going to get even better down the line.
Yeah, you are right after all… we know that in carbon chinese production is on top of the game. At the other hand, metal is…I don´t know if their source material is really the best. Russian (Triton) and US (Litespeed and many others) are proven and have amazing durability, chinese is a bit of question mark for me…
Otherwise yes, the price is rather reasonable, at worst on par with current mass produced carbon bikes…
And as I am looking at the pages of Hi-Light, their welding technique is really superb!
I went through a similar decision last year. What I wanted was something in between what is labeled as “race” and “endurance”. I dont race but I train for centuries/gran fondos and ususally on the sharper end of the pack. After a lot of searching and comparing frame geometries what I decided what I wanted was a bike on the racier end of “endurance”. The two models that got short listed were the C-dale Synapse and the Canyon Endurace - both of which happen to have very similar geometries. I test rode a Roubaix first and the FutureShock while very comfortable took out way too much road feel for me. The Synapse rode really well and I very much liked it but I had the Endurace on my mind (as I wanted something different from everyone else). Coincidentally, this was around the same week the new SuperSix came out and I took that for a test spin. For a race bike its very comfortable, but its still a race bike and compared to the Synapse I felt the cracks and bumps a bit more that I wanted too. It doesn’t have the same amount of compliance as the Synapse.
The Endurace is basically an Ultimate with 10mm more stack, has aero tube shaping, and the spring seat post provides alot of cushion for the bumps. All-in-all I couldn’t be more happy with the Endurace as my magic carpet ride. Hoping to get some aero wheels (Zipp 303S or Enve 45s) to give it a little more aero benefit.
Why not get something like the Open UP or the 3T Exploro with two wheelsets? IMHO that’s much better bang for the buck than getting two bikes. Plus, if you have the girth 102 kg come with, I really don’t think a road bike with a very racy, aggressive position is going to be a good fit — literally. You will not be able to get into the position the bike was intended for, at least not for any length of time. Even riders in the normal weight range have problems at times having enough clearance when in an aero position. (I lovingly call it “massaging my breakfast”.) Moreover, race bikes are typically only comfortable relative to other race bikes.
If comfort is a concern, I’d get e. g. the Open UP (or something equivalent), which has the geometry of an endurance road bike, but you can fit everything from 25 mm slicks to 2.1" mountain bike tires (on 650b rims). If comfort is important to you, I’d get 35-40 mm wide slicks or semislicks. Tires by far make the biggest difference when it comes to comfort. Especially given your weight, you’d have to ride pretty high pressures on 25-28 mm wide tires, which reduces comfort.
@OreoCookie, you make some very valid points in there. My current record for time in the drops stands at just four minutes, because the knees do bang on the belly and the back still hurts. I’ll slowly get better but yes, it’s going to be an issue for a long time!
I’ve been reading a lot about tires in the last few days. If Jan Heine at René Herse is right, and there’s little difference in speed between tires in the 25-to-54mm range (which is a hella broad range) as long as the casings are similar, I think something like their 700x44 Snoqualmie Pass might be my dream road tire on the Diverge, with something like their 650x48 Juniper Ridge for gravel. Or something equivalent from their competitors. That would agree with your suggestion as well.
If that’s the case, get a bike that fits. And if you can stand a more aggressive position, you can still move to a sportier bike later on. Just think of it this way: the more comfortable you are on the bike, the more you want to ride.
And don’t worry, most cyclists I know are happy to see fellow cyclist, no matter age, body type or gender!
IMHO that’s good advice. WTB makes some interesting tires as well, specifically the Horizon and the Byway, which are both 47 mm wide. The Horizon has a smooth center and a file thread on the outside. The Byway has a smaller smooth center and small knobs on the outside. In dry conditions, both should be quite capable offroad on non-technical fire roads. And 47 mm gives you plenty of cushioning.
Another less wide option is Schwalbe’s acclaimed G-One Speed, which is very fast on-road even though it has small knobs. (I have met the Japanese rep of Chapter2 last year, and he made second place with a G-Ones on his Rere at a local road race.)
(but cannot afford it)
OMG you are perfectly right, THAT is EXACTLY what I NEED!! 
