Nobody is going to say “buy this bike”, but you might get someone to advise if a specific bike is suited to what you want to do.
To narrow down the selection, I would firstly decide on the geometry - did you like your SL6? What was the geometry? Or was there something about it you wanted to be different?
Then you might get better advise if you share your approximate budget.
Also decide if you want a ready-build bike, or if you’re happy to pick up parts and build it up yourself. (My preference is to build up myself, but it can be a bit of a minefield finding out which components, eg BB/cranks etc fill fit.)
Then you might need to narrow down speciality - do you mainly want to race? In which case, go for a race-oriented frame, and live with more discomfort on rougher terrain. Or do you mainly want to ride, including light offroad, “do-it-all”, and do the occasional race for a laugh? In which case you could go for bigger tyres and a more relaxed geometry.
The concern for a crit/cx bike is often bottom bracket drop/height for the purpose of avoiding pedal strikes when pedaling around corners at speed, or in the case of CX, obstacles. Wheelbase, front center and tire clearance end up generally being the discernible difference between the 2 styles. Just had to convince the designer on my custom Ti that the 74mm of drop is fine because I’m not going to be racing crits with this thing as he insisted on 71-72 just in case. So depending on how aggressive you’re going to be attacking these crits that’s a consideration. And also depending on how many crits you’re doing, how aggressive you’re going to be on fighting for position or if you’re concerned about durability during crashes you might consider metal just in general, be it aluminum or titanium. It’s why the Specialized Allez has been a traditional go-to for crit racing.
If you’re looking at Ti I’ve rather enjoyed my Litespeed ultimate. Has a traditional road geo with high BB (71mm drop) and short wheelbase (976mm). Has some aero touches like a semi-triangular, truncated airfoil down tube and squared off top tube and it rides wonderfully. With aero wheels it gets up to speed nice 'n quick. Mine clears 32c tires but if you order a FI model they market those as clearing 35mm. I’ve taken it on light gravel rides before and felt under biked but not overly so. And if you get it with stickers/anodized you don’t have to worry about scratching or chipping paint.
Is the new one softer than the previous gen? An old team mate had a decked out Allez Sprint (DuraAce, carbon wheels, the works), and he said the ride was a bit harsh …
I have a pulled the trigger on a tarmac sl7 sport variant they are on sale and was able to get for 2.2k i think its a very good deal considering its cheaper than the allez sprint with the same specs.
I will only replace the handlebar and wheelset which i already have and i dont fancy electronic shifting. I believe this is good for “now”.
If you’re looking for a more aggressive and performance-focused setup, the Tarmac SL7 is the better choice than the Allez Sprint Comp due to its racing geometry, lighter and stiffer carbon frame, and aerodynamic design.
The frame was redesigned with influences from the SL7, featuring a slightly decreased reach and longer chainstays for improved stability and comfort. I typically run 30mm tires and use the Silca Tire Pressure Calculator to set my pressure. On rougher roads, I’ve even used 32mm tires.
I believe that the right tire size and pressure can significantly reduce the harshness that comes with a 26mm tire, which never really felt right on the road. The ride quality was definitely harsh.
I have had a few century rides without any issues and a few crit races (the old guy at the back) and think it is a good all rounder that works great for me.
What kind of roads are you people riding if you think 34mm is a must on road bike? This is seriously funny to me. I have a bike with 25s, a bike with 28s, a bike with 32s and a gravel bike with 42s. The three road bikes honestly feel very similar – that is, comfortable. No, 25s do not feel at all rattly or unstable or whatever. They just feel like normal tires.
I genuinely do not understand the discussion, based on some comments you would think that 25s and 28s are horrible to ride and yet I’ve never in my life felt that.
And as for OP’s question, I would probably get a used Aeroad or SL7, fast and good looks combined. A Giant Propel would be my choice for new bikes.
Yes, and a few years ago, people thought 25 mm were wide and you could buy 19 mm tires. Times change.
Plus, the description says “do-it-all”, and with clearance for 34+ mm (which many road bikes offer) means you can also put on tires with a little bit of tread for easy gravel rides.
I went from 25 mm to 28 mm to close to 30ish mm. Wider tires definitely feel more comfortable and provide more grip in difficult situations (wet roads, etc.).
I went from 25 mm to 28 mm to close to 30ish mm. Wider tires definitely feel more comfortable and provide more grip in difficult situations (wet roads, etc.).
And as I said, I have noticed no difference between 25, 28 and 32. Which leads me to believe that the people touting 30mm+ rubber have horrible roads which might not be reflective of what people usually face.
Plus, the description says “do-it-all”, and with clearance for 34+ mm (which many road bikes offer) means you can also put on tires with a little bit of tread for easy gravel rides.
Depends on what one means by “do it all” I guess, if there was no mention in OP about gravel I’d be more inclined to read that as a bike for both racing and more relaxed rides.
I just think it’s really strange how suddenly people online “need” at least 34mm clearance (or 50mm+ for gravel in more recent forum conversations). It kind of reminds me of conversations where people absolutely “need” disc brakes because rim brakes just don’t offer enough stopping power, which is bs for modern rim brakes.
In my riding, when I was out and about exploring, I have often encountered short gravel sections, and typically I’d turn around on my aero road bike with really, really minimal clearance (to aid aerodynamics). Last time I didn’t, I ended up with an unfixable flat and had to take the bus home.
It doesn’t have to be gravel riding in the classical sense, but if you encounter a short, easy section of double track and you can just continue, that’s a great asset for a bike in my book.
I see what you mean. I have done such rides (short fire road sections up to 4-5km) with my rim brake Look with 28mm GP5000 TR S without a problem, but perhaps I have just gotten lucky with no punctures
Must also depend on the kind of “gravel” you have I guess. Here in Southwestern Finland gravel roads are usually in really good condition, and I don’t really notice much difference between them and asphalt apart from sharper turns where you can lose traction. Roads like this:
I actually punctured on a section where cobble stones transitioned into coarse gravel. I think I got a nasty puncture on a “micro pothole” where a cobble stone was missing.
We also have cobble stone sections that are quite uncomfortable and zap a lot of power (think 300 W to do < 20 km/h on a 1–2 % incline).
I’d like my next drop bar bike to have more clearance so that I don’t have to turn around.
I think this is quite a natural progression. In my opinion, in a few years time normal road bike will have clearance for 38–42 mm tires, which means you can simply put gravel tires on them if you wish. It just expands their utility and you don’t need to buy a new bike, just put on tires that are appropriate for your use case. Modern tires with profiles are surprisingly fast. Hence, pretty much “every bike is a gravel bike” for easy gravel.
So “proper” gravel bikes need even more clearance than that. It just means that they will encroach into territory previously reserved for mountain bikes, especially hardtails. People with no ambition to ride technically challenging terrain and/or who genuinely prefer drop bars might be well-served with such a bike. That all sounds very natural to me.
My normal home roads. Cool, you have nice roads or can’t tell the difference between tire sizes. I can and so can a lot of people. If I ride 25s or 35s and the 35s are more comfortable (by a large amount I’ll add), why wouldn’t I choose the 35s? Seriously, is there a reason to ride 25s? Aero penalty is minimal and likely offset by the gain in rolling resistance. Weight difference is pretty small given a 7-8kg full bike and an 80kg me, so 200g is less than half a percent of total weight. I genuinely don’t understand why anybody wouldn’t ride big tires.
Many of my normal tarmac roads aren’t even that nice. But even then, I see very little downside to riding 35s.
Tadej Pogačar was riding 30mm tires that blew up close to 32mm on wide Enve rims. Why not ride a more comfortable tire if it’s not costing you anything other than a few extra grams?
I wouldn’t throw away a perfectly good bike with limited tire clearance, but I wouldn’t buy one limited to 28 or 30 these days. The big tire clearance was a selling point when I just bought my SuperSix.
Yup, and you can bet that he’d only ride that wide a tire if he was assured it wouldn’t make him slower.
If anything, this is my point. Even if you end up riding 28 mm tires, having the option is valuable. It isn’t a coincidence that even newly released race bikes accept 32–35 mm tires these days.
Big tire clearance was also a big selling point for my 3T Strada, just that big back then meant 30 mm
I began using 28mm tires in 2015, and I remember an Ironman event where I needed an inner tube but couldn’t find a vendor who had one—one vendor even gave me a puzzled look. I stuck with 28mm tires until 2022, when I moved to an area with poor roads that often have windblown sand. With 28mm tires, I ran my front pressure at 72 psi and rear at 74 psi. For 30mm tires, I lowered the pressure to 65 psi front and 67 psi rear, which helped reduce vibrations and prevented slipping on the sand. I believe that with the correct tire pressures, there is a significant difference between 25mm, 28mm, and 30mm tires on my bike.
This is seriously funny to me. I have a bike with 25s, a bike with 28s, a bike with 32s and a gravel bike with 42s. The three road bikes honestly feel very similar – that is, comfortable. No, 25s do not feel at all rattly or unstable or whatever. They just feel like normal tires.
