I’m in the early stages of shopping for a bike to replace my older (2015?) SuperSix Evo. I absolutely love the bike. While it’s showing it’s 30,000+ miles (under me), that doesn’t bother me at all. What bothers me is I love everything about it…except for the brakes when it rains (I bike commute) and the flats I get from debris. My gravel bike doesn’t have that problem, being tubeless with disc brakes.
But I don’t like my gravel bike, and I don’t have an interest in riding gravel. There is nothing redeeming about that bike except it is tubeless with disc brakes. My roadie is light (full mechanical Dura Ace mechanical, HiMod carbon), moderately aero wheels (for it’s day, Mavic Cosmic Carbon), sharp handling, comfortable (bars are slammed and I love it), and just a joy to ride.
My problem is I want something like that again, but I don’t want a two bike solution. I want a nice road bike with discs and tubeless wheels like the SuperSix and get rid of the gravel bike. What I DON’T want is an electronic groupset, but also don’t want a budget bike so I can stay mechanical. I was considering a titanium bike (I’m actually sorta friends with a titanium bike company owner), but I feel like I’m just going to be happier sticking with carbon. I’m not a racer, don’t do group rides, don’t care about KOM’s, I just like getting something quality and riding the shit out of it (my roadie now looks like ass, and I love it).
Any recommendations out there? Seems like everything is electronic now. Shimano is dead to me. I’m brand agnostic. I’m not in a rush. Summer is finally here, so I should be able to avoid the rain for a while.
Sucky part is, I got that bike for $1200 5 years ago. Never going to find something like that again!
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I switched from Shimano to Campagnolo. Think Chorus 12 speed is one of the best groupset avaliable right now. Saying that if your using carbon rims in the wet poor braking is expected.
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The stem’s not slammed but:
fenders
mechanical group
mechanical disc brakes
It’s Ti as well and based on the riding you said you like doing I’d 100% recommend it. This is a custom job, so maybe it’s time to get in touch with your homie that makes frames.
I’d like to get Ekar down the road instead of the mutt groupset on it now precisely because it’s mechanical. If you decide on a mech groupset but want mechanical discs, check out Growtac from Velo Orange, or there’s always Paul Components.
Sounds like Campag is your best option. Just make sure whatever frame you choose has external cable routing for optimal shifting.
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I’m not quite sure what you are asking for, do you want advice for a new bike or a recommendation for a new groupset?
If you are really that against electronic groupsets, but want a high-end bike, I think you will need to build up your own. What frame material you go for is a matter of choice, but titanium is a nice material that many people prefer over carbon.
One option you might have is to look for a new or used SRAM Red mechanical hydraulic groupset. This is to my knowledge the lightest hydraulic groupset and if you go for 2x, I think you’ll be fine without a 12th sprocket in the rear. Alternatively, you could go 1x12 with a conversion kit as mentioned with a Force 1 groupset.
Yeah, that was a lucky deal.
Get a set of HED Jet RC4’s or 6’s
They are tubeless compatible and the breaking is really impressive…even compared to discs. If you can get black series, the aesthetic is super clean too.
Do the research…there are a lot of articles and videos out there on these wheels. I built up my own ‘03 rim-brake bike and took my sweet time doing it. I researched the sh*t out of everything and discovering the HED wheels was literally what kept me from switching to a disc brake bike. I’ve absolutely loved them.
Net-net, you can keep your cake and eat it too…you keep the bike you love and add the tubelessness and better breaking!
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Wait a few months and there’s very likely going to be a 12 speed mechanical 105 released by Shimano - the fact that leaks haven’t been denied by Shimano paints that picture fairly clearly.
The mechs and shifters will almost certainly be compatible with the lighter weight, but functionally the same cassettes and cranks from the higher tier electronic options.
Then buy whatever frameset you want and get it built up from there.
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