How to choose a new road bike? I haven’t been on a road bike for 20 years. I’ve been on a tri-bike the last 5-6 years. I hear people talking about cornering, comfort, stiffness, etc. I don’t think I will be able to tell how a bike handles or comfort in a parking lot. I was pre-fitted the other day, still awaiting the retul file (not sure what is taking so long, getting a little irritated about that). Some of the bikes that would fit me better are the Cervelo S, BMW Roadmachine, Canyon Ultimate , Ridley Noah and Pinarello. What is important to me are disc brakes, electronic shifting, weight, smooth ride (lots of chip seal in Texas) and handling. Not necessarily in that order. I’m just looking for suggestions. I’m sure I’ll get 50 different bike suggestions.
Primary use will be just riding, hopefully a week during the summer months somewhere with mountains.
All opinion, but… Since you mention comfort and weight, but not racing, perhaps rule out the aero bikes. I think the Pinarello F10 only allows 25 mm tires, which might limit its smoothness. That leaves the BMC and Canyon. I have a Roadmachine and my wife has an Ultimate, so let me know if you have any specific questions about your remaining options
You can’t beat Canyon for value. An Ultimate with Dura Ace Di2 disc is 6.9 kg and $7K. And the similar Endurace is only 7 kg. IMHO, I’d throw a Tarmac in the mix. It’s aero for a light weight climbing bike, built w/ compliance in mind (e.g., drop stays, D seat post), and IIRC it fits up to 30 mm tires. You didn’t mention budget but as you mentioned Pinarello…the S Works Tarmac fits a lot of criteria. 6.7 kg with Dura Ace Di2 disc. Specialized has them on sale for $2K off to $9K. If your LBS will add a meaningful discount as well, you’d be getting into Canyon range.
I agree on the test ride (and Canyon has 30 day return). You can probably tell which bike gets you most excited. Get that one.
Another thing to consider. Sounds like you want to travel with your bike. If you get a bike with integrated hydraulic lines that run through the stem, you can be severely limited in how much you can reposition your bars. Last time I traveled with my Roadmachine, I had to remove the shifters from the bars in order to get the bike in my travel case. That sucked, but at least it was time to change the tape anyway. There are travel cases where this isn’t an issue (and I need to get one of them), so it’s not a show stopper, just something to keep in mind.
I think the performance of top road bikes is so close as to not matter, get the one from the shop that will treat you the best and that looks so good you’re aching to ride it when you see it each morning.
Over the past several years, Specialized has ramped up their engineering design and wind tunnel testing substantially that’s probably matched by very few other manufacturers resulting in amazing performance, whether in their Roubaix endurance line or Tarmac racing bike line of bikes. Whether you choose the S-Works version of each is really dependent on your budget. And, of course, they have disc brakes and electronic shifting, both in Shimano Di2 and SRAM e-Tap. It’s not likely that any of those you mention can match the performance, although Canyon seems to be making good inroads in terms of value (price-performance tradeoff).
Full disclosure: I own both the 2015 Roubaix Pro Race Disc with Shimano Di2 11 speed and 2019 S-Works Tarmac with SRAM eTap 12 speed AXS drive train.
It depends on what performance you are looking for. To me, everything Specialized offers other than the Roubaix is hot garbage compared to BMC, but I understand what Specialized fans appreciate about them and the criteria they are looking for.
The main thing for any prospective owner is to identify their needs, and ride as many bikes as possible. Add that to what the best local shop sells and supports, and that is how you come up with the decision.
Easy now! All good supporting and talking up your favorite brand(s), but no need to talk bad about the competition. Not everyone here is riding BMC. Granted, there are a lot of Spesh haters. Is it the bikes? or is it the company?
This
Finding a good local shop and mechanic is so underrated these days w/everything being online. Yes, you might save a buck or two online, but nothing is better than having a great relationship w/your local shop. When your bike needs maintenance or something breaks, that relationship pays off big time!
When your bike needs maintenance or something breaks, that relationship pays off big time!
Unless you’re a DIY hard-core. Last time I had a shop fix anything was a rear derailleur hanger alignment a (large) number of years back, because I didn’t have a hanger alignment tool. Came out that the tool was barely more than the align job. Now have the tool.
But - in 95% of the cases, you are correct. The average bike rider is not necessarily a good mech.
I got my numbers back and have been looking at bikes these past few days. Stack is 581mm and reach is 389mm. The bikes I have asked the fitter about that might work the best, the fitter gave me reasons as to why certain bikes would work and others wouldn’t. Funny thing is the bikes he said would work were the bikes that were sold at the local bike store he was in. I would expect that if he actually worked for them, but he doesn’t. So let me ask you guys would a bike with a stack of 592mm and reach 399mm work? Or would a bike with a stack of 578mm and reach 382mm work better?
I am trying to minimize purchasing different stems or some wild adjustment that wouldn’t work in the long run.
Does she/he do all of her/his fittings at the store? I’m sure there is some sort of agreement among the two.
I mean, you paid to get a proper bike fit and the fitter gave you his/her recommendations. I’d keep them as close as possible. You can obviously change things to get them as close to those numbers with some tweaking.