Best carbon road bike for comfort

kajjal

The height charts to help size bikes are only to get you roughly in the right size. You can then test ride to confirm. I am over 6ft6 and ride a 62cm bike which going by the size chart should be too small for me. Its fine with only the saddle swapped out for a wider one and the stem flipped upright.

Once your bike is setup correctly for you riding over three hours in no problem and you almost forget about your bike. Before I set my bike up for my needs any ride of over an hour was uncomfortable. That being said no point buying a very race orientated bike if you want a comfortable long distance cruiser.

smidsy

letap73 wrote:

smidsy wrote:

Dales tend to fit big, so it is common to need a smaller frame size than other brands.

Likely to do with the more traditional way they measure and the fact that they are not a 'compact' frame that often quote 'virtual' sizes.

E.G my CAAD is a 54 and my Basso is a 56 but both fit.

-1

This is not correct.
A 52s Colnago M10, A ML (53.5) Giant Defy both "compact" frames are equivalent to a CAAD 56. The best thing to do is to try out different sizes (if you are unsure).

All you have done there is provide an example that does not match. I provided an example that did so where does that leave us :-)

Evil Laugh

Cannondales don't 'fit big' sorry.

They may be a bit lower at the front than other brands in big sizes but that's about it.

In size 54cm they are actually very middle of the road.

Their geometry is very similar to Specialized, do they come up big?

unixnerd

I have a 2013 Roubaix SL3 and it's soooo comfy yet light and fast too. I'd agree with the comments about fit, one reason it's comfy is the frame is a perfect fit for me. I love the saddle, oversized handlebars and the fact I can put the tyres to 120psi and not have my fillings shaken out. Can do 100 miles and only my legs are sore.

But there's a very big difference from the top to the bottom of the model range, not all frames are born alike. I'd spend your 1300 on a used SL3 not a new SL2 with Sora and heavy wheels.

paul64

The most comfortable bike I rode was a Bianchi 928C2C which I can only describe as a magic carpet ride but I did not buy it because I just could not get the handling balance I was looking for in comparison with the Look 566 and Viner Magnifica I rode at the same time which were both still very comfortable.

But don't take this as promoting these bikes over any other suggestions. The most comfortable bike of mine has been my humble Ribble Sportive which I bought as frame and forks in black and red and the last time I looked was the same as the Ribble sportive Bianco, no idea if it still is.

But that was with expensive compliant wheels and as others have alluded to there are other factors to it all. I have used far less comfortable wheels on the Ribble so I could feel what the frame was doing and what the wheels were doing to, so clearly that is important.

Saddle is clearly important too and we know it to be a very personal thing, for what it's worth I have found that carbon-railed saddle and seat post are effective with my carbon framed bikes whereas I haven't noticed this to the same extent on my steel or Alu bikes.

On all my bikes I build the bars up to personal preference which in my case means flat-topped bars of correct (wide) width and short drops, gel padding and comfort bar tape. Alu bars being fine for me, I don't spend out on carbon here. I have found this takes the buzz out on all my bikes but I do have big hands so I like the bulk (just as I did with my tennis rackets in younger life) whereas others would not like it.

So perhaps a modest frame you like (clearly some are purpose built for comfort such as C2C or Spec), real attention to wheels, tyres, contact points and set-up and you may find it's all you need. If not then lucky you if you can go to an Infinito, top Roubaix or similar.