First Carbon bike for around 3000€ - Can't decide

Rondar

Hello everyone,

I am planning to buy my first Carbon bike. Been riding a Cube Cross Race till now and used that both for commuting and long tours(200km max in a day). I had my eyes on the Cervelo S3 as I have read that it is a very good allrounder and I love the looks of it. However everytime I read a review another bike gets into my mind. Here are the ones I am considering at the moment with their costs to me - plusses and minuses.
Cervelo S3 Ultegra 3450€ - Love the looks and like the brand / Expensive and there is no local "official" dealer if anything goes wrong with the bike
Cervelo R3 Ultegra 3250€ - Seems very reasonable / Same as above
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Ultegra Disc 3000€ - Cycling Plus bike of the year award is a good reference / Heavy, warranty not valid
Cannondale SuperSix Evo Carbon Ultegra 2650€ - Lighther than Synapse / Heavy and I don't like the colour and bad aftersales support
Specialized Tarmac Expert 3450€ - Many of the teams ride Specialized(well S works but still Specialized) in world tours and this seems the most suitable bike of the brand / Expensive and no solid review
Focus Izalco Max 5.0 3400€ - Very light, very good review and very good equipment and have a good local dealer / Expensive and not the best looks for me
Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8.0 2950€ - Very light again, love the looks and very very good equipment for the price / Had a bad experience with one of their staff so I don't fancy the brand anymore. Also no chance to try it.
Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 7.0 3100€ - Very good reviews / Same as above

I am not a racer nor the fittest person but I like to ride fast and long. The roads in Turkey are very much like the ones in England. So I won't be riding on the smoothest surface or the flattest. In fact there will be quite a lot of hills. Thats why I want the bike to be light.
I don't want a bike that I can't try thats why these are the ones I have considered. Like the GT Grade has very good reviews but there is no way I can try the bike so it is not in my list.

I also question if it worths paying this much money while I am not a racer but more of a weekend rider as this won't be a commuting bike.

Can you please help me choose my next bike. Any other advise(bike,brand etc) is also very appreciated. Please note that I won't be buying any of these bikes from my country Turkey. The Cervelo is to be bought from the USA and the others from Germany as the bikes here are very expensive and I get a 19% tax refund from Germany :P

Thanks in advance!

letap73

What about a cube - the litening?

dj58

Hello,

First you need to decided what type of bike you prefer as the those on your list are a mix of race and endurance type geometries. If the roads in Turkey are as bad as in the UK then you need a frame and fork that can take 25mm wide tyre as a minimum. Do you want a bike with disc or caliper brakes?

You say that you don't want to buy a bike that you cannot try, so I do not understand why the Cervelo, (you say there is no official dealer in Turkey, so how are you going to try it), and the Canyon, (you say you can't try it and had a bad experience with one of their staff), are on your list.

As for the others are you intending to test ride them in Turkey of Germany? Are you capable of maintaining the bikes yourself or will you be relying on a local bike shop/authorised dealer?

cycleclinic

You say you don't the race which simplifies things a lot. First stop reading reviews.

Given you are riding for fun you can ride quickly on almost anything bear that in mind. First look for a bike that can take up to 28 mm tyres for comfort. Disc brakes are good idea as you can brake in the wet like you can in the dry and your rim will never wear out. Also the new crop of road disc brake rims are 25 mm wide and tubeless compatible. I would run 25th or 28 mm tubeless tyres in a disc brake frame. Try looking at the genesis offering in steel or the carbon fibre De rosa.

Wide rims, disc brake , tubeless tyres is what I would be looking for if I was in your shoes on a frame that fits well. Given you don't the need a race position a bike with a longer head tube might suit best and on such bikes you can still get 120 mm of saddle to handle bar drop.

I would not focus on the frame material so much as carbon fibre is not magic. A steel or aluminium frame if it is the right one can offer a good ride, be stiff in all the right areas and be the equal or the cerevelo for what you want it for. One of the fastest bikes I have is a vitus 992 (1992 vintage kitted in period kit) goes like the clappers when I put some welly into it. I would not be much quicker if any on a modern carbon steed, not that I am saying there is anything wrong with one. Focus less on the brand and frame material and get the spec right also avoid reviews. Taking on a forum like this is more helpful.

So look at the demise disc brake bike I forget what it called and the genesis equilibrium disc model. Trek do some good disc brake road bikes now as well. They all have clearance for wide tyres.

Rondar

Thanks for all the replies.

There is a Cervelo dealer but it is not listed in Cervelo's official dealers list. But I can try the bike there. The Canyon is in my list because it offers the most for the price and everyone who owns one likes their bikes. However I almost got into trouble because of them(if I wasn't checking things 5 times I would be in trouble at the moment and they even refused to apology for their mistakes rather told me legal problems that they would cause me is not their problem. If I was a EU citizen this would have been a fraud case. That much I can say.)

I don't fancy owning another Cube. So I didn't look for the litening.

For the Genesis and non carbon frame advise. I liked the Genesis Croix de Fer last year and wanted it for my commuting bike. However I had no chance to try it out again Living in a country that doesn't have many cyclists has its disadvantages like this. And while I currently own an aluminium bike (a Cube Cross Race) I would like my next bike to be carbon

For the disc brake part. I don't know if I really need that. It increases the weight of the bike about a kilo and while you pay this much money for a little lightness I don't know how reasonable is this. I know it won't wear my rims out and would be much better brakes but still :S this is also confusing

Thanks again!

cycleclinic

Increasing bike weight a bit should not be a concern. My own Genesis equilibrium ti disc is 9kg but that is which heavy challange strada tyres, a heavy stock fork and few other non weight weenie items. Without much thought but a bit of spend I could take 1kg of the bike and any bike that is 8 to 8.5kg is light enough.

Disc brakes are not confusing if you are a mountain biker. All the mountian bikers I know can't see why roadies are confused by disc brakes.

Rondar

I was a mountain biker before and had very good Shimano disc brakes on my Scott and on rough terrain I remember even those heated up especially on summer at long slow descends. However on road conditions if the road is dry I didn't need that extra bit except some situations occured in while commuting where I needed to stop instantly.

here is a photo of that bike

dj58

Have you considered a Rose bike e.g. Xeon CRS or Xeon Team CGF. Giant TCR, Trek Domane, Specialized Roubaix, Scott Solace, Felt Z Series, all carbon frame/forks with caliper brakes.

cycleclinic

You have not tried the new generation of shimano disc brake systems then. with all there cooling aids overheating of the brakes is now almost unheard of.

Long decents with the brakes always on (which is why you were going slow) will always heat up a disc brake. Ever tried driving you car with the brakes on for a while? I wouldn't recmend it. so long as the brakes gets some colling time it does not have to be long then disc brakes are fine on a long mountain decent.