Which Bike?

RooVa

Hey,

Looking to purchase my first proper road bike after knackering out my trusty Carrera Gryphon for a few years.

Mainly looking to use it instead of my current bike when the weather is agreeable, on short rides of about 25-50+miles 2 or 3 times a week.

I'm looking at around £1000-1300 with a little bit of movement. After doing some research it seems that at this price point there are serious trade offs made in regards to frame vs groupset, but I've narrowed it down to 4 which I know I'm able to demo and that seem to be pretty good value (?). I was wondering if anybody had an opinion on my choices, or maybe even a better option?

Thanks a lot and Happy New Year!

Trek Emonda S5 2016
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/emonda-s-5-2016-road-bike-ec068063

Specialized Roubaix sl4 2015 Sora
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/roubaix-sl4-2015-road-bike-ec070643

Specialized Tarmac Sport 2015
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/tarmac-sport-2015-road-bike-ec071787

Giant Defy Advanced 2 2016
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Giant-Defy-Advanced-2-2016-Road-Bike_84155.htm?sku=277891&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=AdwordsProductAds&utm_campaign=Adwords&gclid=CL_hi4GxjsoCFUNmGwodeFwPuw#

TerryCTR

That's a varied range of bikes with the roubaix and defy having a relaxed geometry and being known as endurance bikes. I would discount the roubaix straight away as it only comes with sora and the others are 105 equipped and the giant has disc brakes albeit mechanical.

The Edmonda and Tarmac have a racier/more aggressive set up and in particular the Tarmac comes with 52/36 front cog making it that bit more difficult in the hills.

What is your fitness/flexibility like and is the area you live in full of hills as the answers could start to help narrow things down.

Bobbinogs

Yepp, that Roubaix looks overpriced even with £300 discount. £1,000 for a bike with Sora would rule it out for me.

I still laugh at some of the guff that gets written about bikes, e.g., The Tarmac: "The Tarmac Sport is a pure and unbridled race machine. It climbs effortlessly, descends confidently, and sprints ferociously. Bottom line, you’ll be faster on this bike."

You couldn't make it up, oh, hang on...

As per the post above, start trying to think about what you want from a bike. Given that you have a bike already and are waiting for the good weather, you do have a little time

A shortlist with the Tarmac and the Roubaix on doesn't really make sense, although they are not as dissimilar as some text would suggest. Most bikes around £1,000 are very good so don't fret too much though (a lot of decisions are based on colour scheme and there are thousands of happy punters who based their selection on that criteria alone).

Wilf Roberts

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19772014#p19772014]Bobbinogs[/url] wrote:

A shortlist with the Tarmac and the Roubaix on doesn't really make sense, although they are not as dissimilar as some text would suggest. Most bikes around £1,000 are very good so don't fret too much though (a lot of decisions are based on colour scheme and there are thousands of happy punters who based their selection on that criteria alone).

I think just a sizing session will allow you to narrow this list down to either the two racier models or the two "endurance" models. But they're all good bikes. Just a small point but I've seen the 2015 Tarmac Comp (the model above the sport - Ultegra and better wheels) in your price range so maybe do a bit of searching?

dstev55

Same with the Trek bike, if you shop around there are still some 2015 SL5's (frame series above the S) for similar money you are looking at paying. The Trek is definitely not racey by the way, I found the geometry to be quite relaxed.

RooVa

Thanks for taking the time to reply I really appreciate it!

I'll check out Tarmac Comp and the '15 SL5 now just to compare.

I've just moved and where I am at the moment is very flat, yet with a bit of effort I can get out to some hills and would definitely look to be doing this in the summer.

I'm early twenties / 6ft 1 / 168 pounds and my flexibility is average (can touch my toes with feet shoulder width apart) and my fitness is improving- yet I have a long way to go before I do anything 80+ at even a steady pace. So perhaps an endurance focused model is off the mark slightly? On the other hand I'm not planning to race anytime soon either, as I get most enjoyment from riding just for fitness and getting better, so I'm open to try both and see how they feel hence the inclusion of both types on the list . However if the advice would be that providing I don't 'need' any extra comfort and that if I'm not doing long rides then I may as well focus on the racier models then I'll definitely take that into account. Is the decision between the two made purely on flexibility/athletic ability in which case going for a proper bike fit would take care of it, or is more down to personal preference/distances you do? The main thing I want to achieve with this purchase is something which I can get value for money on and inspire me to become a better, fitter rider over steadily increasing distances on mostly flat terrain.

Hope that helps, thanks

TerryCTR

You sound in reasonable shape so it's a case of go for which bike you like - worth getting a few test rides in.

Slightly off the wish list but the Giant TCR is meant to compete with both the Tarmac and the Emonda so that's possibly worth a look. If you can find a giant stockist then giant are pretty good at giving you a test bike for 48hrs if you paid a fee which was £50 in my case and its deducted off the price of the bike if you buy from the same dealer. It may be worth getting a long test on a TCR as it will offer some insight into whether or not this type of bike will suit. Be warned though they tend to hand out high specced ones to encourage you to ''need' one of them instead

RooVa

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19772629#p19772629]TerryCTR[/url] wrote:

You sound in reasonable shape so it's a case of go for which bike you like - worth getting a few test rides in.

Slightly off the wish list but the Giant TCR is meant to compete with both the Tarmac and the Emonda so that's possibly worth a look. If you can find a giant stockist then giant are pretty good at giving you a test bike for 48hrs if you paid a fee which was £50 in my case and its deducted off the price of the bike if you buy from the same dealer. It may be worth getting a long test on a TCR as it will offer some insight into whether or not this type of bike will suit. Be warned though they tend to hand out high specced ones to encourage you to ''need' one of them instead

Thanks, there's a Giant store pretty close to me I'm going to check out- didn't realise you could test them for that length of time it would certainly make for a fun weekend! Seems like I should go and test the Tarmac, Emonda and TCR.

Wilf Roberts

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19772629#p19772629]TerryCTR[/url] wrote:

Slightly off the wish list but the Giant TCR is meant to compete with both the Tarmac and the Emonda so that's possibly worth a look. If you can find a giant stockist then giant are pretty good at giving you a test bike for 48hrs if you paid a fee which was £50 in my case and its deducted off the price of the bike if you buy from the same dealer. It may be worth getting a long test on a TCR as it will offer some insight into whether or not this type of bike will suit. Be warned though they tend to hand out high specced ones to encourage you to ''need' one of them instead

I recently boiled my selection of contenders for "first carbon bike" down to Tarmac and TCR. Road tested both and, for me, the Tarmac was the clear winner. The TCR felt good but compared to the Tarmac seemed a little skittish. The Tarmac felt really smooth and planted. I don't think I'm particularly flexible but the Tarmac feels great and very comfortable (that's coming from the perspective of riding a steel audax bike for 6 years).

Your mileage may vary of course - I'd definitely recommend road testing. After months of poring over geometry and spec sheets it just took a morning of actually riding the bikes to make it clear!

PS would definitely have included Emonda in this test but offers on the other two meant it would have been considerably more for equivalent spec...

supermurph09

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/endurace/2016/endurace-cf-7-0-sl.html

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/ultimate/2016/ultimate-cf-sl-7-0.html

singleton

Without wishing to add more complexity and options, you can still get a 2015 Cannondale Supersix Evo with Ultegra for £1299.