Really torn/confused on alloy vs carbon (road bike frame)

OUGrad05

I plan to pickup a new bike the next couple months, waiting to see what the 2018 Cannondale Synapse lineup looks like. The rumors are it will support wider tires than the current line. That may be worth waiting on if that's indeed the case.

I'm thinking a Cannondale Synapse or Trek Domane is ultimately where I'll wind up.

With alloy frames you get light weight, supposedly less prone to catastrophic failure and I can mount fenders if I choose to ride in the mist/rain. Some real benefits to the alloy and its about $750 cheaper, although other components not quite as good either.

With the Synapse Carbon its even lighter, seems to be a well built bike with good quality carbon. The hdyro disc brakes are appealing the mechanical brakes when I rode on Friday required quite a lot of pressure on the levers, especially compared with the hydros on my MTB. Granted I could probably adjust pretty quickly to the mechanicals, there's pro's/con's to both.

I'm not sure the alloy is really stronger against crashes or catastrophic damage, as light as those bikes are the tubes have to be really thin, and given our rather rough roads here I can't help but think that over time that might take a toll on an alloy frame?

I can afford the upgrade to carbon, but don't want to just toss $750 away either for no real reason other than bragging rights if the real world differences are minimal. I'll likely run a 28mm tire on both, at least for now.

joey54321

Hydro brakes are significantly better if you can afford them.

"I can mount fenders if I choose to ride in the mist/rain" - many carbon bikes these days have mudguard mounts, and even if they don't you can use some clip on style ones. They aren't perfect but they're very easy to take on and off depending on conditions if this is a single bike to ride in the wet and enjoy in the sun.

I wouldn't worry about strength. A well-engineered frame will have taken into account the intended use, the loads it will experience and be manufactured accordingly. Unless you completely stack it they'd both be fine, and even if you did it's certainly not clear the carbon frame would come off worse. Thin aluminum is very easy to dent.

singleton

You should consider what you want and try to find that - not just focus on what the frame is made of. I would not necessarily agree with your statement that a carbon bike is an "upgrade".

If you are comparing a $1250 ally bike with a $2k carbon bike then it's likely that the carbon bike is better. But if you are comparing a $2k ally bike with a $2k carbon bike then you are probably going to get a better package for your money with the aluminium.

I swapped my Cannondale SuperSix for a CAAD12 and I prefer it - to me it just feels better to ride, but not everyone would agree with this statement.

OUGrad05

Singleton wrote:

You should consider what you want and try to find that - not just focus on what the frame is made of. I would not necessarily agree with your statement that a carbon bike is an "upgrade".

If you are comparing a $1250 ally bike with a $2k carbon bike then it's likely that the carbon bike is better. But if you are comparing a $2k ally bike with a $2k carbon bike then you are probably going to get a better package for your money with the aluminium.

I swapped my Cannondale SuperSix for a CAAD12 and I prefer it - to me it just feels better to ride, but not everyone would agree with this statement.

I'm talking about Cannondale Synapse 105 alloy vs 105 carbon (both disc). Similar for the Trek Domane. So the cost difference is $800 to $1000, in reality based on what I've discussed with my LBS the difference on the Cannondale is less than $800. There's more to the diff than just the frame though.

stueys

I wouldn't worry too much about frame failure, damage, etc. Lots of people ride carbon framed mountain bikes that manage jumps, rocks pinging off them, etc, etc.

In my experience a carbon frame tends to feel stiffer in the places you want it yet more compliant in those you don't. So it's a nicer ride. You can fit mudguards to either though, both come with eyelets

janwal

My Domane disc easily takes 30 tyres and fenders and still has plenty of clearance.The fender attachment points come with the bike and are removable if you don't want them on all the time.

Alex34

I recently looked at these bikes among others. The carbon Synapse was a close second for me but ended up going with the Ally Trek Emonda due to a few factors but ride being the number one for me.

My advice is to test ride them as much as you can then decided.

What I found was you can get far better grade aluminium than carbon for the money and usually the ally option comes with better components for the money as well. It's up to you what you want out of it and what you want for your money. Take your time and test ride as much as you can.

ayjaycee

Alex - I know that comfort on a bike is often down to fit and personal preference but I am amazed that you found the Emonda to be more comfortable than a Synapse (carbon or otherwise). Had you said Domane, I could have understood it but......

To the OP - Ask 10 cyclists to recommend a bike and you will invariably get 10 different answers if they all ride different models or fewer answers if some ride the same model. Those answers might help in drawing up a short list but, after that, the only way ahead is for you try as many as possible. As an owner, my recommendation would be go for a Synapse Carbon but I have also ridden a 2016 Domane with 'Isospeed' or whatever they call it and it was very good indeed - I didn't like it quite as much as my Synapse but that could have been down to a few mm here and there is the set up, the wheels, my mind or a number of other things. FWIW when I bought my Synapse, I tried both carbon and ally versions (plus other makes/models). I bought the carbon one because I thought it best and have never regretted the choice for even a fraction of a second.

Alex34

ayjaycee wrote:

Alex - I know that comfort on a bike is often down to fit and personal preference but I am amazed that you found the Emonda to be more comfortable than a Synapse (carbon or otherwise). Had you said Domane, I could have understood it but......

To the OP - Ask 10 cyclists to recommend a bike and you will invariably get 10 different answers if they all ride different models or fewer answers if some ride the same model. Those answers might help in drawing up a short list but, after that, the only way ahead is for you try as many as possible. As an owner, my recommendation would be go for a Synapse Carbon but I have also ridden a 2016 Domane with 'Isospeed' or whatever they call it and it was very good indeed - I didn't like it quite as much as my Synapse but that could have been down to a few mm here and there is the set up, the wheels, my mind or a number of other things. FWIW when I bought my Synapse, I tried both carbon and ally versions (plus other makes/models). I bought the carbon one because I thought it best and have never regretted the choice for even a fraction of a second.

Didn't say I found the Emonda more comfortable. I said I found the ride better for me... meaning for what I wanted out of a bike.

The Synapse is an endurance bike and is built around comfort. As I am sure you can agree there are more aspects to how a bike rides than just comfort. The Emonda was comfortable enough for me and had quicker response than the Synapse IMO... that was my deciding factor.

The fact it came with full Ultegra vs part 105 for £200 less than the Synapse was icing on the cake.

My point was there are loads of options out there especially when you pit carbon vs aluminium within a certain price range and that the OP should test ride as many bikes as possible to make an informed decision.