Which sportive bike for newbie?

majster

Hi there

I am looking for a new road bike that has a very comfortable and relaxed geometry. I need it to be able to support a pannier rack as I am going on a cycle tour with my young son in the summer and will need to carry around 10-15 kg max in panniers at the back. I initially looked at a touring bike but discounted this as just too heavy and cumbersome and I will never carry so much to take advantage of the carrying ability fully.

I am all about comfort so would like the option of 28 wide tyres with mudguards if needed and if possible to have the option of putting 32 wide tyres if needed. I would also look at putting a 11-40 cassette on for easier climbing ability due to this hilly terrain locally. I would like to do London - Paris next year also.

Thus far I have looked at the Giant Contend SL1, Trek Domane and Cannondale Synapse. It seems the Giant seems to be well regarded and thought to be better value

I feel a bit out of my depth and would be grateful for any advice. Which would be the best bike for comfort, value and larger tyre sizes such as 28-32?

dj58

I assume you are looking at alu. frame bikes? The Contend SL1 is Aluxx SL grade, though I doubt you would be able to fit 32c tyres to it, with or without mudguards as it is designed around 25c tyres. You might manage 28c tyres with/without mudguards, with brake calipers that have clearances for 28c tyres.

Bear mind that bike comes with Giant's PR-2 wheelset 24F/28R spokes, there are known problems with the build quality of the rear wheel leading to spoke breakages. You may want to consider a hand built rear wheel with more spokes for your intended use

You will need to check that the bike has the correct fittings to take a rack as the seat tube appears to have an internal wedge clamp rather than an external clamp like this https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/giant ... llar-black.

Regarding the Giant brand mudguards https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/giant ... nder-black
you may need to do some fettling on the rear mudguard to get it to fit as Giant reduced the length of the chain stay on the contend to 41cm. The mudguards were originally designed for the now defunct Aluxx Defy's longer chain stays.

Here's a link to a 11-40 conversion on a Defy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH5b0kr1bss

Other knowledgable owners can give you their view on the Domane and Synapse bikes.

mercia_man

Looking at photographs of these bikes it appears the aluminium-framed Domane is the only one with proper mounting points on the seat says for a pannier rack. All these bikes have pretty short chainstays, unlike a tourer, so heel clearance might be an issue with panniers.v

majster

Thanks for the help.

I'm really looking for the most comfortable sportive bike. I have some read some reviews on the D-fuse seat post and that it is not zero offset and fitting could be limited by this. My suspicion is that my arms may be shorter than my legs hence would not want anything that would limit the bike fit

Synapse seems to be known for being a racier endurance bike

Domane looks good but again ?no zero offset seat

I'm trying to get a good understanding and then will go and try the bikes out. My experience of many bike shops these days is that they try and sell you down the brand that they stock have access to

ps. any good bike shops in West Midlands

majster

oxoman wrote:

Out of the 3 the Domane is the most comfortable.

Would you say this applies also to the lower end aluminium models which only have isospeed at the back with no front isospeed?

Also with an upgrade of 11-40 cassette in mind, is a particular groupset better for this conversion? again so many options with 10 speed vs 11 speed vs 9 speed vs 105 vs tiagra vs sora etc

Thanks for all your helps

dj58

Bear in mind that the ALR frames do not have frame fittings for a rear rack, you can only use a seatpost mounted rack with an alloy seatpost. Seat pack and frame fit bags are an option.


"Can you fit a rack to the ALR 3?

Verified Reply - Jed @ Trek
No. Domane ALR will not accept a frame mounted rear rack. However, it will accept the Seatpost-mounted rear rack. Be sure you are using an alloy seatpost with this rack."

The Iso speed fork is designed for compliance and comfort, along with tyre type/size/pressure will give you front end ride comfort.

9,10 and 11 speed will all do the job, Shimano 105 is a good value groupset, the latest 4700 10 speed Tiagra is also nice.

You can buy the ALR as a frameset in disc and direct brake mount configuration and spec. up as you want.

yiannism

I dont know about mud guards, but i have disc hernia and i used to drive Orbea Avant H30 and it was great bike for the money that ive spend. After 12k km on it i made an upgrade, but it served me really well on even 150km ride.

laurentian

Have you looked at a Specialized Allez? I believe they still have the rack mounting points - my Allez is donkeys years old and I have used it for touring with pannier rack on the rear - you will need combine the rack with a seat post clamp like this:

https://www.evanscycles.com/fwe-seat-cl ... gJR3PD_BwE .

I would suggest the Allez also ticks your box of being a "sportive" bike - you would need to check your other criteria

cycleclinic

Why not buy a frame that's fits with proper rack and mudguard mounts, get a set of wheels built that will deal with load, Nd buy a groupset any will do so long as they change gear. It's not hard. Trying to find a complete bike with wheels that take load and has rack and guard mounts means looking at touring type bikes or audax bikes.

Mine weighs 15kg with panniers mounted. It's not fast but quick enough for a club run. Another similar bike I use is 11kg. It is not a slow bike.

Try a genesis equilibrium. It can be made onto a fine bike. And if it is too slow for you then it not the bike that's the problem (position, tyres clothing all makes a big difference). The frame will also take 32mm tyres without guards or 28mm contis with. Everything you want in one frame.