Heck of a time deciding on my 2nd road bike

Streetdoctor

I picked up a 2018 Roubaix Elite (105) last fall to use for training for MTB racing. Most of my rides are 30-100 miles. I'm torn between selling the Roubaix and buying a Tarmac or just trying to upgrade what I have. Currently my bike sits a little over 20lbs. My training on it consists of base miles and intervals. My wife is on a Tarmac and she's hard to keep up with. I'm sponsored by a shop so I need to stick with Specialized, Giant, (or potentially a Pivot Vault?).

If I upgrade the Roubaix Elite- I was thinking CLX32 wheels, carbon cranks, stem, handlebars. This would take nearly 2lbs off the bike but will it make that big of a difference?

Or do I upgrade to a Tarmac Pro or Expert. If I went with the Expert I could probably keep the Roubaix.... I'm also trying to find information now on if 650b wheels and big tires would work on a roubaix and I could turn it into more of a gravel bike.

I'm a little worried about the difference in Stack height for centuries on the Tarmac and comfort. I'm 33, primarily race Cat 1 Enduro and DH. I love everything about my Roubaix it just feels slow.

Another option brought to my attention is a Pivot Vault with a second set of wheels for the road. How would this compare to a Tarmac? Will it be too similar to my Roubaix?

Sorry for the scattered post

w00dster

If your Roubaix is the same as my Domane, the limiting factor on wider tyres is 105, I have 2017 105, the front derailleur is at an angle, so even 650B wheels with wider tyres will be touching it. I can get 33c knobblies on and 35c slicks, but this is only OK in the dry, in the wet too much mud builds up. (You can buy a different front derailleur now I believe, but haven't looked into it)
I was also in a very similar position regarding upgrading or new bike. New bike won. I just added up the price of the components needed to make my bike lighter, it just didn't make sense. Its also likely to be the geometry on the Roubaix as well as the weight that makes it feel slow. My Domane is also an Endurace bike, it just doesn't have the same "quick" feel as my race bike (and I've just put the deposit down on a new one).....As my wife said to me recently, if I buy the cheaper bike, I'll spend the next year upgrading it to make it the same as the more expensive bike, then I'll sell it a month later. So with that in mind, I'd go for the Tarmac Pro.....actually I'd be trying to get a deal on a new old stock 2018 Specialized Venge Vias Pro....may be able to get a good deal with your sponsorship deal when the 2019 model is released.
Over here in the UK, I've never seen any Pivot CX bikes or on the road so can't help with that. I decided a XC Hardtail was the solution to solving my gravel itch. I've done a fair few distance gravel rides on a CX bike with wide tyres, each time I got off the bike I dreamt of front sus. But then I'm 15 years older than you. I went CX Bike - too bumpy, rigid + bike, was ok but heavy and slow, then found the ideal for me, 29er hardtail XC bike.

trek_dan

I'd probably sell the Roubaix and buy a stiff, light race bike. If its got the Specialized then Allez Sprint is a beast. Then buy a cross/gravel bike for off road riding. Neither need to be particularly expensive.

Streetdoctor

Well I ended up getting talked into keeping it by a buddy. For my intended purposes (training tool) an aggressive race geometry takes the back seat to a little more comfort. Especially because I generally like the way I fit on my current bike.

I did buy some upgrades though. I got a set of Stans Notubes Avion Pro Disc wheels, Easton EC90 stem, EC90 Aero drop bars, and EC90 SL crankset. I also ordered some new Time Xpro 10 pedals. I got everything at cost so that makes it a lot more cost effective then upgrading. Best offer I got for the bike when I had it posted for sale was $1400 and it retailed at $2800. I figure that should take around 3lb off the bike which should be pretty noticeable. I'm going to keep the 105 for now until it wears out and probably swap it out for Dura Ace 9120 and take off another half of a pound. At that point it will be time to upgrade the frame

Streetdoctor

w00dster wrote:

If your Roubaix is the same as my Domane, the limiting factor on wider tyres is 105, I have 2017 105, the front derailleur is at an angle, so even 650B wheels with wider tyres will be touching it. I can get 33c knobblies on and 35c slicks, but this is only OK in the dry, in the wet too much mud builds up. (You can buy a different front derailleur now I believe, but haven't looked into it)
I was also in a very similar position regarding upgrading or new bike. New bike won. I just added up the price of the components needed to make my bike lighter, it just didn't make sense. Its also likely to be the geometry on the Roubaix as well as the weight that makes it feel slow. My Domane is also an Endurace bike, it just doesn't have the same "quick" feel as my race bike (and I've just put the deposit down on a new one).....As my wife said to me recently, if I buy the cheaper bike, I'll spend the next year upgrading it to make it the same as the more expensive bike, then I'll sell it a month later. So with that in mind, I'd go for the Tarmac Pro.....actually I'd be trying to get a deal on a new old stock 2018 Specialized Venge Vias Pro....may be able to get a good deal with your sponsorship deal when the 2019 model is released.
Over here in the UK, I've never seen any Pivot CX bikes or on the road so can't help with that. I decided a XC Hardtail was the solution to solving my gravel itch. I've done a fair few distance gravel rides on a CX bike with wide tyres, each time I got off the bike I dreamt of front sus. But then I'm 15 years older than you. I went CX Bike - too bumpy, rigid + bike, was ok but heavy and slow, then found the ideal for me, 29er hardtail XC bike.

I think I'm going down from 28's to 25's with my new wider wheelset. Believe it or not the limiting factor on the Roubaix is the fork. I can fit a 30/32 on the rear just fine but it's too tall on the front and just slightly rubs. My current 28's really measure 30.1mm and are about as big as I would want to fit on the stock rims and I believe they are only 18mm internally. I hear a Scwalbe Pro One 25mm really measures closer to 29 on the Avion Pro wheels.