This indecision's bugging me – New Bike Advice Sought

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Howdee

I’m upgrading the auld rothar soonish and I’ve been out and about literally kicking tires.
My price point is around €2k and I’m looking for carbon with 105 at least.
The bike will be my weekend machine and used for the odd sportive. I generally ride 60 to 120k + with a bit of climbing up the Wicklow Mountains and NCD depending on what I’m aiming for and the time of year

I was considering the Specialized Tarmac sl4 but I went for a bike fit out to Bike Fit Studio and John rightly pointed out why go for a bike with race geometry when I’m more of a sportive rider.

So that led me the Roubaix (http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/road/roubaix/roubaix-sl4-sport#specs) but I’m not sure about the Zertz vibration damping inserts – are they just gimmicky or do they actually work without impacting performance?
I’ve ridded a few Specializeds over the years and have found them to be a quality ride but I’ve never had a spin on the Roubaix

I was then directed over to the Top Cycle Shop in Clontarf to have a look at the Cannondale Synapse 5 105 for around €2300 (http://www.topbicycleshop.ie/road/447-cannondale-synapse-sm-105-5-road-bike-2015.html). It looks like a great bike and got bike of the year 2014 for its price bracket on Bike Radar.

But then the chap in the shop was pointing me towards the Merida Scultura 5000 which they’re selling for €2000 and it has an Ultegra gear set (http://www.merida-bikes.com/en_int/bikes/road-fitness/race/2015/scultura-5000-2225.html). I’m not familiar with Merida and I can’t find too many independent reviews of the Scultura 5000 on line.

So bottom line is that I’m leaning towards the Cannondale purely based on the Bike Radar writeup
And I’m a tad suspicious of the Merida because it’s cheaper and running with an Ultegra so I’m guessing that there’s cut backs somewhere to bring it into that price point.

Also I’m not that well up on my wheelsets and components to know how much of a deciding factor the ancillary bits n bobs should be and the devil is in the detail as they say.

I do aim on having a spin on them before committing but I’m just throwing it out there at the mo to get some imput from the more seasoned riders out there.
Any ideas anyone?
(First world problems or what!)

Thanks for taking the time to read this

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Ole Rodrigo

Any particular reason you want carbon? If not, I'd go with this:

http://www.topbicycleshop.ie/road-men/239-cannondale-caad10-5-105.html#

and spend the change on a second set of ' Sunday best ' wheels .

Pigeon Reaper

Merida are good. They're one of the biggest bike manufacturers and own a large percentage of specialized. They can do things cheaply due to economies of scale. They're not the best looking bikes on the planet. Brakes and finishing kit might be own branded to save money but this is easy to replace.

Pigeon Reaper

Merida are good. They're one of the biggest bike manufacturers and own a large percentage of specialized. They can do things cheaply due to economies of scale. They're not the best looking bikes on the planet. Brakes and finishing kit might be own branded to save money but this is easy to replace.

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Ole Rodrigo wrote: »

Any particular reason you want carbon? If not, I'd go with this:

http://www.topbicycleshop.ie/road-men/239-cannondale-caad10-5-105.html#

and spend the change on a second set of ' Sunday best ' wheels .

I'm aiming towards Carbon because this will be my only bike purchase for at least 5 years so I was going to go as top end as I can with a view to "future proofing" my purchase as much as possible (if that makes sense)

Lumen

If a race geometry bike fits it is likely to be more fun to ride than a "sportive" bike and sufficiently comfortable, but since the person making the suggestion has done a bike fit on you I'd tend to go with their advice.

Carbon bikes aren't necessarily "better" but if you want a carbon bike then get one.

Most importantly, buy a bike you like looking at.

Seweryn

fillup wrote: »

I'm aiming towards Carbon because this will be my only bike purchase for at least 5 years so I was going to go as top end as I can with a view to "future proofing" my purchase as much as possible (if that makes sense)

You are making an assumption that a bike made of certain material (i.e. carbon fibre frame) is somehow a better bike. Which is not true. By limiting yourself to the above criteria, you may lose a good deal on a great bike within your price range.

Donie75

Fillup,
I am in a similar position. Did bikefit last year and now shopping for a new Sportive Relaxed Geometry bike. I was advised to go for a smaller frame size 54 instead of 56 with a 170mm+ headtube.
I've looked at the Specialized Roubaix but I don't like the fact that you only get partial groupsets. I prefer a bike with a full groupset and the only companies who are doing this are Canyon, Rose and Cube.
The Cube Agree GTC SL is nice with full Ultegra 11sp but the geometry is a bit racy and it would need a good few spacers to make it work. They are selling for around €2,200 with full Ultegra.
I also like the Rose Xeon CGF range. They are only available online but they have a great spec and they allow you to customise the bike to your exact needs, stem length, etc.

OldBean

A mate of mine has nothing but good things to say about the Roubaix. Comfortable, speedy and great build.

If you weren't confined to carbon, I'd say something like the Genesis Equilibrium 30 or similar.

fillup

thanks for the recommendations lads - i'll give them a google later!

Sinbad_NI

Canyon Endurance CF with full Ultegra for £1550.

kuro_man

http://www.rosebikes.com/bike/rose-xeon-team-cgf-3000-746367/aid:746420

Rose CGF 3000 < 7kg sportive bike with ultegra (and, unlike canyon, a standard headset) for €1900 and you can customise it.

Seweryn

kuro_man wrote: »

http://www.rosebikes.com/bike/rose-xeon-team-cgf-3000-746367/aid:746420

Rose CGF 3000 < 7kg sportive bike with ultegra (and, unlike canyon, a standard headset) for €1900 and you can customise it.

One of the biggest advantages of Rose bikes over any competition. Well worth considering.

fillup

I'll be buying in a LBS because of tax shenaigans so i think that rules out Rose and Canyon (AFAIK they're web only retailers but I maybe wrong)

And I'm leaning towards carbon because i wanted to narrow the field down and not get into that whole carbon vs aluminimum thing

romperstomper

in the same boat and will be choosing one of the canondale/specialized/merida (ride 5000) in the near future all depending on how I get on with the test spins. Worth noting that no matter who you deal with (And I personally find Top Bicycle Shop to be great), that you are never able to choose completely freely. As has already been stated, a number of bike makers are online only and other brands will only deal with certain bike stores that won't be convenient. Still though glad to hear my research wasn't in vain and others came to a similar conclusion! Can anyone else throw in a bike that will be sportif friendly and be upgradeable for the next five years?

jackstaff

I've visited different shop lately with the same problem as yourself .

Shops asking do you race ? Answer is no! Well then you don't need a race geometry bike....
Deep section wheels do you race ? Answer is no! well then you don't need deepcarbon wheels

God forbid I actually like the look of race bikes and as another shop said 90% of the cycling we do is about appearance going with a sportive over a properly fitted race bike is not life changing people in shops need to get over themselfs... So in short buy the bike you like and get it fitted to YOU. That's what I'm doing

desertcircus

jackstaff wrote: »

I've visited different shop lately with the same problem as yourself .

Shops asking do you race ? Answer is no! Well then you don't need a race geometry bike....
Deep section wheels do you race ? Answer is no! well then you don't need deepcarbon wheels

God forbid I actually like the look of race bikes and as another shop said 90% of the cycling we do is about appearance going with a sportive over a properly fitted race bike is not life changing people in shops need to get over themselfs... So in short buy the bike you like and get it fitted to YOU. That's what I'm doing

In fairness, deep-section carbon wheels are wildly expensive if you're just after their appearance. I'd be wary of a shop that didn't try to dissuade non-racing cyclists from spending that kind of money on cosmetics.

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jackstaff wrote: »

I've visited different shop lately with the same problem as yourself .
going with a sportive over a properly fitted race bike is not life changing people in shops need to get over themselfs...

While I agree with some of what you're saying Jackstaff but when you get to my age you need to be aware of riding with the right geometry as it'll cut down on the likelihood of picking up injuries.

Also it's nice to hear that some shops out there are doing the decent thing and making sure that their potential customers are buying the right kit.

greenspurs

Im starting to research my new purchase now,
Wont be buying until next jan/feb .... So many decisions !

Donie75

Spotted this Ridley Fenix C10 Ultegra for €2100 on Twitter earlier http://www.slanecycles.com/ridley-fenix-c10-ultegra-11-speed-1506am-bike-2015-p-27041.html
Anyone have any experience of the Fenix? Looks like nice bike with good pedigree.

benneca1

I have had 3 Roubaix comps over the years can't fault em for a sportive bike, comfy climb well and look good wheel are only weak point usually. In addition however the new one seems to be disc only which IMHO is a bit of a fad.

gambeta_fc

benneca1 wrote: »

I have had 3 Roubaix comps over the years can't fault em for a sportive bike, comfy climb well and look good wheel are only weak point usually. In addition however the new one seems to be disc only which IMHO is a bit of a fad.

Seen this earlier, UCI supposedly set to give the green light to disc brakes:
www. road.cc/content/news/146616-disc-brakes-be-permitted-peloton-2017

Even if permitted that's not to say they'll be adopted ...

Also mentions possible revisions to 6.8kg weight limit and frame restrictions.

griffin100

In a similar position to the OP and was considering this. Any thoughts?

rtmie

griffin100 wrote: »

In a similar position to the OP and was considering this. Any thoughts?

Lovely looking bike!!

petethedrummer

gambeta_fc wrote: »

Seen this earlier, UCI supposedly set to give the green light to disc brakes:
www. road.cc/content/news/146616-disc-brakes-be-permitted-peloton-2017

This is worse than anything that happened under Pat and Hein. Cookson out.

nomdeboardie

Sorry, I have nothing substantive to add

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nomdeboardie wrote: »

Sorry, I have nothing substantive to add

This would be the cycling equivalent of Simonon's frustrated bass smash