n2knee

Hello everyone. I have not been here for the past few months. Been enjoying my time riding the mountain bike. I am itching to switch my mountain bike to a road bike. I have been riding more on the road (100 miles per week). My current bike is a Trek Fuel EX 8 I bought earlier this year. I had assumed to be riding a lot on the trails when I purchased the bike. That has not been the case, so now I am in the process of selling my mountain bike and am looking at a few road bikes online. I have some questions.

*I did a test fit when I was in the market for a mountain bike. Is the process the same for a road bike? Or do I need another test fit for a road bike in order to find the right road bike frame for me?

*I ride for fitness and not for competition. Saddle comfort is also important to me. I cannot ride longer than 1 hour in my current bike without experiencing stiffness and pain in my buttocks. Cycling shorts with gel padding never improved the comfort. This is more of a saddle issue, but I cannot seem to find the right one. Any recommendations?

*I am used to having a dropper seat post. Very handy, but this does not seem too common on a road bike. Can this be installed in a road bike?

*For easier maintenance and safety what is the preferred tire? Tubeless or the traditional tube?

*Budget is $3k. I am looking to test drive the Cervelo S series, Trek Domane S6, and Pinarelo GAN bikes. Is a bike that cost $3k too much for its intended purpose? Any other recommendations?

Thank you in advance.

12strings

You should really look it's the adventure/gravel type bikes. Very similar to a road bike, but with much greater tire clearance...skinny tires for fast road riding, fat tires for off-road.

Also, I know for a fact that the Jamis Renegade carbon versions are set up to accept a dropper post with wiring. I don't know of any road bikes that actually come with a dropper post, but at least the Renegade is built to work well with one. The lower priced carbon version is well under your budget.

Chandne

You mention some nice bikes...well-suited to fitness and serious riding. Do consider a gravel/cross bike. I recently got one in addition to my road bike (I am also a mtn biker) and it is fun riding road and then jumping into some gravel rod or trail...we have a lot here. I run 33 fast tires with a mild tread. Of the three you mention, the Cervelo or Trek would be my choices. I like the really high-end Pinarellos. You can size up based on height and dimensions but a fit is a good idea. However, if buying from a shop, they will normally put you on the right size to begin with. Be careful there, and make sure you ask questions on sizing. If you're 5'10" for example, they will likely put you on a 56cm frame.

Seattle Forrest

I'd look at Cervelo's R series over the S bikes, but agree about gravel and their C series might be to your liking. No idea about dropper posts. You might change your mind about one after some road riding. Tubeless is making a long, slow introduction into road use, you'll find mixed opinions and that it's harder to set up than on a mountain bike. A gravel or "all road" bike would be easier to run tubeless because of the slightly bigger tires.

n2knee

My mountain bike's frame is 17.50 inches. I found out that the measurement for road bike is cm. So I converted my 17.50 in frame and that equates to roughly 44 cm. There is no road bike with that size. I am confused.

Chandne

That is not a proper conversion at all. I'm guessing you are a 54 or 56. You need to go to a GOOD shop or three shops, talk to them, and ride a few at least in the parking lot.

My cross bike is a Specialized CruX. I like it so much that I would never be without a cross bike. Take it slow and don't rush into it. Do enough research and ask questions. I have learned a lot from this forum, and still am.

PepeM

Yeah, it doesn't work that way. Go to the shop and test ride the bikes you're thinking of. They'll help you with the sizing.

joejack951

Ignore typical frame sizing numbers. Find a bike that puts the handlebars the right height below (or above) your saddle and the right distance from the bottom bracket (aka 'stack' and 'reach'). Handlebars come in a variety of shape and sizes as do stems and stems can be raised and lowered to some extent which all adds up to most people 'fitting' multiple sizes of the same frame. Depending on your goals and/or desire for your bike's appearance to match certain norms, one frame size should stand out as the best choice, or very often the best compromise once the bike has been adjusted to fit you.

When spending $3k, you should expect that the shop will do a thorough fit session and don't be surprised to see at least the stem length change.

MRT2

What advantage would there be for a dropper seat post on a road bike?

12strings

For a road bike used only on the road: no advantage at all...

Foe a gravel/ cross bike, it could come in handy if you are doing some technical descents on tricky terrain...

Jeremy_S

Never once have I wished for a dropper on my gravel bike and I've taken it down some nasty stuff that gets the dropped all the time on my mtb. The head angle of a cross bike is so steep youre not going to carry the speed down hill like you would on an mtb because you'll soon find you and the bike have reversed places lol. We've got a few gnarly state parks and I've ridden them all on both but you wont want anywhere near the level of ridiculous on the cross bike as a bike with a 65-67 degree head angle. It's more slow and pick your line dodge this dodge that kinda deal.

But if you want one more power to ya, I just think you'll end up being dissapointed with the added weight vs the very very minimal use if any. 1

up on two

I am an avid mtb rider and love the dropper seat when riding the steep descents but just can't imagine needing one on a road bike.
Maybe that's because I don't ride road bikes that much but seems like it would never get any use.