Zambo44

I'm 6'2" and 225 and I'm looking to upgrade from my 2015 Sirrus hybrid/fitness bike. I have been doing longer and longer rides (up to 50miles) and I want a road bike to do 40+ miles way more comfortably, and eventually a century, so I've been looking at a lot of endurance bikes.


After doing a lot of digging over the past couple of weeks, I really liked the Trek Domane AL 5 and initially set that as the limit on how much I would pay. I thought I had narrowed it down to either the Domane or the Scott Speedster 10 Disc. As I started looking more, I started to get overwhelmed with choices. For a hundred bucks more I could get a Canyon Endurance AL 7, or I could get a Ribble R872 and get a carbon frame. For another hundred bucks I could get a Scott Addict 20 with a carbon frame.


Are all these bikes worth considering? Is the Domane worth the extra 300 over the Speedster? Will the carbon frame at that price point even be much better than any of the aluminum frames? I don't really want to be spending 1900+, but I could maaaybe talk myself into ~2000 if the return would really be worth it.


Any input I could get would be greatly appreciated!

Germanrazor

More than anything it will boil down to how each of those bikes fit your personally. I say ride each for a few miles and then keep close notes on each then make an informed decision.

Ogsarg

The Ribble is a rim brake bike so likely you are limited to a 28 tire or maybe only the 25 it comes with. For comfort, I would want at least a 28 and have the option of a 30 or bigger. Just about any bike with disk brakes should allow for at least a 30.

If you're riding 40+ miles regularly, I would say it is definitely worth getting the best bike you can reasonably afford. Consider how much time you'll spend on it. How many miles and over time, the extra dollars will be well spent if they get you a bike that is more comfortable and is more enjoyable.

GAtkins

I'd definitely second the disc brakes and wider fork. The Domane is specced at 38cm and I'm told could go wider. They're all geared about the same on the low end, but the Canyon is geared slightly higher on the high end, with a 52 big ring. Unless you're really putting out some speed, you'll probably not spin out of a 50 big ring though.

Gear ratios may not be important, but I'd try to make sure to stay near 1:1 on the low end if you have any hills. I would be in favor of a full 105 group set at least. Both the Domane and the Canyon seem well specced at that price point. I might tend to lean toward either of those as the Canyon (and the Trek of course) seem to be bigger names versus the others. But honestly IDK.

Hard choices. What about service after the sale? Trek has a nation wide network, not sure of the others. I have no affiliation with any of the brands.

Let us know what you decide.

Glenn

Zambo44

That's kind of what I'm thinking. It's too bad that I can't test ride the Ribble or the Canyon, as they are online-only.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I was considering the R872 Disc. For full 105 it's around $1650 USD. In any case, I am only considering disc brake bikes. It's too bad the Specialized Allez Elite has rim brakes. That's a good consideration though. An extra 200 bucks for something I will use a lot over the course of multiple years is worth it.

The Ribble only comes with 25s, and the fork looks pretty narrow. Not sure it could handle much wider than that, so I'll probably count that one out. I really like the Canyon. But I wouldn't be able to try it out before buying. The Scotts and the Trek would be sold at my LBS so I would get to try them, and they would all come with free fittings (so add on another 150 bucks to the cost of the Canyon).

pcunite

Finding a bike in a new category is hard. You're on the right track looking at endurance geometry, however. When people think road, that is really what should be meant. Here is a list to help you narrow it down, change elements as needed.

List:

• Category: road and smooth surfaces
• Geometry: endurance
• Bar: drop bar
• Tire size: 32c
• Frame: alloy
• Fork: carbon
• Groupset: Shimano 105

The above list currently identifies what is called an "all road " or "gravel" road bike. I was a roadie in 1993, went mountain for a while, and now getting back into road I don't want a 25c tire bike, I want 32c, I want some comfort. Carbon, or alloy with carbon in the right spots, along with larger tires hits the spot.

This means bikes like the Giant Contend AR 1 and Giant Revolt 0 will show up in your search. You could put slicks on the Revolt and have the most complaint road bike there ever was. However, the AR will be faster because more power makes it to the tarmack. What do you want? Speed or comfort? These are the kinds of decisions you be making.

When you find a bike, note that it will come in about 4 different versions, each separated by $300. That $300 basically buys you about 1lb of weight savings. Then you hit carbon, and the game starts over.

Zambo44

Update: I ended up getting a Scott Addict 20 Disc. Figured the extra couple hundred for full carbon was worth it. Thanks for the advice!