RedllowFenix

Hi there!

I am thinking about upgrading my current road bike. It's a 2017 Specialized Tarmac in carbon with a Shimano Tiagra groupset (the entry-level carbon line). I've had it for about 3-4 years and would like to change.

I ride 220-250 km per week on average. So far in 2021, I've ridden 3,015 kilometers. I'm preparing to compete in local amateur competitions. My budget is around USD 4,000, and I'm considering the following options within that range:

• BMC TeamMachine SLR Three
• Émonda SL 6 Pro or non-pro version
• Tarmac Disc Comp
• TCR Advanced Pro Disc 1 or 2
• Focus Izalco Max 8.8
• Scott Addict RC 30 prism

The BMC Teammachine SLR Three is my favorite of the options listed above. My initial plan was to purchase the Emonda SL6 non-Pro version (because the price) and change the carbon rims; however, I have read on internet that despite its new design, it is a "heavy" bike.

Despite the above, I am seriously considering stretching my budget (up to USD 5,000) to purchase a bike with an electronic groupset (Di2 or eTap). However, I'm not sure about two things: first, whether it's really worth it; and second, which of the two options is superior, given that eTap is slightly more expensive. Personally, I am in love with BMC (SLR Two / SLR One).

Finally, will it be better to wait for the 2022 versions? Aren't they launched in the middle of the year?

What do you guys think?

Thank you very much and apologies for so many questions.

Badger6

What's available now? Waiting to '22 may not prove any advantages, but we are on the cusp of those models being announced for many fo the big manufacturers. Any of those frames is high quality, the key is what components are hung on it.

Don't buy anything lower than Ultegra; in the budget you described there is no reason to buy a bike with 105 on it. And, yes electronic shifting is worth it...once you get it adjusted, the cables don't stretch (sarcasm) so it never goes out of adjustment (unless you bugger the RD hanger or do something to the FD). I have no experience with eTAP, but my experience with Di2 has driven me to the point that I won't buy or build a bike without it ever again.

ZHVelo

Do you have a Cube dealer near you?

eduskator

I like the TCR and the Addict. I have a 2021 TCR Pro 0 Disc and I love it. The Addict is also very nice, but it's more expensive and you get less. With Giant, you always get more bang for the buck. The Pro 0 is 5.8k US I believe, and comes with CF 42mm rims, tubeless tires, a dual sided power meter and R8070 all around. The Pro 1 comes with R8020 and I believe has cheaper tires, but it's also 1000$ less. It's worth paying a little more to get the 0.

If you can try a few of them quickly to see how you feel on them, that would be great. If you try one and don't get a ''good feeling'', do not buy.

Rides4Beer

I would add the Cannondale SuperSix Evo to the list, loving mine, fantastic ride and handling. Test rides are tough these days, because most shops don't have a lot of stock to choose from. It may come down to what you can actually get your hands on (if you want a bike now, or you can place an order and wait indefinitely, still lots of delays). But if you can test out some bikes, def do it, always good to see how it feels and looks in person.

IMO, electronic shifting is worth it, but opinions will vary.

DaveSSS 

Keep in mind that shimano will have 12 speed out before the end of the year, according to optimists. I'd definitely go for 12 speed with electronic shifting. I had Campy Chorus 12 for a year before trying SRAM Force AXS, last July. I first used force axs 12 on my two rim brake frames, with my Campy 12 48/32 cranks to get more range. A few months later I switched to new disc frames, but kept all of the drivetrains, except for the brakes. I still don't use sram cranks due to their 13T difference at the crank. It makes no sense to add more range with a 12th sprocket, then take it away with the 13T difference at the crank. I'm still experimenting with cranks. I've also used shimano grx cranks in the 46/30 and 48/31 versions. I do correct the +2.5mm chainline.

I prefer to buy frames only, so I can install the exact components I want. The Trek bikes have oddly short stems and long bar reach combinations. Integrated bars with internal brake hoses can be a real pain and a big expense to change.

RedllowFenix

No, I don't. I live in Colombia. Why?

Thank you for your recommendation. I know that giant has one of the best price-performance ratios on the market.

Due to a lack of stock, testing a bicycle is nearly impossible. In my city, at least.

Thank you. Indeed the stores in my city don't have any stock available...

When do you think the manufacturers will announce the 2022 models? Anyway, because there isn't any in stock, I'll have to wait. Then it is preferable to wait for these versions.

eduskator

I feel you. Same here. We can't really try bikes because they're out of stock and LBS would not let us try them. They sell like hotcakes!

I bought mine without trying it, but I already had the same bike (model and version, but 2018) so I knew what I was buying. The frame has been redesign in 21, but they kept a similar geometry.

Good luck with the buy.

RedllowFenix

Just wondering: how much does it weigh on your size? What is your opinion on the power meter included?

eduskator

I have a large and it's 7.5kg. I didn't weight it using a specific bike scale though so I am not fully confident it's accurate.

Power Pro is great and reliable, batteries last forever and they are chargeable by wire. I didn't compare its accuracy with other PMs, but I've only heard and read good things about it so far. It's supposedly 2% more or less accurate. It can be easily calibrated using the RideLink app. I do it before every ride.

biker128pedal

You say you cannot test ride so I assume all would need to be ordered. Then the question to ask the dealers is how long it will take to get. That may influence your decision.

msu2001la

Have you considered buying an Ultegra Di2 groupset and installing it on your current 2017 Tarmac?

That's probably the route I would go, but also I'm not sure if that would be any easier to hunt down at the moment than a complete new bike would be.

ZHVelo

Ah bueno, me gusta Colombia! no es un ciclista

Because I just bought their new aero bike and it rides amazing, is good value, is pretty light in the price category, and surprisingly is very comfortable.

y2zipper

The Emonda SL6 pro isn't significantly heavier than the bikes listed here and is a fantastic bike, but the price increase this year makes it harder to justify and the carbon rims on the SL6 pro are pigs (like you can knock off half a kilo changing wheels). Check is basically kicked the price of all the road bikes up 500 bucks since they announced the model releases last year.

You're shopping at a price point where it doesn't really matter, because essentially the price to performance ratio you get in this range of bikes is the same across manufacturers. I shopped on a $4,000 budget last June when the 2021 models were coming out, and what that sort of get you these days is a carbon frame, an ultegra mechanical or equivalent group set, hydraulic disc brakes and tubeless if you want it, and your bike is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of seven and a half to 8 kilos in weight.

5000 is a tricky budget because it's quite enough money to buy a really good 4000 dollar bike with a mechanical group set and upgrade your wheels, but most brands aren't giving you electronic shifting at that price because most brands will stock a higher end wheel set on a bike with electronic shifting. The result is that the $4,000 bike with electronic shifting into better wheel set becomes a 5500 to $6,000 bike.








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Seattle Forrest

Di2 doesn't make you faster, but it makes the bike more enjoyable to ride. Auto trim has to be my favorite thing about it.

ZHVelo

$4000 dollars gives you 7.5kg up to 8.0kg across the board? Not for 'endurance' and 'aero' bikes. Not sure about 'climbing' bikes, I did not research those as much. But I doubt it, EUR 3'600 (USD 4'300, probably more in the US though) gets you Canyon Ultimate Disc eTap and that is 7.64kg. And Canyon is cheaper and lighter than most other brands at each qualityrice point given their direct to consumer model. Rim brake bikes being 7.5kg to 8.0kg I can imagine, but not disc, not at that price point.

ridelikeaturtle

For me, since I do all my own maintenance, things like sensible cable routing, a threaded bottom bracket, brake calipers mounted in normal places (to make cleaning easier) were important. I don't know about the list of bikes you have there, but when you narrow it down to two or three and there's no other differences, remember to consider things like this.

Post up pics when you get it, and have fun shopping!

Badger6

If...and reading the market supply issues right now, it's a big if...Shimano does release a 12-speed road group this year, and if they release the electronic at the same time as the mechanical, expect it to ONLY be Dura-Ace. Based on how current year bikes are priced, It would not likely not be spec'd on a bike in the OP's budget. I could be wrong.

Badger6

How do you figure? All of the major manufacturers are offering disc brakes on their road bikes at this point. In fact, I just spent 10 minutes perusing the major brands websites, and if rim brakes are offered, they are only offered on the low end bikes in the relevant product line. Plenty of bikes in the OP's budget are clocking in sub 8kg with discs.

DaveSSS 

I managed to build my two Cinelli superstar disc bikes with SRAM Force AXS for about $4300 each, but finding NOS frames for just over $1000 each made that possible. Those frames weigh 990-1000 grams. I have high level components, like Easton ec-90 bars, smp stratos saddle, zipp sl stem, fsa carbon post, michelin tubeless tires. I also bought fulcrum racing 3 DB wheels for about $500 per set, before prices went up. I wanted rims that were tubeless without rim tape to avoid the rim tape hassles. No regrets there. Total weight, without pedals, computer or bottle cages, like OEM bikes, is 7.7 kg.

RedllowFenix

As I said in my initial post I am considering going for the Émonda SL6 Non-Pro version and expend the difference in a pair of carbon rims. What references are recommendable?

My friend did the same thing with the same bike. He added a Durace electronic group, two sets of carbon wheels, and other enhancements. He is currently selling the entire bike for a much lower price than he invested. I'd consider it with a newer model with disc brakes.

I get your point but what about buying the non-pro version and install it a great set of carbon rims? Which one would you recommend?

Or what would you general advice?

I certainly hope so! But, as I previously stated, there is currently no stock anywhere, so perhaps I'll have to wait until the new releases in June?

I second this. All major manufactures are offering disc brakes. Finding rim brakes it's an odyssey.

y2zipper

My general advice is that one bike isn't going to be significantly better than the others at any given price point. Some will be slightly lighter and some will be slightly heavier, but we aren't talking about enough weight for it to really matter.

I guess what I'm trying to say is whichever one of these models makes you smile more is the one you should buy. You can literally pick the bike off of your list that looks the best to you, buy it, and you wouldn't lose performance compared to any of the others.

I own and ride and Emonda sl6 pro with the stock wheel set but if you're going to upgrade the wheels anyway, getting the non pro version and getting a better set of carbon rims than the one the pro comes with is a good idea. With the emonda specifically, the weight of the bike is not going to be out of line with anything else you listed.

I would not recommend buying it just to change out the ultegra group set that it comes with, because that sort of thing gets very expensive and mechanical ultegra is a very good group. If you are dead set on electronic shifting, stretch your budget to six grand and go get a bike that has it or buy a canyon, where the entry price to electronic shifting is a little bit lower than with other brands. When I was buying I did not think that electronic shifting was worth the price jump, but other people in the street would say something different.

I shopped on a similar budget to you last year so I know a little bit more of what's out there and I thought sharing my experience would help.
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ZHVelo

I meant sub 8.0kg with disc at $4'000 or less. I have checked many, many brands and as I said, no aero or endurance bikes will fit all of those. Possibly 'climbing' as I said, and well those look like 'climbing' bikes.

burnthesheep

For just getting into racing, I'd not blow the budget on a new toy just yet.

I'd maybe say spend $400 in used/new mix of parts to get into some 105 or Ultegra stuff. I mean, unless you have a ton of money and it's a fun thing to get it anyway.

A Tarmac is a great bike to race already. The component mix on that thing is the only thing really that would give you a leg up.

So, if it were me I would instead:
-R7000 FD or used 105 11spd FD
-R8000 cassette
-R8000 RD
-11spd chainrings on existing crank
-6800 or R8000 shifters

Then take the pile of money saved and get a sweet wheel/tire/latex setup and that Tarmac will be a great race rig. Then, if you change your mind the Tarmac will have a good enough component mix to get decent money used later.

You'd really love the upgrade in shifting with the newer "R" components.

RedllowFenix

Thank you for your input! That makes a lot of sense.

When the SL6 Non-Pro version becomes available, I believe I will purchase it.

Do you have any recommendations for a good set of wheels?