New bike help
 

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a new bike but was hoping someone could give me some tips on what to go for, I casually ride 30-50 miles when I go out but looking to push that to 70+. my budgets around 1800 and I've been looking at the plant x ec130e does anyone have any experience with this bike or can offer an alternative?
Also are there actually any benefits for comfort for getting a sportive rather than an actual aero bike for casual riders like myself?

any input appreciated thanks

You'll get much more relevant responses in the road cycling forum. Here in the racing forum the answer is buy the bike you don't mind breaking.

moving to Road

New Bike Help
 

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a new bike but was hoping someone could give me some tips on what to go for, I casually ride 30-50 miles when I go out but looking to push that to 70+. my budgets around 1800 and I've been looking at the plant x ec130e does anyone have any experience with this bike or can offer an alternative?
Also are there actually any benefits for comfort for getting a sportive rather than an actual aero bike for casual riders like myself?

any input appreciated thanks

Have a customer that just had to have a new bike and all that was available was a semi-aero bike designed more for racing than casual riding. His fit indicated the bike was the wrong one. Period.
He just had to have it, we told him wrong choice, but he bought it anyway. Now he complains about the bars being too low. A riser stem will almost get him there, about 2cm shy of the goal if we use a riser stem and hover bar. Nothing else can be done. Carbon steerer so we refuse to install a stem riser.
The point of all this is to have the bike fitted before purchase. If you are able to sit comfortably on a bike of that design for 6+ hours, then OK do it, but don't go into it thinking that you can adapt or the bike can be adapted to your body position without knowing for certain that it/you can.

Thanks i have a sportive already and find it pretty comfortable how much of a difference in comfort is it from a sportive to aero is it actually noticeable for casual riders?

Depends. One of the differences between "endurance" road bikes and "aero" road bikes is that the "aero" bikes are on average built for a more forward and low fit. But what impact this has depends on the rider and their body geometry. If you can easily achieve the bike fit you want on either, then this isn't particularly impactful.
Sometimes "endurance" road bikes are designed to feature more compliance, or fit bigger tires to facilitate a smoother ride or to handle stuff like gravel better. If you're riding on rougher roads and this is an issue for you, then this can be a disadvantage for the aero bike. But this really just depends on the bike and the use case. Not all aero bikes offer a harsh ride, and for some people and use cases it won't matter either way.

There aren't really clear defining lines between what an "aero bike" and an "endurance bike" is, and any comfort differences that they may or may not have will depend on the rider and the riding.

It's unlikely I'd buy another bike focused on 'aero' unless I lost my mind and started racing (definitely correlated). Fun to ride, but not for 70 miles. Even with a couple choices in the garage, on a long outing like that, I want the longer wheelbase, the less-extended reach and the lower gearing of my endurance bike. Those rides are not timed in my little world; I'm not going to notice 8 minutes faster on a 4+ hour ride. The bigger issue is inventory. $700 bikes are gonzo, $1300 bikes are unlikely to be found in typical sizes and $1800's are getting thin. I've had a lot of success with buying used, but I looked at Ebay the other day and, frankly, thought the market was not buyer friendly at all. Saw very few of the typical bikes I like, and the prices were, frankly, stupid rich. If I were buying now, I'd be cruising all the LBS's just to see if I have any decent options, then weighing those. Or, of course, wait. a. long. time. Was just looking at another post a few mins ago, talking about severe inventory shortages going into 2022.

thanks do you mind me asking what your preferences are? I can’t see myself racing anytime soon so would you say endurance bikes for a more casual rider?

It's certainly not the kind of bike I would choose to ride 70 miles on but people do long distances on all kinds of bikes. You don't mention what you are riding now and whether it's comfortable for your current riding. If you've never had a road bike before, I'd suggest getting something used and ride it a bit before making a major investment.

For a recreational rider, who's not hung up on constantly increasing speed, I'd look at bikes with endurance geometry. Most companies have something to offer in this class so look around. As noted earlier, there is very limited inventory for affordable bikes due to covid so if you are set on getting something soon, your options will be limited.

I bought one in August 2020 (FIRST CARBON: Planet X EC-130E) and it was money well spent. I really like it, it flies. The BSA threaded BB is a nice bonus, as I've no experience of press-fit BBs. The overall quality of the bike feels very high; it was named the 2017 Aero "Bike of the Year" by Cycling Weekly.

You can get a trek domane al4 for 1700.00. Tiagra 10 speed groupset.

I wasn't familiar with this bike but after looking it up I have to say it's a whole lot of bang for the buck!! I used to do a lot of long distance cycling but that was 20 years ago so don't take this as gospel. But you got to ask yourself why you can't do that extra 20 miles on your current bike? Is it you as in you're hitting the wall after 50 miles and not re-fueling your body right? Is there something not set up right on your current bike that's causing too much pain like your saddle or handlebar height? A bike like this xplanet isn't designed to help you go further it's designed to help you get there a little faster.

So you have to look at your needs first. 1) Do I need some luggage for a overnight trip? Well a carbon frame might not be designed to carry it. 2) Do I need a stiffer frame to put more watts into the ground, or do I need a softer one so my body aches less after 70 miles? 3) Is the geometry right for me? Being hunched over = less wind resistance and if you are cycling in a team it's important. If you are by yourself sometimes having a little more upright sitting position is much more comfortable and enjoyable.

I'm not sure if you are ordering this over the internet. But with long distance bike fit is more important then brand etc. Getting a bike that fits you right will make a world of difference and I would check out a decent LBS to see what fits.

what other websites do you buy the second hand bikes off apart from eBay and gumtree?

Merged duplicate threads. Please do not crosspost.

I'd hesitate to make any general statement on the matter, because of how fuzzy the categories are. "Aero" road bikes didn't come about because there was any specific user-end need for them to be their own category, but because bicycle manufacturers wanted to explore aerodynamic frame shaping without putting all their eggs in that basket. As the technology has matured, there's been a lot of cross-pollination: many "climbing" and "endurance" road bikes now feature a lot of aerodynamic shaping, for instance.
I don't think any of these considerations are necessarily deal-breakers for any of the use cases you're talking about. There are randonneurs who ride 1200km Brevets on "aero" bikes. There are racers who show up to road races on "endurance" frames and compete just fine.

If there's an aero bike that you really like and which will fit you, I don't think you should avoid it out of fear that it will be unsuitable for 70-mile rides. On the other hand, I don't there are many situations where it makes that much sense to worry much about specifically getting an "aero" bike either.