Looking for recommendations between these bikes
 

Hello,

I’m looking for recommendations between these bikes below, I’m trying not to go over $1000. I don’t race, compete, or anything like that. I just want a decent road bike to ride a trail (mostly flat pavement) about 40 miles a week. I have a cheap bike but it feels like the bike is riding me and not the other way around. Open to otter recommendations as well.

Used 2017 Specialized diverge a1 $800

used 2012 felt b12 $800

new Tommasso imola $900

My 2¢: If I was in your shoes I'd go with the Diverge since it looks like the more versatile bike, i.e. at home on the road, gravel, or tame mountain bike trails. The Felt comes up as a tri-bike on Google; it doesn't seem suited for what you will use it for. The Tommaso is a basic entry level road bike; not much to distinguish it from countless other similar offerings. Everyone has their own favorites and if enough folks respond you will have a lot of brands to consider. My first thought for what you describe would be to look at Giant's offerings. Good luck and I hope that you find something that will make you happy for many, many miles!

Tommasso Imola is junk. They often arrive damaged. Stay far away.

Specialized Diverge ain't nothing to write home about, either. Cheap components.

I know nothing about that Felt. What component group?

I can find a ton of very very much better bikes on eBay for $900 all better than these choices.

The Felt B12 is a TT bike? Doesn't seem to be ideal for the OP's use case. The Diverge is a decent entry level bike but if you can stretch the budget to get the E5 version, it will be a noticeable improvement over the A1 version. No opinion on the Tommaso other than it seems to be similar to a Bikesdirect bike (not a bad thing necessarily, but not my personal top choice). $1k gets you a lot of bike on the used market, OP should be able to find a used Synapse or Roubaix in that range that fits the bill.

You have a cheap bike, so I would avoid another cheap bike. Up the budget a bit or try and find some better bikes in that lower price point. The Diverge uses low end components, the B12 is a tri bike and while it might have decent stuff on it, it is not really a road bike and the Imola as Recycled Cycler said is junk at least the diverge is from a quality manufacturer even if similar components.

However make sure you inspect the bikes and make sure they aren't needing a ton of work or if you don't know what you are doing try and see if your local shop can help look at the bike or again up the budget and see what your local shop has. It will be a brand new bike with warranty, support and potentially service. If you are stuck on that lower budget you might look more at hybrids because those tend to be cheaper with sometimes slightly better components for the money.

It's not a timetrial bike - it's a triathlon bike. Think about the riding conditions triathlon bikes are designed for - distance riding over smooth paved roads. That's what he said he's going to be using it for. The Felt would be perfect, and a lot of fun to ride.

Why would someone who doesn't race or compete want a tri-bike with dubious handling and uncomfortable aero position?

As I see it, someone asking to compare gravel, road and tri bikes directly doesn't really know what they want. The middle ground here would be a road bike of course, but probably not the one he listed.

I've never ridden one but the reviews of the Felt B12 indicate that the handling is great (not "dubious") and that it's very comfortable. I agree that there may be better choices, but we were asked to pick from those three specific bikes. I'm saying the Felt is the best among those three and would be a good choice for his particular use case. The Diverge is more versatile, but it's just a generic mid-level bike with an aluminum frame, and according to reviews the quality of the Tommasso is somewhat sketchy. Even if the OP buys other bikes in the future for other types of riding, at least the Felt would be a keeper and he'd pull that one out for the smooth, paved roads and trails.

Edit: Plus, he's going to get a lot more "Cool bike, bro!" comments riding the Felt. Nobody's going to notice the Diverge.

Maybe you should ride a tri-bike and see how it compares to a road bike. See which is more comfortable and handles better.

Of the three, I'd go with the Specialized Diverge. Should be ideal for 40 miles per week. When or if you get to doing 90 or more miles a week then you'll have a better understanding about some of the other comments above.

Make certain it's not too big for you or way too small.

Welcome to BF.

The components are most important for what you’re looking for because they bring much better reliability. Except, as others have said, you don’t want a tri-bike and as they’ve said I’d keep my options open and not limited to those 3.

Look on eBay other places like the European sites like Wiggle and Merlin and get one with a 105 groupset and you’ll be good. Maybe Tiagra, but I’d stick with 105 or that level in other brands and up.

I don't disagree that a standard road bike would be a better all-around choice, but then you could extend that argument into maybe he should look at a gravel bike. I was addressing his specific use case, and the three bikes.

I think if I had a smooth, flat paved trail that I could ride on a regular basis and I wasn't going super long distances (40 miles/week) I'd pull out the tri bike from among the other choices. More fun. They only feel twitchy at first, and you can dial in a riding position that you like including just throwing on a set of drop bars. I'm not a fan of aero bars myself but he may like them.

But I understand your point. He should look beyond those three and choose a more general-purpose bike, maybe something he could put bigger tires on if his riding habits change. That is, if he's only going to have one bike.