AJW2W11E

I'm in my 50's and I ride my Specialized Diverse aluminum daily . Its a nice tough bike and it suits my riding style and training needs just fine. Before that I had a Giant Toughroad. I've hit big potholes and gone up and down a few sidewalk curbs on these bikes and they are forgiving to my less than professional ability.
Its summer now and I'd like to try a road bike ( 2014 to 2019 model, used )for a few seasons before I lose any pretensions of being fast.
Can anyone recommend a road bike with the durability of my Diverse or Toughroad ?
Finally am I asking for trouble buying a used Carbon Fiber bike?

Steve B.

Why not just get a 2nd wheel set and put on some 28mm road tires ?. I do this on my Topstone, its a bit heavier than my carbon road bike, is maybe 1/2 mph slower, but has a great ride, especially as i can run les air pressure on the wider tires then I run on my carbon bike with 25mm tires.

mihlbach

Road bikes aren’t particularly fragile. The narrower, higher pressure tires, and quicker geometry will limit their capabilities on anything but pavement, but no properly assembled road bike is going to explode on you if you ride it off a curb or a turn down a gravelly path.
Carbon fiber is not metal and is therefore both more durable and less durable than metals depending how you look at it. Carbon is extremely strong and fatigue resistant. However it does not dent or bend like metals do, so if the frame has suffered blunt force trauma it may not be obvious. You should inspect used carbon carefully before buying, but if the frame looks to be in good condition then it most likely is.

AJW2W11E

I thought about that. But my Diverse is my main ride and being a daily rider, I just didnt want to have to change tires everytime the weather changes to heavy rain , which it does every 30 minutes in Seattle. I know it shouldnt be a big deal to change tires, but some days I am so intense about getting on the road quickly that I would skip it.

Polaris OBark

That is why people are suggesting a second wheel-set. It takes me 5 minutes, tops, to change a wheel-set, and that is because I am very anal about brake pad rub and stuff like that.

If you want a fast lightweight road bike with a stiff frame and unfriendly gearing, get an Emonda.

PeteHski

Giant Defy would probably work for you. But really any endurance road bike should fit the bill e.g. Trek Domane, Cannondale Synapse etc. I presume you don't want something super-stiff with aggressive race geometry and very limited tyre clearance.
I would also take a used carbon over used alloy frame any time. Obviously inspect for damage either way. But alloy frames suffer more from fatigue - leading to cracks and eventual failure even without abuse.

Steve B.

I don't change tires, I change the entire wheelset. My 2nd wheelset has Conti Grand Prix 4 Season tires on it, as well as a different - 12-25 cassette for road riding. The cassette matches up perfectly so no futzing with gearing, and I never had issues with brake rub. It takes maybe a minute or two to swap between the wheels that have gravel tires (Gravel King 44mm's, 11-34 cassette) and my road wheels. One bike, many uses.

Rolla

"Durability" on a road bike shouldn't really be an issue. Buying a used CF bike is not inherently risky, but be thorough in your inspection. Maybe posting your budget range would generate more specific recommendations.

I'm disappointed that the OP is looking for a new bike, and he's being told to buy wheels instead. C'mon -- where are all the n+1 enablers?!

rosefarts

I really like a road bike with a double chainring. Like a 50/34 and a decent cassette like 11-28 or 11-32.

This is remarkably different than good gravel gearing of 1x with a 40t ring and 10-42 cassette. It just doesn’t translate to good road riding, even with a wheel/tire change.

I’m a lot happier with a separate road bike. If you’ve got room and money, do it. Road bikes, just like gravel bikes and mountain bikes, are awesome.

I’d suggest a Ritchey Road Logic Disc. Cause steel is awesome and these are light, fast, and durable.

ThermionicScott 

The Specialized Diverge looks enough like a road bike to me, at least as long as you don't have an "Evo" one. I'd just get some fast-rolling "gravel"/"all-road" tires for it and call it a day. Plenty of my friends ride their "gravel" bikes everywhere these days.

AJW2W11E

Rained again today. Seattle has road bike conditions 15 days a year.
Seriously my budget is $700 to $800.
I meant new "Used" . Out here there's a diverse used bike market, sometimes you get lucky.

Steve B.

That budget doesn't get you much for a nice complete bike, unless it's a lucky find. It does get you a 2nd wheels set, plus cassette and tires, with money to spare.

Pratt

If you get a bike with nice skinny tires, you will be pumping them up before each ride anyway, so swapping the wheel set should be no big thing. As a bonus, you will get so good at it you will look like one of the TDF pros when you do change wheels.

fishboat

I'd agree with the ongoing suggestions..

With your budget, you already have a very good bike that fits the bill. For many folks, what you're suggesting is "going backwards" to some extent. i.e. having a gravel bike and looking for a road bike. Many road bike riders are looking to get into a gravel bike to take advantage of being able to run wider tires(road bikes will limit you to about 28mm tires..or less in many used road bikes as they were designed for very narrow tires). There are plenty of fast-wider road tires that would be great on your existing bike.

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...oad-tires.html

I ride 35-40mm fast road tires almost exclusively now, after riding sub-20 to 25mm road tires for..3+ decades. You won't be giving up any speed (1mph?..if that) and you'll be gaining a ton of comfort.

I'd either get a set of fast (all surface) road tires (Gravelking Slicks in 38mm-ish, or others) and ride them everywhere or get a second set of nice wheels to swap out before rides. You'll be waay ahead over a used road bike and it can cost you a whole lot less.