MulliganAl

I sold my CF Specialized Tarmac many years ago and want another nice road bike but something a bit more comfortable since I'm now in my 60s. My budget is around $2,000-$3,000 but since I've been away from the sport for a while I'm not as up on what's considered to be a good bike these days in this price range so I'm hoping you folks can help me out a bit. I did look at a used 2021 Colnago V3 which was a nice bike, wish it had an Ultrega grouping but it has 105 which I guess is fine. I'll look into the forum for 50+ riders as well but I still have a need for speed and sporty bikes so I thought I'd start here with the cool folks.

Any thoughts on this 2021 Colnago V3 for $2200? He wasn't sure who made the CF wheelset and it didn't have disc like other V3 Colnago's built around this time but other than that the bike was clean.

And if there are other bikes that you'd recommend in the price range it would really be appreciated.


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jadmt

maybe look at an endurance style bike. I too am retired and 64 and just got back into to it last year after a long hiatus from cycling. I have done over 5000 miles since January on two different bikes a Handsome xoxo and less than two months ago bought a Canyon endurace cf8. It was $2099 and really easy to roll the miles on and have done a couple 100+ mile rides on it so far.

masi61

The Colnago pictured looks great but the first question is - is it your size? Also, if you are OK with rim brakes then it may be a great bargain. If you want to start out your reintroduction to cycling with the latest tech, you might want to spec disc brakes for your new ride.

MulliganAl

The sizing was very good and I've never had disc breaks but it was certainly something I thought about after doing some research and after seeing the bike. I guess if he was willing to come down a good bit on the price I'd be fine with the rim brakes but he was not willing to go down on his price.

MulliganAl

I've been looking at the Canyon website since you mentioned it and they seem to be a really solid option at a good price, but their sizing is throwing me off. I put in 5'9" with a 30" inseam and it came back with an XS frame, that can't be correct unless their bikes run really large. Did you find that to be the case?

datlas 

Agree getting a comfort/endurance geometry bike is more important and absolutely getting your fit set up right is even MORE important.

Don't sweat the 105 vs Ultegra stuff. Save that rabbit hole for later.

jadmt

yes I a 5'8.5" with a 32.25 inseam measured the pubic bone way which is what you really need to do. I thought my inseam was shorter but went to a shop that had the fit kit and had them measure and it was 82cm. I got a small and it fits great, no way I could have gone bigger.

Mojo31

I was in your position a few years ago. I went new with an endurance geometry, and it was the best decision for me.

For $3k or less you can get the latest and greatest mechanical 105 group with discs, which is as good or better than yesterday's Ultegra and really close to the last available mechanical Ultegra. You won't notice much, if any, differences in the two groups. Add carbon wheels later when you get a market portfolio bump.

big john

If you haven't been on a road bike in years are you sure you'll be ok with that saddle to bar drop? Maybe borrow or rent a bike first and ride it around and see how your body reacts. Some people can run the same set-up for decades but when I got older I had to raise the bar from a 4 inch drop to about 1.5 inches.

MulliganAl

No doubt, and that's why I've been looking for something different from my old Specialized Tarmac, also looking for bikes that have additional spacers on the handlebars which I'm seeing on a number of bikes I've looked at. My Tarmac didn't have that option or the stem was cut to a set height by Specialized. I won't have any issues with the seat, I have a pretty tough butt.

big john

If you think you might prefer a more "endurance" geometry bike there are options from most of the major manufacturers. Of course, they vary all over on what they call endurance. The bikes with the highest stack/shortest reach (in my size anyway) that I have seen are the Trek Domane and the BMC Roadmachine.

masi61

MulliganAl - if you are truly 5'9" with a 30" inseam and the Colnago pictured is the one you are looking at then I think that bike is way too big for you. I am 6' tall with a 33.5" cycling inseam and it looks way too big for me at my height.

BTinNYC 

Another retired guy riding and really enjoying two endurance style modern bikes. My Trek Domane is like a luxury autoban cruiser. At speed it's the most stable bike I've ever been on and incredibly comfortable on long rides. The Canyon Endurace model I got during the pandemic is near TOTL and noticeably lighter and faster feeling; it's racy. I'm 6"2 and the Endurace is perfectly sized at XL, and their web page sized me a L.

A concern about the Colnago's rim brakes on carbon rims. This combo has delaminated rims on long descents due to heat. I'd seriously think about a second aluminium wheelset for mountain work. No experience with Colnagos but it does look hot and I think the price is fair.

MulliganAl

It looks tall but when I stood over it there was plenty of clearance with the 54cm frame and the reach was good, I would like to have disc though after seeing and reading about the benefits. The sizing was not a problem though and the owner was just about my size if not a bit shorter.

MulliganAl

You make a great point about the brake and CF combo, it crossed my mind when I was inspecting the bike but I'd never had CF wheels before so I didn't give it a whole lot of thought afterward but I can certainly see your point. Thanks for pointing that out.

downtube42

I built up a Soma Fog Cutter (frameset only from Soma) as a randonneuring bike. I wanted room for 32mm + fenders, disc brakes, 2x, zero bar drop; essentially what they are calling an endurance bike. Building it myself allowed me to pick exactly the components I wanted. I did the build, so there was no cost for labor. I went through some iterations, but ended up with Ultegra mech hydro 2x11. If I were to do it now, I'd go 105 mech hydro (it that's still available). Some parts were picked up used. Price came in within the OP's budget, and the building experience was a lot of fun.

Subsequently I shopped for a carbon bike, and took a hard look at the Endurace and Domane. Fender mounts on the Domane were a deciding factor for me; OP may not have that requirement. I understand the Endurace is "racier" geometry and more importantly marketing, which is perhaps related to not having fender mounts.

As said, pretty much every major brand has something they're marketing as endurace and/or allroad. The devil is in the details; stack, reach, bottle mounts, clearance, geometry, etc. It pays to know what you want, and search that criteria more than marketing niche.

terrymorse 

Wait, what now?

At least some of us 50+ riders have a need for speed, even if our power numbers aren't as high as they used to be.

But as far as we being "cool folks" goes, that bike has left the starting line and is well beyond the horizon.

MulliganAl

Yeah, I had a Rivendelle which I sold a few months ago, it was a beautiful bike (relaxed and comfortable) but I missed the feel, agility, and light weight of the Specialized Tarmac I owned a few years back, that bike just made me want to go out and ride, not so true of the Rivendell Hillborne though.

This is a photo of my Rivendell, it was a beautiful bike but it just made me feel like an old man while riding it so it eventually just collected dust before I sold it, but that CF Tarmac would just call me to ride. Now I'd like something that offers that same excitement but is a bit more comfortable than the aggressive styling of the Tarmac. I may be in my 60s but I don't often act like it.

That Soma Fog Cutter is a great-looking bike also but I've had my time when steel so I'm ready for a change, again. :-)

big john

Come on Terry, jump on that wheel!

MulliganAl

Ha ha, naaaaa, we're still cool, just a different type of cool. Back in the day, I'd fly downhill without too much concern for anything, I thought I was invincible, but now I fly downhill, perhaps much slower, and I make damn sure there are no potholes or twigs in my path.

Calsun

The "endurance" bikes have frame geometry that is easier to manage at speed on downhill sections and less demanding for the rider. They are quite similar to the first triathlon bicycles in their frame geometry and have more fork rake and lower head tube angles.

In terms of a softer ride you get that with the use of wider tires. My Specialized bike came from the factory with 28mm tires but the rims (and hydraulic brakes) can allow the use of tires up to 64mm in width. The wider tires have greater volume and so can support weight at lower tire pressures. Lower tire pressures makes for a "softer" ride. There is a huge difference in the ride of the bike with the 28mm tires at 90F/95R pressure and my bike with 23mm tires where the pressures needed are 100F/110R. With wider tires I could of course use an even lower tire pressure as with my mountain bikes with their 29x1.95 tires that I run at 29F/32R tire pressures.

masi61

Oh OK. Photos can be deceiving sometimes.

MulliganAl

Good info and something I looked at when I rode my Rivendell but I don't really concern myself as much with softer rides, by comfortable I mean in terms of geometry. I like the agility of narrower tires and probably would stay around 28 or 25. I had some wide Schwalbe tires on a bike a while back and I hated it, they're still sitting in my garage.

DaveSSS 

Don't buy any bike with rim brakes. I made that mistake when I came back in 2018 after nearly 8 years off. I switched to disc brake frames with electronic shifting 3 years ago. More recently, I sold off my aluminum rimmed wheels for tubeless tires to get hookless carbon rims that have 23-25mm internal width. My tires all need 60 psi or less. With 28-30mm tubeless tires the ride is greatly improved. You'll have to spend significantly, more than $2500.

downtube42

When the vague and elusive thing called cool shined upon a cyclist, it was accidental and short lived. The vintage pic of young Italian dude wearing coveralls ghost-riding a bike is a perfect example. He was just a grease monkey moving a bike, but in retrospect none of us will ever be that cool.