alphalite

I'm in the market for new road bike, my current ride is a 2006 Raleigh Supercourse.

Ideally I want to race it sometime next year. It's been a really long time since I've been shopping and the industry has changed so much. I would appreciate any/all advice from everyone who has bought a good rode bike recently. I have a budget of around $2,500 (Carbon or metal is acceptable). I don't have any plans race gravel.
I know that budget is not going to land me a pro bike but I have high hopes

Thanks so much!

ZHVelo

What kind of races? You want an 'aero' bike or more a 'race' bike? Do you want to buy in a LBS in which case what brands are available to you, or online is fine?

alphalite

Hi ZHVelo,

Thanks for the reply. I've never rode an aero bike so I'm leaning a bit more towards the "lightweight" race bike as GCN puts it (youtube.com/watch?v=mlz52XW6CMM). My LBS just closed so I'm hard pressed to find anything locally. I would be looking at buying something online. I'm considering the following brands/makes (not in any order):

• Canyon Ultimate CF SL 8.0 (2020 model)
• Cannondale CAAD13 Disc 105 (2020 model)
• Boardman SLR 9.2 Disc
• Specialized Roubaix (2021 model
  

Hiro11

If you want a true race bike, I'd look at the Specialized Allez Sprint. You can get a 105 build for $1,800 and spend the rest on a set of (likely used) race wheels. Simple, durable and fast bikes. Not sure what Specialized is doing online these days.

Danhedonia

Not trying to threadjack, but WHERE do people buy these bikes these days? Online? Direct from the MFR?

I live in Albquerque. We have a Trek Superstore and High Desert as far as carrying decent road bikes, and HD is suffering the same national issues othes are these days.

WHERE are people getting bikes?

Toespeas

i would be cautious about brand new models , they are absolute trash compared the older ones , they all have proprietary parts that make it impossible to get fixed , you have limited options for swapping out bars and stems, and might have to even buy 2 more wheel sets ( a training set and a racing set ) to compensate for disc only frames ,
some of them dont even allow mechanical drive trains anymore ,
they are all now switching back to a threaded BB which defeated the purpose of a press fit BB for weight savings and stiffness ,
the industry is a total mess ,
i recently build up a caad10 and im super happy with it ,
if you are serious about racing you will need two bikes , and aero road bike for crits and TTs , and a non aero climbing bike for longer road races with legit climbs ,
id run the crit bike 1x11 or 10 and the road race bike 2x10 or 11 , but if you are only getting one bike then buy the bike that will the majority of races you will be doing ( if racing ever comes back )
i personally have my two dedicated racing bikes now and im super happy because now i can cover all the terrain on the road no more grind up basic hills on my crit bike , and now i can tackle those 10k climbs without dying !

alphalite

Hi Danefonia,

I completely agree, do you have a secret website? I look at the sites daily and most are out of stock. The whole supply chain here in the US is broke (imho). Some sites do have some random models in stock, and other sites are a bit sketchy.
Some of the bikes I listed above are definitely out of stock, but I keep searching

fabio13222

Second, Specialized Allez Sprint.

alphalite

Thanks for the recommendations about the Specialized Allez Sprint. I think it will be a great choice! Just need to find one in stock now (haha)

BoraxKid

I ordered a new bike from Canyon last week on Wednesday night. It finally arrived yesterday. I went for the Endurace CF with 105 group, but I had to wait about 4-6 weeks for it to be in stock in my size. Since Canyon doesn't do pre-ordering, I had to use their "notify me" button to be alerted when the bike I wanted was finally back in stock. First ride on the new bike should be either tonight or Friday!

Meanwhile, this whole time I was waiting, I could have ordered a better equipped (Di2 or eTap) bike for 66.6% more money. Sure it would have meant paying more, but I could have been riding it this whole time! I also considered Trek, Cannondale, Giant, and Specialized; most of them had bikes available for purchase at a shop in my region (although one case would have meant a 10 hour roundtrip drive to get it). I think the price point I was shopping (<$3000 USD) hasn't been hit as hard by the bike boom as the next step down (<$2000). From what I've seen, the more expensive the bike, the more likely it is to still be in stock. YMMV.

genejockey 

Well, if you were looking for a Large, you can blame me for the wait. When I got mine (same model), it was the last one on the shelf! And I regret nothing!

I think you're right, that the more expensive bikes are less in demand. My plan was to go for the 8.0 disk for another $600 if I couldn't get the 7.0. But I LOVE the bike! I don't regret not getting the 8.0, or at least not much. I think you'll be happy with it.

y2zipper

According to my LBS manufacturers tend to release high to low since margins are higher. With higher demand and less mid-low end models out there, the bottom of the market gets hit hard.

I have an order in on a Trek myself because there's nothing on the shelves where I live. At the 6k price point I could have had a bike at the end of June, but I don't have that type of money so waiting it is.

mstateglfr 

Is it a great choice? Does the geometry fit your body and how you like to ride?

Mulberry20

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/al...ext=90019-5249

Every size is in stock. Ship to your house or store.

BoraxKid

Nah, I was waiting for a medium. I thought about buying a large because it would be close enough to my size to fit me, but then I looked closer at the geometry specs and decided not to risk it.

genejockey 

Interestingly, Canyon's bike fit algorithm tried to convince me to buy a Medium, but I have a long-established fit that I applied to my other bikes, and when I compared the Medium and Large, I couldn't figure out how to make the Medium fit without about a 130mm stem. Turned out great for me. The Large fits really well, especially after I replaced the saddle and lowered the stem 2.5cm.

alphalite

Hi Mulberry, you must see a different specialized site than I do. They are out of stock, and they even took the Allez Sprint off the main index.

Mulberry20

Not sure why. Another idea is the Cannondale CAAD13

https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bik...ku=c13300m1048

GAtkins

This. Make sure it is a great choice. I have an 11 year old Allez Comp, similarly specced (without the disc brakes of course), and it is a great bike, especially with the full 105 group.

You mentioned your interest in a Roubaix in your earlier post. Do note that the geometry on the Allez is more aggressive than the Roubaix. Similarly, for Trek, the Madone is more aggressive than the Domane, for example.

A few mm's of difference here and there don't sound like a lot, but they make a lot of difference.

Glenn