Disc brake road bike

[trailgumby]

I'm starting to get a bit more serious about upgrading the CAAD9 to a disc braked roadie. First preference would be another 'Dale but they don't have thru-axles... yet.

Requirements:
* Prefer carbon
* BB30 compatible, Rotor 3D+ cranks specifically
* thru-axles
* endurance geometry

The Specialized frames looked interesting but there was a question mark over whether the Q-factor of the 3D+ cranks was wide enough to prevent crank tips and/or heels from hitting on the frame.

Is there anything else out there that might fit the bill?

[RonK]

Just a note of caution on Specialized. They use a proprietary thru axle design which limits wheel options to only Specialized wheels.

[MichaelB]

Mate has just lashed out on a FOCUS Izalco Max with mech Red22.

He's really happy and i'm very jealous.

Not 100% sure re the Rotor cranks though.

There are many options, just depends on budget.

[Calvin27]

Just a note of caution on Specialized. They use a proprietary thru axle design which limits wheel options to only Specialized wheels.

Yep the spesh standard is a real ball ache. Your issue is going to be that bb30 which limits it to mainl Spesh or Dale. An alternative to the caad is the synapse which is basically a very relaxed bike. Comes with TA and carbon with bb30.

[biker jk]

Canyon Ultimate CF SLX Disc

12mm thru-axles, geometry not extreme, you can use a BB86 to BB30 adapter.

https://www.bikerumor.com/2016/09/26/eb ... -slx-disc/

http://wheelsmfg.com/bb86-to-30mm-sealed-bearing.html

[daft1024]

Somemore options:

The Cervelo R3 Disc fits most of the bill, but comes with bbright FSK SLK crankset not Rotor 3D+. I read somewhere that they have similar Q. I know the R-Series is marketed as a race bike, but in reality its an endurance fit. The racers run -17 stems to get low enough.

The Felt VR3 comes with Rotor 3D30 crankset in endurance geo. I'm guessing the 3D30 is not very far removed from the 3D+. I remember reading somewhere there was 1 mm difference in Q factor.

For what its worth my CX bike has normal QR axles and its hard to consistently get it lined up perfectly with the brake rotor every time. It's annoying enough for me not to want to remove the front wheel unless I really need to. The through axles on MTB's I've mucked around with don't seem to have the same issue - so I reckon you are onto something with looking for through axles.

I reckon I'd prefer through axles and as others have suggested swapping out to the preferred crankset if you can't get something that ticks all the boxes.

[baabaa]

Cube Attain and Agree look okay and can now be found with discs. Maybe a niner for that not so much of a race bike geo?

[hamishm]

Any particular reason you care about thru-axle? It doesn't seem universally agreed that there's any benefit on the road.

https://cyclingtips.com/2015/10/road-bi ... s-but-why/
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/bikes- ... 53406.html

For that matter, BB30. You must like squeaks

[trailgumby]

Not so much wed to BB30 as my P2M power meter, which happens to be on a set of Rotor 3D+ cranks. Currently fitted to a BSA BB using Rotor's BSA30 BB, but occasionally prone to clicks.

Thru axles noticeably improve steering accuracy and a sense of sure-footedness from both ends of the bike, based on my experience of it on mountain bikes. Plus, it seems to be the way the market is going. Make the trend your friend and all that.

Interesting feedback on Specialized, I have just had it passed onto me that a riding buddy has been having issues with clicking noises in his, that the LBS is having trouble resolving.

[Duck!]

The 3D+ crank, if I recall correctly, has a longer spindle than standard BB30, so is compatible with BB386 frames as well, which opens the options slightly.

[silentbutdeadly]

If you don't mind capacity for CX tyres (so not that aero) then the Niner BSB 9 RDO could be a go...
Carbon? Check
BB30? Not quite - PF30 which is SRAM's take on BB30 but with the right adapters it will take cranks that are BB30, BB386 or even 24 mm (my Niner runs a 24 mm crank thanks to a Wheels Manufacturing BB)
Thru-axles? Yep. 142x12 at the back and 15mm at the front.
Endurance geometry? Hmm...well...it is a CX bike so perhaps not. You might want to look at the RLT 9 instead? Except it's alloy with a carbon fork.

[matthewperk]

I recently went through this search and did a lot of on bike tests. It's amazing feeling the difference in ride quality between some of them.

I had initial requirements of:
Hydo disc
minimum 105 groupset
12m through axle (nice to have - but did look at some that didn't)
Carbon frame (or a really smooth ride)
Endurance geometry (again comfort was key)
Clearance for up to 32mm tyres (I wanted options).

From there i found the following:

Specialized Roubaix 2017 - I tried the 2016 but the difference in comfort is huge coming up to the new model.
Trek Domane - Really good comfort and tyre clearance, but very very pricey (even over Specialized).
Giant Defy 2017 - The 2017 got through axles. Not quite as smooth as the specialized or trek, but much cheaper. I didn't love the colour schemes though
Cannondale CAAD12 Disc - Because im riding a CAAD8 at the moment, I thought I'd see what a better alu frame rode like. It was smoother, but still not at the level of some others - similar to the defy though.
Cannondale SuperSix Evo Disc 2017 - It was in the store and so gave it a try. The ride position was great and comfort was better than the CAAD12 but not as good as the roubaix. Really liked the SuperSix though.
Cannondale Synapse - This had equal footing with the Specialized and Trek for comfort. Super smooth. The 2016 model was on sale for cheaper than the Giant, but again didn't love the colour scheme. I also found it to be a little too heads up and was recommended sizing down a frame so the front wasn't as tall and then stretch myself out further. If it hadn't been for the ride position I would have grabbed it despite the lack of through axles. But that ride position - I just wish it had been similar to the Supersix.
Cube Attain (http://www.99bikes.com.au/cube-attain-g ... h-red-2016) - this on the spec sheet had amazing value and ticked all the boxes. But one ride down the street showed me how stiff and uncompliant it was. Had it not been for the ride quality this was an absolute bargain. But i really wanted a smooth frame.

In the end I found an amazing black friday deal on a Kinesis Grandfondo Disc Ti, and have purchased a full ultegra hydo disc gearset and associated other bits for a similar price to what I would have paid for a Specialized. Hopefully it lives up to the hype of comfort to match the specialized or Synapse

Hope that helps!

[slowK]

I recently went through this search and did a lot of on bike tests. It's amazing feeling the difference in ride quality between some of them.

I had initial requirements of:
Hydo disc
minimum 105 groupset
12m through axle (nice to have - but did look at some that didn't)
Carbon frame (or a really smooth ride)
Endurance geometry (again comfort was key)
Clearance for up to 32mm tyres (I wanted options).

From there i found the following:

Specialized Roubaix 2017 - I tried the 2016 but the difference in comfort is huge coming up to the new model.
Trek Domane - Really good comfort and tyre clearance, but very very pricey (even over Specialized).
Giant Defy 2017 - The 2017 got through axles. Not quite as smooth as the specialized or trek, but much cheaper. I didn't love the colour schemes though
Cannondale CAAD12 Disc - Because im riding a CAAD8 at the moment, I thought I'd see what a better alu frame rode like. It was smoother, but still not at the level of some others - similar to the defy though.
Cannondale SuperSix Evo Disc 2017 - It was in the store and so gave it a try. The ride position was great and comfort was better than the CAAD12 but not as good as the roubaix. Really liked the SuperSix though.
Cannondale Synapse - This had equal footing with the Specialized and Trek for comfort. Super smooth. The 2016 model was on sale for cheaper than the Giant, but again didn't love the colour scheme. I also found it to be a little too heads up and was recommended sizing down a frame so the front wasn't as tall and then stretch myself out further. If it hadn't been for the ride position I would have grabbed it despite the lack of through axles. But that ride position - I just wish it had been similar to the Supersix.
Cube Attain (http://www.99bikes.com.au/cube-attain-g ... h-red-2016) - this on the spec sheet had amazing value and ticked all the boxes. But one ride down the street showed me how stiff and uncompliant it was. Had it not been for the ride quality this was an absolute bargain. But i really wanted a smooth frame.

In the end I found an amazing black friday deal on a Kinesis Grandfondo Disc Ti, and have purchased a full ultegra hydo disc gearset and associated other bits for a similar price to what I would have paid for a Specialized. Hopefully it lives up to the hype of comfort to match the specialized or Synapse

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the comparisons - very interesting. Will be keen to see how the Kinesis stacks up when you've built it up and ridden it.

[MichaelB]

....
In the end I found an amazing black friday deal on a Kinesis Grandfondo Disc Ti, ....

Did the Kinesis tick the boxes above ?

Hope it came with the 12mm TA rather than the 12m you specified ....

Dare I ask what the frame cost ?

[rodneycc]

Man thats a gamble! You test rode all those amazing bikes and then settled on an untested frameset. Interesting... Hope it works out.

[matthewperk]

....
In the end I found an amazing black friday deal on a Kinesis Grandfondo Disc Ti, ....

Did the Kinesis tick the boxes above ?

Hope it came with the 12mm TA rather than the 12m you specified ....

Dare I ask what the frame cost ?

It ticked endurance geometry, 32mm clearance. All reviews report it as the most amazingly comfortable frame - but yet to confirm. Hydro brakes. Well given I could choose the gearset I was able to get full ultegra with a 11-32 casette and hydro brakes. Where everything else I was comparing had 105 or cheaped out with 105 brifters and partial ultegra.

12mm through axle is the only thing it didn't tick. Being titanium though. If it does become the standard. I can always get it added if I really want it.

Being flat mount disc brake compatible was also a positive.

All up I'll be looking at just on $4k for a built bike with ultegra hydro disc.

Some like the Giant were good value at $3k, last year's synapse I could have got for $2700.

The Kinesis frame was $2600. $1000 for the ultegra disc gearset. Then all the sundry items like wheels, handlebars, Seat, cables etc.

[matthewperk]

Man thats a gamble! You test rode all those amazing bikes and then settled on an untested frameset. Interesting... Hope it works out.

Yeh me too. My logic was even if I don't like the frame, I could on sell it pretty easily without much of a loss and build up one of the frames That I did like. But do it with ultegra rather than the 105 they would come with.

The other thing that sold me is I Love the look of Titanium frames... And well I'd hate to own a bike I want to hide from the living room coz of its looks.

[MichaelB]

...
The Kinesis frame was $2600. ......

Saw that Sigmasport in UK had it fro GBP1,000, but no idea re shipping.

Should be a sweet bike

[matthewperk]

Man thats a gamble! You test rode all those amazing bikes and then settled on an untested frameset. Interesting... Hope it works out.

I worked out! And looks amazing! As comfortable as the best I tried, and the geometry is perfect. Just sorting out minor elements of the fit at the moment. (saddle height, stem length and stack). Once all of that is done, I'll be laughing!