Newbie Roadie

[st27]

Hi All,

New member of the forum! Hi! I just sold my "hybrid Trek DS 8.2" and now I want to get a road bike! ($2k-$2.5k budget).
Purpose of bike is to start bike fitness once a week for a 30-50km ride and when I pick up some speed join some cycle group if they let me.
After endless research I have shortlisted the the following.
1) Canyon Endurace CF 6.0
2) Trek Emonda S5
3) Specialized Tarmac SL4 Sports

My favourite is obviously Option 1! Nice design; full 105 groupset (OCD) and internal cable routing.
The Trek is on sale now at the same price of the Canyon, however its 1kg heavier, no internal cable routing. I wonder if we are comparing apples with apples I should be comparing the Canyon with the Emonda SL5 instead.
Specialized is definitely a no go. I don't like the colour scheme.

Any recommendation or suggestion? Perhaps other contenders I have been looking at?
After 2 weeks of research I have only shortlisted bikes. I now need to look at pedal, bibs, lights etc. I had a brief look at pedals and I think I will go with the Shimano A530 so I get the best of both worlds (save some money for shoes at a later date).

Thanks in advance - ST

[RobertL]

There's a very similar thread to this over here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=94583

Maybe have a look at those suggestions.

[Mububban]

Hi All,

New member of the forum! Hi! I just sold my "hybrid Trek DS 8.2" and now I want to get a road bike! ($2k-$2.5k budget).
Purpose of bike is to start bike fitness once a week for a 30-50km ride and when I pick up some speed join some cycle group if they let me.
After endless research I have shortlisted the the following.
1) Canyon Endurace CF 6.0
2) Trek Emonda S5
3) Specialized Tarmac SL4 Sports

Do you mean the CF 7.0 for $2199 (+$200 shipping)?

If I had my time again, I'd buy the Canyon for sure.

It's the only one with a 32 tooth cassette, not sure if you have any major hills near you? The others are 11-28 which is still fine for most hills.

Looks-wise, the yellow Emonda is cool, the Spesh is a bit muted in that shade of orange and the Canyon silver is a bit boring, but the Canyon is the bike I'd choose

Seriously, you will be absolutely stoked with any of those bikes. That is an awesome shortlist.

[hamishm]

The Emonda and the Tarmac are race bikes. Is that what you want, or would an endurance fit be a better choice?

[st27]

The Emonda and the Tarmac are race bikes. Is that what you want, or would an endurance fit be a better choice?

Hamishm this is something that I just realise today! The Emonda and Tarmac are race bikes therefore I am not exactly comparing apples with apples. I noticed that the Domane is a more relax frame which should be considered next to the endurace instead! I have totally written off Specialized as they are just ridiculous pricey. Looks like the Canyon is a clear winner here.

[st27]

It's the only one with a 32 tooth cassette, not sure if you have any major hills near you? The others are 11-28 which is still fine for most hills.

Mububban, not much hills in Perth where I will be riding, prolly just up some freeway ramps not big deal IMO. I also found out that Canyon does a sale in line with major tours so the next one would be TDF in July. There are some specials at the moment but only for a few certain ranges.

Thanks to Hamishm I also just realised that Emonda is a race bike! So it should be compared with the Ultimate Canyon?!

[Nikolai]

Budget for a bike fit, around $300 I think. By bike fit I mean a bike fit, not a bike shop fit. Find someone with a reputation, not just fancy tools. You get your bike fit wrong, you might run into all kinds of problems.

On top of the bike fit, it's likely the bike fitter will recommend you another saddle because most stock saddles should go to the bin where they belong. Budget for that too.

[Duck!]

Factory-spec cassette range isn't really deal-breaking ground as it's an easily changeable component. I don't know how flexible Canyon are with tweaking spec, but on a shop-bought bike you should be able to negotiate a cassette swap if necessary.

[Jawa]

Bike fits personally I think are just another waste of money unless you’re in the upper echelons of the sport. If your new to the sport and riding a more relaxed frame there are plenty of good online resources that will suffice, likewise a good LBS will set you correctly. A couple of mm here and there will make little to no difference, our bodies can be very adaptable.

Save your money and skip this “must have” BS

[hamishm]

I noticed that the Domane is a more relax frame which should be considered next to the endurace instead! I have totally written off Specialized as they are just ridiculous pricey. Looks like the Canyon is a clear winner here.

The equivalent Specialized would be a Roubaix. Nice bike if you can get one at a good price, and there are lots of different models/price points. I have several friends with them. The risk with the Canyon is that you can't try it before you buy, to make sure it's the right size etc.

[Nikolai]

Save your money and skip this “must have” BS

"My biggest tip, more than anything, is to get your position right on the bike...I see so many people who spend thousands of pounds on a bike but who have a really poor riding position. Getting that right is worth far more than an expensive set of carbon wheels." -- Chris Hoy.

[bychosis]

Save your money and skip this “must have” BS

"My biggest tip, more than anything, is to get your position right on the bike...I see so many people who spend thousands of pounds on a bike but who have a really poor riding position. Getting that right is worth far more than an expensive set of carbon wheels." -- Chris Hoy.

While this is true, there are plenty of online resources to get your fit pretty close.

[g-boaf]

Bike fits personally I think are just another waste of money unless you’re in the upper echelons of the sport. If your new to the sport and riding a more relaxed frame there are plenty of good online resources that will suffice, likewise a good LBS will set you correctly. A couple of mm here and there will make little to no difference, our bodies can be very adaptable.

Save your money and skip this “must have” BS

They are very useful. Made a quite big difference for me. After it I'm very much more comfortable on the bike. And the bike itself just feels right.

It would have been great to have that at the start and building the bike up with the narrower bars, different stem and the like, and especially the saddle. But that's not so easy with a prebuilt bike.

The fit I had done was from PaveTheWay in Sydney and then later another one when building up a TT bike as part of the working out what size frame I should go for (overseas purchase) and then fine tuning the build based on that. Worked out well.

For the OP, don't worry about the Emonda, I'm sure you'll be able to set it up in a fairly comfortable way. Trek road bikes usually come in the H1 (aggressive) or H2 (more relaxed) geometries.

Canyon bikes are nice, but buying online, hmm, that's a bit of a problem if you want to fine tune the bike at purchase time.

[AUbicycles]

I feel the recommendation on getting a bike fit from an actual bike fitter with a good reputation is good advice.

It can be difficult to quantify as the human body will tolerate discomfort for a while and some riders will adapt and feel ok even if the default bike position is suboptimal.

Riders who get a fit from a good fitter don't regret it. Competitive riders and riders who have changing requirements over time can find more frequent bike fitting beneficial.

[Duck!]

It's been well documented that Australians are far more hung up on the concept of "proper bike fit" than any other country. While it's true that there is no single setup that will work for everyone - it's ignorant to believe there is - the human body is not rigid and much more adaptable than people give it credit for. A few millimetres here & there are unlikely to cause any problems. Any third-party fit ultimately comes down to the fitter's opinion of what is "right".

[st27]

It's been well documented that Australians are far more hung up on the concept of "proper bike fit" than any other country. While it's true that there is no single setup that will work for everyone - it's ignorant to believe there is - the human body is not rigid and much more adaptable than people give it credit for. A few millimetres here & there are unlikely to cause any problems. Any third-party fit ultimately comes down to the fitter's opinion of what is "right".

I guess how serious are you with your cycling. If the rider intends to go for races or shave seconds off their TT then I guess going for a bit fit will be well worth it. As a recreational sports I might not be necessary. However I did pay for someone to get a pre-fit (to find out which bike size am I suited to). It was more to get an idea what this bike fit thing was more about and see if I learn something.

Anyways, during my research I stumble upon Trek's BB90 issue. Anyone here has any take on this?

[macca33]

Trek's BB90 shell on their higher end, ie carbon frames, is completely carbon, thus, if it hasn't been built to exact tolerance, you can get a mismatch in size between the BB shell and the BB you install, which may lead to creaking. In saying this, I've seen it on Cervelo, Specialized & Scott bikes also.

It isn't something that would make me shy away from a particular bike - I have carbon shell BB30 in my Focus Mares CX bike and it is perfect - but, may form part of your decision making process.

cheers

[Duck!]

BB90 has two problems, both mentioned in the previous post. Firstly it's a carbon shell without a bonded-in liner. For all its strength in the right orientation, carbon composite is a relatively soft material, so does not handle abrasive forces well. To stop bits moving, it needs to be manufactured to extremely precise tolerance, and therein lies BB90's second and very major problem, which may or may not have been addressed with newer frames. Trek's tolerances have been frankly appalling, with bearings that literally just fall out of the frame when the crank is removed. It starts bad and only gets worse.

[nickdos]

It's been well documented that Australians are far more hung up on the concept of "proper bike fit" than any other country. ...

I'd be interested in seeing some of this documented evidence, as I've not come across this meme before... care to share some links?

[bychosis]

It's been well documented that Australians are far more hung up on the concept of "proper bike fit" than any other country. ...

I'd be interested in seeing some of this documented evidence, as I've not come across this meme before... care to share some links?

It's interesting 'we' are starting to outsource these things. A little bit to 'New Yorker' for me. I don't need to have a interior designer, colour consultant, clothing shopper, household organisation consultant, dog groomer, personal trainer, bike fit specialist, health oils consultant, or any of the myriad of 'specialist consultants'. They pop up seemingly everywhere to try to take my hard earned in exchange for some perceived expertise in an area that is not often trained or regulated when I need that cash for bicycle parts.

I do think that if I was a competitive racer it might be worth investing in a bike fit, but like most everything else there is a wealth of knowledge available online to get you started.

[trailgumby]

It depends on how fragile you are, as well. Unfortunately I'm fragile, the legacy of a sedentary job sitting in front of computer screens for decades, and some neurological and minor physical asymmetries.

A difference of a few mm makes a difference to me and so a thorough bike fit is a must. It also means I don't let other people borrow or ride my bikes, even my best mates.

Fortunately most people aren't in my category, but more enter it as they get older.

[eeksll]

those canyons are fantastic looking bikes I wish they where around when I got my bike.

Regarding bike fit, if you don't have any pre-existing issues then a bike fit shop will just set you up with a generic position based on which ever method they are comfortable with.

If your a bit fastidious like me, its pretty easy to look up youtube/blogs to set yourself up in any of those generic setups.

if you do have pre-exisiting issues then you probably need to start looking for bike fitters who understand those issues.

[st27]

After much research and careful consideration I have decided to get the cheapest bike i can buy from a bike shop that can get me a proper bike fit.

My shortcut list now is either Claris or Sora.
1) Giant Contend 1 or Contend 2
2) Trek 1.2 or 1.1

I believe its the rider that finish the distance not the bike. My plan is to clock 4000kms then get a super-bike. I am also keen to get a power meter to start building my cycling fitness. Any recommendations will be appreciated.

[ValleyForge]

I am also keen to get a power meter to start building my cycling fitness. Any recommendations will be appreciated.

You'll get fitter just cracking out the kms, rather than buying a power meter. Remember an HRM is good enough for most people.

Perhaps plan to schedule your "uber-bike" so you can spec it the way you want with a PM. Avoids a bit of retrofitting.

[Duck!]

Given a power meter will cost close to the price of an entry level bike, it's not really a cost-effective purchase. You don't need a power meter; fitness will come with time on the bike.