Quote:
Originally Posted by leo95se
I know it's a crappy question. I ride for fun now, average 20-30 miles a ride. Looking for a faster bike. I am worried about comfort. Not sure an aggressor frame will fare well, since I've never ridden one. I'd like to get more competitive, even if starting with charity rides. I have no idea of my capability since I just goof around for fitness purposes.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Tonka
What size frame do you ride?
I'm going through the same thing, well, kind of. I started riding and bought my first road bike a year ago. I went to a shop i trusted (a friend works there) and told him i wanted a comfort bike to build up to long(ish) rides of 60-80 miles. He put me on a BMC Granfondo. It's super comfortable and coming from full suspension mountain bikes, i believed it was was super stiff and super responsive. As noted above, i'm going to be at about 5300 miles for the year. I've had plenty of 60 to 70 mile days, a century mixed in there as well as a week topping 364 miles and 24k feet of climbing. All of it in great comfort.
During that year i added a power meter, carbon bars, carbon zero setback seat post, electronic shifters and carbon aero wheels. The only thing on the bike that came with it is are the cranks and rings. For me, it's time to get a more aggressive bike. I've put a lot of thought/reading/talking into which frame would balance responsiveness, stiffness, styling and comfort.
From those i've talked to and from what i've read, most high quality carbon, aggressive bikes these days are going to offer an acceptable level of comfort, especially for 20 -30 mile rides.
As you likely know, bikes are split into Endurance, Standard and Aero road bikes. In terms of most to least comfort, it runs in that order as well. That's not to say that some aero road bikes won't deliver comfort. Again, especially for a 25 mile ride.
I ask what size you are because i'm going to be getting a brand new BMS SLR02 in Black and there is a good possibility that i'm going to put my barely used 2016 Ultegra group set on it and sell it. My LBS is a BMC dealer and while i haven't ridden a SLR02, my wife has a TMR02 (aero road bike) and i would have no issues riding that for 60-70 miles. The SLR02 is most certainly more compliant than the TMR02 though.
The GF02 that i've ridden for the past year is no slouch. But i've recently decided to sponsor a local race team though my company and i'm thinking of getting more involved in some low level racing. Which is why i'm looking for something more snappy than an Endurance bike.
Hope some of this is helpful.  |
That pretty much opens up the can of worms of infinite options that I wasn't ready to open! It's tough because there are so many directions, but that's what's pretty neat about the industry now. You can get 'endurance/comfort' bikes that can be set up pretty aggressively - new gen Cannondale Synapse's, Specialized Roubaix's, BMC GF01's, etc. Then there are bikes like Trek Madone/Emonda's which are race bred carbon frames, but can be had in slackened head tube heights for less aggressive fits. As Mr. Tonka said, I find that any of the new nicer carbon frames ride well (race or aero race), you won't be caught out by comfort on one if
fit correctly. If anything, the quicker handling would be more impacting if you ask me.
Since it looks like you are committed to ride and already enjoy it, I don't think you have to worry about spending too much without even knowing if you like it. This is just me, but I always have a few guidelines.
1 - Buy a bike that has a quality support reputation or can be supported by a local shop/mechanic in case of warranty issues. Nothing is worse than being stuck with a trillion dollar X but have to argue over the phone to get it replaced -
see Mr Tonka's example of support with his LBS and BMC, which was awesome
2 - This is obviously such a nutjob cyclist thing to say, but buy more than you think you need so you don't go nuclear upgrading it later -
again see Mr Tonka's meteoric rise up the defcon level with his BMC
3 - Duh, get fit on the damn thing. If you can't even get comfortable on it, of course you're going to hate it. All the touch points, get them dialed in.
Moral of the story might be, go to your LBS and see what catches your eye. You'll likely find a pretty awesome bike that will work.