Help with choosing a road bike

Wolf Gottschalk

I'm in the market for a road bike! I followed the other thread ("is a road bike in my future") but I'm not sure if it helped me with making a decision with the following query. I need your help and expertise!

I'm looking for a mid-level road bike that I can train and race with. I want to do some races and compete, but only for fun and am not expecting to go Cat 1 or anything!  I currently have a Cervelo P3.

Given the following choices, which bike would you most likely recommend (what's your top choice)? They are not listed in any particular order, and my price range is somewhere between $2500 - $4000 (more interested in getting best "bang-for-buck", hence broad price range):

1. Cervelo S5 - I may have the opportunity to buy a used 2012 Team edition with Ultegra Di2 for ~$3500.

2. Trek Madone - Either the 5.x or 6.x series. I may have the opportunity to buy a used 2013 5.2 Ultegra for ~$2600.

3.  Specialized Tarmac SL4, Venge Expert or Roubaix SL4 Expert - I may have the opportunity to buy a used 2013 Roubaix SL4 Expert for ~$2500 (or a 2013 Roubaix SL4 Pro Dura-Ace for ~$4000).

4. OTHER - Is there another bike that is similar to the ones listed above that I should consider? Please tell me.

Thanks for your help!

robin sarner

Giant may be the best value of all.

Tcr composite i have and like.

I think tcr advanced is the next step up.

New propel advanced looks great.

jaleslie

Those are all good choices. The di2 is the main difference. Ultegra/Durace is perfectly fine for what you intend to do. I have a TCR advanced (Giant) with only 105 and I could race it with no concerns at all (I'm just a cat 5 with little hope of much more!). First decision IMHO is whether the extra $1k is worth it to you for di2? If ot worth it, then those are all pretty similar.

Other thing to consider is geometry....roubaix is very is quite different from Tarmac/madone/venge. Roubaix is more relaxed and upright position-wise and more for long rides or bad road surfaces.

I'd look at the Giant TCR advanced if you have a LBS that supports/sells them. Just a suggestion.

"Bang for the buck"-wise.... I think the options closer to $2500-3000 are better value. Just depends on how badly you want di2! I would not spend $3500 for mechanical shifting for the purposes you mentioned. But....your money....not mine!

Bruce Thompson

I suggest you get a bike fit for a road bike and then choose the bike based on which fits you best. 

Keith Wick

Posted By Wolf Gottschalk on 28 Nov 2013 08:51 AM

<p>1. Cervelo S5 - I may have the opportunity to buy a used 2012 Team edition with Ultegra Di2 for ~$3500.</p>
<p>2. Trek Madone - Either the 5.x or 6.x series. I may have the opportunity to buy a used 2013 5.2 Ultegra for ~$2600.</p>
<p>3.  Specialized Tarmac SL4, Venge Expert or Roubaix SL4 Expert - I may have the opportunity to buy a used 2013 Roubaix SL4 Expert for ~$2500 (or a 2013 Roubaix SL4 Pro Dura-Ace for ~$4000).</p>
<p>4. OTHER - Is there another bike that is similar to the ones listed above that I should consider? Please tell me.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>

I had that exact same dilemma last year and ended up with the Venge. My LBS guy was great and basically drew me some sort of quadrant to explain where each of these bikes fell in terms of speed, comfort, etc. this ruled out the Cervelo S5 as it's aero, stiff but not very comfy if you plan on long rides, the Madone is the best of all worlds but the price tag was more than the other bikes they had given some sales that were happening. He just switched to a Madone and was in absolute love after years of Cervelo. I stayed away from the Roubaix as I just was upgrading from a Roubaix and wanted stiffer & better handling. That left me testing the Tarmac and Venge. These were close with the Tarmac being stiffer, but lighter. Ultimately I choose the Venge and love it. I chose aero, but really could have gone either way. I think the Venge was a better component deal too with SRAM red and a subcompact crank. Good luck. As far as a fitting, I think most road bikes offer much more flexibility than a tribike.

John Withrow

Great advice from everyone. You can' tog wrong with any of those. I kind of like the Venge best, then the S5 but I don't mind a stiff bike. I upgraded last yr and bought a branch new Ultegra Di2 Cannondale SuperSix off of eBay (came from a dealer and I even got the factory warranty) for $2,400 and I absolutely LOVE it! I don't know what size you are, but there are some sweet Venges on eBay right now.

Personally I think the Di2 is WORTH the added cost (and weight) and even more worth it if you can get a great deal on a nice used bike. For that price range you will definitely get a sweet bike, just try to figure out the ride feel you want and go with that. Grant descriptions from Keith on the personalities of those bikes. My SuperSix is stiff and responsive (but not too stiff) but it has big round tubes, not aero ones. I figured if I 'really' needed an aero bike, I'll ride my P5... If you're thinking about racing and casual riding, somewhat stiff and as light as possible probably better than aero (especially if you'll be doing any races with climbing). I love the Ultegra Di2, but it does add a bunch of weight to the bike vs a Dura-Ace or SRAM Red bike for instance.

Good luck and keep us posted.

rwsmith96

I just bought a used 2012 S5 and I have a new love. Can't go wrong with that bike; with the team edition ($7500 MSRP for Di2 build on cervelo.com) you're basically riding the fastest bike in the pro peloton for $3500. If you read about how the Garmin-Sharp guys talk about the S5, they're saying the performance is demonstrably better than non-aero frames and they're moving their riders off of the R series frames (can't find the link but I'll look and post here).

kimmydct

I'll second the "get a fit first" to help narrow it down. I did that and it ruled out about half of the brands that wouldn't fit me as well.

Also, I have heard some of the Felt road bikes are a good compromise to the tri/road ike dilemma if that is something that you are interested in...

Gonzalo Canteros Paz

Wolf : I also have a cervelo P3 and bought a road bike 2 month ago.

After trying several bikes in the range of $2700-3200 (Felt, Scott, even a Pinarello) , I picked a Cervelo R3 SRAM Rival.
No other bike accelerated like it when starting the ride. It was a sale they had in the Columbus Bike Shop and every one of these was discounted 30%

I am really happy with having picked the R3!

William Jenks

If you're shopping with actual bikes in hand (as opposed to "virtual" bikes), I think a good LBS would be willing to let you ride them, and fit/feel ought to play a darn big part of the calculation. If they're not available to ride, that's another matter.

I don't own a Di2 bike, but that might also help tempt me int o the P5, all things being equal. I too own a P3, and I know how it just works. :-)

In al honesty, I don't think you're going to go wrong with any of these bikes for your intended purpose, so I'd also consider whether there are "little things" about the bikes that would make your life nicer.

Finally, consider how much you want to use your LBS for service, etc. All other things equal, you'll get that much more love from them if you buy from them. To me, this is just one of those "little things". If I could get the P5 and I liked it, I wouldn't turn it down just because it was used...but if I were buying new and they had a brand that was among my "tie" choices, I'd go with them.

MattAaronson

I agree with the "fit first" approach. Personally I have an Orbea Ordu tri bike and a Madone 5-series road bike. I love the Madone even though I ride it very rarely. If I were to buy a new bike I'd for sure get DI2.

Dino Sarti

I have two Madone's an just learned where the name came from…. It's the Col de la Madone outside of Nice on the French Riviera. Lance lived and trained there during the height of his power and used the Col de la Madone on the regular to do hill repeats, climbing sets and his FTP tests….

I thought is was interesting….