Never thought that I would ask for a bike recommendation!
 

I've responded to a few. Usually with a "within a price range go ride and see what feels best" type of answer.

Well the frame of my 1989 Cannondale 3.0 broke today so I'm looking for a new bike. At one time Bicycling magazine said that frame was the stiffest and harshest frame they had ever tested. So at 65 I'm looking for something different.

I kind of have it narrowed down to a Specialized Secteur and a Trek Domane 2.0. Both with similar Shimano 105 components. Any body with experience with these? I haven't tried either one yet. It is a slow night at work so I thought I'd throw this up!

I'm 6' 4" or so and 245 if the matters.

Bill

At your size you're probably looking for a 61 cm frame or so?

I have a Roubaix and love it - the secteur is the similar geometry Al version so i reckon it's a pretty nice bike. if you can swing the roubaix i'd go that route though. :innocent:

245 shouldn't limit you much in your shopping. Take care of your wheels and either bike should do well for you.

If you are a long distance rider, I would go with the Domane. It will probably be my purchase next season but the one I test rode was beautiful. That isolation style seat tube is money, I can see that saving the posterior.

I road a Domane 6.2 at a Trek event this weekend. It was a great bike - but also over $6000. CF Domone start at just under $2000 for Tigra, and are about $1800 in Al.

I'm riding a Roubaix tomorrow and hoping it has a similar ride. $1800 for CF & mostly 105s

You just missed out on a pretty good sale on the Roubaix's but if you're not opposed to SRAM the Apex model is on sale for $1900. Once you ride carbon it's hard to go back to aluminum.

The Apex was the model I was most interested in. The LBS shop has the Sport in stock in my size, but I may still have him order the Elite Apex if I go that way.

check out a cannondale synapse carbon, and a giant defy advanced. both carbon frames with similar geometry. they have several levels of components on there bikes.
one thing to consider is the warranty on the frame. i bought a specialized roubaix because they have a crash replacement warranty for original owners. some other brands don't have crash replacement warranty.

Both the bikes you mentioned are nice. However, I second some the suggestions here for the Specialized Roubaix or the Cannondale Synapse. I have a carbon fiber Synapse... I absolutely love riding that bike. It has a little bit more relaxed frame than most race bikes but it's plenty responsive for me! You'll see both the Roubaix and Synapse frames being ridden on the pro tour where sections of the race course include some rough cobblestone. I figure, if it's good enough for the pro tour, it's good enough for me!

If it were me at 65 and I was buying a new bike, I would get the best that I could afford and that fit my riding style. An '89 cannondale lasted you 24 years... the next bike you buy may be the last one you ride - get it right!

I got some great advice from a wise old man once. He said:

:roflmao2: Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I agree, though. Go ride as many as you can. I rode a ton of bikes one day and almost bought a Giant Defy Advanced 2, and that was after riding the Roubaix. Besides, who doesn't like test riding a bunch of bikes?

Oh, and 65 is the new 40. The "old man" comment was just to help make the point about the wise comment. Nobody listens to the "wise whippersnapper". :D

my advice.

If money is more important, go giant defy in either aluminum or carbon depending on your budget. They consistently receive the highest ratings for the money and I have ridden a defy for a year now.

If money is not your primary concern, the specialized is a great bike. I am going specialized on my next bike.

I have never seen a positive review of the synapse as compared to the giant or roubaix.

Do you have to have Carbon? I dont think so anyway. I think a good aluminum bike is a great starting point until you know this is something your going to ride the wheels off. And at that price point, they sell for a decent percent of original msrp.

You might think about a recumbent. ;) Talk about comfort!

:thumb:

I have a Roubaix, don't ride it much. I prefer the ride of my steel and Al bikes. The Roubaix feels very dead to me but it is a nice bike to have in the stable for fast, hilly rides. If I had paid $3300 for it I'd would not be so gracious. The Secteur seems similar to the Tricross which is my 'go to' bike, I would be seriously tempted to go with an Al Secteur.

I built an Easy Racer recumbent about 30 years ago. Still have it altough it is currently in pieces! Yes it is comfortable. The first century I rode on it was my fastest and NO BACK pain!

Bill

i was poking around the forum and decided to sign up when i saw this thread. i am 6'3" and in the mid-300s and i have a secteur sport. it's aluminum, but i think the fork is carbon. i have always ridden cheap bikes from walmart in the hybrid style so this is my first "true" bike, i got fitted and everything. without being fitted they always threw me on the tallest bike they had, but getting a real fitting showed that i have a taller top half and really long arms (none of this was a surprise to me) and so they put me on an XL secteur. even having ridden a bunch of hybrids, this was by far the most comfortable bike for me.

the bottom two discs in my spine are bulging and one is torn, so i am more sensitive to back pain than an average person. this bike is a lot more upright than i assumed a road bike would be and the bent over nature of road bikes helps me prevent pain better than a more upright style like most hybrids.

anyway, that's my 2 cents.

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the contribution. It's stuff like that that makes this place great. :thumb:

thanks. i know that no two people are alike, but forums like this are a great way to get feedback from a lot of people.

back to the OP. i highly recommend getting fitted, it was free and i ended up with a bike that i would have never picked on my own but fit me very well and is extremely comfortable to ride (although i'm going to look around the forum for better saddles.)

Get fitted. I'm 6'-4", and was just fitted for a 66cm frame. If your going to spend the money, don't guess, it's the most important consideration affecting your comfort.

out of curiosity... what did you spend for the fitting?

Here's a pretty good saddle thread for you to enjoy: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...worked-for-you

and as for fittings, there are many different flavors & levels of fitting. How involved was your free fitting?

my fitting was free, but i bought a bike. i asked before we started and he said it was free, but on their website they say it's a $60 value.

thanks, i'll check into that thread.

as for my fitting it was a bunch of measurements, my inseam, arm length, spine flexibility, and height. he typed it all into a computer program and grabbed a bike. he then spent a little too long adjusting the seat, it took like 5 minutes of measuring and and re-positioning the seat fractions of an inch. either way after he was done i got on and road it for 10 minutes on the trainer because i had to learn the gear shifting coming from nothing but twist shifters. he also adjusted the chains because it was making some noise on two gears. then i took it out for a test ride. i think the whole process lasted about an hour. i opted for regular pedals so that probably saved me some time because that was going to be the next step.

i tried out probably 10 bikes at 3 different LBS' and it was by far the most comfortable.

edit:

i also wanted to add about the whole weight limit thing:

he gingerly asked me what my weight was and i told him around 350. he said the bike has a limit of 250, but he's put guys my size on bikes like this before and it was ultimately my call. he didn't really say anything about voiding the warranty and i talked to him a little bit about why i've never had the problems that i've read people weighing 100lbs less than me have had with wheels and frame breaks. he said it has a lot to do with how you ride and he's seen plenty of bent rims from people weighing 150lbs. i make sure to sit up in my saddle at any bumps and take big sweeping turns. they offer a 2 year adjustment plan with all their bikes and extended parts warranty and never once did they ever say that it wouldn't apply to me because of my size.

thanks for the response Tiger... i'll have to talk to my shop when it gets closer to time to buy...

what specific model did you get?

it's a little funny because when i search it i only find the add to the store i got it from:

http://www.eriksbikeshop.com/2012-se...c11414/product

also, i would recommend asking them if that's the best they can do on price. my store was willing to come down on the price a decent amount since it was an "older" model.

:( That poor, poor machine... Fix her up! And if you don't want to, I'd be happy to take her off your hands and get her some regular miles... ;)

ya thats a 2012 model... they apparently changed the names a little bit for 2013... no big... same frame, same geo as far as I can tell... my bike buying time will prob be about the time new year models start dropping so maybe I'll be able to get a deal on a 2013... we'll see though