MeddlingKids

I am currently riding a Trek Madone 4.5 and there are a few things I haven't really enjoyed about the bike. The responsiveness of the steering may be great for short races, but it makes maintaining a stable line a bit of a challenge at times. Also, I've found it to be a bit jarring over some of our less than stellar roads in the area. As such, I've started looking into endurance bikes. I am looking for something that will be comfortable on longer rides, provide more stability in a variety of scenarios, but still be light enough that I don't feel like I'm pushing through sand.

This weekend I went to the local Specialized dealer and rode the Roubaix Expert and it felt great. The bike was more smooth, super stable, yet still fairly quick. I also rode the Tarmac for comparison purposes, and as expected, it had some of the qualities of my Madone that I don't really care for much. The local Specialized dealer wasn't really willing to discount the Roubaix and I want to make this a complete search, so I've been looking at offerings from other manufacturers. But, I was hoping you all could chime in with your thoughts on which bikes below will offer a more stable and comfortable ride. If you have any other suggestions, I'm all ears. I will probably skip over the Trek Domane, however.

Specialized Roubaix SL4 Expert
Cannondale Synapse Ultegra
BMC GranFondo GF02
Giant Defy Advanced Pro 1
Pinarello Marvel (the bike shop said they would be willing to discount this one, so the price might be in my range)

Thanks in advance!

NealH

Nothing wrong with the Domane so don't skip it. In fact it has some advantages, like hidden rack and fender mounts should you want to do some credit card touring or extended greenway riding. I believe it will take up to 30 mm tires too. Its a really good all around bike and gives up nothing on the fast group rides. I like the Domane and Roubaix as they are my preference however, all these are good bikes.

MeddlingKids

Thanks, I will test it out at the shop when I go ride the Synapse. I don't really like the Bontrager stuff on the bikes, though. Those wheels that came with the Madone were pretty bad.

RollCNY

If you want stability in steering, look at a value called "trail". Most size charts don't list it specifically, but it is a function of Head tube angle and Fork Rake, which are usually listed. Mr. Google will point you to a chart to compare values, and the bike with the most trail should have the least responsive steering, all other things being equal (which they never are).

Additionally, a bike with very aggressive steering can still maintain a straight line, but that has more to do with rider input.

MeddlingKids

Thanks, I will look through the rates for the various models I've been reviewing.

kingston 

There was a lengthy discussion of this topic a few months ago that you may want to check out.

Diablito

I have a granfondo and love it. I have 25's on it now but came with 35's. Droped a pound with thinner tires. Has outlets for everything, disc brakes with 105 shimano throughout. I changed the saddle and stem to fit me better. I can cruise at 27 mph with no problems. 50/36 chainrings. A little heavy which you don't feel while riding but hella fun on the road or off. Test ride one.

Ride wise I have no complaints. I ride the boardwalk here in Asbury park sometimes and with the 25's at 85psi it's comfortable. Anything higher you will feel the bumps but the edge is definitely taken away. The dampening technology they put into the frame works well. The bike also picks up speed very well. Steering, from 1-10 and 10 being quickest steering I give it a 6 maybe 7. Not fast but just enough that it isn't slow.

Up North

+2 on the Domane, go project one and order whatever wheels and components you want.

gsa103

Bianchi Intenso or Infinito CV.

The main review compliant is that the handling isn't as responsive as a race bike. Sounds like its exactly what you're looking for.

MeddlingKids

I am planning to visit one of the shops nearby to ride the Cannondale Synapse Carbon, the Trek Domane 5.2, and the Pinarello Marvel. The Specialized dealer I spoke with isn't really willing to offer much in the way of a discount...likely only a couple hundred.

Long Tom

I have a SL4 Roubaix Expert. All I can tell you is that it handles superbly and has plenty of pop, for me anyway.

TurtleRacer

You should be able to hold your line with any bike geometry, that's just a skill that needs practicing/development. If it's more of an issue with your current bike, it could be fit related (stem length, how much weight you have on your arms, bar width).

Bike comfort is significantly effected by tire pressure (and tire width). If you're on 23 mm tires, you can make your ride much more comfortable by moving to 25 mm (or even 28 if they'll fit your bike) and dropping the PSI. Just a suggestion as a new tire is much cheaper than a new bike, and if you still want a new bike, you can put the new tire on the new bike too

sqgator

I am hoping it's going to be my 2015 Giant Defy advanced SL 1, will be using the bike for a century event in May. I will be changing the 700x25 stock tires to Continental GP 4000 S II 700x28, should provide better comfort without losing much speed.

I did the last century ride in a Specialized Sirrus Pro Carbon Disc hybrid bike with flat handle bar, very comfortable bike with 32mm tires but relatively slow in a climbing hill.

The Specalized Roubaix is the drop bar version of Sirrus, should be good.

euro trash

I have a BMC GF and really like it. the ride is very good and I think it's a stable bike. out of the box I thought it was good, but a little too much like a touring style ride. I swapped to some lighter / faster wheels and put a smaller tire, now it rides sporty and still compliant in the right spots. very pleased with it and think it does what I want / expect. plus, it's not one of the big 3 in my area. I want to be on something a little different than everyone else.

Long Tom

I'll add that I'm no daredevil, but my sl4 Roubaix tracks so well, I have no problem on curvy downhills at 40+ mph. On the up hills the stiffness of the frame is awesome- step on the pedal, move forwards with a tangible sense of clean power transmission. Love the bike.

Munk69

Domane is an excellent bike. I have the 14 5.2 and it is everything that you actually said you want in a bike. I did ditch the bontrager wheels and went with some hand builts which just makes the bike even better.

My last bike was an 11 Madone 6 and I never found that bike twitchy. In fact I thought it handled just a bit faster than the Domane.

Either way good luck. I have read many favorable reviews on the BMC, Giant and Specialized. So you really cannot go wrong with any of them. Just keep in mind that Giant & Specialized will have thier own house wheels, bars and such on their bikes.

link0

Go with the Domane. It's the best designed comfort road bike, IMO.

MeddlingKids

Thanks again for the replies, everybody. I think I have eliminated the Bianchi (cost), Giant (don't want disc brakes), BMC GF02 (doesn't sound like the best fit based on some reviews I've read), and Pinarello (don't really care for the appearance) from the considerations.

That said, I'm going to ride a 2015 Domane 5.2 and a 2014 Domane 6.2 tomorrow, along with the 2015 Synapse Carbon Ultegra. The Synapse is already nearly $600 cheaper than the Specialized Roubaix SL4 I rode last weekend, based on how the shop has them priced, and I get the impression they may be willing to do more. My major hesitation with the Trek is that I strongly disliked the saddle and wheels when I purchased my Madone. I suppose I could swap my Fizik saddle and Boyd wheels onto the Domane if I get it, but both are a bit more suited for a race geometry bike I suppose.

Heathpack 

Interestingly, I have a Trek Madone built up from a 4-series frame and a BMC GF01. The Madone is very quick and light, just a very responsive bike. I have described it as similar to riding a sparrow.

My BMC is my main squeeze, however, I am an endurance rider and spend mucho hours on the bike with lots of climbing and descending. The BMC is just totally solid and smooth, very confidence-inspiring. Its like riding a very fine dressage horse- powerful and just kind of flowing in its movements. To me, there is something a little magic about that bike.

Both bikes have upgraded wheels, full carbon on the Madone with 23 mm tires and carbon with alloy rims and 25 mm tubeless tires on the BMC. I totally love both bikes, but they are very different beasts and I use them on different kinds of rides.

Good luck in making your decision. I rode a Domane and didn't like it, it seemed flimsy to me. But then again, it was white with gold bar tape and accents, totally blinged out. I was pretty embarrassed to be riding that bike, zero love, I imagined that would be the road bike a hooker would choose in the unlikely event she took up road biking.

PaulRivers

If you want slow handling and handling bumps and vibrations, the Domane is made exactly for that. I don't like the Domane myself - exactly because I don't like it's to-stable and slow handling. So it could be perfect for you. If you want something that's otherwise racy, the Domane 5.2 is definitely the right choice vs the 4.x. Most people can tell the difference between the 4 and the 5 pretty easily, while there's little to no perceivable difference between the 5.2 and the 6.2.

I would add that Shimano 11 speed is generally snappier at shifting than the previous 10 speed. If the 6.2 has the older 10 speed, the newer 5.2 with the 11 speed might be the better bike even if the 6.2 comes with the older dura-ace.

I personally like the Trek Emonda, the handling is faster than the Domane but slower than the Madone. About halfway in between. The ride is very very good at handling bumps and road vibration with you both not feeling it and the bike staying stable. At least the versions of the bike with 500 level carbon and up are.

If you find the Domane to slow and sedate for some reason, try out the Emonda.

bbattle

MeddlingKids, which bikes have you test ridden and what are your thoughts?

It's very difficult to give you useful advice, as every rider is different. One person describes a bike as being slow, another says it is twitchy.

If you study the geometry charts for the SuperSix and Synapse, the differences are subtle on paper, but potentially large once out on the road. It will depend upon your perceptions. Same for the Madone/Emonda/Domane bikes.

It is typical to swap wheels and saddles once you buy a new bike. Many riders do just that and so don't really care what is sold with the new bike.

MeddlingKids

I've heard people say the Domane felt "soft" and "lifeless" to them, so I'm not surprised to read it here. I didn't know there would be such a huge difference between the 4.X Domane and the 5.2 Domane. You're saying the latter is more responsive?

It's funny you mentioned the Emonda. I always assumed it was a race geometry bike, and as such, I haven't really considered it as I have been looking at different options. That said, I have seen it pop up several times in endurance bike threads, so I will definitely give it a ride. Looks like it's going to be a busy day, as I'm aiming to ride the following:

Trek Domane 5.2
Trek Emonda (possibly)
Cannondale Synapse Ultegra
Giant Advanced Pro 1 (if I can find one nearby)
BMC GF02 (if I can find one nearby)

RNAV

Depending on the year of your Madone, some of those 4.5s came with "Bontrager-approved" wheels, which were just generic bottom-of-the-barrel wheels. As with the Domane you're going to be test riding, once you get to the 5 & 6 series you start to get the actual Bontrager Race or Race Light wheel sets, both of which are solid wheel sets. Both the Domane 5.2 & 6.2 come with tubeless ready wheel sets . . . I highly recommend you get the shop to throw some tubeless tires on the bike if you purchase it. If comfort is one of your concerns, adding tubeless to the Domane makes it like riding on a cloud. Once those tires wear out, if you don't want to do tubeless, you can always switch back to clinchers for no cost. Bottom line, tubeless does improve ride quality, and it's something you should consider when looking at other offerings.

As others have mentioned, the Domane sounds like it's exactly what you're looking for.

Some points. 1) Your bicycle geometry has zilch to do with the wheelset you put on the bike. 2) Saddles are incredibly personal, and if you have a saddle that works for you, you should use that on your bike -- and absolutely not the saddle that comes stock on it. With the exception of Specialized, I can't think of any other manufacturer's house brand that's renowned for offering comfortable saddles. In fact, to really compare apples to apples on your test rides, you should have your Fizik saddle installed on each one. Otherwise, you could be buying a bike based on the stock saddle -- not the bike -- and chances are that no matter what you buy, you'll end up swapping out the stock saddle anyways. So you're definitely not doing yourself any favors to evaluate bikes based on their stock saddles. Would you evaluate a bike based on the stock pedals?

PaulRivers

Oh yeah, I test rode around 15 bikes last year. I felt the Domane 4 was both soft and lifeless as well.

The Domane 5 is not "soft" whatsoever. It's certainly not as responsive in it's handling as a Madone, but you wanted to get away from that, so it sounds just like what you want. It's very responsive in putting power into the bike and the bike translating that into moving faster. The 5 feels much better for that than the 4 does, the 5 is very good. I also rode the 6, but could not tell a difference between the 5 and the 6.

Imo, the 4 is definitely lifeless, whether the 5 is lifeless is a matter of taste. It's a very stiff frame that is definitely responsive to you putting the power on the pedals. You don't get a huge amount of road feel, but again that's a matter of preference, and I found no bike that gave me both excellent road feel and also removed bumps and buzz from the road. Some are better than others. I did think the Emonda was better at road feel - you'd have to ride them and see what your preferences are though.

Trek bikes tend to have a noticeable difference in feel between their 4 and 5 series of the same model. I've found this with the Madone, the Domane, and the Emonda. If the 4 fits but you don't like the feel, the 5 is almost another bike entirely.

Ha, good luck. :-) I try not to ride more than 3 bikes in a day or I get confused and forget which felt like what.

If you ride the Emonda, be sure to ride the one that's $2,800 or more. It's a different series of carbon and a fairly different feel than the lower end model. The cheaper model is fine for it's price - but the 500 series carbon ($2,800 and up) is like riding on a cloud. I plowed over a basketball size pothole and the bike almost just floated over it. No pain reached my hands or arms, the bike didn't change direction just kept on going straight.

If you like the handling on the Emonda I think it's a better bike than the Domane (like I said it's more responsive than the Domane but slower than the Madone), but if you prefer slower handling the Domane might be better.

PaulRivers

The last time I looked into it the Domane has hidden fender mounts, but no rack mounts. We looked the bike all over at the shop.

You can put a rack on the Domane, trek sells a rack called the BackRack that's designed for full carbon bikes with no rack mounts:
Bontrager: BackRack Lightweight (Model #08214)

But you can put that rack on my other bikes as well. (It needs to have a rear wheel skewer and a rear brake bridge, ironically the one bike it doesn't fit is the Domane where they put the rear brake bridge in a weird location. But it fits either the Domane or the Madone).