mcours2006

Man, must be nice to be able to drop $1500 on a bike only days after buying a $1100 one.

Maybe you've already stated in a previous post and I missed it, but why the fixation on disk brakes? How about an older CX with cantilevers, perhaps in CF. You'll save some grams just from the cantis vs disks. Could be done for a lot less than $1500.

geehue

Leaving disc brakes aside for the moment ... you mention you're leaning towards choosing a cyclocross bike. if you are keeping the hybrid, I'm not sure exactly why you want another bike that may end up doing the same thing as what you already have (except with a drop bar). If you want to go fast and light on the road, I would suggest a dedicated road bike. If you want to go fast on gravel or hard-packed track, your hybrid is probably already fine. The Trek is what, about 26 pounds or so? A cross bike isn't going to be that much lighter, whereas a dedicated road bike in your price range could probably be had at 18 pounds or even less.

cwar

I know you just bought the hybrid, but have you considered selling it while it's still almost new and put that money into the road bike?

Also, does your area get a lot of rain or are you riding in very hilly terrain? If not, the disc brakes will have less of an impact. I live in Seattle and I do have a road bike with hydraulic disc brakes and they are awesome in the wet. They are also nice if you put carbon fiber wheels on as you don’t have to worry about brake track issues. With that said, if your climate is dry or somewhat flat then I would seriously consider caliper brakes. It opens up your options big time.

I was in a similar situation as you. I bought a hybrid a few years ago to ride with my daughter who was just learning to ride a bike. I quickly realized I wanted a road bike as I wanted to do longer rides, group rides, etc… Now I ride about 150 miles/week. Not a lot by some standards, but more than I was planning on when I bought the road bike. BTW, I now have 3 road bikes (you will too). What I’m saying, is I can relate to your situation.

dtrain

Geez, less than a week? You might even be able to return the Trek hybrid (at least for store credit).

Carkar7

Luckily my LBS has a policy that I can return a bike within 30 days if I'm not "In Love" with it. Otherwise I would definitely not be thinking about this, haha!

Anyways, I went to various other LBS's in the area and tried out a myriad of cross bikes, they are awesome. Also rode a couple road bikes, though I think the cross is better suited for me. Ultimately, I don't care so much about a CF frame anymore, what I do want for sure are Hydraulic disc brakes. I tried a couple of giant bikes that were mechanical disc, nope can't do it. The modulation on the hydraulic brakes is really the one thing I cant compromise. It feels so nice. But of course, such a bike in this price range may not be possible.

I was shown the CAADX with SHRAM Rival disc breaks. Owner said it's probably the cheapest for what I am looking for, but he also said that SHRAM is crap and suggested I get the Giant TCX Advanced Pro 2 that i tried instead. It's WAY outta my price point, 2,300 for a 2015 model. I would also need a small frame (im a 17.5 in trek but apparently not in Giant) because the cross bar gently graces the boys when i stand over it. Supposedly that's a bad thing, and I'll take his word for it. Funny thing is, on a giant road bike, medium frame is fine--apparently it has to do with tire size.

Still looking for the golden egg.

Carkar7

Have you tried cross bikes? The ride is so smooth compared to road bikes, and i dont think the speed is that much slower personally.

dtrain

That's good.

Look at you giving advice already...

FWIW: you do give up a little speed and smoothness with a cross bike - but the trade off might be worth it for some.

mawashi

Yes, they are. Ride for a couple of hours on both to really get the difference. All the date, tech specs won't make any sense till you experience the difference.

Carkar7

Can I please get your guys opinions on these 3 bikes. Price points are a lot higher, but I may go down this road because YOLO.

Cannondale - CAADX Shram Rival Disc

Trek - Crockett 9 Disc

Giant - TCX Advanced Pro 2 (My LBS told me they can get me the 1 yr old model for $2,300, assuming they are both the same other than color this may be a good option)

dtrain

Motobecane's version FTW

mawashi

Good for you bad for them...

There's smooth and there's comfort. Smooth is gliding along the road at 45 kph. Comfort is riding on gravel n not bouncing around too much. If you use knobby tires you will be quite a bit slower, with slicks you will still be slower but not by that much.

None of the above Motobecane Century PRO Disc would be one my short list.
Save Up to 60% Off Disc Brake Road Bikes - Motobecane Turino TEAM Hydraulic Disc Brake Road Bikes

exime

Exactly this! You have the beginnings of a cyclo bike. Just put on some 32 tires with treads and you can use hybrid as a cyclocross bike.

A road bike would make more sense when u have a hybrid. I realized that because I have a trek hybrid

Sidney Porter

I think that the term cyclocross covers a lot of bikes. At their heart they are a race bike that are not going to have rack mounts you are going to get a high bb and a geometry that is intended for quick handling but not necessarily all day riding. A cross race is usually less than an hour it is a 5k or a 10 not a marathon.

But some of the gravel grinders and endurance bikes are going to have the ability for racks and it should be a more comfortable geometry. You will be able to put large tires on it (a good chance they can fit larger tires than the cross bike).

Now I do think that there are cross bikes that are branded cross bikes but are aimed at the commuter / gravel grinder so they will have rack and fender mounts.

rpenmanparker 

Is nobody going to tell OP that it is SRAM not SHRAM? Oh lookee, I just did.

rpenmanparker 

OP, perhaps it would be helpful for you to tell us why you want disc brakes. They are a major sticking point in your achieving all of your other goals. If we understood your reasoning, perhaps we could better help you get what you want.

mcours2006

OP sounds like he's just starting out. I could be wrong. Perhaps he's buying into the marketing of disc brakes. I gotta admit, they do look pretty cool, and if I were a racer I'd probably opt for them. I doubt OP has any reason other than aesthetics for fixating on discs. I could be wrong.

My own CX-commuter bike is an older Bianchi convert 32mm tires and cantilever brakes. It looks pretty dated, but it's a good service vehicle for me.

Carkar7

Yes, they do look awesome! Also, disc breaks are the future of biking and I'd like to stay up-to-date. More importantly, it's true what you say --I am just starting out. So, I want my bike to go beyond what I "Think" im going to use it for and meet some of the needs that I may not have at the moment. That said, disc brakes provide better stopping power in mud and other types of terrain. I'll also be ready when El Nino hits california later this year

limbot

+1

I started with a Trek DS 8.4. Lasted me about a year and I bought a second hand CX bike ( Ridley X-Bow (canitlever brakes just for reference )) based on the sort of riding I was with the DS (road, trails, single track) and so that I could see if me old body would handle a drop bar. My body could though I discovered that I'd bought a bike that was slightly too big for me (that being said I still put some good kms on it ). For about 8 months I was researching new CX/Gravel Grinders because that's what I thought I wanted.

Then one day I took a Trek Emonda for a test ride during a ride day. That really got me thinking. the best thing about a hybrid like the DS or a CX/Gravel Grinder is that it's flexible enough to be able to road ride to tracks, ride the tracks and then back on the road home But in the end did I really want both the DS and a CX/Gravel Grinder? Yes the CX/Gravel Grinder would be quicker on the road but the DS is just as capable albeit at a slower (like on average looking at my stats about 1km/h) pace (if not more capable on much rougher/sloppier trails). There was too much crossover.

Then one day I just happened into the LBS and lo and behold walked out with an Endurance frame roadie.

IMHO the best two options for you are:

1. Keep the DS and buy a road bike ( an endurance frame maybe ? ) to compliment the DS.
2. Sell the DS and buy a CX/Gravel Grinder and a set of extra wheels with a set of road orientated tires. If I had the choice of only ONE bike that'd be what I'd be doing.

BTW I notice you've only looked at what could be considered "true CX" bikes, have you looked at the "gravel grinders" (same flexibility but not quite as "agressive" ) like the Crossrip, Anyroad and Diverge ?

dgunay

If you like the flat handlebar, return your bike back and buy 7.4 FX Disc.

Carkar7

Oh yeah, man. Totally agree with you here. Thing is I was able to return the DS completely today. The bike shop has a 30 day no questions asked policy.

With that said, I got some pretty interesting offers today and would like everyone's opinions

The same bike shop is offering to sell me the Crockett 9 Disc for 2200 +tax however, I will not get another 30 day guarantee due to the price drop
Crockett 9 Disc - New! - Trek Bicycle

Another bike shop is offering me the Giant TCX Advanced Pro 2 for 2,000 + tax
TCX Advanced Pro 2 (2016) | Giant Bicycles | United States

Both are great deals! Im leaning toward the trek because I like trek bikes, but the giant is appealing due to the CF frame. Though in the end I'm not sure if CF is that much better than Ultegra parts.

Opinions??

Campag4life

The very thought you are considering both bikes together as a legitimate comparison suggests you don't understand different genres of bikes and what each offer. Also your comment about disk brakes being the future is bogus. I don't want a bike with disk brakes for road riding however I love disk brakes for off road.
There are a lot of different bikes out there and their roles can even be blurred...like between endurance, Cx and gravel.
Honestly, with your lack of riding experience it really doesn't matter what you ride. Refined taste is only through experience. Every genre and type of bike exists because it has a niche.

mcours2006

Sounds like you've definitely been drinking the marketing Kool-Aid of the industry. Disk brakes are not the future of biking, despite what the industry will try to sell you, just as 8, 9, and 10-speeds are not going to disappear either.

Get the bike that you need now, not what you think you'll need later on, because in all likelihood that later-on bike is going to be a new bike anyway. Most of us here can probably attest to that.

Lastly, regarding stopping power: while it's true that disc brakes can provide more stopping power, and at the same time eliminate wear on your rims. but if you do a lot of endurance riding, braking power is completely secondary. You will not need to stop on a dime with this kind of riding. Where I live I can pedal for an hour without ever using my brakes.

Where this kind of braking is needed is if you ride in city traffic or off-road on muddy trails. Be honest with yourself; how much of this kind of riding do you do?

NJCyclist72

I agree with others that you shoudlshop around and test ride bikes at a couple of different shops.

My suggestion to someone as new as you seem to be is try and figure out what type of bike you want and then narrow down to the brand. The type is more significant.

By type I mean: Road/Race Geo, Endurance Geo, or Aero Road. There are others now but I think most of what you would like would fall into that category, especially if you plan to keep the hybrid for any off road stuff. (If not, a Specialized Diverge comes to mind).

So there are lots of brands, but since the main brands really carry each of these, I would look for Specialized, Canondale, Giant or Trek dealers mostly. That will cover 90% of LBS's.

Then go to one and try one brand in each geo.

For instance, Specialized: Allez (Road), Secteur (Endurance), Venge (Aero)
Giant: TCR (Road), Defy (Endurance), Propel (Aero)

Then once you decide which type, test a couple of different brands.

So let's say you like the Secteur at Specialized, test a Defy, a Canondale Synapse, a Trek Domane and/or a couple of others with that same basic geo.

As for components, don't stress too much, and do not go automatically to 105. Some people like Shimano. Ok. I have a couple of bikes with Shimano and a couple with Sram. Personally prefer Sram and often they are less expensive and lighter. In that same price range, look for Sram Apex or Rival. The last new bike I bought the final deciding factor was going with Sram Red over Shimano Ultegra. Easily worth the extra few hundred dollars.

Bandera

Then put some seat time in, like the vast majority new to bicycle riding as an adult you find that the activity is:

Time consuming
Hot when it's hot outside, cold when it's cold and wet when it rains.
Takes significant muscular and cardiac effort.
Requires technical skills in bike handling and acquiring road sense.
The bike is the start of the expense train: Clothing, flats kits, H2O capacity, electronics etc. are the start of an endless array of "stuff" needed.
Open public roads always have lousy surfaces and traffic is dangerous on a bicycle.
Multi Use Paths are clogged with clueless joggers, strollers and dogs.
Terrain is never favorable: Hills are difficult to climb and scary to descend.
The wind is always blowing the wrong way.
You are not, and never will be, as fast, strong as fit as you think you will be.
No none will ever wave back at you.

It doesn't matter what type of bike you have or how it is equipped to enjoy discovering the realities of road bicycle riding.

-Bandera

Carkar7

How are these 2 bikes not comparable? Please enlighten me. They are both cx bikes, with a few upgraded components on the trek and a carbon Frame on the giant.