I spent this past Sunday riding every "relaxed/comfort" geometry bike I could find. I rode the 2010 Felt Z5 (58), 2010 Giant Defy Advanced 2 (58), then 2010 Giant Defy Advanced 3 (58), 2010 Cannondale Synapse 5 (56, one size too small), 2010 Orbea Onix (56, again, one size too small and rumored to be between a comfort and race geometry), and a 2010 Specialized Tarmac(61).

I don't know if it was the wheels that made the difference of if it was just setup different, but I really liked the Giant Defy 2 better than the 3, even though the frames are the same, except for paint. The 2 has Aksiums and the 3 has Mavic CXP22's if I remember correctly. The felt was nice, but not quite as nice (for me) as the Giants. The Orbea was BY FAR my least favorite. It also was full SRAM Rival...and I learned it's not for me. I just preferred the 105 stuff.

What amazed me was how comfortable the Tarmac was. It was a larger frame, but with a shorter stem, I think that COULD be my favorite. I still want to try the Roubaix. I found out last night that my closest LBS has a 2009 Tarmac (61) and a 2010 Roubaix (61) that I hope to ride this Sunday.

I learned from everyone here to ride as many as you can. I now understand why. It is amazing the differences.