Originally Posted by
2muchroad
Hmm, the Trek Madone and Ridley Helium have full Carbon frames with Ultegra Group Set and fairly good wheelsets. The Trek Madone would only be 100€ more than the Emonda ARL 5 2018. What makes the ARL 5 so good in comparison, apart from the extra cash for a better wheelset?
They all appear to be very nice bikes, some a bit 'newer' model than others - but deciding online from just pics is not a good way to decide. There's SO MUCH to be considered when buying a bicycle above something which might be a do-it-all around-town bike...
You're asking for a complete manual on "How To Buy a Road Bike" - way too much to go thru. I would suggest searching here and reading prior threads on this subject.
All the comments, including Iride's below, have validity, the 'view' and weight of each, depends... a lot on what your expectations are, your physical self, and a host of other considerations.
... but I'll add some further ideas below... Then you really need to do homework, if you want to go deeper than "A nice bike I can start my Road Cycling addiction/adventure"...
Originally Posted by
Iride01
You have bikes listed that give different positions. Of them the Cube Attain is more similar to a Trek Domane in the position it gives than it is a Trek Emonda. The Ridley is between the two.
If you haven't any experience on road bikes, then you need to realize that really need to know what position you want on the bike and look at models that are made to give you that position. The Emonda, Madone and Triestina are aggressive position. They are meant for you to be in a very aero riding position. The Domane and Helium give you what is more in the middle of the two fit extremes of road bikes.
You concentration on better wheels is slightly misguided unless you have some reason at this moment to need better wheels. But I can't imagine what that might be since I'm imagining that you don't have a lot of road bike experience.
All bikes come with good wheels that are appropriate for their price level. Better wheels are not going to make you a better rider. As you get more experience handling a bike, you might want better wheels at that time. But only because they give you a better feel for the road handling. Not that they make you faster or are more comfortable.
I'll agree with most of the above - each bicycle has it's design and purpose points - a new rider won;t know how to interpret them, until they start getting some accumulated 'riding time'. But classifying each, as above, may prolly differ from above... a personal opinion...
Each has somewhat varying 'geometry', which give considerations on the rider makeup and how they expect/wish to ride. a Good assist is to know what 'geometry' means and does for a rider/bike - that's homework. For bike info, each manufacturer usually have geometry lists for their bikes
and for 'comparison - geometrygeeks is a great tool !
https://geometrygeeks.bike/bike-directory/search/
Then gearing - is important depending on the rider, needs and abilities
knowing what gearing you're going to mostly use and the range that you might need will help... Homework...
a great tool to compare and get to know how derailleur gearing works and what any combination might provide:
https://www.gear-calculator.com/
you can put in different gearing combinations to get a chart of what gearing a bike might have - add up to 3 chainrings, most any combination of rear clusters/cassettes, and see how wheel/tire size, cadence, etc affects gearing, speed... takes understanding of each element and what a rider might desire/need.
It's a learning curve...
Good luck, enjoy, it's a lifetime adventure, well worth the undertaking !
Time riding a bike is Aging suspended !!!
Tschüss !
Ride On
Yuri