Advice on a higher end bike?
 

Hi all,
First time post but long time lurker. I would say I am a mid-range road biker - did a few metric centuries on my Allez Comp over the past few years. Bike is about 7 years old and is just worn out - creaks coming from everywhere. I am lucky and blessed enough to be able to afford my first really nice (to me, anyway) bike and I have narrowed it down to two:

1) Specialized Roubaix with full Ultegra and upgraded Mavic wheelset, or
2) Trek Madone 6.2 with Ultegra and Bontrager Race Lite rims

Both bikes are within a few hundred dollars of each other. Where I would like your simple advice is whether there are other makes and models I should be looking at. As for me, I am 6', 240 lbs, and in my mid-40s, so I am looking for something a bit more comfortable rather than a pure race machine. I want to stick to road, and my budget is $5k tops. Your opinion welcome and thanks for having this great resource.

Cannondale Synapse Carbon. If you like Ultegra, get that, if not you should check out SRAM Red

Take anything I say with a grain of salt, but I just spent the last few months shopping prior to picking out my giant defy advanced, and a 5k budget will buy a heck of a lot more than an ultegra bike.

I mean even if you bought the trek 5.2 and put a set of mavic sl rims on it you would still be way below that range

And don't let anyone tell you lbs don't negotiate. I got my wife's 5.2 (2012) down to 2900 otd

I just checked the retail for. 5.9 with ultegra di2 is less than 5k and the 6.2 ultegra is 4300

Heck the more you have me thinking, if I were going to drop 5k on a bike I would have a custom ti frame made up and build it with carbon bars, seat post and stems, put ultegra on it with a decent set of wheels for my weight and still be under 5k I believe.

I love my 4.5 Madone. Not as nice as what you're looking at. The only thing I'd change is that I would have upgraded the wheels and tires. I have almost 1500 miles on it and I've retrued the wheels 3 times.(I'm learning so it may be the wrench more than the wheels)

First off, welcome to the board. I've learned a LOT in the few months I've been participating.

You ask an interesting question, and one I'll follow closely since I'm hoping to upgrade next year.

My current steed is the Trek 620 that I bought in 1983 so I'm afraid I can't provide any first-hand insights!

A recent thread elsewhere on BF suggested that the Roubaix geometry was a bit more upright than many higher-end bikes, which was good for folks that don't care for a head-down riding position. So that may be a factor in your choice.

Is the Madone available in the "H3" geometry (somewhat more upright than the usual "H2" geometry).

I would suspect that either frame could handle your weight without difficulty. But I'm curious what the more knowledgeable folks think about the wheels.

It may be that going to a higher spoke-count wheel would be the best way to ensure robustness for us in the 200+ club. I've been as high as 240 lb but my 36-spoke wheels stay true with little or no attention (Mavic Open-4 CD's bought in ~1994).

Or to put it differently, the wheels are likely to be the place where our weight will give us equipment problems.

Your choice may depend on how you feel about having your wheels trued on a more frequent basis; I find it a PITA to take things to the LSB for attention, so a robust-but-heavy approach works for me. If you can do your own truing or don't mind having the LSB do the work, then your calculus may be different than mine.

-Tom in SoCal

I'm with Jethro. I've got a 5.2 Madone that I absolutely love. Still not as nice as the 6.2 that you're looking at, though. I had a Bottom Bracket issue just a few months after I bought it last summer but Trek stood by their merchandise and got me squared away. No problems since and I'm nearing 3k miles on it.

Thanks for the thoughts so far. You are right about the bikes being below $5k - I was thinking of holding some in reserve for upgraded wheels, some new shoes, a new computer, etc. The Madone I configured via ProjectOne is $4600, and the Roubaix is about $3,900. I could certainly negotiate an off the shelf Roubaix down some to put better components in it but the Trek is list price via ProjectOne. Vesteroid - interesting comment. I HAVE been thinking about visiting my local Seven dealer to see about Ti. A Ti Seven with Ultegra is about $5,500. Any other thoughts on Ti frames? The idea of custom is intriguing.

The frame / fork material is a personal choice. One isn't really better or worse than the other, they are just different.
You will get arguments/discussions supporting one over the other for weeks on end if you wish to pursue that question of BF. :)

My suggestion would be to test ride a few over similar roads and see what you think.

I wouldn't bother with changing the wheel set at the time of purchase. The OEM wheels will be fine to get started with and you will not be limited to their offerings/prices. Then you can take your time and shop around for wheelset options that meet your specific criteria. The OEM wheelset will be your backup / winter set, which is always nice to have.

Make sure you ride the ones you have an interest in.

Check out a Scott CR1 Pro as well. The carbon frame is better than the Trek or Spesh (IMP technology is basically smooth interior walls, which have a similar effect to butting steel tubes, and the only other companies that do this really are Time and Lightspeed [I think the Cannondale SuperSix Evo has them too]), it has a complete 6700 group set, and Ksyrium Elite wheel set. Plus, it goes for about $3500.

If you're set on the Roubaix or the Trek, I'd say get the Roubaix for the simple fact that wheels are going to be nicer.

I like this website...I have no personal knowledge of his work, but have read decent enough reviews, and he seems to win awards here and there...and doesn't seem to cost an arm and two legs

http://www.ticycles.com/

If you're looking for comfort, then the Roubaix wins handsdown, no contest really. Everyone that has a Roubaix loves it, saying how its the most comfortable bike they've ever owned. HOWEVER, the Madone is much more popular, simply because most people that shell out that kind of cash want a race bike with a racing geometry. The Madone is somewhere in the middle between a Specialized Roubaix and their Tarmac in terms of comfort vs. aggressiveness. If you go with the Madone, I would ditch the Bont wheelset and get something more durable.

If you're going to do more long distance, I would go for the Roubaix. If you're interested in racing at all, then I'd go for the Madone. Both are awesome bikes, so test ride both (with a good fitting) and it'll be pretty clear which one belongs to you.

For the money you are talking you will not get a bad bike period. Do not narrow your choice down, have fun, go try out everything you can afford and buy the one that says I'm the one. When you ride the ONE you will know. When I bought my last bike I tried numerous brands, and materials before I got on the Madone and when I got on it I knew almost right away I found it.

I am 6'4" and 245 mid forties. Test drove both of those bikes and much preferred the Roubaix - even the Tarmac has a pretty good riding position these days. If you can try out a Cervelo RS or R3 they are in price range and well loved by many.

I got an Argon 18 that is not as comfortable as Roubaix but the price was very right. I wanted a frameset and Specialized Canada were robbers - way worse pricing and sizing than US.

well, to throw a wrench in the plans...you could get a custom steel bike for that price. Not production, so you don't pay for advertising. You do pay for the time and skill of the builder(s) working on the frame, and they can easily tune it to you. At that budget, something like a Gunnar is easily in range.

look at titanium, FAR tougher, better gaurantees, sweet sweet ride, no paint to chip, steel great too
some carbon frames offer "lifetime warranties" good luck if you have frame damage deemed "cosmetic" or from "racing" etc. by mfr

carbon is NOT "lifetime" frame

Independent Fabrication makes a traditional CrMo steel frame, a stainless steel frame and a Ti frame. And their paint work is terrific.

I'm probably one of the few people here who has TIG-welded their own custom frame together (under the watchful eye of an experienced frame builder). My advise on custom is: if you can fit on an off-the shelf frame, you'll get a lot more bike for your money. I, personally, wouldn't buy a custom bike unless I couldn't fit an off-the-shelf frame or I needed some special feature that wasn't commonly available (ex: S&S couplers, clearance for huge tires). If you can fit on a stock frame but want a bike that's a bit more custom, consider buying the bare frame then outfitting it with the components and wheels of your choice.

If you're looking at the Specialized Roubaix, which is a great bike by the way, I would also consider: Cervelo RS, Cannondale Synapse, and the Giant Defy. Keep in mind that carbon frames with more aggressive geometry and sharper handling, like the Specialized Tarmac and Cervelo R3, can still be amazingly comfortable! I looked at all of these bikes, narrowed the search down to the Roubaix and Cervelo RS then bought an RS.

Bulls**t.

+1 I have the 2010 Roubaix Comp - Ive ridden multiple back to back century (miles not km) days and I love the thing. Im heavier so I did switch out the seat for a B17. :)

I just switched from a Merlin Road Ti frame to a Specialized Roubaix (2007 model, the new ones are nicer) and I freaking love it love it love it love it. Is that over board? The head tube on the generation that I have is enormous, but I like it that way. I think the newer ones are more restrained, head tube wise. They're also just as stiff as a tarmac...

Anyway, people in the pro peloton ride this frame, so clearly it's not a "slow" bike just because it's "comfortable"

I think the Madone 6.2 is probably more comparable with a Tarmac (i.e. race geometry)

Here's an interesting back to back comparison of a Tarmac and a Roubaix:

http://redkiteprayer.com/?p=1408

My advice to you: ride them both at LEAST 30 miles and buy the one that makes you want to go riding every day. If you won't ride it, you won't like it. An Allez is basically a Al Tarmac of course, and if you're not fussy, I see last year's Tarmacs on sale all the time.

OP, what you should take from this thread is that for the money you are spending, whatever you choose will be a terrific bike. That being so, you should be guided by what feels best to you. And if you can't tell much difference on feel, either choose the cheaper one or buy the one you think looks best. Bear in mind that the pros don't care what make they ride, because they know that the high-end models are pretty much equally competent.

And as a 50-plus 6'3" 200 pounder, I can tell you that the supposed difference in comfort between the Roubaix-style bikes and the "pure race machines" is much less than you might imagine. If the bike fits you, a "pure" racing frame (and that isn't easy to define) can be set up to make you very comfortable.