Campag4life

Many that have been around cycling for a few decades have learned the stereotypes of materials as they relate to ride quality. We all have owned bone jarring Al bikes, springy steel bikes, a Ti bike or two and of course carbon with its stiff yet compliant ride.

All I can say is I am blown away by the ride quality of my new 2014 Specialized Secteur. I will go out on a limb and say if you want an endurance bike, there is very little reason to spend another $1K for a Roubaix...and my Roubaix SL3 Pro is the best bike I have ever owned. Now that I have built the Secteur with 10s Tiagra to do some light touring to distant beaches for swim time with my girl friend, I can say I am astounded by the ride quality. It honestly is more compliant than my Roubaix SL3. Yes it is a a bit heavier...but probably no more than 1 lb or so in the frame. For 2014 Specialized took the Secteur Elite to a new level as they always up the ante. It has a carbon fork with Zertz and Al steerer. Zertz on back seat stays as well. Threaded BB. Frame sections thanks to hydroforming are almost identical the Roubaix. What this somewhat proves is...the shape of the a bike frames tubes really trump the material. This is why all the new Al bikes are so good...including the Allez that many love as a race bike on a budget.

If you want a nice endurance race bike, pick up a Secteur Elite and put some light wheels on it. If you want a light touring bike, just ride it out of the box. Even the Spesh Riva saddle is good at 143mm even though I ride a Toupe at 155 on my Roubaix.

A last comment. If looking to do some light touring, consider the Topeak Quick Track rack with slide and click hard bag with fold down panniers which are stored under the side covers of the bag if not needed. The bag even expands vertically if more carrying space is needed. No bungie, rock solid...a terrific rack/luggage option.

rpenmanparker 

Bravo!

cale

Nice traveler. Bon voyage!

Ayers

I really wanted a Secteur but it just feels to me like Specialized isn't taking that particular bike very seriously.

Let me explain....

The highest spec Secteur they offer is the Elite with Tiagra components. I really wanted a 105 or Ultegra spec bike. But they just don't offer it and encourage you to really, really step up and buy a carbon Roubaix bike to get the same geometry with the component level I want. If it were an Allez, I could get an aluminum frame bike with whatever components I wanted. Why not the same with the Secteur ?

Sy Reene

A "few decades" ago, just how many frame material choices were there for the everyman anyway?

StanSeven

Read his post again.

Edit: I probably misunderstood your point. Sorry

Doctor Morbius

Congrats on the Secteur. Thanks for the review as I'm getting a 2014 Secteur Elite frameset (same frame as yours) as a warranty replacement for a 2004 Sequoia that developed a frame crack. I'm looking forward to building the bike up and riding it.

rpenmanparker 

With steel and then as new materials were introduced, the data base of understanding about their properties was built up. The early observations about each material became the sterotypes which are now under attack due to modern design and construction methods. That is what I read OP saying.

Jarrett2

I just got rid of my 2013 Secteur as it was a pretty harsh ride. Granted they changed it a bit in 2014.

In town, it was fine. Heck anything is fine in town. But once I started riding from town to town on the beat up, Texas backroads; that bike really became a beating.

My 2014 Roubaix is considerably more comfortable than my old Secteur. My 2009 steel Jamis is slightly more comfortable than my Roubaix.

To me, frame material still matters. And my Secteur was 3 lbs heavier than my Roubaix, btw.

69chevy

I went into my LBS the other day for a comfortable road bike to ride with my young boys in some long (30 miles is long to them) rides this Summer. I bought a Sora bike (would have laughed at the idea a few years ago). The new Sora is as good as Ultegra was several years back. My new Sora bike actually seems to shift as smooth as my older Ultegra bikes. Give a Tiagra bike a spin. It will likely be a surprise how nice it rides.

79pmooney

I'll steer clear. If I like a bike, I tend to ride it into the ground. (46,000 and still running, 25,000, 22,000 until frame ending crashes, 19,000 when the fork failed, 17,000 and still running, etc. I have had bikes die from broken fork crown, blade, chainstay, seattube, and seatstay.) I take how a bike frame fails seriously. I want bikes that wiill go untl the seattube, chain or seatstay fails. Someplace where I don't get hurt when it happens. A bike with an aluminum steerer is a bike that will never be mine. To inspect it for cracks is a 20 minute job just to get to it. And you probably still have to pull the HS race. (See the thread titled "Helmet" if you want to see what a crack there cost me.)

Ben

Doctor Morbius

The 2014 Secteur Expert Disc had some 105 components.

This is just a guess, but I'd be willing to bet they're phasing the Secteur out. In 2014 there were 7 different models. In 2015 there are only 4 models. None of the 2015 models have disc brakes and none have anything higher than Tiagra.

rpenmanparker 

First of all what is an HS race? Second, what kind of fork failed on you?

Campag4life

A couple of things to address good comments above. The Secteur isn't being phased out. That was a false narrative floated when the Diverge appeared based upon the considerable overlap of the two bikes. A brief comment about the difference between the Secteur and the Diverge. When the Diverge was on the drawing board for a year or two, Specialized made the Secteur in a disk version. For all intents, that bike was an aluminum Diverge or very close...with capability of mounting bigger tires than 28c unlike the current Secteur and Roubaix which as mentioned share almost the same 3D geometry...major difference really is what material they are made of. With the popular of gravel grinding which is best performed with wider tires, Specialized decided to create a new dedicated genre of road bike which has a more friendly riding position than a cross bike for example...and with disc brakes. A very versatile type of bike if you want disc brakes and to run larger than 28c. But I don't. I wanted an Al Roubaix with caliper brakes, capability to mount 28c tires that also had rack mounting capability for extended beach seeking riding. I wanted a bike that cost about 1/4 of my Roubaix but with similar road manners that I could load up. If there is a better bike for the money than the Secteur for what I wanted, I sure don't know what it is. Btw, I bought this Secteur from a brick and mortar bike shop out of state off Ebay, brand new, unbuilt in a box for a song. Retail on the bike was $1200 and I bought the bike $825 shipped. Unbelievable value for a new bike and couldn't pass it up as it was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks to everybody who didn't bid on this bike.

As to the comment about ride quality. Specialized is always tweaking the equation. Btw, sometimes they make mistakes. The Tarmac SL3 way back when was made too vertically stiff a few years back as feedback from Pros that said the SL2 Tarmac was too noodly and it was for a pro level riders with their big power. I bought my Roubaix SL3 Pro frameset from a local country bike shop who had never seen one. They ordered for me from Specialized because I have never read so many great reviews for a bike and the frameset has lived up to this lofty hope if not expectation from all the sterling reviews. And then, Specialized thought, we will make the Roubaix more like the SL4 Tarmac and really beef up the rear triangle. Some have been less than pleased with this decision because the ride of the rear of the bike of the SL4 Roubaix is considered too stiff by some. So its a moving scale really in terms of what Spesh does in terms of the target for a given bike. The Secteur, like many Specialized models has gone through a lot of changes over time as well. In 2013 the Secteur isn't nearly the same bike as it is for 2014 for example. Spesh routed the rear brake cable through the top tube, replicated the Roubaix SL3 and not stiffer SL4 geometry and put Zertz on the bike. The new Secteur has basically a Roubaix carbon fork with an Al steerer. Also, Spesh smelled the coffee and make the BB of the Secteur English threaded. Thank you.

As discussed what astounds me is, what Specialized did with the ride quality. This bike has more vertical give than my Roubaix over bumps. There is one patch of road I ride on my route with broken asphalt and it takes it better than my Roubaix. Yes the wheelset is different with more spokes and heavier and the Secteur has 25c tires on it compared to my Roubaix I run with 23c tires because the ride is just fine with skinny tires pumped up high even on the Roubaix. If I wanted, I could even mount 28c tires on the Secteur to further lower pressure and improve ride, but as stated, I have no need. I just didn't expect this level of ride quality from an Al bike. It may have the best ride of any bike I have ever owned including my last Ti 29er and steel Bianchi....the Bianchi being much more noodly out of the saddle. I don't like any overly stiff bike FWIW.

On the issue of limited groupsets Specialized chooses for the Secteur...it was clearly Specialized intent to keep the cost down. For those Shimano fans out there, word up. Tiagra 10s is essentially previous version DA7800 without the part finish. I have ridden every level of Shimano throughout the years including new DA9000 I built and then stripped off and have reviewed on this forum. Tiagra 10s is outstanding. Am I a fan of Shimano levers? Like many, I prefer Shimano levers with the older style antennae cable protruding from the side because the bulbous hood shape is more hand friendly including stretching out over the nubs and getting more aero up top. Don't let the limitation of Tiagra inhibit your decision. Groupset changes are simple enough anyway. I had all this stuff off the bike when I built it out of the box anyway to make sure everything was installed properly with proper torque and greasing...including the headset which did need a bit more grease. What will I do on the groupset front? Love the Tiagra shifting. Classic DA7800...one of the best shifting groupsets ever created because of lack of internal cable friction of routing cables outside the handlebar tape. I will probably mount Campy UltaShift 10s shifters from my Roubaix and run a Shiftmate for rear derailleur pull ratio. To me, Campy UltraShift levers are in a class by themselves compared to any shift lever on the market. I could also live with the Tiagra shifters as well. Good enough really. Shimano shifting excepting Utegra 6700 and DA7900 has been excellent for many years and Tiagra continues this tradition...like silk.

My further thoughts...

redfooj

4 word summary: wider tires ride smooth

thehammerdog

But, but its not carbon or $10K how can it be any good? Every magazine said $5K frame is standard now......
Enjoy..

Campag4life

no. 2mm's in tread width won't make up the difference between the two bikes. The Secteur has more vertical compliance than the Roubaix and carbon fork with Zertz front and back cancel out high frequency road shock common to Al framesets.

Campag4life

Thanks. A further note about Al versus carbon. Two friends of mine flew in recently to participate in a local 70 mile Charity ride. They each ride carbon back home and both rented a new Spesh Allez for the ride. Each said they could easily ride the Allez everyday in replacement of their carbon Giant and Cervelo carbon framesets. They both loved the Allez. Top companies with all their computer modeling and advanced manufacturing have really figured out how to make Al work. No it won't be quite as light as carbon...higher density and lower yield strength.
Also touched upon, new low end groupsets are astonishingly good. I mentioned Tiagra but 105 11s is awesome if not better as well. Same goes for wheelsets, handlebars and saddles.

rpenmanparker 

So if we can just get over our poseur vanity, there are some very fine reasonably priced rides, eh? I don't doubt it at all. My Rival shocks me how good it is compared to my two Red setups.

Jarrett2

What wheels/spoke count are you running on each?

rpenmanparker 

Moi?

On the Giant CF with Red I have the new low profile (20 mm) carbon tubulars, 20/24. 25 mm Corsa CXs. On the Merlin Works CR Ti with Red I have the Kinlin XR-200 aluminum clincher rims, also 20/24. Same exact wheels except for color on the Reynolds 531 vintage steel with Rival. Conti GP4000S IIs on both sets of clinchers.

Campag4life

The poseur thing doesn't ever fully leave. I am not going to sell the Roubaix, get rid of my full kit gear and grow a beard. I look forward to hammering on this bike honestly. No I probably won't ride it in group rides with the panniers extended but I personally love this style of bike. Would look even cooler with fenders but I don't need them here.

Jarrett2

Sorry no, I meant the OP.

I suspect he has 20/24 radial spokes with 23's on the Roubaix and 32/32, 3 cross spokes on the Secteur with 25's at a lower pressure.

That has to be factored in to ride quality.

For what its worth, I ended up putting a CG-R and 32's on my 2013 Secteur and it still didn't feel that great. Maybe there is some special mojo in the 2014 models, I haven't spent any time on them. My buddy has a 2014 Sora Secteur and seems to like it. Granted he's never ridden anything else and seems pretty beat up at the end of the rides. Most of the aluminum riders don't make long miles out where we ride come to think of it.

Jarrett2

I'm pretty impressed with the Rival/Force setup I got on my newest bike. Making rethink my Shimano stance a bit...

Campag4life

A good question and no doubt the wheelset factors into the ride quality.
I am running a lower spoke count Fulcrum 5's on the Roubaix and heavy off the rack 32 spoke Spesh wheels on the Secteur. Hard to know if the wheels are any more or less stiff than the Fulcrum wheels, but I suspect the Fulcrum wheels may be fractionally stiffer even with lower spoke count. Weight also matters for ride and the Secteur with rack is clearly a heavier bike than the Roubaix. Tires at 2mm wider aren't a major factor but a contributor. Its clear that Spesh built more vertical compliance into the Secteur for its intended purpose. Kudos to them. They make some amazing bikes.